Stephen Chow Tells Japan to Stop Copying Kung Fu
Stephen Chow has told Japanese filmmakers to stop imitating kung fu and make action films from their own martial arts. K2 Pictures founder Kii Muneyuki passed on the advice on Saturday, 7 November, at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) in Taipei, Variety reported.
According to Variety, Chow put it to Kii this way: "You have karate, judo, jujitsu and kendo. That is Japanese culture. Only you can turn it into action films, so you should be the ones doing it. Stop aping kung fu." Kii said he has shared drinks with Chow in Tokyo a few times.
Kii pointed to Netflix's sumo drama Sanctuary as an example of a project that draws on something distinctly Japanese. The idea behind it is simple: tell stories that only Japan can tell, rather than borrowing from another country's film tradition.
Kii is also general partner of K2P Film Fund I, a fund that backs Japanese projects. The fund closed a $33 million equity round in February. Equity means money given in return for a share of ownership in a film. Its backers include about 30 companies, led by MUFG Bank, along with Bandai, Dentsu, the Development Bank of Japan, Tokyu Land and Mori Trust.
The fund plans to pair that $33 million with $67 million in loans, which must be paid back, for a total of $100 million. It aims to back 50 films over seven years. Its early work includes Look Back by Kore-eda Hirokazu.
K2 was set up as an alternative to Japan's usual production committee system, in which several companies pool money for a single film and share its rights. Kii's company calls its approach "Japan plus one", pairing Japan with one other specific market.
One project in that pipeline is The Nuke Crab, a noir set in Fukushima, a crime drama with a dark, moody look. Director Nagata Koto's film was unveiled by K2 at Cannes in May. It is in development, with a shoot targeted for next year.
Kii's own route into the business started in cinemas, where he tore tickets and made popcorn. He later rose to producer at Toei, one of Japan's best-known film studios.
The TCCF is scheduled to run through 9 November at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei.
