Andy Lau suffers 'serious' spinal injury after falling from horse

Andy Lau at “The Great Wall” press tour. (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau reportedly suffered a serious spinal injury after falling off a horse in Thailand on Tuesday (17 Jan).

According to media reports, Lau, 55, was in a rural part of Thailand for an ad shoot when the horse he was riding went out of control and he was thrown to the ground.

Apple Daily reported that horse then stepped on the actor’s waist, fracturing his spine.ue to the nature of the injury, Lau is currently not mobile and has to take a medical plane back to Hong Kong for further diagnosis and treatment.

Filming has also been suspended.

Lau, one of Hong Kong’s most successful actors, was most recently seen in Zhang Yimou’s “The Great Wall”, together with Asian stars like Eddie Peng and Hollywood veterans William Defoe and Matt Damon

Andy Almost Got Himself Killed

Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau was nearly fatally strangled while filming his new movie Saving Mr Wu - at his own request.

This was the only way that the scene, in which he is violently throttled by a kidnapper, would look as realistic as it did, says the 54-year-old actor.

"Maybe it is because the actors who played the kidnappers all grew up watching me on the screen, but they didn't strangle me hard enough at first. As soon as I started struggling, they would stop.

Mr Wu Ruofu

"So I told them that if I really couldn't take it, I would just let go and stop fighting them, and that they shouldn't stop strangling me until I did that. We really put in a lot of effort to express the suffering of the real-life characters," he tells Life in an e-mail interview.

During filming, he also spent 10 hours each day shackled painfully in real metal chains (fake chains would break apart as soon as he tried to free himself) and was confined to just 1 sq m of space.

He never talked about the case. I think he has already said everything that he wanted to say about it a decade ago when he spoke to the police.

ANDY LAU on the real kidnap victim,
actor Wu Ruofu, who has a small role in the film
Still, whatever challenges Lau faced during the shoot probably came nowhere close to the ordeal that China actor Wu Ruofu must have felt during his real-life kidnap in 2004, on which this film is based.

The abductors were sentenced to death in 2005, a year after the incident, but it is clear that Wu is still haunted by the memories of how he was snatched by kidnappers outside a bar in Beijing and held captive for 21 hours - he had rejected the offer to play himself in this movie. Instead, he takes on a small supporting role as a cop.

Lau says: "Director Ding Sheng told me that it was too much for Wu to live through the whole experience all over again as the victim, so he took the part of the police inspector who helped save his life instead. It was his tribute to his rescuer.

"He never talked about the case. I think he has already said everything that he wanted to say about it a decade ago when he spoke to the police.

"But during the filming, we would observe his facial expressions and reactions to try and gauge his thoughts, to see if we were playing this as close to real life as possible. If he looked too deep in thought and his mind was elsewhere, we knew that our observations were accurate."

Now that the film is set for release, Lau hopes that it can help provide Wu with a sense of closure.

"Wu Ruofu is a remarkably strong person, but the experience still haunts him. I hope he can put the past behind him after this movie.

"We actually changed the Chinese character of Wu's last name, with the new 'Wu' meaning 'me'. So to save Mr Wu is also to save me.

"The title thus symbolises the saving of Mr Wu from the abductors, but also the liberation of the real Mr Wu."

Andy Lau puts on some lipstick in this publicity photo for "What Women Want"

BEIJING: Hong Kong star Andy Lau revealed during a publicity event in Beijing on Tuesday that he quite enjoyed cross-dressing for his latest film "What Women Want", a remake of a Hollywood romantic comedy of the same name.

The 49-year-old actor, who often plays rather manly roles, had to wax his legs, put on lipstick and don a pair of black fishnet stockings for his upcoming movie, but he liked the result.

"It [how he looked dressed as a lady] was surprisingly quite beautiful. At the time, I thought I had been possessed by Marilyn Monroe," Lau told Chinese reporters.

Lau's co-star, Chinese veteran actress Gong Li, 45, 'praised' him for managing to pull it off.

"When I saw the production photos, I laughed so much. A sexy goddess!" Gong joked.

The "Shanghai" star went on to reveal that she taught Lau everything she knew about how to look more feminine and was a little miffed that she didn't get to see shoot the cross-dressing scene - the production staff apparently closed the set for Lau's performance.

But Lau explained there was a very good reason to keep her out.

"If you were there, I fear I would feel embarrassed and nervous. When the real goddess is around, this fake goddess would find it very hard to perform," said Lau, adding that nobody else, save the director, was on the set that day.

This is the third time Lau has cross-dressed for a movie – he had previously donned female clothing in 1999's "Running Out of Time" and 2001's "Dance of a Dream".

In "What Women Want", Lau plays an ad exec who can read women's minds. He uses the ability to sabotage his boss, played by Gong, but ends up falling in love with her instead.

The film is scheduled to hit the big screen in February.

