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The Movie Emperor
The Movie Emperor
	Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese	紅毯先生
Simplified Chinese	红毯先生
Literal meaning	Mr Red Carpet
Directed by	Ning Hao
Written by	Liu Xiaodan; Wang Ang; Daniel Yu;
Produced by	Wang Yibing; Daniel Yu; Winnie Liao; Xing Aina;
Starring	Andy Lau;
Cinematography	Wang Boxue
Edited by	Du Yuan
Music by	Raymond Wong; Russel C J Wong;
Production; companies	Huanxi Media Group Limited (Shanghai); Huanxi Media Group Limited; Huanxi Media Group Limited (Beijing); Dirty Monkeys (Shanghai) Culture Communication Ltd.;
Distributed by	CMC Pictures
Release dates	September 15, 2023 (TIFF); March 15, 2024 (China);
Running time	127 minutes
Country	China
Languages	Mandarin, Cantonese
Budget	¥261 million
Box office	¥94.18 million

The Movie Emperor (Chinese: 红毯先生; pinyin: Hóng tǎn xiānshēng; lit. 'Mr. Red carpet') is a 2023 Chinese satirical comedy film directed by Ning Hao and starring Andy Lau. The film had its premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in Gala Presentations section on September 15, 2023.^[2] It was also the closing film of the 28th Busan International Film Festival where it was screened on October 13, 2023.^[3]

Synopsis

The film tells the story of a Hong Kong film star, Dany Lau Wai-chi, who collaborates with a mainland Chinese director, Lin Hao, to create an awards-baiting arthouse film, where Lau stars as a peasant farmer.

Cast

Andy Lau as Dany Lau Wai-chi (English name an anagram of Andy; Chinese name an amalgam of Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Stephen Chow Sing-chi)
Ning Hao as Lin Hao
Rima Zeidan as Summer
Pal Sinn as Lau's manager
Kelly Lin as Lau's ex-wife
Miriam Yeung (cameo)
Tony Leung Ka-fai (cameo)
Wong Jing (cameo)

Production

In February 2022, the opening ceremony of the film was held in Shenzhen. Principal photography began on 23 February 2022.^[4] The filming locations also included Guangzhou, Shanwei, Haifeng County and Haikou,^[5] and filming was wrapped up on 21 April 2022.^[6]

Release

The film was premiered at 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in Gala Presentations section on 15 September 2023 at Roy Thomson Hall.^[7] It was also selected in Gala Selection of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival and was screened on 25 October 2023.^[8]

The film was initially scheduled for release in mainland China on November 17, 2023. However, on November 8, 2023, the film changed the release date to February 10, 2024, the first day of the Chinese New Year. Due to poor box office performance and low scheduling rates (representing the percentage of screenings in China) during the Chinese New Year, the film was withdrawn from its competitive slot on February 16, 2024, and rescheduled for later release on March 15, 2024. Ultimately, the film grossed only 94.18 million yuan in mainland China, becoming one of the year's biggest flops, and marking a rare misfire for both Andy Lau and Ning Hao.^[9]

Reception

Kevin L. Lee reviewing for AwardsWatch at Toronto Film Festival, graded the film A− and praised the performance of lead actor writing, "[Andy] Lau not only continues to cement his place as a Hong Kong legend in cinema, but he strolls right in and delivers a comedic performance like no other."^[10]

Lee Marshall of ScreenDaily reviewing in Busan Film Festival opined that the film "packed with references to Lau’s career and to Hong Kong and Chinese mainland films and celebrity culture, is a film that has been precision-engineered for local audiences." Concluding Lee wrote, "While there are more than a few China-specific in-jokes here, Hao’s knowing comedy makes a good case for the cross-border universality of the world it portrays." Lee cites example of “Yumeji's Theme” from 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love, used as a repeated motif in the film to make the point.^[11]

Peter Debruge giving positive review for Variety wrote that the film is "one of the year’s savvier satires."^[12]

Controversy

One of the film's trailers featured a scene suggesting the "seat snatching" controversy between Eddie Peng and Li Bingbing during the 2018 Weibo Movie Night.^[13] At the ceremony, Peng, who was supposed to be in the second row, allegedly took a first-row spot reserved for Li, infuriating the actress.^[14] However, the scene was cut from the released version.