Lady Cop & Papa Crook
Encyclopedia
Lady Cop & Papa Crook is a 2009
Hong Kong
crime film
written and directed by Alan Mak
and Felix Chong
, and starring Sammi Cheng
and Eason Chan
. Chan plays the kingpin of a red diesel crime ring who is forced to team up and cooperate with a hot-tempered police officer (Cheng) when his son is kidnapped, thus beginning an unlikely alliance between fellow police officers and criminals.
The film marks Cheng's first feature-film role after a three-year absence from the Hong Kong cinema scene, her last film being the 2005 film Everlasting Regret
. After filming, Lady Cop & Papa Crooks theatrical release date was delayed several times, due to the film not meeting Chinese censorship standards, which resulted in several scenes being reshot. The film later received a confirmed Hong Kong release date of 1 January 2009 in Hong Kong and Singapore.
. When an oil tanker
explodes accidentally, he becomes the focus of investigation by Hong Kong
and Mainland Chinese
police and is forced to halt his business to wait things out. While his business rivals start closing in, a member of his household is planning to betray him. On the surface, John seems totally helpless, but in reality, he’s been staging a major comeback for months. Just as he is finally ready to turn his fortune around, however, his only son is kidnapped.
Senior Inspector Maureen Szeto (Sammi Cheng) is the rising star in the police force, who is well praised for busting crime with her characteristic sangfroid and precision. However, in matters of love, she is totally at wit’s end. After dating the same man for more than ten years with no likely prospect of an imminent wedding, she determines to cut the knot once and for all, before she becomes too old for childbirth. Poised at the crossroad of her life, she is thrilled to be assigned to investigate the kidnapping of John’s son.
John dispatches his whole gang to ferret out his son’s whereabouts, only to find out that his rivals are redeploying people in China
to assail him. Just when he is about to order an all-out fightback, Maureen suddenly arrives with her team to garrison at his house. Spurning her at first, he soon finds her critical analysis of the situation at hand both apt and useful. An unlikely cooperation between cops and crooks thus ensues, leading to conflicts and clashes galore at every step till the very end.
and Felix Chong
, the writers behind the Infernal Affairs
trilogy. The two reunite with Sammi Cheng
who appeared in Infernal Affairs, and its third installment
. The film was shot under a budget of HK$
30 million.
The idea led to a script, but when the script was finally completed, Mak felt uncomfortable with the concept of another male buddy film
. Chong and Mak decided that the film would center on a female police officer, and immediately thought of Sammi Cheng being cast in the lead role. The directors both felt that Cheng was a role model among women. Chong had thought about casting Eason Chan
, while attending one of his concerts in 2006. During filming, the two directors taught Chan to use a method of acting similar to that of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. Chong and Mak also revealed that the suit Cheng wears in the film was custom-made and modelled after the suit Andy Lau
wears in Infernal Affairs.
's Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority
on 7 August 2008, with a version running at 97 minutes. The film was given a Category IIB certificate
, but problems with Mainland Chinese censors resulted in several scenes being reshot, and the film was resubmitted to the TELA. On December 11, a cut version of the film, now running at 91 minutes, was submitted to the TELA, and it was again passed with a Category IIB rating. A director's cut of the film, running at 97 minutes, is available on DVD.
Hong Kong films of 2009
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2009:.-2009:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2009 at...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
written and directed by Alan Mak
Alan Mak
Alan Mak Siu-Fai , born on 1 January 1968 in Hong Kong, is a writer, director, actor and producer.-Biography:In 1986, Mak studied at the School of Drama in the Hong Kong Academy for Performance Arts. Upon graduation in 1990, he started his movie career....
and Felix Chong
Felix Chong
Felix Chong Man-Keung is a Hong Kong screenwriter, film director and actor.He is one of the most celebrated screenwriters in Hong Kong and has won several prestigious awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards...
, and starring Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva and has been one of the most successful female singer in Hong Kong since the 1990s. Her albums have sold more than 25 million copies through...
and Eason Chan
Eason Chan
Eason Chan Yik-shun is a prominent male singer in Hong Kong's music industry. Undoubtedly one of the most dominant male singers in the post-1997 era of Hong Kong music industry. Eason Chan has been praised by Time magazine as a front runner in the next generation of Cantopop...
