Fu Sheng book coming soon....

[Asmo]

Yep, bring it on!!

[teako170]

The Search for Sun Chung.

Fu Sheng and Sun Chung only collaborated on 3 films but they got together at a time when the director was truly hitting his stride. Its a shame they didn't make more. After Chung left the industry, he seemed to fall off the planet. But not quite.

Hunting down Sun Chung was a daunting endeavor. I had contacted several in the industry as to where he might be hiding these days. I knew he was in the States but my cyber-stalking (lol) attempts came up with naught. He became my "white whale." After a year long attempt, I was able to cross reference bits of an interview, video images, vague comments, real estate records, and last but not least, Google Street View. I found him!

Last year, I sent off a registered letter to his home with some tokens of my appreciation for all his many years of work. It was my hope to secure an interview but it has yet to come to fruition. And that's how it goes sometimes. Discouraging? Yes. But like Rocky Balboa said, "...Its not about how hard you can hit. Its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

Till next time....

[CT KID]

Glad to see you have stuck with this teako, I will get me a copy when it's available one way or the other. BTW this is your old friend Chinatown Kid, had a rough couple of years and have been away from the forum but finding the time to come back around now. "When your poor you have to struggle...." 

[teako170]

On 4/24/2017 at 8:51 PM, CT KID said:

Glad to see you have stuck with this teako, I will get me a copy when it's available one way or the other. BTW this is your old friend Chinatown Kid, had a rough couple of years and have been away from the forum but finding the time to come back around now. "When your poor you have to struggle...." 

Good to hear from you CKid.  Hard to believe our trades were 10 years ago. Hope nothing too serious keeping you down. Yes, when you're poor, you must struggle - lol. Life is full of peaks and valleys. Appreciate the support on the book. Thinking you're gonna dig it.

[CT KID]

2 hours ago, teako170 said:

Good to hear from you CKid.  Hard to believe our trades were 10 years ago. Hope nothing too serious keeping you down. Yes, when you're poor, you must struggle - lol. Life is full of peaks and valleys. Appreciate the support on the book. Thinking you're gonna dig it.

Thanks man, and I'm sure I will dig it too. 

[teako170]

A old KFF member from Germany was visiting HK this week. A huge Fu Sheng fan, she visited Alex's burial spot to pay him honor. The following day, I provided her the GPS location of Alex's crash site and she hopped onto a train and bus to make the trek out to Clear Water Bay. While I have scouted the location on Google Street View many times, her boots on the ground experience has truly made this place much more real.

She's allowed me to share a little of her adventure in my Fu Sheng FB group and, since she hasn't been on the forum for a few years, thought you guys would enjoy them as well. The first shows the downward slope of the path Alex's Porsche was driving right up to the point of impact. The 2nd video provides a 360° panoramic view of the area. The video ends at the small cenotaph that Run Run Shaw had erected in memory of Alex (translation coming shortly).

Obviously, this is a place a person’s life has been taken and it deserves to be respected as such. There have been multiple tales of Alex's spirit in this area (which I elaborate in the book) and so it was rather hauntingly fitting when that white car appears in the first video. Granted, not a 911SC like Alex was in that fateful night - but pretty damn eerie nonetheless. Is it a sign? Is it he giving us a thumbs up for his book? I'd like to think so.

Major props to Marion aka Betty Pei Ti for the experience and for sharing her images with us.

video-1495523377.mp4

video-1495522244.mp4

[KUNG FU BOB]

On 4/24/2017 at 9:51 PM, CT KID said:

Glad to see you have stuck with this teako, I will get me a copy when it's available one way or the other. BTW this is your old friend Chinatown Kid, had a rough couple of years and have been away from the forum but finding the time to come back around now. "When your poor you have to struggle...." 

Hey @CT KID, yeah, it IS good to see you back on here. I consider you one of the OG forum guys, and you're one of my oldest forum friends too. Hope you make yourself at home hear again and get to visit more frequently. Sorry to here that things have been tough, but they say "struggle builds character", so you should be FULL of character at this point (I know I am!). LOL

 

On 3/4/2017 at 5:19 PM, teako170 said:

The Search for Sun Chung.

Fu Sheng and Sun Chung only collaborated on 3 films but they got together at a time when the director was truly hitting his stride. Its a shame they didn't make more. After Chung left the industry, he seemed to fall off the planet. But not quite.

Hunting down Sun Chung was a daunting endeavor. I had contacted several in the industry as to where he might be hiding these days. I knew he was in the States but my cyber-stalking (lol) attempts came up with naught. He became my "white whale." After a year long attempt, I was able to cross reference bits of an interview, video images, vague comments, real estate records, and last but not least, Google Street View. I found him!

