The New King of Comedy
| The New King of Comedy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Traditional Chinese | 新喜劇之王 |
| Simplified Chinese | 新喜剧之王 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xīn Xǐjù Zhī Wáng |
| Directed by | Stephen Chow |
| Written by | Stephen Chow Ivy Kong Kelvin Lee Zhao Bojun |
| Story by | Stephen Chow |
| Based on | King of Comedy by Stephen Chow and Lee Lik-chi |
| Produced by | Stephen Chow Ivy Kong |
| Starring | E Jingwen Wang Baoqiang |
| Cinematography | Mazloum Saba |
| Edited by | Yeung Kai-wing |
| Music by | Raymond Wong Wendy Zheng |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Lian Rui (Shanghai) Film Industry Co., Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | $8 million (50 million RMB) |
| Box office | US$106.6 million |
The New King of Comedy (Chinese: 新喜剧之王) is a 2019 Chinese comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by Stephen Chow.[1][2] It is a remake of Chow's own 1999 film King of Comedy, this time set in Mainland China with different characters.
The film tells the story of a young woman who is dreaming and striving to pursue the actors' dream despite being an extra and stand-in. It was released in China on 5 February 2019 during the Lunar New Year 2019.[3] With a budget of $8 million (US) along with few months of filming and post-production, it is believed to be the smallest project of Chow's career as a filmmaker.
Cast
[edit]- E Jingwen as Ru Meng
- Wang Baoqiang as Ma Ke
- Zhang Quandan as Charlie
- Jing Ruyang as Xiao Mi
- Zhang Qi as Ru Meng's father
- Yuan Xingzhe as Ru Meng's mother
Production
[edit]Stephen Chow began writing the film in 2015.[4] Filming began in October 2018 and lasted only a few weeks.
For the movie, Chow cast people who could relate to the life of a struggling actor. He intentionally sought out Wang to play the male lead role, due to the latter's experience in working as an extra early in his career.[5][6] Actress E Jingwen also worked as an extra prior to The New King of Comedy, similar to the character she played in the film.[7]
Chow recruited the Chinese girl group Ji Feng Shao Nu (Chinese: 疾风少女; lit. 'Storm Girls'), whose members were eliminated in the Chinese version of Produce 101, to sing the film's theme song.[8]
Release
[edit]The New King of Comedy was released in China on 5 February 2019.
References
[edit]- ^ Su (January 15, 2019). "Cecilia Cheung Will Cameo in Stephen Chow's "The New King of Comedy"". jaynestars. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ Addy (December 2, 2018). "Stephen Chow to Release "The New King of Comedy" in Time for Hong Kong's LNY Season". jaynestars. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ Heidi Hsia (December 4, 2018). "Stephen Chow unveils "The New King of Comedy" poster". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ 周星驰《新喜剧之王》正式杀青定档! 主演一看就是王宝强. Sohu (in Chinese). November 29, 2018. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ Rui, Zhang (January 13, 2019). "Stephen Chow seeks to inspire losers with new film - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Fan, Xu (January 18, 2019). "New Chow film walks the extra mile - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Lee, Jan (February 6, 2019). "Hong Kong director Stephen Chow picks unknown actress for The New King Of Comedy". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ "Stephen Chow's Chinese New Year movie offers inspiration to those who dare to dream". The Straits Times. January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
External links
[edit]- The New King of Comedy at IMDb
- The New King of Comedy at Douban (in Chinese)
- The New King of Comedy at Mtime.com (archived) (in Chinese)