See You Tomorrow, a new comedy produced by Cannes award-winning Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, is looking to get a piece of the Chinese mainland's lucrative New Year holiday period pie.
Directed by popular writer-turned-director Zhang Jiajia and starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Angelababy, the film has been trending on Chinese social media platforms since its trailer released on Wednesday. Discussions have not only centered on the all-star cast, but also the peculiar combination of Zhang, a novice director known for his Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul-style blog series, and Wang, an experienced film master who has impressed moviegoers with atmospheric art films such as 2000's In the Mood for Love.
Promotional stills released at a Beijing press conference on Sunday revealed the usually stone-faced Tony Leung performing with exaggerated facial expressions and Takeshi Kaneshiro playing a muscled hooligan in a Hawaiian shirt at a tropical location.
According to Zhang, the film focuses on a group of professionals called baiduren, who help people in pain find some peace and joy in their lives. In Zhang's own words, the movie "tells a Wong-style story using the approach of Stephen Chou," the Hong Kong actor-director known for his satirical comedic style.
"I consider myself lucky to be able to work with Wong," said Zhang at the press conference.
"He often came to the shoot to tutor me in directing.
"I hope I can live up to his expectations."
Zhang most likely has no reason to worry as Wong weighed in on Zhang's directorial debut saying, "In my opinion, it is an excellent film."
According to Wong, See You Tomorrow is more than just a silly film.
"It is like warm wine that helps keep you going during the freezing winter," he said at the conference.
This is not the first comedy film that Wong has produced.
"It is a tribute to the 25th anniversary of Jedong Film (Wong's film production company) as the studio's very first production was also a comedy film, 1993's The Eagle Shooting Heroes," he added.
The film is scheduled to release on December 23 in the Chinese mainland.
