Godfrey Ho: It is a pleasure, and I hope I have all the answers to your questions. My parents wanted me to become a concert violinist, and sent to lessons and music school. I loved the violin, but I also loved movies. Any movies, bad or good, I was fascinated by, so I signed up for filming school at 17, but it was acting and not writing.

No, it was a local school in Guangzhou. We were poor, but it was free, but donations were encouraged, but not mandatory. But at one point I was encouraged to join the Peking Opera!

My parents wanted me to be a part of it, but I didn't like it; partly beacuse I knew the game that was being played there: they did the same thing too many times for little money, and limited exposure. The most they would have accomplished was to be transfered to another school to perform, and then would return. Those who succeeded were the ones that left. I also knew that the teachers would beat you up so badly, you would either be crazy or crippled! And the excercises, I wouldn't want arthritis! No future there, so I went to study filmmaking in Canada as an exchange student, but didn't know English too well or French, so I went back to Hong Kong to work as a script writer.

In the early day of Hong Kong, you had a name in the industry, which meant you were educated domestically, had a foreign experience, or learned through an actual experience. I learned how to write from Huang I, of the Shaw Brothers, and was an apprentice until people ran out of ideas. That is how I earned my name, and sought attention. I was also invited by some good firneds, prosperous in the market today, to go to England to learn about film. I didn't go, and I regret it to this day, although I learn to forget about unimportant things quickly in this industry.

I never attended any film school with John Woo.

In between 1972 and early 73, I assited I Kuang uncredited until 1975, and then became known the year after. I Kuang wouldn't have used me without a purpose. People had alot of ideas, and it was very competitive for writers then. That's when I Kuang needed newer ideas, and that's when I became efficient and then notorious.

I was involved somewhat, but not a deeply as our work for the Shaw Brothers.

I don't know; it's too long ago. But the Shaw Brothers really introduced me to very important people, who have helped me promote myself as free agent.

Right. You have to teach yourself, and listen and learn. If you don't do so, you will never progress, and will not survive in this business. That goes for a lot of things in life.

I made many appearances in unknown movies and television productions as an minor actor, or credited with technical work. Most of my early movie work started in the mid 60's, after I came back from Canada.

I worked with Ng in the early 70's in maybe 4 or 5 movies before he left.

Everybody involved in the movie industry wants to leave and let their dreams direct them. It is the amount of work you complete and the people you know before you make a career descision. Many directors past and present let their dreams direct them, and avoided reality. Those people who cheated these steps lost face and were finsihed in the business. It takes determination and the right people, then you could make whatever you wish a reality.

Not quite; I never left the Shaw Brothers, because I was fired with others when movies didn't sell. Also, connections and politics were involved with this decisions, and I had to respect it or else it wouldn't look good for me or the company. But, I knew enough to go out on my own.   Joseph Lai never had a Production company; his father bought a small production company owned by an elderly director, who sold it to Lai's father very cheaply. I was engaged with Betty Chan, who was Lai's sister, so I was involved with "IFD's" creation, when we found hundreds of film reels inside such a small room! I should say that the production company was located inside a small shack in a business plaza in Kowloon! Very hot; no air conditioning!

I never edited footage together in my movies! Who told you this? The footage was from Taiwan and were useless and were sold to other directors!

That is a secret in the movie business that I can't talk about.  But, it is impossible to sell unfinished movies or hybrids. There is no market for that.

You see, different productions have different criteria for filmmaking and marketing; we were lucky to sell the footages. However, "IFD" and many other production companies had different standards that were adverse to using unfinished movies.

I don't remember those movies; I can say that Joseph Lai has a lot to do with what goes on after the script is filmed.

I didn't hire him;  it's the casting directors job.

Joseph Lai, I, and others would exchange ideas for a new movie, so there was a decision in who would write them.

Impossible! Production companies do not waste their time and money in unfinshed movies.

I do know of that movie. Remember that Joseph Lai was in charge of the movie after production work. I am guessing that it was a "IFD" production edited at the last minute. Still, this was uncommon then, and today.

I wasn't aware of this, and I have no knowledge of these films being produced when I worked in "IFD."

I don't know about them.  Joseph Lai and others were in charge of the script after 1986, because I just wanted to direct.

Really I have many pseudonyms, like Charles Lee, Alton Cheung, etc. The truth is I make too many crazy movies.  I used to make fifteen movies each year and it's a little complicated to put out all the movies with the Godfrey Ho name.  And I try to change my name, depending on the kind of movie. For erotic or modern day gun movie I am Godfrey Ho.  I try to change the name, but the problem is, now everybody knows me and everybody understands that Charles Lee and Alton Cheung are the same man as Godfrey Ho.  Now I forget all the pseudonyms and I have only Godfrey Ho.

Oh, about fifteen years ago.  I made movies with Tomas Tang. I try to find young directors, let them grow. I try to do many movies, also as producer. I did a fantastic movie called "CLASH OF THE NINJA" with Tomas Tang, starring martial artists from Europe and America, all set in Hong Kong. It's really a fantastic movie, nobody has seen this movie a lot. Unfortunately Tomas Tang died, so this is his best movie he has ever made. That is the only ninja movie I remember, because it was the best movie I ever made.

That's untrue; I have many enemies in the HK movie business, so they make mean rumors about me.

As I said, I have many enemies in the HK film business, and they have made many terrible rumors.

At that time, I was producing triad movies and "ANGEL" movies for that current market, but "IFD" didn't have enough money to make such films. So, I got an offer from them through my colleague Phillip Ko.

The triads have been a major force where money has been. There were never any triad influences when I was there, but today they own the entertainment business. "IFD" treated me well but I was payed according to the box office, and was lucky to be successful with the 80's market.

This is true; Phillip was working on too many movies at once, and asked me if I could complete it, and convinced me to defect from "IFD."

I didn't have any casting problems with Michiko, beacuse she really didn't have a name in the industry like the other girls, but Moon Lee didn't return. I think she was working with another company, and was never welcomed back. This is why she cannot make movies like she did anymore.

It was never popular in Asia, it only sold well European market and America. The feminist character is not that strong or accepted in Asia, so it is not made for Hong Kong. I heard that it is popoular in north central China and elsewhere, but not here.

Northwest China hasn't had economical impact on the film industry beacuse of its location and governing; that's why everything they get is appreciated, which is possible through video piracy. But, that's missing the point; cultural backgrounds play an important role if the state is goverened by it, where it it impacts; China and Korea as a whole do not favor these movies publically, but everyone has a different taste; if you would ask old people and youths in Hong Kong and there, that would most likely favor it personally. Although, they might not share their enjoyment with others in a public atmosphere for loss of face! Audiences in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Phillipines really could care less if the hero is portrayed by a man or a woman, just as long as they enjoy the movie. However, a Vietnamese person might hate the movie, and would be motivated to spat insults at it to everyone he sees, but that would signal he is crazy or a fantic, which isn't a mainstay for their cultures. There is an international language that transcends cultures; we all have our prefferable tastes regardless them.

"IFD" movies were only made for the American and European market, but I got in the wrong hands and made to places like the Phillipnes, Malaysia, and Europe.

Sometimes. Only if we had the right promotion, and we managed to release movies in the theaters; we did that in the late 80's with the "ANGEL" movies and modern action movies.

Yes, we released those, too. Some, but not all, because our movies were designed for the western market. That's where we made big money.

Yes; I had completed a project very quickly, because it was mostly editing work from Japanese WWII reels; the recreations were filmed by someone in 1988. It was very controversial in Hong Kong and Taiwan, so it was edited down, and that's where I dropped my name from the credits. I made 3 more of these kinds of documentaries after, but none had the same impact as the first.

The American producer didn't like my last name, so he changed to Godfrey Hall in the credits.

Yes; but it was designed for two markets, that's why it is available in two different versions.

I noticed two projects with footage from both movies. I found that Moon Lee starred in both with Robin Shou.

That was stock footage from another unfinished "ANGEL" movie from 1988. Moon lee isn't allowed to make movies with "BO HO" and "WIN" movies anymore, or any movies with money anymore. "BO HO" is incorporated with Hong Kong's most profitable production companies, so it's not that easy.

I am not proud of it, but I cannot defy orders or I would have been out of work for good!

It doesn't bother me or the viewers. We don't mind these things in Asian cinema, as long as the characters could be understood.

On my half, that was a full fledged movie with a workable budget, because I did the casting and wrote the script. However, I was given pieces of an unfinsihed Sibelle Hu and Waise Lee at the last minute, because the producer wanted them as image stars, but there is very little of them to affect the story.

I was hired to edit his movies, not direct them.

The film industry wants less directors and more international exposure for names, which costs less and maskes more money. That meant opportunists like me and other little companies lost their benefactors, and died. The best time for us was in the 80's, because there was more money and interest in Hong Kong action movies, because it was new back then. However, today's HK film industry copies the beaurocracy of Hollywood; I predict there will be 10 years of this until the industry figures out nothing is happening.

Europe; there is not only more money and opportunity, but there is interest in movie making and ideas are encouraged; this creative freedom and the aquired taste of the European audience is what makes this so successful and enjoyable to work in. It is also the only continent where old experienced filmmakers work with the younger generation without ego, on various projects. With a varied market with enthusiatic filmmakers young and old, it's a beautiful thing, but it's nothing new. However, Asian movie industries have little in common with the European market, except for quality and ideas. From my experience, it is often costly and frustrating working in international projects. However, it depends on what the production wants out out of the movie; it is the morale that is very important, and those Europeans have a 120% of it!

The last 10 years have been in transition for "BO HO" and "WIN" movies; they began to push and support certain directors for a name. However, my record was quite embarrasing, so I was used for the middle-of-the-road movie, which doesn't exist anymore in Hong Kong. "MANHATTAN CHASE" was a well budgeted Filipino production and was referred by Phillip Ko for this project. Yes, it was filmed in New York.

We only had 2 weeks of shooting and 3 weeks of post-production work from Joseph Lai. This was done every month for close to a year.

3 months the most. However there was 2 weeks of post production unit work, where I had to edit and choose the music score.

No; we have a music supervisor who has samples of music from various movies and stock music. Sometimes you can hear the same music I use on the "DISCOVERY CHANNEL" wildlife documentaries. It's very strange, but that's is what I used.

Jackie Chan was at his best until 1988.  After that, he was never the same; his character changed and his films began to become strange.  I think he had creative burnout, and was used to becoming a star instead of a growing filmmaker. I personally liked Jackie Chan as the serious character, because he is such a good actor, and has a lot of emphasis on expression.  His new comedic style is irratating and out of place, and that's why he's never had a hit so far.  I think Chan should leave "GOLDEN HARVEST" and do some smaller work for awhile, in the Phillipines or Thailand for a change.  I don't think the US audience will ever accept Jackie Chan, because their humor is seeing someone run over by a truck, someone being shot or people, or people uselessly verbally insulting each other. I even advise writers and directors to stay away from the US market, since you have to have a cold heart and the name they like to live in their industry. Stephen Chiau is only funny when he writes his own movies; when someone writes for him, he is not funny and rather silly, because his comedy is modern compared to the outdated Hong Kong comedic gags. Those other actors you mentioned will be thrown out of the market sooner or later.

He is no exception; he was a politically promoted star, because he made a Mainland kung fu movie. He was promoted mostly in Europe, where he had a following, but he is just an actor, and nothing like Jackie Chan. He'll have to swim back to China to be like Jackie. Jet has a complex know because of his past, so he thinks he is a hot item and throws away money naking deals for face, which he doesn't have. He is also popular for attending Shaolin, which is questionable, but he cannot choreograph better than Jack Lam or anyone in the industry because he isn't creative, and doesn't have such an imagination. He is a puppet in the hands of Ching Siu Tung and the Yuen family, nothing more; the most he'll get in the states is the villain role.

The Americans can only make dramas and comedies, but cannot make any action movies. In their whole movie history, I have never seen one decently made action movie, even with the help from Asia! Basically, they don't know how to write an action movie script, and their choreographing is terrible! They have blue screens and specials effects, but that is not practical when have cheated all the steps. Their scripts do not pace or time the action right, and the body of their stories are too unorthodox to be practical to what has begun and what will end; it is terrible. Their movies have violence and gore, but it's not necessary for their scripts.

"IFD" isn't Hollywood, so we can't take the time to plan everything. We are given material, and we are expected to do are best with it. Sometimes we have to write things that are impossible to take seriously or make any sense of. If I had worked with a company that makes serious movies with a better budget, I would prove the point by making a decent film. But, there is no opportunity for these kinds of productions at this time.

In Hong Kong, we comprehend movies differently. We watch them with feelings and openess in order to understand the movie's artistry and poetry. The Americans are only interested in seeing freakshows starring big names. There is a small group of advanced movie fans, but don't we have them all over the world?

They have all that, but they still don't know what the hell they are doing! You see, they have a connection, and this production company works with their own kind and people of their choice, so these producers says this and about this writer, and they get a job, but no one else is a llowed to write. And before you know it, this writer stars in more projects with the producers that hired him, and other producers are reffered to him. Then one movie is chosen to be a hit, and then he is popular for all the credit. That doesn't mean he wrote the best movie ever made? It is who you know, not what you know in America. In Hong Kong, they are trying to do this, but before this capitalistic filmmaking, if you wrote bad scripts producers didn't like or did your profession bad, you were fired on the spot, or would never work again.

More than definitely. The main thing was is that I had the best time of my life making movies, regardless of production company or budget.

Work hard at your profession, don't give up, and find a good production company. From there, the sky's the limit.

I thank you for this wonderful interview, and thank you even more for clearing up these nasty rumors about you.

I must admit I am not proud of everyone of my movies, but that is the only way for a little man in an idealistic and profiting industry to survive.

I have already made my living, and I was wise with where my money went. But I have spent alot of it making movies, because moviemaking is part of my life, but I enjoy making movies, and that's what counts. But, when the time is right, I will return to the film industry. Meanwhile, I would like to get into music again and be involved with the stock game.

Your welcome, and keep on enjoying movies!