Hong Kong — During this Covid-19 pandemic, many people are going through tough times and the Hong Kong showbiz industry is one of the areas that have been hit particularly hard.
About 90 per cent of film and TV production staff are reportedly out of a job.
The reassuring news is that the territory’s top celebrities are playing their part to support their fellow showbiz workers. Louis Koo, an actor and Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild (HKPAG) president, has been praised for helping to raise funds to help those in the entertainment industry.
One of Hong Kong’s Heavenly Kings, Aaron Kwok, performed in a live charity concert to raise funds for the Hong Kong Dance Performing Artistes Association. On Thursday (Oct 8), it was reported that Aaron and his fellow Heavenly Kings — Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai — had made personal donations too. Each reportedly gave HK$1 million (S$175,000) or a total of HK$4 million (about S$700,000), to help film workers.
Fellow celebrities who have contributed to this cause include Sammi Cheng, Miriam Yeung, Julian Cheung, Anita Yuen and Sean Lau. Each donated between HK$500,000 and HK$1 million (S$88,000 to S$175,000).
In total, these celebrities have donated more than HK$10 million (S$1.75 million). The president of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, Tin Kai Man, confirmed that many artistes have contributed funds and that they all wish to do whatever they can for film crew workers. The funds have been distributed to actors and behind-the-scenes staff through the HKPAG to assist them with their urgent needs.
It was reported that Louis Koo, together with Eric Tsang, Jackie Chan and a few others, contacted 10 production companies such as Emperor Entertainment Group and Media Asia Entertainment Group with the idea of making a pandemic-inspired movie that would help film crews secure employment.
Each company was to contribute HK$3 million (S$526,000) and apply for an extra HK$9 million (S$1.6 million) from the Hong Kong Film Development Council to finance the project. However, only 70 per cent of the sum they applied for was approved, so the production companies were asked to sink in an additional HK$900,000 (S$158,000). Some of them objected to this, leaving post-production of the film at a halt.
It appears that the film personnel might still have to rely on all those generous donations for the time being. /TISG