. Chan plays the kingpin of a red diesel crime ring who is forced to team up and cooperate with a hot-tempered police officer (Cheng) when his son is kidnapped, thus beginning an unlikely alliance between fellow police officers and criminals.
The film marks Cheng's first feature-film role after a three-year absence from the Hong Kong cinema scene, her last film being the 2005 film Everlasting Regret
Everlasting Regret
Everlasting Regret is a 2005 Hong Kong film directed by Stanley Kwan, and produced by Jackie Chan. It is based on Changhen Ge, a novel by Wang Anyi, about a woman's turbulent life in 20th century Shanghai, China...
. After filming, Lady Cop & Papa Crooks theatrical release date was delayed several times, due to the film not meeting Chinese censorship standards, which resulted in several scenes being reshot. The film later received a confirmed Hong Kong release date of 1 January 2009 in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Plot
John Fok (Eason Chan) is the kingpin of illegal red diesel in Greater ChinaGreater China
Greater China is a term used to refer to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. As a "phrase of the moment", the precise meaning is not entirely clear, and people may use it for only the commercial ties, only the cultural actions, or even as a euphemism for the Two Chinas, while others may...
. When an oil tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
explodes accidentally, he becomes the focus of investigation by Hong Kong
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...
and Mainland Chinese
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
police and is forced to halt his business to wait things out. While his business rivals start closing in, a member of his household is planning to betray him. On the surface, John seems totally helpless, but in reality, he’s been staging a major comeback for months. Just as he is finally ready to turn his fortune around, however, his only son is kidnapped.
Senior Inspector Maureen Szeto (Sammi Cheng) is the rising star in the police force, who is well praised for busting crime with her characteristic sangfroid and precision. However, in matters of love, she is totally at wit’s end. After dating the same man for more than ten years with no likely prospect of an imminent wedding, she determines to cut the knot once and for all, before she becomes too old for childbirth. Poised at the crossroad of her life, she is thrilled to be assigned to investigate the kidnapping of John’s son.
John dispatches his whole gang to ferret out his son’s whereabouts, only to find out that his rivals are redeploying people in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to assail him. Just when he is about to order an all-out fightback, Maureen suddenly arrives with her team to garrison at his house. Spurning her at first, he soon finds her critical analysis of the situation at hand both apt and useful. An unlikely cooperation between cops and crooks thus ensues, leading to conflicts and clashes galore at every step till the very end.
Cast
- Sammi ChengSammi ChengSammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva and has been one of the most successful female singer in Hong Kong since the 1990s. Her albums have sold more than 25 million copies through...
as Senior Inspector Maureen Szeto Mo-Lin - Eason ChanEason ChanEason Chan Yik-shun is a prominent male singer in Hong Kong's music industry. Undoubtedly one of the most dominant male singers in the post-1997 era of Hong Kong music industry. Eason Chan has been praised by Time magazine as a front runner in the next generation of Cantopop...
as John Fok - Richie RenRichie RenRichie Jen is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He has become extremely popular throughout Asia, particularly in the Chinese-speaking countries. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.-Films:...
as Gogo - Michelle YeMichelle YeMichelle Ye Xuan is a Hong Kong actress. In 1999, she won the Miss Chinese International competition. Ye then signed a contract with TVB from 1999-2005. After she left TVB, She signed with Rich & Famous Talent Management Group Limited to pursue a movie career.Ye is fluent in Cantonese, English,...
as Yammy - Chapman ToChapman ToChapman To Man-chak is a Hong Kong actor, best known for specializing in comedic roles in films such as Infernal Affairs and Initial D.-Career:To began his acting career in TV soap operas and moved to the big screen in 2000...
as Vincent Lee - Kate TsuiKate TsuiKate Tsui Tsz-shan is the 2004 Miss Hong Kong pageant winner and currently a TVB actress.-Education:Tsui graduated from the University of California, Davis, majoring in Japanese. She is skilled in different interests such as acting, dancing, learning languages, and snowboarding...
as Fiona Chan - Zhang GuoliZhang GuoliZhang Guoli is an award winning Chinese film director and actor. Zhang was a xiangsheng actor before he started working on films and television series. He is married to actress Deng Jie and their son Zhang Mo is also an actor....
as Xu Ban Shan - Felix Lok as Uncle Shing
- Wilfred LauWilfred LauWilfred Lau Ho-Lung is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He is also known as "師兄" in the entertainment industry. He was the winner of the 16th annual New Talent Singing Awards International Finals in 1997. Many have made comparisons to his voice to the voice of Eason Chan.Wilfred attended St....
