“The Election” Movie Version In the Works
The viewership ratings for HKTV drama The Election <選戰> were not stellar. However, the series’ loyal cult following and the popularity boost of Gregory Wong (王宗堯) was enough to convince China 3D Digital Entertainment to greenlight a film version.
The Election stars Angelica Lee (李心潔) and Liu Kai Chi (廖啟智) as candidates for the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election. Gregory Wong stars as Angelica’s confidant and loyal supporter. Though the drama created a lot of buzz when it was first announced to be the opening drama for HKTV in November 2014, its viewership ratings fell after its premiere. Nonetheless, The Election boosted Gregory Wong to stardom, who has struggled to make a name for himself in the past 11 years.
Sources say that China 3D Digital Entertainment, which manages Gregory as well as other major film stars including Chilam Cheung (張智霖) and Chrissie Chau (周秀娜), is interested in making a movie version of the series to promote Gregory. Currently in its brainstorming stage, it has been said that China 3D Digital plans to make Gregory’s role, Cheung Gwai Lung, as the main focus in the film. The production company also plans to invite Angelica Lee and Liu Kai Chi to reprise their roles, as well as cast Joyce Cheng (鄭欣宜) and Jacquelin Chong (莊思敏) in major supporting roles.
Source: East Week
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Um, this is actually old news — this information came out last month (not sure why it’s only being reported on now). The filming is scheduled to start in April or May.
What I’m curious to know is whether they are going to use the same script that Benny Wong wrote for season 2 of The Election or if they are going to have someone else write a brand new script. If it’s the latter, then any anticipation for the movie totally went down the drain for me — one of the key success factors of the series was the uniqueness of the well-written script…if they hire someone else to write it, the flavor won’t be there anymore. I’m hoping (and praying) that this won’t turn into a commercialized version that strays way off from the original series…if that’s going to happen, I would rather they not make the movie at all and just wait for HKTV to film season 2 (whenever that will be…maybe never, but I would rather wait than to see the original series butchered).
I’m in the same boat since it was designed to be in seasons like western drama I think modifying the script to give closure would work well. But I agree that they would need Benny Wong on board to so that it remains true to the story they established in place already. If they can’t keep it true than I wouldn’t mind just waiting for season 2 whenever they can get it off, I wait for a year anyways on popular shows like GoT, Dr.Who, etc.
Gregory Wong, both Election and The Menu he has done well, very flexible actor. He reminds of Ruco Chan when I first saw him in MDWAV as a kid. He’s not the most handsome guy but he’s got that onscreen charisma and face that the audience can be familiar with easily combined with a presence similar to Roy Cheung in the Y&D movies.
watched half of the first episode and stopped watching. however, i do agree that gregory is a very good actor. he is too underrated. he acts well and looks good. not sure why it’s taken him 11 years to be recognized. he’s essentially good in every role i’ve seen him in. from a rich handsome heir to a vulgar man….
I like Gregory too…but I’m having a hard time hearing his dialog.
this show was so good…the menu is so good right now too…two very great shows made by hktv, i still gotta check out the others ones, but these two shows are so much more advanced in time than tvb stuff
AGREED1. After watching The Menu, Borderline and Election, you do not want to watch TVB dramas!
I hope HKTV gets enough copyright money from this film version so they can make Season 2. I love the pacing, lighting, plot, dialogue and depth of Season 1.
I don’t oppose to a film version as long as it makes sense but too much star power might backfire. The series revolved around tbe complicated relationship between three main characters and the people beside them. Adding another few characters might destroy the tight chemistry between the original characters and draw screen time away from minor characters which can be further developed.
I personally want to find out if Sung Man Shan and his wife will get back together as despite all the lies, revenge and betrayal between them, they still care for one another in subtle ways.
I hope the movie version is not ruined by silly romance between Yip Ching and Cheung Gwai Lung. I was moved by their strong platonic friendship and her incorruptible devotion to her late husband.
@Elizabeth: Absolutely agree with you! One of the things I loved about The Election was that it didn’t focus on unnecessary love relationships / story arcs like most of TVB’s series usually do. Both the producer (KK Wong) and the scriptwriter (Benny Wong) said that the series is very different from most HK series in that the script focuses only on 1 main story arc (the election) and everything that happens ties back to that arc — there are no messy subplots or secondary story arcs to complicate the main story. This is why they were concerned at first that mainstream HK television audiences would find it difficult to accept the series, since it’s so different from what they are used to seeing. This is true to some extent, as most housewife audiences (TVB’s main audience pool) probably didn’t bother with the series at all (though my mom — who is a housewife and long-time TVB supporter — absolutely loved The Election).