- CNA/ha

Miriam Yeung in Andy Lau’s concert with hubby

Andy Lau staged the 7th night of his Unforgettable concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum two nights ago, it attracted Real Ting and Miriam Yeung to watch the concert. When Andy was surprised when he saw the newly weds took time to watch his concert instead of making babies, thus he put on maximum effort in his performance to repay them. When Andy who was wearing his red costume for his dancing, it got Real moving his move to the beat, it remained a high atmosphere on Boxing Day!

The special performing guest was Hanjin Tan, Andy expressed: “He knew my existence when he was born, many people loved his voice but not his looks, actually he’s just not as good looking as me, but still handsome, why not everybody give a loud applause to prove to him!” After winning praise from Andy, Hanjin sang Andy’s debut song ‘Zhi Zhi Dao Ci Ke Ai Ni’ without music.

He also exclaimed that Andy is the role model of the current music industry, he said: “The current music industry required a big brother, his hardworking and dedication to his work is the charisma of a big brother, a role model for youngsters!”

Both of them then duet ‘Ming Xing’ which is the first time Hanjin sang in Cantonese.

A female fan lost control of herself and broke down when she went forward to the stage to give Andy flowers, Andy was not shocked and quipped: “Don’t be like that! People would thought that I cheated you! In the past I still can be a loose person, now I could not!” All the audience burst into laughter.

Karen Mok thanks Andy Lau for Molesting Her on stage

When fans managed to get near their idol, they would get nervous, likewise Andy Lau has the same situation. “Movie-fan Princess” Connie Chan Po-chu brought along her son Dexter Young Tin-King to be the performing guests of Andy Lau Unforgettable concert which got Andy too excited till he lost control. On the same night, Karen Mok was also the guest and successfully “spiced” Andy.

When knew that Connie would appear in the concert, a group of Connie’s fans had touched down in the Hong Kong Coliseum, unexpectedly Andy himself is also a Connie fan. When Andy introduced Connie onto the stage, he expressed: “She’s one of my favorite idol, later her son take me as his idol.” After these words, Connie dressed in a black dress appeared with her son Dexter, the audience reacted with loud thunderous applause.

Andy added: “I remember watching elder sister Connie’s films when I’m young, then I was staying in Hong Lok Yuen, there was once she came, finally I’m able to meet my idol!” Dexter then told Andy: “You’re also my idol, I had watched your films and listened to your songs.” When Andy spotted a nervous Dexter, he told him: “Don’t speak anymore, I experience what you are feeling now!”

Andy seized the chance to give Connie an embrace and said: “When I invite Connie to be the guest of my concert, she didn’t say anything but actually I do feel that this song represent her.” A modest Connie quipped that her singing is only kindergarten level thus it was a breakthrough that she duet ‘Ming Xing’ with her son in the Hong Kong Coliseum, it’s unknown if being his fan, Dexter’s singing has a bit of Andy Lau’s flavor.

Karen wore a polka dots dress to show off her long legs which raise the temperature of the Coliseum, she duet ‘Xin Suan De Qing Ge’ with Andy coupled with close-body dance. Karen expressed: “Every time I meet Andy on the stage, I will become wild. Today I’m wearing polka dots, it represents admiration and concern.”

The previous night’s guest George Lam tested Andy’s memory, Karen used the same stance, luckily not to seek debt payment but seized the chance to thanks Andy. She said: “Do you remember what you told me 18 years ago?” Andy frown and quipped: “You’re asking me if I remember again?” Karen continued: “I think you don’t remember, you have romances with many people, remember when I entered showbiz in 1993, relatively an unknown, but during a post music award ceremony celebration dinner, you walked towards me and whisper to me: “You work harder, you can do it”, these words are more important than winning awards, I will thank Andy all my life!”

George Lam appeared in Andy's HK concert

The appearance of George Lam resulted in another high, as George is an important person to Andy as he was influenced by George to become a singer. Thus, George seize the opportunity to ask Andy to “pay back his debt”, he said: “I first saw him when he was shooting a music video, he was the dancer, that time I feel that this fat boy was interesting, I sent him home, when location shooting on Hainan Island in 1982, I told him why not he tried singing, that time he told me: “If I can, I would return you 82 cents if you give me $1″ Did you remember that you said that? Now you had been a singer for so many years, you owned me a lot, the condition remained the same!” Andy then replied: “Is it? I did said that? Why not the money I earned from singing, 40 cents to Deannie Ip, 40 cents to you and 20 cents for my family!”

George also revealed how he stepped on the wrong platform resulting him fall into the stage and fainted, Andy accompanied him the whole night in the hospital, it can be seem Andy has high respect for his teacher. In the end, when George sang ‘pang jeuk ngoi’, Andy walked towards the audience to imitate as a fan, wave his light stick to motivate the 1200 audience to pay respect to George, it was a heart warming scene.

Andy Lau was Sheren Tang's first guy she brought back home

"Miss Nine" Sheren Tang opened her 'golden mouth' and sang a song at Andy Lau's concert. She exposed that Andy was the first guy she brought back to meet her family.

