36th HKIFF: Interview with Director Peng Ho-Cheung (Love In The Buff)

It has been almost a full year since director Peng Ho-Cheung moved to Beijing, but he has once again proved that his heart has never truly left Hong Kong, as he came up with a sequel for his much popular work “Love In the Puff”, this time is “Love In The Buff”. Here’s a quick sit-down with the filmmaker on the direction he took on his sequel to the original.

Milky Li: Why did you decide to make a sequel to “Love In The Puff”?
Peng: I actually never thought about making a sequel in the first place, it all happened that in “Love In The Puff”, the lead character Cherie Yu has an email address armchannel@ymail.com. As I logged on the email one day, I found out a lot of viewers actually sent emails to the character, they loved the character and regarded her as someone to talk to. So that was when I thought we should continue their love story, and this was how the sequel happened.

Milky Li: Before you actually started the project, did you actually plan to have that many guest stars such as Linda Wong and Ekin Cheng?
Peng: I had never thought about that before we started the project, but when I was writing the script, I realized that these were some interesting characters that are indeed full of potential. And I found that there were a lot of actors and actresses who liked the first film a lot, so we daringly proposed some famous stars as casting choices for the guest spots, even they had never guest starred in any film before.

Milky Li: Why did you decide to co write the script with Luk Yee-sun, was there a special reason that prompted your collaboration?
Peng: I am very casual about this actually; I don’t mind working with a particular whom. I always wanted to try to work with some new people, new screenwriters. And because I am a screenwriter myself, so whoever I work with, I would always end up writing the script on my mind. So in reality, I would really like to work with different people to brainstorm some new ideas.

Milky Li: Now that you have moved to Beijing, would you make continue to make local films or base your films and their production in Beijing? How has the moving affected you, creativity-wise etc?
Not definitely, I would make some in Beijing, and I would also make some films in Hong Kong, like I actually did a film after “Love In The Buff” and that is the Vulgaria, which is also premiering at the festival. So I would do both.

As for my creativity and my works, nothing has changed, my works are still very much my style and personalized. If you look at some of my previous films, you could tell that my films are very much different from local films. So for what it is my works are still going to bear my personal signature and style. Of course, the change of environment would have a certain amount of impact, but what matters most is that I myself do not change when it comes to my inner personality, thoughts and ideas etc.

Milky Li: So you never actually feared that moving to Beijing would make you lost touch with the new trend and topics with local issues which affect your works?
I wouldn’t think that, because even I moved to Beijing, I was always traveling back and forth from Beijing to Shanghai to Hong Kong, so I wouldn’t think that would happen. And what a film should focus shouldn’t be just on a city. We should also take care of the audience that couldn’t speak Chinese and need to have English Subtitles. Even “Love In The Buff” actually in North America is simultaneously having screening sessions. What I am trying to say is that when a production became on such a large scale, you could no long make any film that can only be related to the people of one city. And I think a good film should be able to have a universal theme and value to it.

Milky Li: Would there be another sequel?
Nothing is confirmed. It is not definite that we would make another sequel. Unless we come up with a story that is better than first two films, otherwise, at this moment, we would not consider this.

Milky Li: Any future plans?
After I finished “Vulgaria”, I planned to make another romance film. The details cannot be revealed and not yet confirmed at the moment. And the other projects, we have to wait and see.