The Heavenly Kings
| The Heavenly Kings | |
|---|---|
| Traditional | 四大天王 |
| Simplified | 四大天王 |
| Mandarin | si da tian wang |
| Cantonese | sei dai tin wong |
| Directed by | Daniel Wu |
| Produced by |
Conroy Chan Andrew Lin Daniel Wu Terence Yin Patrick Lee |
| Written by | Daniel Wu |
| Starring |
Daniel Wu Terence Yin Andrew Lin Conroy Chan |
| Music by | Jun Kung |
| Cinematography |
Kim Chan Phat Chan |
| Edited by |
Kim Chan Phat Chan |
| Distributed by | Golden Scene |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
The Heavenly Kings (四大天王) is a 2006 Hong Kong film directed by Daniel Wu.
Background
In 2005, Chinese media began to report that Daniel Wu had formed a boyband, Alive, with Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, and Conroy Chan.[1] Wu and his band mates posted information, updates, personal thoughts (including slamming Hong Kong Disneyland, for which they were spokespersons[2]), and the band's music, at their official website.[1][1][3] In 2006, Wu made his writing and directorial debut with The Heavenly Kings, which chronicles Alive's formation and exploits.[4] After the film's release, however, it was revealed that The Heavenly Kings was actually a mockumentary of the Hong Kong pop music industry, and Alive was constructed purely as a vehicle to make the movie; the film's characters represented only 10-15% of their real-life counterparts[5] and much of the footage blurred the line between fiction and reality.[4] Wu admitted his own singing voice "sucked really bad," and the band had their voices digitally enhanced for its music, to prove that "it's easy to fake it."[3]
Cast and roles
- Conroy Chan Chi-Chung - Himself
- Jackie Chan - Cameo (uncredited)
- Jaycee Chan - Cameo
- Jacky Cheung - Cameo
- Stephen Fung - Cameo
- Josie Ho - Cameo (uncredited)
- Tony Ho
- Ella Koon - Cameo (uncredited)
- Jo Kuk - Kei Kei (as Jo Koo)
- Andrew Lin - Himself
- Candy Lo - Cameo
- Karen Mok - Cameo
- Jason Tobin - Sandy
- Nicholas Tse - Cameo
- Paul Wong - Cameo
- Daniel Wu - Himself
- Miriam Yeung - Cameo
- Terence Yin - Himself
Reception
Despite some backlash from the media over being intentionally fed false information in the movie[6] about illegal downloads of the band's music,[5] Wu won the best new director award for the film at the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards, an achievement he called "a group effort."[6] The film has also been nominated for Best Original Film Song at the same Awards ceremony: Composer: Davy Chan; Lyricist: Li Jin Yi and Singer: Alive.
References
- 1 2 3 Chen, Fengfeng (2005-08-04). "Daniel Wu forms a new band". China Radio International. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- ↑ Rothrock, Vicki (2005-09-04). "A word of cultural caution". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- 1 2 Johnson, G. Allen (2007-04-25). "A model, actor, singing sensation (well, sort of) and now a director". SF Gate. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- 1 2 Eddy, Cheryl (2007-04-25). "Bubblegum bandits". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
- 1 2 "The great Cantopop swindle". The Standard. 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
- 1 2 Young, Jennifer (2007-04-29). "Daniel Wu, "Heavenly King"". indieWIRE. originally from SF360. Archived from the original on 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
External links
- The Heavenly Kings at the Internet Movie Database
- The Heavenly Kings at HK Cinemagic
- Review at sanfranciscochinatown.com
- loveHKfilm entry
- Interview with Terence Yin: "Heavenly Kings: Revealing the Entertainment Industry". 28 December 2008.