When Andy introduced Sheren out on stage, he said: "This girl and I were a couple that were friends from childhood. She met me when we were studying, her hard work is seen by everyone, she's known as Miss Nine!" When Sheren came out, she exposed that she gave her 'first time' to Andy, she said: "Andy is the first guy I took to see my Daddy!" Andy said proudly: "Yes! I met her parents!" Turns out that when they were classmates, they played together often and Andy was occasionally a house guest at Sheren's home. Sheren laughed and said that she never thought Andy would use 'a couple who were friends from childhood' to describe their relationship because she had always viewed Andy as a big brother. Andy's hard work never dies, so she made him her striving goal.

Andy recalled the old memories, he said: "I saw that she really wanted to challenge herself, want people to appreciate her acting, so I suggested that she join the training class. I was pretty smart, met an heroine with my intelligant eye. I knew beforehand that she'll eventually become Miss Nine!" Sheren was very grateful of Andy's praises, every time when she's exhausted, she'll rest and sees Andy still hard at work, so she would then remind herself to continue her hard efforts. This time Andy wanted her to sing in HK Coliseum, at first she feared the challenge, but she has to be like Miss Nine, a woman with loyal spirit. Then she sang Star bringing the tone of the blues.

Andy Lau vs salted duck seller dispute resolved

BEIJING : Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau's management company, Topman Global Limited, released a statement Friday clarifying that it did not bring a law suit against 66-year-old Liu De Hua, the owner of the "Authentic Liu De Hua Pressed Salted Duck Shop" in Chongzhou, in China's Sichuan Province.

Along with an apology for causing any misunderstanding, the statement also said that Topman Global "only wished to prevent impersonation and confusion" and did not intend "to interfere in people using their own names or registering trademarks".

Lau's management company had earlier disputed Liu's application to register his shop's name, which contained the words 'Liu De Hua' - Lau's Mandarin name - as a trademark.

The management company previously claimed that people might be led to believe that Lau was "linked in some way" to Liu's shop and place "undue trust in the quality and origins of the product".

It further noted that associating Lau's name with pressed salted duck, waxed meats and sausages not only amounted to copyright infringement but "insulted and defamed Lau".

Topman Global's dispute with the elderly Liu had raised the ire of his regular patrons as well as Chinese netizens, who slammed the firm for bullying a helpless old man.

Liu had been operating his pressed salted duck shop for over 30 years. His is among the ten shops in Chongzhou that sell the Sichuan specialty, all of which take the name of their owners.

According to Liu's mother, Liu's birth name was actually Liu Jian Hua but somehow became erroneously registered as Liu De Hua.

"This name (Liu De Hua) is too high profile and makes people feel we are not honest," adding that they had actually lost a lot of business because of the name.

Liu himself lamented that companies refused to hire him in his earlier years because of his showy name while many of his previous girlfriends tried to change it.

In populous China, numerous people share identical Mandarin names with celebrities.

Chinese police records showed that there are 17 people who share Edison Chen's name, seven who share Gillian Chung's name and 686 people named Liu De Hua in the Chinese city of Chongqing alone.

Andy Lau bullies duck shop owner

Hong Kong 'heavenly king' Andy Lau has been slammed for bullying an elderly man in Sichuan, China.

The 68-year-old man, who owns a restaurant in Chongzhou, Sichuan, is named Liu Dehua.

His name in Chinese is the same as that of the singer which was why he almost lost his trademark - the Authentic Liu Dehua Pressed Salted Duck Shop.

Last week, Lau's agent in China had issued a letter to the restaurant owner for alleged infringement of copyright and defamation of Andy Lau.

The letter also called on Liu to remove the restaurant signage which has the words 'Liu De Hua'.

This triggered much anger among the locals, especially regular customers of the restaurant that has been in business for 30 years.

Liu started his business in 1980 when Lau was still using his given name of Lau Fook-wing.

Pressed Salted Duck is a specialty in Sichuan and in the small town of Chongzhou alone, there are more than 10 restaurants selling this delicacy.

All the shops are named after their owners.

Liu's daughter had in an interview with Xinhua Agency said that her father was much saddened by the letter's contents.

"My father opened this shop in 1980 using his own name. It has got nothing to do with Andy Lau.

"We have no intention to make use of Andy's name to attract more business," she said.

The intellectual property rights firm entrusted by Lau's company to supervise the trademark issue had on Friday issued a statement to say that they had withdrawn the case against the duck shop.

Andy Lau gathered 300 celebs to raise fund Qinghai victims

Stars from the three Chinese regions gather to raise funds for the Qinghai earthquake tragedy

Sun Nan, Andy Lau and Jackie Chan.

Heavenly King Andy Lau led a nearly 300-strong band of stars from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China to raise more than HK$25 million (S$4.4 million) for the Qinghai earthquake victims on Monday.

Held at the Hong Kong Coliseum, the fundraiser was attended by superstars like Jackie Chan and took just an hour to hit the HK$9 million (S$1.6 million) mark.

With the exception of Aaron Kwok, who could not leave Beijing where he is currently filming, the famed Heavenly Kings of Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Andy lent their support.

One of the highlights of the show was veteran entertainer Kenny Bee's touching acoustic performance with his young daughter.

