Dec 5, 2004
Andy Lau wins Golden Horse on third try
TAIPEI -- Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau was honoured as best actor
on his third try for his role as a crooked cop in the crime drama
Infernal Affairs III, at the 41st Golden Horse Awards on
Saturday.
He beat fellow Hong Kong actor, 2046 star Tony Leung Chiu Wai, to
the trophy after losing to him last year - they had both been
nominated for Infernal Affairs then.
Lau accepted his award to ecstatic cheers from his fans at the show
in the central Taiwanese city of Taichung last night.
'It's hard to persuade people that I can act,' he said.
Taiwan's Yang Kuei-mei won the best actress award.
She played a divorcee trying to salvage her life in the The Moon
Also Rises.A raging typhoon and lack of A-list stars had threatened
to put a dampener on the glitzy event held in Taichung.
But it was a night of happy endings for actors and filmmakers who
received their trophies.
Hoh Xil: Mountain Patrol, a movie about volunteers trying to
protect the Tibetan antelope from poachers, on Saturday became the
first film from China to win Best Picture. -- the premier event for
the Chinese-language movie industry.
The sleeper hit, also known as Kekexili, beat out the police
thriller Infernal Affairs III and the science fiction romance 2046
- Hong Kong films that were loaded with many of the biggest stars
in the Chinese film business.
China's movies rarely compete in the annual Golden Horse Awards
because of the longstanding political feud between Taiwan and
China, split by a civil war five decades ago. But in recent years,
cultural exchanges have been increasing between the rivals.
Hong Kong's Johnnie To won the best director award for his action
movie Breaking News, which explored the relationship between the
media and the fight against crime.
Hong Kong heart-throb Daniel Wu won the best-supporting actor award
for his role beside kungfu king Jackie Chan in the action movie New
Police Story.
Receiving his prize, Wu joked that when he started out in movies,
he was 'a fool with no ideas. Now I am a fool with an award.'
Bai Ling of China was named best supporting actress for her role as
a quack doctor in the horror movie Three Extremes: Dumplings, by
Hong Kong director Fruit Chan. Bai didn't attend the ceremony but
expressed her thanks in a prerecorded message.
Until 1996, Taiwan's staunchly anti-communist government banned
Chinese films from the competition.
The ban was lifted as Taiwan's government began encouraging
cultural exchanges with China to help ease tensions.
Taiwanese officials were also worried that if they continued to bar
Chinese films from the festival, Hong Kong film producers might
boycott the event. The former British colony returned to Chinese
rule in 1997.
China's government has also helped keep mainland movies out of the
ceremony by withholding permission to compete in the event. --
AP
