INTRODUCING MR. LEE LIK CHEE

 

Following is a profile of Mr. Lee, followed by his films since 1991.

 

Mr. Lee Lik Chee has been making movies for nearly fifteen years.  He has countless big grossing critically acclaimed credits to his name, both as producer, director and writer. Mr. Lee left the TV station to pursue his movie career, and has directed about 20 movies till now.  Most of them are comedy dramas that are very popular among adults and kids, some of them are even regarded as "classic comedy" in the Hong Kong movie history.  

 

Mr. Lee Lik Chee made his debut movie "Legend Of Dragon" in 1991.  "Legend Of Dragon" was the Chinese version of "Crocodile Dundee", which was about a guy from a primitive village left his home and worked in the city.  The guy struggled between the clash of cultures and different life style, but finally became a snooker player and won the world champion.  

 

The idea of "Once Upon A Time A Hero In China" and "Master Wong Vs. Master Wong" were inspired by a legendary Kung Fu Hero, Master Wong Fei Hung.  The movie portrayed Master Wong's life in a comedic and comical way, and made Mr. Lee later become known widely.  

 

"Flirting Scholar" was adopted from a very famous Chinese opera, which was a romantic love story between a scholar and a maid.  The Chinese famous actress Li Gong played along with Steven Chow, and the movie was the blockbuster that year.   "King of Destruction" was again about a boxing hero, and the story was derived from a famous Japanese comic book "King of Destruction". 

 

Mr. Lee's directorial effort was proved again by the fascinating actions and overwhelming plotline.   Mr. Lee hit gold again directing "From Beijing With Love", with Steven Chow taking the part of Agent 007.  The movie was the Chinese version of "Austin Powers" and "Johnny English", which made fun of the classic 007 trademarks.

The commercial success proved that Mr. Lee Lik Chee and Steven Chow were good partners.   "God Of Cookery" was another blockbuster, which combined the Shaolin Kung Fu into cooking technique.  The never-seen cooking scenes grabbed audience's hearts almost immediately.  

 

In 2001, Mr. Lee directed "Shaolin Soccer", which was the highest grossing movie of all time in the Hong Kong movie history.  "Shaolin Soccer" mixed the Chinese Kung Fu together with the soccer, and seized the heart from audiences and critics instantly. 

 

"Shaolin Soccer" was also one of the pioneers of the big grossing special effects movies, where a very strong emphasis on special effects was placed for the first time on such a large scale. 

 

The movie won six awards in the Hong Kong Film Awards, including the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Sound Design and Best Visual Effects.  

 

From 2002 on, Mr. Lee shifted his career priority from Hong Kong to China.  Based in Shanghai, Mr. Lee has directed the TV series "Chuuka Ichiban", which was adopted from a famous Japanese comic.  And based in Zhuhei, Mr. Lee has produced the movie "China's Next Top Princess", that could be regarded as the Chinese version of the popular reality TV show “America’s Next Top Model”.  

 

Remaining a good relationship with officials from the Broadcasting Department, Mr. Lee was confident enough to get shooting permits for those scripts he wrote.  As a skillful and experienced director, Mr. Lee was intoxicated by the Chinese culture, and he was eager to shoot movies with the elements of ancient Chinese culture.  From the success of other moviemakers from Hong Kong, Mr. Lee assured the popularity when promoting his own films to the foreign market.