Alan Tam, nicknamed the "Principal" for his seniority, even said, "I'll do anything I'm asked to do. I can be the runner or answer the phone (donation call-ins)."

Stars like Max Mok, Simon Yam, Ekin Cheng and the Hsu sisters (Barbie and Dee) related their experiences visiting the disaster-hit region, while media bigwig Sir Run Run Shaw also made his presence felt by donating HK$10 million (S$1.8 million).

The charity gala saw 7,000 people in the audience, of which 1,000 were last-minute additions. This greatly helped the fundraising efforts as each member of the audience was required to chip in at least HK$100 (S$17).

An earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck the Yushu region in northwest China's Qinghai Province on 14 Apr. More than 2,000 have been confirmed dead, with recent reports saying there could be many more.

Andy Lau appointed as China Disabled Welfare Foundation vice chairman

Andy Lau was appointed as vice chair for China Disabled Persons Welfare Foundation following their 2nd annual committee meeting the other day. Andy admits that the job carries a lot of responsibility, he said "I would like to work with each and every committee member and those who want to help people with disabilities." In 2010, the Foundation aims to raise 220 million RMB.

Andy Lau fears Rats?

It might be hard to imagine, but Andy Lau, who is the epitome of alpha male on the silver screen, is actually scared of rats.

In an interview with the Southern Metropolis Daily, the actor/singer revealed his less-known sides to the public for the first time, sharing his phobia towards rats, his apprehension when it comes to directing a film and even sharing an experience when he lost his temper on the set.

“When I was filming Lee Rock in 1991, I screamed and fled in terror after spotting a rat at the set.

“I insisted that I would only return to the set after they got rid of it,” he recalled, adding that he has since developed an idiosyncrasy on the set: to set off firecrackers whenever he is required to shoot a scene in a back alley, in an attempt to scare off the rats.

Rodent phobia aside, the 48-year-old has a reputation of being the most hardworking artiste in the industry. You can hardly see him resting, even while fellow Heavenly Kings like Jacky Cheung had apparently slowed down in recent years.

When asked about this, Lau explained that the only time when he was working really hard was between 1995 and 2000, after he had lost almost all his savings in the production of Savior of the Soul in 1991.

“I worked really hard so that I could pay off the debts. After that I’ve stopped working so hard,” he said.

Nevertheless, the tag of 'The Man who Never Rests' stuck with him. Even so, Lau, who is noted for his professionalism, once lost his temper when he was shooting Running on Karma.

It had everything to do with a heavy muscle-man costume he was donning for the film.

“The costume was very heavy and it was a painstaking process to put it on. It took 12 hours to do it.

“I ended up requesting the lighting guy to be faster in his job. He retorted saying that I got impatient after waiting for only 10 minutes. That’s when I lost it.

“He did not know that I had been waiting for hours.”

It turned out that all the pain and sacrifices did pay off: it helped him win the Best Actor Award at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards.

When it comes to career, those who know Lau would know that he is deeply interested in filmmaking, even to the extent of pumping in money to help fund films by budding filmmakers like Ning Hao.

However, until today, we have yet to see a directorial debut from Lau.

“Actually I have been reading scripts, but I get cold feet when I see how good other people’s debuts turn out to be. You look at people like Ning Hao who came up with the brilliant Crazy Stone. And I was stunned by how good Jay Chou’s Secret is.

“I’ve been putting off the plans of directing because I’m worried that I might not be able to come up with something good” he concluded.

Andy Lau in a futuristic sci-fi world of tomorrow

By Tay Yek Keak
HONG Kong director Wong Jing looked all the way to the year 2080 in Future X-Cops and came up with a cartoon universe.

His sci-fi flick, about Andy Lau playing a futuristic cop, is a combo of RoboCop, Judge Dredd, Speed Racer, Terminator, Spider-Man's Doc Ock, Astroboy and, what looks like the discarded drawings of the 1960s cartoon series, The Jetsons.

If you've got a problem with that, remember that Wong, by nature, is a commercial director (Kung Fu Mahjong, My Kung Fu Sweetheart).

If anything, his foray into outlandish future-world territory shows just how important it is to approach that subject with intelligence and foresight.

Still, it's important to note that this is one of Hong Kong and China cinema's first forays into the world of tomorrow.

Here's my defence for Wong: Don't think, for an instant, that it's easy to create a brave new world.

George Lucas was very good at it with Star Wars, but he still came up with Jar Jar Binks.

But there's a lesson to be learnt for Chinese and Hong Kong film-makers here, and that's that any good science-fiction storyteller will tell you that the statement he's making is often a lesson for the times he's living in.

The good guys in the Terminator flicks, for instance, came back in time to ward off a nuclear holocaust caused circa the present time.

Blade Runner, whose visual look of highrises is copied by Future X-Cops in its opening scenes, was about relentless androids (substitute for illegal immigrants, strangers, criminals, clones or former wives) running loose among humans.

