On Other Matters - the explanation

Stating the obvious:

Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle was nominated for 16 categories in the Hong Kong Film Awards earlier this year and nailed six of them, despite its lack of a credible plot and only passable acting, because:

1. Though the year’s not over yet, it’s pretty damn clear that it holds the record for the year’s box office. It’s also safe to say that it created one of the few glimpses of something remotely close to a high point in our film industry for years to come;

2. This is a Sony Picture Classics film, and has been released in numerous major cities worldwide throughout the year. It was clear from day one that having “Best Film—Hong Kong Film Awards 2005” in large print on the movie poster would've been the single driving force behind the possibility of a US$100 million gross income;

3. Hong Kongers literally watched Chow grow up from when he first started as an extra at TVB some 20 years ago. And he has made many very memorable comedies over the years, for which he’s been crowned “Jim Carrey of the East”. It will take many more mediocre films before we stop being proud of him;

4. Kung Fu Hustle being mentioned in the same breath as Wong Kar Wai's 2046 is nowhere near as baffling as any one of the three other nominees for best film being mentioned in the same breath as the word “best”. Chow beat Wong to the pulp because while they may spend similar amounts in production, our city’s dying film industry can’t wait another five years for the next box office generator. And let’s face it, the once prestigious ceremony is but child’s play in the eyes of Wong, who’s long moved on to big-boy international film festivals.

The thing is:

1. Kung Fu Hustle may not have been a brilliant film, but the fact that something created in a dot on the map mushroomed to the extent it did makes it deserving of a whole lot of accolades.

2. A buck-naked emperor is better than no emperor.

3. The Hong Kong film industry cannot rise from the ashes anyhow.

So there you go.

On another note:

Wyman Wong once said he’d rather have people feel bad that he didn’t get an award he deserved than to have people think he wasn’t deserving of an award he received.

I haven't even seen Election yet and I know this year’s Golden Horse Awards left Tony Leung Ka-fai feeling plenty more contented than Aaron Kwok ever will in his entire career as singer and actor combined.