Hong Kong director Wong Jing recently shared some entertainment gossip on his YouTube channel. While talking about the past of Andy Lau, he revealed that the Hong Kong entertainment industry was once controlled by the triads, and Andy Lau was forced to film many bad movies. During a film shoot in the New Territories, the set was attacked with Molotov cocktails by local gangsters, and the next day the director wielded a machete to protect Andy Lau.
In a recent episode of “Wong Jing Laughing at the Jianghu” uploaded to YouTube, Wong Jing explained that when the Hong Kong film industry was just beginning to flourish, there was infiltration by triad forces. He mentioned that there were film companies at that time controlled by underworld figures, and Andy Lau was one of the victims.
Wong Jing bluntly stated that Andy Lau was heavily influenced by the triads in his early days of filming, with gangsters lining up to have him star in many movies with unknown titles. He described, “Andy Lau starred in many unfamiliar films, mostly involving fights, playing one of the characters.”
In recent years, Andy Lau, who has deeply immersed himself in the mainland entertainment industry, once told Wong Jing about an incident where he was called to film in the New Territories of Hong Kong by the triads. The director of that film was a martial arts star himself and faced extortion by local gangsters who demanded protection money from the crew. The film’s producer was also linked to the triads, making it impossible to pay. During the night, gangsters on motorcycles arrived at the set throwing incendiary and petrol bombs as threats. Although the crew was scared, having a director with both underworld connections and experience in action scenes wasn’t a pushover.
Wong Jing revealed that after the conflict escalated, both sides reached a truce, with the director brandishing a machete and telling Andy Lau, “If anything happens, we will rush out to protect you, you just hide in the attic and don’t join in.” Fortunately, nothing serious occurred in the end, and Wong Jing remarked, “Those people were actually subdued.”