All those films expressed the fears of a highly industrialised Western world steeped in technology which seemed helpful, yet threatening and untrustworthy at the same time (check I, Robot for verification).

Wong's future world is, in comparison, rather kindergarten- ish in concept. To be fair, his intention, presumably, was never to postulate anything new.

Wong comes from a movie- making world and culture that has a strong historical past, is still in love with wuxia, and is just sending people into outer space.

Thus, the Chinese inclination towards a future world, judging from X-Cops, is encapsulated in Lau's funny costume that looks like a zipper bag.
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Lau hopes sci-fi film breaks new ground

By MIN LEE (AP) – 2 days ago

HONG KONG — With the market inundated with kung fu and historical epics, Andy Lau hopes his new sci-fi movie will break new ground for Chinese-language cinema.

The 48-year-old actor-singer attended the premiere for "Future X-Cops" in his native Hong Kong late Wednesday, describing his role as a police officer in 2085 who travels to 2015 to protect a teenager destined to become a prominent scientist.

"I think we've taken the first step in making sci-fi movies. I hope more people will try to shoot these kinds of films. I hope our skill and ability will improve and pull us closer to Western sci-fi movies," Lau told reporters.

Lau said he wore a green jumpsuit during shooting so a computer-generated armor could be applied onto his body.

"We wanted to present something new to audiences. People have seen many action movies. They've seen many comedies," director Wong Jing said.

But "Future X-Cops," which co-stars actresses Fan Binging and Barbie Hsu, faces a tough challenge coming shortly after the massive success of "Avatar," the James Cameron 3-D epic that went on to become the global box office champion of all-time. It was also a huge hit in mainland China.

"Future X-Cops" is also Lau's first release since he was exposed for lying about his marriage, which was seen by some as a ploy to maintain his appeal by projecting the image of a bachelor. The veteran entertainer denied that he was married in a TV interview last February, but Hong Kong journalists tracked down marriage records that showed he wed his Malaysian girlfriend Carol Chu in the U.S. in June 2008. Lau was forced to make a public apology.

But Lau's popularity appear unaffected at the Hong Kong premiere on Wednesday. He was cheered on by about 200 squealing fans after he emerged on an outdoor stage near a popular mall in the Causeway Bay shopping district.
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More like blast from the past
By Han Wei Chou
'Future X Cops'

SINGAPORE: In "Future X Cops" Andy Lau plays Kidd, a policeman from the future tasked with protecting a scientist who develops a new technology that renders fossil fuels obsolete by providing clean, affordable energy via solar energy conversion.

The scientist ticked off the petrol consortiums as his invention prevents them from making obscene amounts of money, so they send a group of cyborgs to kill the good scientist.

The cyborgs' plan is foiled by Kidd but not before their leader Kalon (Fan Sui-wong) manages to kill Kidd's wife Millie (Fan Bing Bing) and Kidd kills Kalon's brother. The consortiums then hatch a plan to send the cyborgs back through time and kill the scientist (a la "Terminator"), so his technology would never be discovered and they would regain control of the energy market.

Kidd wants to avenge his wife and agrees to be sent back in time to protect the scientist, who is still a young boy in that era. He also agrees to become a cyborg in order to have the strength to fight Kalon and his companions.

For the first 20 minutes of the film, I was only thinking about cheese. It is not because I particularly like cheese or had developed a sudden craving for cheese nachos sold at the cinema, but because the special effects and the character designs were so cheesy and dated.

The cyborgs were themed after various animals such as the porcupine, bat, snake and mantis, but the character design was incredibly poor and looked ridiculous, sort of like a really cheap transformer costume. Their mechanical limbs, wings and what have you also looked like they were crafted from cheap plastic or cardboard and looked incredibly flimsy.

One cyborg for example could extend numerous snake heads from his back to kill people but ended up looking like a sad, pirated version of Doctor Octopus from "Spiderman 2".

Kidd's cyborg design was also really ugly and looked silly, borrowing heavily from the science fiction classic "Tron".

The special effects are the backbone of any science fiction film ("The Matrix", "Avatar") so if they are poorly done, as is the case here, it cheapens the entire experience.

This problem is compounded further by cheesy music and sound effects that sound like they came from an early 90s science-fiction B-movie.

However, "Future X Cops" is saved from being another sci-fi flop by the abundant comic moments peppered throughout the film. The dialogue is witty and riddled with humorous jokes. The sharp dialogue draws genuine laughter from the audience and makes the film bearable.

Add to that a bunch of eye-candy actors (Fan Bing Bing, Barbie Hsu and other starlets make an appearance) and a few cute child actors (such as "CJ7" star Xu Jiao) and you get a reasonably watchable show.

Still, I can't help but feel director Wong Jing could have done more with the film's premise. For example, the part about Kidd losing his humanity to get his revenge is not fleshed out at all, despite being highlighted in the film's blurb.

This show is great if you are looking for some fun or just want to kill time, but just don't go into the cinema expecting to see the next "Avatar" or you will be sorely disappointed.
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Chinese robocop

2010/04/07

By WENDY WONG

FUTURE X-COPS
Directed by Wong Jing
Starring Andy Lau, Barbie Hsu, Fan Bing Bing, Xu Jiao, Louis Fan


KIDD Zhao (Andy Lau), a policeman from the future, travels back in time to protect Dr Masterson, a scientist who has invented a solar energy substitute.

A group of oil tycoons fears this will hurt their power monopoly, so they hire cyborgs to kill Dr Masterson.

The show opens in the year 2080. Kidd and his wife Millie (Fan Bing Bing) are assigned to protect Dr Masterson who is attending an opening ceremony.

When cyborgs storm the event to assassinate Dr Masterson, Millie and a cyborg are killed. Kidd and cyborg leader Kalon (Louis Fan), brother of the dead cyborg, vow revenge.

When their plot fails, the oil tycoons steal the time machine to send the cyborgs back in time to kill the young Dr Masterson.


Kidd agrees to be transformed into a half-human, half-robot and go back in time to protect the young scientist. He brings along his daughter Kiki (Xu Jiao). In 2020, Kidd pretends to be a regular cop. With help from policewoman Holly Wang (Barbie Hsu) and his superior (Mike He), he searches for Dr Masterson.

Age seems to have overlooked Lau. He plays both roles with ease — as a cool and serious police officer in 2080 and a nerdy, bespectacled officer in 2020. There are some tender moments with Hsu and Xu, the child actor in Stephen Chow’s CJ7. Xu is now a young woman and she portrays her role convincingly.

Can’t say much for Fan though, as she appeared only for the first 15-20 minutes.

The action is CGI-heavy and sometimes, seems unrealistic. With a hefty price tag of US$20m (RM66m), the film was originally planned for Chinese New Year, but it was delayed because the special effects had not been completed.

The film marks Lau and director Wong Jing’s first collaboration after 10 years.
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Back to the Future
Genevieve Toh
ANDY Lau's latest film has him playing a 2080 policeman who travels back in time to 2020 to protect a young boy, who would grow up to be a powerful scientist who holds the key to mankind's future from assassins of the cyborg variety.

Erm. Didn't Schwarzenegger star in this film?

With such a far-fetched (and rather familiar) movie as Future X-Cops to promote, the 48-year-old actor/singer was expectedly friendly as he chatted up a group of six local journalists over the phone from Hong Kong.

Andy was charming. He was slick. He was debonair. He side-stepped the secret marriage question. Darn, he's good.

"It was very fun because I got to fly here and there," Lau said of the Future X-Cops filming process. "Plus, I think both Barbie (Hsu, his co-star) and I worked really well together."

It's a good thing he had a good time because things could have gone terribly pear-shaped. Lau had signed on to do the movie before he even read a page of a script - all in the name of friendship. It is a decision he defends passionately today.

"I've said this many times before to the press and I'll say it again - the investor of this film is a very good friend of mine. I don't have many really good friends in the entertainment circle, so I agreed to do this movie right away," he said. "I also didn't know theme of the film or that Wong Jing would be the director till the very last minute. I really wanted to help my friend and so I did."

Of course, both the Heavenly King and us mortal six knew that movie-related questions were just the genial warm-up to asking the good stuff. You know, the secrets behind his savvy celebrity public relations abilities. Like not being single anymore.

Would he change anything - anything at all - if he could do it all over again? Absolutely not, Lau said. "I accept my decisions, my mistakes. I don't regret anything," he said, perhaps alluding to how he was brandished a "lying Heavenly King" by the press when his secret 2008 Las Vegas wedding to former Malaysian beauty queen Carol Choo was exposed last August.

Lau added that he was very happy and satisfied with his life now. "There is no such thing as perfect happiness in life, but I have to say I am very close to bliss. I get along with the people around me, and I am with the person I love. It's all been very good."

Oh well, we tried.

And to "make things very clear to all reporters" about the recent "misquoted" reports about him retiring in two years, Lau said he never specifically said such a thing. "All I said was that in two years' time, I would have completed all my existing movie and music contracts. And only then can I decide what's next," he said.

Well, nobody knows for certain what the future holds. Nobody besides Schwarzenegger. But that's a totally different film.
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Hong Kong Sci-Fi Finally Arrived?
Future X-Cops could be the next big international smash, a total disaster, or something in between.

Admittedly, that’s not saying a whole lot, but the unprecedented nature of the film makes predicting its future difficult. Yes, it’s a science-fiction film; however, it comes from Asia, where studios tend to lean more toward kung fu, historical epics and fluffy romantic comedies. Future X-Cops does star Andy Lau, recognizable on this side of the pond from Infernal Affairs (which was remade into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning The Departed), but whose past attempts at Hong Kong sci-fi have ranged from mediocre to disastrous.

Yet Lau, who plays a police officer in 2085 who travels back to 2015 to protect a teenager destined to become an important scientist, views Future X-Cops as a necessary first step in making quality sci-fi in Hong Kong.
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"I hope more people will try to shoot these kinds of films," the 48-year-old said at last week’s premiere (as reported by the Associated Press). "I hope our skill and ability will improve and pull us closer to Western sci-fi movies."

