On the evening of July 22nd, during a brand event, veteran Hong Kong entertainer Andy Lau announced that he will officially transition to become a director after completing his concert tour in 2028. This marks the first time in his over 40-year career that the 64-year-old Andy Lau has disclosed a clear and definitive timeline for this transition.
At the event, Andy Lau shared his plans with the audience and media, stating, “In 2028, I will definitely become a director, so everyone can rest assured. After I successfully complete my 2028 concert tour, I will wholeheartedly immerse myself in the backstage world and become a truly meaningful film director.”
Andy Lau revealed that as early as 1981, when he was just 20 years old and enrolled in the 10th batch of artist training classes at TVB in Hong Kong, he had harbored ambitions of becoming a director and scriptwriter. He also disclosed a key detail that over the past decade, during breaks from filming and his concert tours, he secretly penned down multiple scripts, accumulating a wealth of developed stories, but lacked the opportunity to personally direct and shoot them.
When asked why he chose the year 2028 for this transition, Andy Lau candidly expressed his concerns about the continuous emergence of new talents in the entertainment industry. He worried that if he remained solely in the comfort zone of being an actor and singer, audiences might eventually forget about him. Reflecting on this, he said, “I’ve been contemplating for a long time. I should take a step forward. If I don’t take action now, everyone might truly forget about me.”
Andy Lau clearly stated that his directorial debut will not follow his classic nostalgic or crime genre routes, but will instead focus on telling real-life stories that resonate with ordinary people.
As Andy Lau unveiled his directorial plans, Stephen Chow’s film “Soccer Sisters” directed by him achieved great success at the box office, surpassing 1.7 billion RMB after 13 days since its release. The movie, with its unique perspective on women’s football, continues the comedic spirit of “Shaolin Soccer” and successfully draws back both niche audiences and nostalgic viewers to the theaters.
Stephen Chow took on the role of directing “Soccer Sisters” from the scriptwriting to action direction, being intimately involved throughout the entire process. Despite not being adept in female-centric themes, he always humbly listened to the suggestions of female actors. For instance, during the script creation and casting stages, he proactively invited multiple female actors and admitted that he had been accustomed to the male perspective in his nonsensical narrative style, lacking accuracy in portraying women’s mindsets and stories. He encouraged actors to point out lines or logical flaws that did not align with modern female psychology during script readings, intending to adjust the narrative angle from the source.
On set, Stephen Chow broke away from the traditional pattern of “director demonstrates, actors imitate”. When it came to scenes involving female emotions, confusion, and low points, he granted immense autonomy to lead actresses like Zhang Xiaofei and Dilraba Dilmurat. He often asked actors after scenes, “If it were you, what would you do?” and allowed them to modify actions and expressions based on real female intuition.
Having previously collaborated with Stephen Chow on films like “God of Gamblers” and “King of Comedy”, and having contributed the theme song “Kick Start the Future” for Chow’s “Shaolin Soccer”, Andy Lau, who has always been supportive of up-and-coming directors, believes that Chow’s hands-on approach at the age of 63 in boldly exploring the new avenue of female sports comedy serves as a positive inspiration for the industry and greatly motivates and inspires him.
It can be anticipated that when Andy Lau begins his directorial work in 2028, he will be 67 years old. Directing is a highly demanding job that requires both physical and mental exertion, presenting him with a completely new high-intensity challenge. While there are high expectations for Andy Lau from the public, he also faces scrutiny due to his “crossing over at an older age” and the “superstar halo”. Rational netizens have pointed out that not all actors succeed in transitioning to directors, and ultimately, the success or failure will still rely on the quality of the works once they are released.