as Ron Fok - Liu Kai-Chi as Bowie Cheung
- Vincent KokVincent KokVincent Kok Tak-Chiu is a Hong Kong actor, scriptwriter and film director.Kok is best known for his frequent collaborations with Stephen Chow, acting and co-writing with him the films Forbidden City Cop, From Beijing with Love and The God of Cookery in addition to producing and co-writing Chow's...
as Momo - Jo KukJo Kuk-Filmography:-TV series:-External links:* at the Hong Kong Cinemagic...
as Joey - Stephanie Che as Vivian
- Michelle Loo as Jenny
- Kenny Wong Tak-Bun as Darren
- Dong Yong as Zhao Tianhe
- Conroy Chan as Michael
- Emotion Cheung
- Tin Kai-Man as Toto
- Joe Cheung Tung-Cho as Uncle Wing
Production
Lady Cop & Papa Crook marks the second co-directorial partnership between Alan MakAlan Mak
Alan Mak Siu-Fai , born on 1 January 1968 in Hong Kong, is a writer, director, actor and producer.-Biography:In 1986, Mak studied at the School of Drama in the Hong Kong Academy for Performance Arts. Upon graduation in 1990, he started his movie career....
and Felix Chong
Felix Chong
Felix Chong Man-Keung is a Hong Kong screenwriter, film director and actor.He is one of the most celebrated screenwriters in Hong Kong and has won several prestigious awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards...
, the writers behind the Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the triads, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means "the non-stop path", a reference to Avici, the lowest...
trilogy. The two reunite with Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva and has been one of the most successful female singer in Hong Kong since the 1990s. Her albums have sold more than 25 million copies through...
who appeared in Infernal Affairs, and its third installment
Infernal Affairs III
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film...
. The film was shot under a budget of HK$
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
30 million.
Development
The original storyline for Lady Cop & Papa Crook centred on two strong male characters. The idea took shape while Alan Mak was talking to police officer-friends and randomly asked whether or not they would be prepared to investigate a kidnapping of a gangster's son. Mak was told of a proper procedure: “If [one of your family members] is kidnapped, the first thing the police do is to blockade your home. The immediate image I had was a group of gangsters and police officers being trapped in the same place. A lot of interesting things could happen.”The idea led to a script, but when the script was finally completed, Mak felt uncomfortable with the concept of another male buddy film
Buddy film
The buddy film is a film genre in which two people of the same sex are paired. The two often contrast in personality, which creates a different dynamic onscreen than a pairing of two people of the opposite sex. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference between the two...
. Chong and Mak decided that the film would center on a female police officer, and immediately thought of Sammi Cheng being cast in the lead role. The directors both felt that Cheng was a role model among women. Chong had thought about casting Eason Chan
Eason Chan
Eason Chan Yik-shun is a prominent male singer in Hong Kong's music industry. Undoubtedly one of the most dominant male singers in the post-1997 era of Hong Kong music industry. Eason Chan has been praised by Time magazine as a front runner in the next generation of Cantopop...
, while attending one of his concerts in 2006. During filming, the two directors taught Chan to use a method of acting similar to that of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. Chong and Mak also revealed that the suit Cheng wears in the film was custom-made and modelled after the suit Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
wears in Infernal Affairs.
Censorship
Lady Cop & Papa Crook was scheduled for released in September 2008, but was postponed when the film failed to meet Chinese government censorship standards. Lady Cop & Papa Crook was submitted to the Hong Kong governmentGovernment of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...
's Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority
Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority
Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority or TELA is the entertainment regulatory agency in Hong Kong under the HKSAR government.- Mission :...
on 7 August 2008, with a version running at 97 minutes. The film was given a Category IIB certificate
Hong Kong motion picture rating system
The Hong Kong motion picture rating system is a legal system of movie screening and rating. An official government agency issues ratings for any movie that will be shown in Hong Kong movie theatres.-History:...
, but problems with Mainland Chinese censors resulted in several scenes being reshot, and the film was resubmitted to the TELA. On December 11, a cut version of the film, now running at 91 minutes, was submitted to the TELA, and it was again passed with a Category IIB rating. A director's cut of the film, running at 97 minutes, is available on DVD.