Many consider special effects to be what separates genre product in Hollywood from other parts of the world, and there‘s no denying Asian audiences love their SFX—James Cameron‘s Avatar was a huge hit in mainland China. For Future X-Cops, the filmmakers tried to bring in cutting-edge visual trickery as well; Lau wore a green jumpsuit during shooting so a computer-generated armor could be applied onto his body.

"We wanted to present something new to audiences. People have seen many action movies. They've seen many comedies," said director Wong Jing, who has worked in many genres himself throughout his career.

Having seen the trailer for the film, Jing’s penchant for genre hodge-podge might work against Future X-Cops, which looks more than a little cheesy (although the armor Lau’s character wears is rendered fairly well). Meanwhile, the movie probably won’t make much of a dent in Western markets outside big-cities with large Asian populations. It’s easier to think of it as a necessary first step.
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Lau hopes to break new ground
HONG KONG - WITH the market inundated with kung fu and historical epics, Andy Lau hopes his new sci-fi movie will break new ground for Chinese-language cinema.

The 48-year-old actor-singer attended the premiere for Future X-Cops in his native Hong Kong late on Wednesday, describing his role as a police officer in 2085 who travels to 2015 to protect a teenager destined to become a prominent scientist.

'I think we've taken the first step in making sci-fi movies. I hope more people will try to shoot these kinds of films. I hope our skill and ability will improve and pull us closer to Western sci-fi movies,' Lau told reporters.

Lau said he wore a green jumpsuit during shooting so a computer-generated armor could be applied onto his body. 'We wanted to present something new to audiences. People have seen many action movies. They've seen many comedies,' director Wong Jing said.

But Future X-Cops, which co-stars actresses Fan Binging and Barbie Hsu, faces a tough challenge coming shortly after the massive success of Avatar, the James Cameron 3-D epic that went on to become the global box office champion of all-time. It was also a huge hit in mainland China.

Future X-Cops is also Lau's first release since he was exposed for lying about his marriage, which was seen by some as a ploy to maintain his appeal by projecting the image of a bachelor. -- AP

Andy Lau appointed Expo ambassador

Chinese celebrity Andy Lau was crowned the Shanghai World Expo's Goodwill Ambassador on Friday, as the highly anticipated international event is 50 days away, Xinhua reported.

Three other household names also joined the ambassador list. Renowned anchorwoman Yang Lan was appointed the Expo's Image Ambassador, composer Tan Dun the Culture Ambassador, and athlete-turned-entrepreneur Li Ning the Health Ambassador.

The four, together with three previously appointed ambassadors - Chinese Kung Fu actor Jackie Chan, basketball player Yao Ming and master pianist Lang Lang - will help promote the international event in Shanghai, which starts May 1 and goes through Oct 31.

Trailer of Andy Lau's latest megamovie - Warlords

Set in the midst of war and political upheaval during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s, WARLORDS stars Jet Li as General Pang, who barely survives a brutal massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, and joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu (Andy Lau) and Wu Yang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). After fighting back attackers from an helpless village, the three men take an oath to become "blood brothers," pledging loyalty to one another until death, but things quickly turn sour and the three men become embroiled in a web of political deceit, and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan (Wu Jing-Lei).

Andy was at Hollywood earlier than the rest?

LONG before Jackie Chan and Jet Li ventured into Hollywood, Hong Kong star Andy Lau had had the chance, reported Sina.com.cn.

The Heavenly King revealed that he signed with a Hollywood agency in 1992.

"I was a Hollywood star earlier than Jackie Chan and Jet Li. For three years, I flew to America every three months to look at movie scripts."

Apparently, no script caught his fancy throughout the years.

"I was told very clearly that even in the next10 years, there would be no more than five scripts that are about Chinese. One of the better scripts I've seen is Year of the Dragon (1985), which starred John Lone.

"I've not signed with a Hollywood agency after that. What I'm looking for is something that I enjoy doing and hopefully, manage to impress others, instead of following the trend of going Hollywood. It's not really a big deal to go Hollywood," he concluded.

The 48-year-old, who got married to longtime girlfriend Carol Chu in 2008, revealed that his daily entertainment with wifey is watching TVB series.

"I enjoy watching Stephen Chow movies. They make me laugh," he said, adding that his favourite pastime includes going bowling with friends.

Netizens' hearts for Andy Lau and Charlene Choi

Tue, Feb 09, 2010
The Daily Chilli

EVEN after his secret marriage to Carol Chu was revealed, Andy Lau is still the perfect boyfriend material in netizens' hearts.

According to a recent Valentine's Day-related survey conducted by Yahoo Hong Kong, Lau garnered the most votes to be named The Perfect Boyfriend, followed by TVB heartthrobs Raymond Lam and Moses Chan in second and third place respectively.

Meanwhile, Charlene Choi of Twins was a favourite of guys and girls and was named The Perfect Girlfriend.

