Philip Keung recently admitted that his wife actually had some misgivings when it comes to his Malaysian horror film, “Kong Tao” prior to him accepting the offer.

As reported on Mingpao, the actor, who spoke to the media at the premiere of the Malaysian film in Hong Kong recently, shared that wife Anna was worried that the movie’s supernatural theme was inauspicious and initially opposed his participation.

However, said Philip, he decided to join the production since the team consisted of longtime collaborators.

“To reassure my wife, I specifically went to Thailand to pray before filming. Fortunately, the shoot went fairly smoothly,” he said.

In the film, Philip plays a Thai-Chinese shaman specialising in black magic, which required him to deliver lines in Thai. The actor admitted that learning Thai was even harder than portraying the role because he often did not understand the meaning of the dialogue, and the pronunciation was especially difficult.

When asked whether he was confident about the box office performance, Philip responded, “Everyone has different tastes. I’m already very happy that the film can be released in Hong Kong.”

He also revealed that, besides filming a Hong Kong TV drama soon, he is preparing for another Malaysian production that is scheduled to begin shooting in September.

Asked if he was shifting his career overseas because of Hong Kong’s slow market, Philip said that he simply goes wherever suitable opportunities arise.

(Photo Source: One Cool Artist Managament IG)

Co-produced by YOUKU and One Cool Film Production Limited, and co-created by Two Cool International Media Limited and Filmforce Studio Malaysia, the 30-episode Hong Kong detective action drama “Fearless” officially began filming in Kuala Lumpur.

The series is directed and written by Paul Chong, with Xie Ying, Tang Wai Bu, and Sam Lee as executive producers, and Quan Xiang Lan as the producer.

The cast features over 30 renowned actors from Hong Kong, including Michael Miu, Philip Keung, Sam Lee, Chrissie Chau, Carlos Chan, Tony Wu, German Cheung, Edward Ma, Chloe So, Carl Ng, Lau Kong, Ben Yuen, Bryant Mak, Ng Siu Hin, Carlo Ng, Carmen Tong, Adrian Chau, Dang Tao and over 50 local actors, including One Cool Malaysia’s stars Yuan Teng and Sam Liew, local veteran actors Jordan Voon, Eric Chen, Rabbit Chen and Tan Kim Wang.

Sam Lee plays the legendary drug lord ‘Limpy Ho’ while also serving as an Executive Producer, a role he admits is quite challenging.

“As an actor, you just need to know your lines and act well, but as an Executive producer, you’re like a strategist, involved in every part from story development to preparation and filming, and even post-production. Although it’s challenging and requires a lot more effort, it allows me to learn beyond acting, and I find a balance between the two roles,” he said.

Sam Lee shares that the drama is set in the chaotic 1960s and 1970s Hong Kong, adding, “It was a crazy era dominated by drugs, gambling, and crime. Director Paul and I started conceptualizing this story in 2019, and after 5 years of preparation, we finally began filming.”

He hopes that shooting location in Malaysia will bring a new style and feel to the series, as both Malaysia and Hong Kong were British colonies and have preserved a lot of colonial- style architecture.

“Fearless” tells the story of Inspector Chan Fo Tow, who leads a group of justice-minded police officers, commanding the isolated and weak Anti-Corruption Division, to declare war on the massive corruption syndicates in the 1960s in an attempt to restore order.

Filming for the television series began in early July in Malaysia, with locations including downtown Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Seremban. The series is expected to debut in 2025.

Always one to consider Malaysia his second home, Hong Kong actor Philip Keung recently returned to the country to shoot a new movie called, “Kong Tao”.

As reported on Oriental Daily, the actor, who attended the launching event of the film at the Gua Damai near Batu Caves, revealed that he will play the role of a black magic master.

“At first my wife was nervous and didn’t really want me to do this film. She was worried I would accidentally offend something I shouldn’t. But the story is good, and having worked with one of the directors in “The Locksmith” before, I really want to support them,” he said.

The actor was referring to Penangite director Peiji Wu.

In order to play his role, Philip said that he watched many movies related to the black magic and even went to Thailand to meet a master of the said arts.

“I will be filming in Thailand for a week, and my wife would like to accompany me,” he said.

As for the biggest challenge in filming the movie, Philip said that he has to learn how to speak the Thai language.

“I learned Hokkien in ‘The Locksmith’, but this time, Thai is much more difficult. I have a teacher with me, and I have to review it all the time,” he added.

The upcoming movie will also star Thai actress Supassara Thanachat, as well as Singapore’s Glenn Yong and Yumi Wong and Malaysia’s own Bront Palarae.

(Photo Source: Philip Keung IG)

Philip Keung will continue to be busy with acting work in the year of 2024, as he revealed that he will be filming two new movies after the Lunar New Year.

As reported on Mingpao, the Hong Kong actor, whose movies have been released back-to-back in recent months, shared that he will be going to Malaysia following the festive season to shoot two new movies.

“The Malaysian film market is booming and it is becoming a big trend. Local filmmakers are very willing to cooperate with Hong Kong actors, directors and producers. I hope to be the bridge and lead everybody to breaking out,” he said.

Philip also admitted that he has a special connection to Malaysia. Not only is that his grandmother is a Malaysian Chinese, he also won his first ever acting accolade in Malaysia when he was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 1st Profima International Film Festival & Awards for his performance in the action film “Shock Wave”.

On the other hand, the actor stated that he hopes to one day become a movie director.

“I have thought about it. This is not an easy job to do. I still need to immerse myself in it for some time. Now I have also started discussing stories with screenwriters. I want to make local, social-themed stories,” he said.

(Photo Source: Philip Keung FB, Eddie Tam FB)

Louis Koo recently launched the production of “The Wicked” (translated title), which is the inaugural project under the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers’s “Keep Rolling Keep Running” programme.

The producer, who is also the chairman of the federation, stated that this is not the first time that the Hong Kong film industry has worked together to raise funds for the movie, as the initiative had been done before several times, including for the 1991 flick, “The Banquet” and 1992 movie, “Twin Dragons”.

“In the future, through this programme, we will be able to create our own movies which not only enable us to bring different genres to the market, but also serve the industry, killing two birds with one stone,” he said.

Louis said that they originally planned to shoot four movies a year, and that they are feeling more at ease now that the pandemic has slowed down.

Not much has been revealed about the movie, but it will co-star Philip Keung, Fish Liew, Cecilia Yip and Ling Man Lung.

In addition to encouraging the new generation of filmmakers to actively create and explore new directions for Hong Kong-produced films, the Keep Rolling Keep Running project also provides practical opportunities by creating more employment and practice in order to cultivate a new generation of filmmakers.

(Photo Source: Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers)