What's Left After This?

I had the greatest (male) interview of my career on Monday. I was lucky enough to have an audience with the Jing...

I'm currently doing research on the mahjong film genre (and I even have a research grant to do so), and let's face it, there's really only one place to start: at the top.

Or, in my case, the 31st floor of the EGL Tower in Kwun Tong, which is where the offices of Wong Jing are located. I got to spend 30 minutes with him. My interview was sandwiched between meetings with Ann Hui and another (unknown to me) artist.

I was accompanied by Kevin "The Golden Rock" Ma, who grew up in Kwun Tong (which will be discussed later).

We were ushered into Mr. Wong's office (which is bigger than my flat), and we sat down to business.I asked if it would be okay if I recorded the interview, and he told us that he will never regret words he  says, so no problem.

Say what you will about the man and his movies, he deserves a lot of respect for longevity and acumen. He knows what people want and provides it. He says that 10 generations of critics have lambasted him, and also notes that 9 of those generations have passed while he remains.

He's right. He's still here, but whither the naysayers of yore? If his movies are so bad, why do they keep getting made, played, sold and distributed?

If we must degenerate into using allegory here, let's use the simple one: food.

When I was touring with the band I worked for, Warner (the guitarist) would always ask "What kind of McDonald's do y'all wanna eat?" because we always ate at McDonalds. Not because any of us wanted to, or even liked it, but because we knew what we were getting, we could trust it, and we knew it wouldn't result in gastrointestinal disasters.

Which, when you're packed 5 or 6 to a van for up to 10 hours a day and never fewer than two to a hotel room, is useful to say the least.

So to localize that allegory (and regain a little focus), Wong Jing movies are a lot like Fairwoods. A simple menu that doesn't change, but an essentially rock-solid guarantee of consistency and flavor. It's not fine dining, but it's safe, fast, and your familiarity with it often instills a sense of appreciation.

That's a lot more appealing than taking a risk on trying, say... Brazilianfood. Because you may end up wondering why you ever sat down in that restaurant and wishing you could leave and wishing you could get the awful taste out of your mouth.

But I digress.

My overall impression was of a man who is utterly realistic, pragmatic, self-aware, and confident in the best kind of way. As the saying goes, it isn't bragging if you can back it up.I should also note that 99% of the interview was done in English.I hope I can speak with him again someday, because he is a cornerstone of local cinema, and a very funny man in the bargain. But I knew he was busy, so I wrapped up the interview as soon as I could and had the prerequisite Geek Moment: I asked him to sign my copy of Kung Fu Mahjong and to take a picture.I don't care if it destroyed my credibility (or how stupid I look in the photo); it was WONG JING.He said I was nearly as tall and burly as Natalie Meng.Kevin tries desperately not to think about Wong's sex scene inI Corrupt All Cops.On our way out, an assistant asked if I had the Kung Fu Mahjong series on DVD. I smiled and told her that I owned, very likely, 90% of all of Wong Jing's films on DVD (because I do). She seemed impressed, which is nice since that assertion frequently elicits laughter and derision from people.But f@#$ them. They probably drink latte at Kubrick and stay awake during art films...After our interview, Kevin helped me to sample something Kwun Tong is apparently famous for: the local tarts.

That's not a euphemism, I mean milk tarts. Not chicken tarts.

They are, in fact, delicious.

The milk tarts ain't bad either, nyuk nyuk nyuk...

Kevin deserves, and gets, my profound appreciation for his help as well as his company.

Ideally, I'd repay that with something better than using his photo to make a joke, but he knows the way I am and still speaks to me anyway.