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HK's ``Infernal Affairs'' a front-runner at Golden Horse
2003-12-12
TAIPEI, Taiwan - ``Infernal Affairs,'' a Hong Kong movie about double dealing and organized crime, has been tipped a favorite to win big on Saturday at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards ceremony - the top film competition for Chinese-language movies.``Infernal Affairs'' unites at least half a dozen of Hong Kong's most popular actors and singers, and the film has been nominated for 12 awards, including best actor, director and cinematography. The Federation of Motion Film Producers of Hong Kong has asked the Academy Awards to include the movie - directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak - in the foreign-language category in the upcoming Oscars ceremony. Hollywood studio Warner Brothers has bought the remake rights, and Brad Pitt has been named as one of the films possible stars. The 40th annual Golden Horse Awards ceremony will be held in the southern city of Tainan, and honor pictures from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. ``Infernal Affairs'' tells the story of two men hiding their identities. Tony Leung Chiu-wai plays an undercover police officer, while Andy Lau stars as a mafia infiltrator in the police. The two have both been nominated for the best leading actor award. Both are heavyweights on Asia's entertainment scene. Leung starred in Wong Kar-wai's ``In the Mood for Love'' and Zhang Yimou's ``Hero,'' while Lau is one of the most popular Chinese-language pop singers. The movie's producers have already spawned a trilogy. ``Infernal Affairs III'' opens on Taiwanese screens on the eve of the awards. Film critic Yu Sen-lun with the Taipei Times believed ``Infernal Affairs'' was the most likely winner because of its sheer star power and word-of-mouth popularity. But she said another Hong Kong film, ``PTU,'' might be its strongest rival. ``PTU,'' directed by Johnnie To, is a crime thriller that covers one night in the life of a team from Hong Kong's Police Tactical Unit. One of its 11 nominations is for leading actor Simon Yam, who appeared earlier this year as a villain in ``Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.'' ``PTU'' never even reached theater screens in Taiwan, Yu said. ``In Taiwan, the movie went straight to video because of its film-noir violence, but it received positive reviews,'' she said. While Taiwan hosts the Golden Horse Awards, the island's own movie industry is not in good health. But two Taiwanese movies still stand a chance of collecting awards. Tsai Ming-liang's ``Goodbye, Dragon Inn,'' the story of a dying movie theater, is nominated in five categories. ``It's a small-scale story, so it's less likely to win the award for best movie, but Tsai is still a contender for best director,'' Yu said. Ironically, Tsai's closest competitor could be his favorite actor, Lee Kang-sheng. Lee's directorial debut, ``The Missing,'' runs in four categories. The movies will compete directly in the best movie category. The fifth contender for the best-movie award is a sharp satire from China. Director Li Yang's ``Blind Shaft'' tells the story of two mine workers who kill colleagues to earn hush money from mine owners. The movie has won awards at film festivals in Berlin, Hong Kong, and at New York's Tribeca Film Fest, but none is likely to earn it much praise in its country of origin. Its harsh social criticism of capitalism in a communist society led Chinese authorities to ban it. AP
Taiwan unveils nominees for Chinese Oscars (2005-10-18)HK films expected to win big at Golden Horse (2003-12-12)HK's ``Infernal Affairs'' a front-runner at Golden Horse (2003-12-12)Films of 54th Cannes Film Festival (2001-05-09)11 (11285)
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