The other piece that I’m worried about in terms of the movie is the Mainland China factor — most HK movies nowadays need to cater to Mainland box office as well — with the entire series based on HK politics, there’s no doubt that the political piece will be toned down alot, which means that alot of unnecessary story arcs will probably be added to fill the void…definitely NOT looking forward to it…
Hey llwy12, will KK Wong and Benny Wong be involved with this project? Afterall, these two are the soul of the original story.
Now that you have pointed out, I too am worried about the toning down of the tense conspiracies to cater for the mainland audience. I had always thought Beijing and the DNRA was behind the car crash. It’s going to be horrid if they make it into a cheap commercial film with an empty shell.
I have to say, I have been looking forward to a high quality series from HK for a long time. So far, I have enjoyed The Election, The Menu & To Be Or Not To Be, which have hit the realistic struggles of everyday Hkgers to the mark. These are serious issues that needs to he magnified and addressed, not laughed over in a silly slapstick series that justs makes tensions worse.
I know not everyone will enjoy these series. My dad keeps complaining on how Angelica and Gregory can’t speak fluent Cantonese and ignores the plot. I’m not going to force him to watch it since it is his choice but I hope that we who prefer something different be given a choice as well.
If chilam is in this film, I hope that they give him a good role. I am sick to death of Captain Cool.
@Elizabeth: So far, I have not heard anything about KK or Benny Wong being involved with the project. This news about the movie has been out there since last month (February), but so far have not heard much from the HKTV camp about it (though technically neither KK nor Benny are with HKTV anymore). That’s the part that worries me, as it sounds like a one-sided project on the part of Stephen Siu and his company, which means there is a high likelihood that the movie won’t follow the same “flavor” of the series…
“I hope the movie version is not ruined by silly romance between Yip Ching and Cheung Gwai Lung. I was moved by their strong platonic friendship and her incorruptible devotion to her late husband.”
Doesn’t Yip Ching’s not giving up the debate for the video of her late husband’s car accident symbolize her letting go of her late husband?
Doesn’t Yip Ching’s threats to Sung Man Shan of endless investigation into the disappearance of Cheung Gwai Lung and her voice message to Cheung Gwai Lung (stating that she cannot do without him) symbolize her love for him?
Thanks llwy12. If the movie version is bad, then I will ignore its existence. I will rather have an open endimg then a bad sequel that runs the whole thing. Kind of like TVB’s War And Beauty and its horrid sequel.
To MW. I just don’t think Yip Ching has romantic feelings for CGL yet. She let go of finding out the truth about the crash as she did not want to give into SMS’s blackmail. She is so righteous that we would rather give up on her own desire than let SMS win.
Yip Ching undoubtedly cares a lot for CGL and vice versa. Like CGL said to the reporter, he cares a lot about her and will sacrifice anything for her, but hebdoes not live her. Same with her, she can give up a lot if things for CGL’s safety but is it love?
I feel that Yip Ching and CGL’s friendship has already transcended romance. She is guilty, sad and misses CGL because he is her comrade in arms and her confidant. I just don’t see the romance at this point.
I am not against Yip Ching and CGL eventually becoming a couple if the script makes sense but I don’t think making them a couple helps the political plot of the series move along. I’d rather more screentime be devoted to the scheming than courtship.
@dan: I definitely recommend watching To Be or Not To Be (the one with Maggie Cheung, Prudence Liew, Poon Chan Leung, etc.) — that is currently my favorite HKTV series, followed by The Election and Borderline (I’m not counting The Menu yet, since it hasn’t finished airing, but I’m pretty sure it will end up on my favorites list as well, since I’ve been enjoying the series alot so far).
By the way, if anyone is interested in discussing The Menu, feel free to visit the series’ thread that we created at AF: http://afspot.net/forum/forum/578-the-menu-%E5%B0%8E%E7%81%AB%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E%E7%B7%9A/
I keep getting a 504 error when creating an account or a security check failure. I’m pretty sure I’m reading the captcha numbers properly too.
I’ll try again tomorrow and see what happens but if you could let me know if this problem has happened before I’d appreciate it.