Apart from Charlene, guys also prefer singer-songwriter G.E.M and model Chrissie Chau, which closely follow Charlene in second and third place respectively. In the same category, girls think that model Angelababy (No. 2) and Taiwanese darling Ariel Lin (No. 3) make for good girlfriends, too.

Charlene was surprised by the result.

"Maybe it's because I'm no threat to other girls. And guys voted me simply because they don't want their girlfriends to be jealous," she joked and confessed to be far from a perfect girlfriend.

"I'm a workaholic and my boyfriend complained about this before. Apart from work, I enjoy being with my family and friends. Love is not my top priority. Maybe the voters chose me because of my smile."
Andy Lau and Charlene Choi are voted as the Perfect Boyfriend and Perfect Girlfriend respectively

Call it a coincidence, but the qualities she is looking for in a lover matches the image of her rumoured love interest Ronald Cheng.

"I want my boyfriend to be diligent, ambitious and talented. Looks is not so important for me, as long as he looks neat and tidy and not overly hideous."

Andy Lau loves his Cow Sculpture

Could he had done such a masterpiece? Well, with all the money had, he really doesn't need to sweat to get it done. Just wondering who is the scapegoat going to be, if the cow got screwed up.

Invited by the organizing committee of the International CowParade, Andy Lau, a popular actor, singer and producer based in Hong Kong, will present his own-created cow sculpture during the 2010 Xiamen International CowParade this April to October.

The cow artwork, named “Ben”, was first created by Andy Lau for the 2009 Taipei International CowParade last February.

He said that he is an “OX” man, as he was born in the year of OX. He has made two small cow sculptures, named Andox and Heizai, when he was still a little boy, and regarded the two works as his own sons.

”I have an affinity with ox as my Chinese zodiac is ox. My first soft toy designs are also 2 oxen: Andox and Blackie, I regarded these 2 creations of mine as my sons,” said Andy Lau.

“It was my honor to be able to take part in the 2009 Taipei CowParade,” Andy said, “I just considered myself to be a big cow during the creating, and drew my two sons, Andox and Blackie, on the body of the new sculpture, they’re rushing towards the city. I named it "Ben". In Chinese, "Ben" means 3 cows together. (note: “rushing cow” means “Ben Niu” in Mandarin, the Chinese translation for CowParade)

Andy Lau’s artwork “Ben” will be displayed at the Xiamen Genshen Cultural Creative Park from 8th April to 8th October.

Andy Lau voted out of Committee for his secret marriage

HONG Kong superstar Andy Lau was dropped from the 9th Hong Kong Actors Association committee due to his secret marriage, Chinese dailies reported.

Nanyang Siang Pau said Lau, who was a likely replacement for outgoing committee president Alan Tam Wing-Lun, was not voted in as one of its 21 committee members.

The daily said Eric Tsang Chi-Wai was voted in as the ninth committee president instead.

The Association’s secretary told the daily that all 21 in the committee were voted by its members, then the committee would vote out their president and vice-presidents.

“It is the members’ choice to vote for their committee members,” she said.

Anita Mui's mother claims Andy Lau jilted her daughter

HONG KONG : Late Canto-pop diva Anita Mui's mother Tam Mei-kam has claimed that Hong Kong star Andy Lau broke her daughter's heart by looking her up when he was already in a relationship with his now wife Carol Chu.

"Mui cried so many times because she even came up with the money for a film starring Lau. I say this now so everyone knows. She set up a company and shot a film, 'Dance of a Dream' (pic), for Lau to star in," Tam said.

85-year-old Tam and the Mui's elder brother, Peter Mui, had also expressed disgust at Lau's apparent indifference towards them after the singer succumbed to cervical cancer.

"I have visited Lau at his home with my mother. Yet he claims he did not know my mother. That is ridiculous! We sent him three, four letters but he never replied, not even once!" said Peter Mui.

Lau, who had only recently come clean about his secret marriage to Chu, refused to comment on their claims.

It is widely known that Lau and Mui were close. Lau once gave Mui a floral plaque made of 1,000 roses to congratulate her on winning the Golden Needle Award in 1998.

Lau was also said to have rushed to Mui's side and counselled her for an entire night when he found out about about her condition. However, it is not known if he and Mui were ever in a romantic relationship.

In addition to their claims regarding Mui's relationship with Lau, Tam and Peter Mui have vowed to submit a fresh appeal contesting Mui's will in May this year.

Mui, 40, passed away seven years ago but her mother Tam and elder brother Peter Mui have continued to dispute her will even today.

Tam had previously claimed that her daughter was suffering from a brain disorder when she made her will, making it invalid. The judge ruled that Mui had been lucid when she made her will and dismissed Tam's case in 2008.

Mui had originally left behind her properties in London and Hong Kong to retired designer Eddie Lau. She also bequeathed up to HK$400,000 (S$72,000) to each of Peter Mui's four children as university expenses.

Interestingly, her mother, Tam, was only granted a monthly upkeep of HK$70,000 (S$12,600). This figure was later changed to HK$120,000 (S$21,600) after Tam's numerous court appeals.