Ning Hao Talks Toronto Satire ‘The Movie Emperor And Persuading Andy Lau To Be Humiliated: ‘This Was Me Challenging Him (EXCLUSIVE)
It's ironic that the world premiere of Movie Monarch in Toronto is sponsored by luxury goods maker Dyson. In the film, seemingly innocuous devices, from simple suitcases to floor-cleaning robots, go quietly insane.
This also applies to other supposedly functional technologies, from surveillance cameras to smartphone apps that seem to deflate the ego of the film's protagonist, as the protagonist tries to fill the role of an angry pig farmer.
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A handful of analog pigs and their mindless owners make the film a dark and ironic postcard of today's high-tech society, the obsession with self-image and the arrogance of the film industry.
Chinese director Ning Hao, previously behind the Mongolian art satire Ping Pong and the highly classified (and commercially successful) films Mad Racer and Crazy Alien, has always had a strong sense of humor. At least once, his willingness to raise controversial issues earned him the scorn of Chinese authorities. But the "Emperor of Cinema" - and Ning's recent $500 million blockbuster "No More Bets" - show that he can move forward and find many more targets for the movie.
Set to close the Busan International Film Festival, Emperor may be Ning's most controlled, nuanced and accessible film for non-Chinese audiences.
Ahead of the Toronto premiere, Ning spoke with Variety about her process, how she convinced herself to focus on representing Hong Kong star Andy Lau Entertainment, and where China's film industry is headed.
Cinematic Emperor has a different feel than many of your previous films, and there are many targets for satire. Where was this movie filmed?
One inspiration is simply the age we live in, the information age, where short videos are very popular. I've often wondered why filmmakers couldn't create more engaging and popular content than TikTok.
Another thing is that I wanted to create more informative content. I want to focus on my surroundings, the current weather and the things that happen in our daily lives.
It's not the same as using a big movie star to point the finger at real life.
Well, that's my point. The Internet has narrowed the gap between celebrities and [ordinary] people. Popularity is slowly fading. This has been a challenge to adapt to.
Some say there are no more movie stars.
This is perhaps one of the most important changes of the information age.
Daniel Yu, Andy Lau's former business partner, is believed to be the original screenwriter. What was the development process like?
It was a joint effort between Daniel Way and myself. Although this film focuses on Andy Lau, it is not about him. The main character is more of a symbol than a real character.
Also, in the past there was a distance between Hong Kong films and [mainland] Chinese films. Hong Kong films were considered very urban. But over time, Hong Kong films and their audiences are changing.
How did you convince Andy Lau to take on this role? They embrace his desire for physical perfection, beauty, and eternal glory, and then humiliate him. You make him a pig, a liar, a fool, a fraud. Why did he want to expose himself in this way?
Well, Andy Lau's image of physical perfection is real. He looks like this. And it is in the true sense of the word. She combs her hair every day before coming to the sets.
Second, the character's name Lau Wai Chi is not Andy Lau's actual Chinese name. It is a combination of three main Hong Kong celebrities: Andy Lau (Lau Tak Wah), Tony Ling (Leng Chiu Wai) and Stephen Cho (Chow Seng Chee). Andy was very straightforward on paper. He thought about the characters for a moment and said, "Okay, sure, I'll do that."
To be honest, he and I know each other very well. He understood how I felt. We are looking forward to working together for many years. Finally we have found the perfect topic to make fun of a celebrity.
Is it something that comes to mind after years of serious thinking?
And it was more than that. Andy said he could always do comedy. So I challenged him.
Is Andy Lau an investor in this film?
I can't tell you that.
Let's talk about images and what we see on the screen. This is a very clean and accurate film. However, it is also full of sight gags. Can everything be scripted or is some improvised?
In the development process, I try to imagine all the funny jokes as much as I can. But when you're set, there's always uncertainty and that leaves room for improvement.
A lot of my pre-production works always focus on the structure of the film. For Crazy Stone, for example, I prepared as much as possible in advance, and many of the jokes came during the development process. But there could be a lot of improvisation in other films where the actor has immersed himself in the character.
Some visual gags become recurring themes, while others are easily overlooked. For example, the scene in the parking lot shows the red lights on the dashboard cameras.
Oh, I didn't think it was a joke.
As a director who seems to be obsessed with going to film festivals, are you a little self-conscious about this film?
I had to do this. How else can Andy Lau be persuaded to speak?
Put the Emperor of Cinema in the context of the remaining ten films.
Well, we are all getting old. So yeah, maybe I'm more mature. But I don't want to focus only on marketing. I want to keep trying different things and styles.
This is far from "Mongolian Ping Pong"!
Well, I have learned from my previous works.
China's film industry has seen remarkable growth this year. Box office revenues have returned to pre-Covid-19 levels. By 2023, the market share of Chinese films will reach 85%. With the reality-based No More Bets initiative, you've achieved great success yourself. What works well in China?
In the past decade, the main goal of the Chinese film industry is to build a market and lay a solid foundation for that market.
This goes hand in hand with China's urbanization. Cinemas became a symbol of new cities. The number of cinemas in mainland China has increased significantly. There has been a mass migration from rural to urban areas where people are adapting and making cinema an important part of their lives.
Chinese movies seem to be full of relevant contemporary stories, many of which are based on real life, including No More Bets.
In making this film and not taking any bets, I was trying to balance visual beauty with a big city feel.
Where I grew up [Taiyuan, Shaanxi Province] was more industrial. However, one of the defining characteristics of modern cities is that they are more urban and more digital. My earlier films were about workers. But today people who live in big cities do not work in factories. They mainly work in the office.
Hence, the aesthetic and composition of my films turned into a bureaucratic atmosphere.
At the end of this film, several claims are made about young people having more understanding and knowledge than previous generations. Does this apply to the film industry as well?
I have seen this kind of change. And not only in China, but all over the world.
Nowadays audiences are more educated and judge the content of movies rationally. They are more interested and want more logic from the movies.
You dirty monkey, where is your company headed?
Dirt Monkey Origins I wish there were more professional directors making more movies for Chinese audiences. As the movie market continues to grow, there are more types of movies that you can watch. There are many directors with professional training, but some never have the opportunity. So I create a platform to implement your work. I wish there were more young directors documenting modern life. I hope to have three or four projects from Dirty Monkey every year.
When it comes to my work, I want to focus more on my own experiences and my own ideas about the world.
Will you continue to direct and produce?
yes of course. Maybe I should continue with photography, even if it's just a blog about my personal life.
Obsession!
Very accurate!
The best kind.
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