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On a Thursday afternoon in late April, 8days.sg is sitting in his suite at the Royal Park Hotel in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, waiting to speak with martial arts legend Sammo Hung.
Suddenly, a young assistant, who appeared to be in a hurry, trotted into the room and said, “Dai Gol Dai is coming, so please make way for me.'' For the uninitiated, “Dai Gor Dai” means “Big Big Brother” in Cantonese.
The 72-year-old star then slowly entered the room, holding a cane in one hand, and quietly sat down on the sofa, helped by a young assistant.
8days.sg is in Hong Kong to meet Sammo and the cast of the new movie Twilight of the Warriors: Walled. The action thriller, which also stars Raymond Lam, Louis Koo and Richie Ren, is set in Kowloon Walled City, a dangerous, densely populated and largely ungoverned enclave in 1980s Hong Kong.
In the film, Sammo plays Mr. Big, a ruthless and ambitious mafia boss. Mr. Big lets his right-hand man, played by Hong Kong actor Philip Ng, run the show while he quietly profits from their shady dealings.
Philip, who played the role of an unhinged madman in this movie, also participated in the interview.
Phillip, 46, who is sitting on the same sofa inches away from Samo, looks frightened by him.
He sat stiffly upright throughout the interview, as if he was too scared to move next to the film legend.
But I get it. Sammo had such a serious vibe that we felt like we had to be silent while he was using the microphone. No one made a peep so as not to disturb Big Brother.
But the atmosphere quickly softens when Sammo switches into press conference mode.
Sammo first asks whether the interview will be conducted in Cantonese or Mandarin. When we replied that he could speak any language he wanted, he rolled his eyes and laughed. “What about vulgarity?”
When Sammo added this, the venue burst into laughter. “Then the whole interview would just be 'beep, beep, beep' and 'goodbye.'”
Philip, on the other hand, only managed a nervous smile before looking down to adjust his blazer.
Both stars performed most of the stunts themselves Twilight of the Warriors: Walled.
I can't help but wonder if they harmed Samo. He underwent knee surgery in 2017 and was photographed going about his daily life in a wheelchair a few years ago.
“Don't worry, I'm strong!” he yells, comically flexing his biceps.
“I wish I had a stuntman, but I did most of the stunts myself. I haven't seen the movie yet so I don't know how they did it,” he added.
Sammo said he was never worried about accidentally injuring his co-star during a fight scene.
“If I inadvertently hurt them, make sure you get revenge! For an old person like me to hurt you shows what a terrible person you are.” He laughed and then said they “know how to restrain themselves.” [their] Punch if necessary. ”
Sammo, too, couldn't help but sing praises to Philip, patting him on the shoulder over and over again.
“I've known him for a long time and I know his kung fu fundamentals are great. But I haven't had the chance to direct him in a movie until now. I hope I get that chance in the future. “I hope it's good,” he says. Philip, on the other hand, smiled and firmly replied, “Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Philippe said he was very comfortable playing opposite Samo, comparing him to a “great dance partner.”
Sammo was one of the few cast members to have seen the real Kowloon Walled City at the time.
“It felt like I grew up there,” he says. “When I was seven years old, I went to Kowloon Walled City with my grandfather. There was a street where my grandfather used to play a game similar to mahjong called flower digging.”
“There was another street where people used to watch adult movies, and I went to see a few,” he laughed.
He doesn't forget to praise director Soi Chan and his staff, who did a great job recreating the sets.
The research team had created a life-size replica of the Kowloon Walled City, said to be almost identical to the real thing. The set was demolished soon after filming ended.
Sammo said Hong Kong's martial arts industry is gradually dying out.
“Old martial artists now turn to selling chashu bao or become taxi drivers,” he says with a wry smile.
He wants to open an academy to teach kung fu, but worries that it will be of no use in today's society.
“What will my students do after they graduate? Selling char siew bao? So what's the point in teaching them what I've spent my life learning? Honestly, it's heartbreaking. ” he laments.
That's why Samo has high hopes. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled It may inspire some children to take up martial arts.
“In the past, many boys practiced kung fu every day and said they wanted to be martial artists when they grew up. But now it's like this.” [at the industry] And you wonder, “What's the point in learning?” They don’t see any future there,” he sighs.
Will he at least pass on his legacy to his grandsons TJ, 11, and JT, 9, the sons of former TVB actor Timmy Hung and actress Janet Chow?
“I'd rather they learn [kungfu] I can't stand pointing fingers at them, so I was told by others,'' he said with a laugh, adding that it was essential for kung fu masters to be “relentlessly brutal'' with their disciples.
And he admitted he had absolutely “no authority” over his mischievous grandchildren.
“When I bang on the table and yell, 'Go to sleep!' they just run around and complain, 'Grandpa scolded me!' So now I don't even have the courage to tell them, 'Go to sleep!' ” he laughs.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In opens in theaters today (May 17th).