Last year, I sent off a registered letter to his home with some tokens of my appreciation for all his many years of work. It was my hope to secure an interview but it has yet to come to fruition. And that's how it goes sometimes. Discouraging? Yes. But like Rocky Balboa said, "...Its not about how hard you can hit. Its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

Till next time....

 

Well, it's still cool that you tracked him down, and very nice that you sent him some "gratitude gifts" too.

It wouldn't hurt to send another letter. He may have intended to contact you, but was busy and forgot about it. A second message would serve as both a reminder and also show how much you'd like to talk to him. Definitely worth the cost of a stamp, you know?

 

On 5/27/2017 at 9:57 PM, teako170 said:

A old KFF member from Germany was visiting HK this week. A huge Fu Sheng fan, she visited Alex's burial spot to pay him honor. The following day, I provided her the GPS location of Alex's crash site and she hopped onto a train and bus to make the trek out to Clear Water Bay. While I have scouted the location on Google Street View many times, her boots on the ground experience has truly made this place much more real.

She's allowed me to share a little of her adventure in my Fu Sheng FB group and, since she hasn't been on the forum for a few years, thought you guys would enjoy them as well. The first shows the downward slope of the path Alex's Porsche was driving right up to the point of impact. The 2nd video provides a 360° panoramic view of the area. The video ends at the small cenotaph that Run Run Shaw had erected in memory of Alex (translation coming shortly).

Obviously, this is a place a person’s life has been taken and it deserves to be respected as such. There have been multiple tales of Alex's spirit in this area (which I elaborate in the book) and so it was rather hauntingly fitting when that white car appears in the first video. Granted, not a 911SC like Alex was in that fateful night - but pretty damn eerie nonetheless. Is it a sign? Is it he giving us a thumbs up for his book? I'd like to think so.

Major props to Marion aka Betty Pei Ti for the experience and for sharing her images with us.

video-1495523377.mp4

video-1495522244.mp4

I watched the videos before I read your post, and when the white car appeared, I admit, for just a second I thought "What the?!" Seeing the little shrine was kind of an emotional moment too.

It was wonderful of our long lost forum sister to shoot these videos, they're something special for sure. Please tell Betty Pei Ti that I said "Hello!" and that we'd love it if she'd come back to visit us here.

By the way, as I wanted to be "first in line" for your book, I have been sitting in the road out front of your house for a long time now. It's quite hot today. Have some mercy and spray me with the hose once in a while, why don't you?

[CT KID]

On 6/3/2017 at 4:52 PM, KUNG FU BOB said:

Hey @CT KID, yeah, it IS good to see you back on here. I consider you one of the OG forum guys, and you're one of my oldest forum friends too. Hope you make yourself at home hear again and get to visit more frequently. Sorry to hear that things have been tough, but they say "struggle builds character", so you should be FULL of character at this point (I know I am!). LOL

 

Thanks for the kind words old friend, good to see your doing well and still going strong on the forum. You were always one of the nicest and easygoing members on here, not hard to see how you became administrator. 

[teako170]

An update on the progress....

Here's a few pages from a few years back. Think that's Draft 1 or 2. I've done a total of 6 and presently finished with the major drafts. The manuscript is currently being cleaned up at the editor's desk while I meticulously work on the chapter notes, bibliography, index, and all that good stuff. Not a fan of "footnotes" as they tend to act like tiny speed-bumps as you read. End notes are nice but who wants to do all that flipping back and forth?

I've opted for chapter end notes (like used in "Shaw Screen" and elsewhere) which include both comments and citations. End of a chapter is a good stopping point and the material is still fresh in the readers mind. So, how many? Looking to be about 325. Ouch, that's a lot of notes.

What's next? A quick polish once the editor is done then off to the beta reader. Another quick polish and then off to the publisher. Oh, and we need to squeeze that book cover in there somewhere. Have an artist waiting in the wings for that.

Wish I had a precise date for the release but with multiple parties involved, it’s like pegging down a moving target. But it’s coming. Every day, we get closer and closer. And you will not be disappointed or your money back. (Ok, I’m joking about that last part). Anyway, back to the notes and thanks for the continued support.

[thekfc]

Patiently waiting for the final product.

[Asmo]

15 hours ago, thekfc said:

Patiently waiting for the final product.

Same here.

 

And, @CT KID, nice to see you back.

[teako170]

“Director Cheung and I are just like father and son. Sometimes he still had to work in the factory house despite having a serious fever or other ailment. Sometimes, even though there were no filming sessions for me, I would still go to the film factory to see him. His working attitude deserves respect from all the actors and filming crews. I believe no one in this industry can work like him.” - Alex Fu Sheng

[TheFlyingPanda]

this is great, I would buy and read it in the speed of a flying Dart. 

