Lam Tze-chung defends not inviting Stephen Chow to Shaolin Soccer reunion
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Co-director Lam Tze-chung (林子聰) has clarified that he deliberately did not lobby Stephen Chow (周星馳) to attend a recent Shaolin Soccer cast reunion dinner, explaining that he knew Chow was too tired. The remarks came during the Hong Kong premiere of Chow's new film Kung Fu Soccer on August 8, where Lam joined cast members including Carina Lau (劉嘉玲), Dilraba Dilmurat (迪麗熱巴), Sisley Choi (蔡思貝), Louis Cheung (張繼聰), and newcomers Yukino (雪野) and Wu Yu-on (胡予安) .
Key Points
- Lam Tze-chung served as co-director on Kung Fu Soccer, which has grossed over 2.2 billion yuan in mainland China since its July 11 release and will open in Hong Kong on August 13 .
- The Shaolin Soccer reunion dinner was organized three months ago by Tin Kai-man to celebrate Wong Yat-fei's 84th birthday and Chan Kwok-kwan's birthday; Chow's sister Chow Man-kei attended on his behalf .
- Lam said he flew back from mainland China specifically for the dinner but made no attempt to persuade Chow to come, stating he knew Chow was very tired .
- Lam congratulated Tin Kai-man via text message on winning Best Supporting Actor for the film Double Happiness, and revealed he lost a 100-yuan bet with friends over whether Tin would cry during his acceptance speech .
- First-time actress Wu Yu-on, a professional wakeboarding coach, revealed that Chow is her student and has mastered the advanced trick "360-degree spin rotation" .
Why It Matters
The comments offer rare insight into the carefully managed boundaries around Chow's public appearances, suggesting that even long-time collaborators respect his need for rest over promotional obligations. For Hong Kong audiences, the premiere marks a test of whether mainland box-office success can translate to local enthusiasm for Chow's return to the director's chair .
The comments offer rare insight into the carefully managed boundaries around Chow's public appearances, suggesting that even long-time collaborators respect his need for rest over promotional obligations. For Hong Kong audiences, the premiere marks a test of whether mainland box-office success can translate to local enthusiasm for Chow's return to the director's chair .