@SD: Please try again. The spam service was acting up and we’ve disabled it…so you shouldn’t get the security check error anymore.
i loved this show too…hktv is so realistic, it doesnt even look like even one scene is filmd inside a studio
your right, i hope people start watching the menu too, its just as good
not sure bout movie but i hope they do season 2, this was an amazing tv show
actually like alot of my friends ive liked all the hktv series so far,
election – amazing
the menu – amazing so far
to or not to be – great
borderline – very good
once upon a song – good
second life – was okay
incredible mama – was okay too
big step forward for hk television, good job hktv, hope they keep it up
ya i cant believe there are some people still not watching these hktv shows, they are so good
the menu is incredible. i also really enjoyed to be or not to be. i didn’t like incredible mama, it was a somewhat of a silly show.
my favorite thing about hktv is every series have been so different and unique…a cop show, show about politics and hk government, about reporters and newspaper, a love story musical, time traveling, a love and family drama, even one about old superheroes fighting crime lol
very refreshing plots and stories, and they actually spend money and time to film in real locations and settings
not like tvb, just the same old storylines and rushed endings every show, getting bored and tired
yes could not agree more
This serie bored me to death, funny how people are saying it’s super good lol…
Hong Kong is not America, the ratings were steady at start and drop throughout the show to the point they cancel the drama sequel, it proves HK citizen got taste and have no interest, movie version is a last string of breath for HKTV to make it profit.
with 99k viewers a day… GOOD LUCK!
people have different perception, things look good on you might be bad on other people and vice versa.. the key point is to respect each opinion. cheers
This rumor cannot be true. Why would Ricky Wong sell the rights to the movie that doesn’t involve HKTV? Makes no sense since they have not even decided on when or if they will do Season 2. And I don’t think Gregory Wong would be stupid enough to make himself the star of this crappy movie and risk ruining his reputation from his star making drama.
movies are not very good. look at the laughing gor movies, not as good as drama. even the second drama is not as good or epic as the first.
Gregory Wong was in the movie, Lan Kwai Fong…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lan_Kwai_Fong_%28film%29
which is where I first noticed him.
Gregory Wong is a very “creative” artist. Always coming up with “unique” and “charismatic” characters.
So, Gregory Wong was hand picked for The Election because he is already a very capable star/actor.
Yeah. And he’s cute as well. I’m watching him in The Menu and he gives off a different vibe than CGL. I liked him as Jack in that old Gambling series with Ada and Chilam.
“I liked him as Jack in that old Gambling series with Ada and Chilam.”
What’s the name of the drama series? And, is the series still available online somewhere?
@RJ: Just to clarify, this news about the movie is still a “rumor” as far as I know. As a means of background, the rumor about Stephen Shiu being in talks with Ricky Wong for rights to the movie came out at the end of last month (the last week of February if I remember correctly) – in fact, it was Sina that reported on it and the content of that article was almost exactly the same as the above (except they had the decency to but the words “it is rumored” in it – good for them). Since that initial article, I have not seen any further updates that the movie is confirmed – plus there has been pretty much zero response from HKTV’s side (response from the artists don’t really count, since they are oftentimes the last ones to know and most of them are not HKTV employees anyway). This is why I made the comment above that I wonder why this is only being reported on now when the rumor has been out since last month, since I haven’t seen any other articles confirming the information (not sure if the HK media is just behind on reporting or what). Since the filming is rumored to start in April or May, I guess we will find out soon enough whether this news is true or not…
Um, ok…I just read the original article from East Week that the above translated article supposedly came from. First of all, the translation above is completely different from the article. Second, the East Week article (keep in mind that East Week is a gossip rag with a poor reputation) is pretty much a load of BS – there is no confirmation whatsoever about the movie….to sum it up, the article basically says that because of Gregory Wong’s popularity due to The Election, his boss Stephen Shiu (Greg is signed to China 3D as his management company) is planning to do a movie version of The Election to promote him to stardom. The article claims that there will be a lot of action and the “sex scenes” with female lead Isabel Chan (she played the HKMG reporter in the series) will be even more intense. Um, sorry, but sounds to me whoever wrote the article didn’t even watch the series (since when did Isabel Chan become the lead in the series? And she was never even mentioned as being part of the movie in the original article from Sina).
Based on the above, I would say let’s sit tight and wait for the official announcement rather than get all riled up over a report from a gossip rag.
@ llwy12. Thanks heavens I read your comment. I spent the night worrying about how horrible this film version could be. I really do hope the Wongs do Season 2. It won’t be the same if they’re not in it.
It called “Who’s the Hero?” or “Who’s the Winner 4”. The chinese name is 勝者為王之爭霸. It was made by ATV a few years back. The story was OK judging by ATV’s recent standards, but the cast and story was refreshing. I ended up liking Greg more than Chi Lam, but too bad Ada’s character didn’t feel that way.
It might on youtube but not sure if you can still find it in Cantonese. Ada’s dub voice is distracting since TVB didn’t let her use her real voice on ATV’s stuff.
Thanks, hope I can find it still.
Found it:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx_gA81dPOVpZElF34SFZ3UTltC-KLFgz
If you like old stars, there are heaps in here. I enjoy the star spotting. Greg is quite young in here.
Thank you very much, Elizabeth.