Daneil Lam says pandemic deeply affects film industry
22 Dec – With the Hong Kong government extending the gathering restriction until early next year, Universe Entertainment Chairman Daneil Lam admitted that he is worried that the Hong Kong film industry will not be able to fulfill its mission of returning to its former glory.
As reported on Mingpao, the producer, whose film, "Shock Wave 2" had to postpone some of its release dates due to the situation, stated that he felt helpless especially since they have already ran several publicity campaigns.
"I think that in the future, Hong Kong will suffer the same fate as Taiwan. Not that we will not have any movies, but that we will not return to the previous golden age. No more producing three to four hundred films a year," he said.
Asked if he is saddened by this fact, Lam stated that there is no choice.
"The pandemic has affected the box office numbers a lot, much worse than when we were facing piracy issues," he said.
Nonetheless, the producer stated that the only light at the end of the tunnel is streaming platforms; revealing that his company has been making money investing in online movies releasing on iQIYI.
"This method could at least save Hong Kong movies," he said.
Aside from "Shock Wave 2", Universe Entertainment is also producing two more movies, "Extraction" and "The White Storm 3", the latter starring Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok, and Sean Lau.
(Photo Source: Shunvzhi)