[teako170]

Who would have thought this small blurb would lead to such big things? Alex was barely 20 months old when this little tidbit of info hit the Reuters newswire services on June 18, 1956.

My editor is up to Chapter 19 and will hopefully be done by the Christmas holidays. Hope to send the manuscript to the publisher by March. Stay tuned...

[panku]

On 10/14/2017 at 5:26 PM, teako170 said:

Who would have thought this small blurb would lead to such big things? Alex was barely 20 months old when this little tidbit of info hit the Reuters newswire services on June 18, 1956.

Great find!

That's a year earlier than the few histories I've read mentioning when Run Run purchased the land and when they started development. Is it possible the article was from June 18, 1957? Or maybe it took a year for the deal to go through? Very interesting.

I'm interested to know which films from those crossover years of 1957 (or 1958) to 1962 were made at the new studio and which ones were still made at the old one. Is that info available from any source? I'm guessing the released films from Celestial from those years were all made at the new studio, but I've only seen a couple of them.

[teako170]

10 hours ago, panku said:

 Is it possible the article was from June 18, 1957? Or maybe it took a year for the deal to go through? Very interesting.

Its listed as 1956 but without actually seeing the newspaper in full, there's always a chance of error.

[Asmo]

On 10/18/2017 at 1:04 PM, teako170 said:

Its listed as 1956 but without actually seeing the newspaper in full, there's always a chance of error.

Here's a similar article from three days' prior, in 1956:

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19560615-1.2.62

Cited here:

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1795_2011-03-08.html

[panku]

On 10/17/2017 at 10:04 PM, teako170 said:

Its listed as 1956 but without actually seeing the newspaper in full, there's always a chance of error.

 

4 hours ago, Asmo said:

Here's a similar article from three days' prior, in 1956:

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19560615-1.2.62

Cited here:

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1795_2011-03-08.html

Thanks a lot for the clarification.

[teako170]

From Hong Kong Movie News, December 1972. Introducing a new actor to the Shaw stables. Happy Birthday 傅聲 !

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

 

 

GD Y-Y

[teako170]

While Fu Sheng and Chang Cheh were hard at work on "Magnificent Wanderers," two of their previous collaborators were getting to business on another set at Shaw.

Chen Kuan-Tai and Lau Kar-Leung both departed Chang's company in '75 and began a new project, "Challenge of the Masters," which became the #2 kung fu film (in HK box-office receipts) for 1976. The #1 kung fu film that year was Chor Yuen's "Killer Clans." Chang and Alex's "Shaolin Temple" would have been the #3 kung fu film (again, HK receipts only) but was slightly edged (by $40K) by another Chang protégé, Jimmy Wang Yu, and his "Master of the Flying Guillotine."

As for the book, the editor has 4 chapters to go. Lots of tweaking going on in these later drafts. Stuff that would bore most folks (fixing commas, etc) but we are trying to make it all look consistent and as enjoyable a read as possible. Currently, working on a quick polish while I wait for the edited chapters. On another note, I spoke briefly with LKL's daughter if the family had any plans on a bio for LKL. Nothing in the pipeline currently but she said they may consider something in the future. Fingers crossed. LKL's tale would make for an amazing read.

Here's a photo of CKT and LKL that was taken in late '75/ early '76 to promote their new venture.

[teako170]

Director Sun Chung talks about the late Wong Yu...

“Basically, Wong Yu is like Fu Sheng, clever, mischievous. But perhaps Fu Sheng has a kiddy face, he is far more appealing. Wong Yu is quite serious at work. But once he is not under the camera, he acts like what Cantonese would describe as “big-headed”, “smug” [playfully arrogant, not the real haughtiness], kiddish, always chattering and playing with others."

Sun Chung laughed and said, “He [Wong] surely monkeys about, but when he is acting, he keeps a straight face, is very earnest and never chats with the director. He was of course very diligent when he was working with Liu Chia-liang. But even with me, on the first day of the shooting of The Kung-Fu Instructor, he came up and said, ‘Director, don’t worry. I am ready to lay down my life [lit.] for this film.’ I remembered this until now.”

[odioustrident]

Wow. Looks like it will be a great contribution to the scene.

[panku]

On 10/14/2017 at 5:26 PM, teako170 said:

Hope to send the manuscript to the publisher by March. Stay tuned...

How are things coming along, teako? Are you close?

[teako170]

On 2/17/2018 at 10:48 AM, panku said:

How are things coming along, teako? Are you close?

Still tweaking away. Silly stuff, for example, I noticed I had used the term "one of" 132x. That's just a bit redundant (lol). Anyway, hoping to get to publisher this summer and have ready by Alex's birthday. At least that's the plan for the moment.