Benny Chan (filmmaker)

Benny Chan Muk-sing (simplified Chinese: 陈木胜; traditional Chinese: 陳木勝; pinyin: Chén Mùshèng; 7 October 1961[1] – 23 August 2020[2]) was a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter.[3] He is best known for his feature films such as Who Am I?, Rob-B-Hood, New Police Story, Call of Heroes, and Raging Fire.

Benny Chan
Born(1961-10-07)7 October 1961
Kowloon, British Hong Kong
Died23 August 2020(2020-08-23) (aged 58)
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
OccupationFilm director
Film producer
Screenwriter
Years active1987 - 2021
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳木勝
Simplified Chinese陈木胜
Signature

He was fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese and was nominated for "Best Director" at the 24th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards for the film New Police Story.[4]

Benny Chan died of nasopharyngeal cancer in Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital.

Life and career

Chan was born in 1961 at Kowloon. He first accepted a job in 1981 at Rediffusion Television working in continuity.[5] The following year, he joined TVB, becoming a production assistant to Johnnie To.[6][7] By 1985, Chan had worked his way up to being a television director, co-directing television series like The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (1985).[7] In addition to directing most of the episodes of The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain, he also wrote the scripts for all 40 episodes.[8] Chan had gained experience as an executive director for a couple of films between 1987 and 1988, and had also directed and produced a few television series for Asia Television in 1989.[5]

Chan's debut as a film director began with A Moment of Romance (1990), which was produced by To.[5][9] During the 1990s, he directed films like Big Bullet (1996), Who Am I? (1998), and Gen-X Cops (1999). For his work on Big Bullet, which he co-wrote, directed, and produced,[10] Chan was nominated for Best Director at the 1997 Hong Kong Film Awards.[5] The film also won awards for Best Film Editing at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the 1996 Golden Horse Film Festival.[6][11] He also continued to work in television, directing episodes of the 1995 adaptation of Fist of Fury starring Donnie Yen.[6][5]

Working in exclusively the film industry since 1998's Who Am I?,[5] Chan continued to work on various projects. Since Who Am I?, he continued to direct more of Jackie Chan's movies, such as New Police Story (2004), Rob-B-Hood (2006), and Shaolin (2011).[6] He also directed Heroic Duo (2003), Divergence (2005), Connected (2008), and The White Storm (2013).[5][7] Prior to his death, Chan was working on Raging Fire, which he gave to a colleague to complete post-production work after his cancer diagnosis.[10]

Illness and death

In 2019, Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer after feeling unwell while working on Raging Fire.[10][7] During the last few months of his life, he was hospitalized at Prince of Wales Hospital.[5]

On 23 August 2020, Chan died at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.[12]

Filmography

References
  1. "陳木勝 CHAN Muk Shing Benny" (in Chinese). hkfilmdirectors.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  2. "【一路好走】《掃毒》導演陳木勝不敵鼻咽癌病逝 終年58歲". hk.appledaily.com (in Traditional Chinese). 23 August 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  3. "Benny Chan". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-19.
  4. http://www.hkfaa.com/history/list_24.html
  5. Lee, Edmund (2020-08-24). "Benny Chan, one of the great action film directors". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  6. Cheang, Michael (2020-08-24). "HK director Benny Chan dead at 58, best known for Jackie Chan's 'New Police Story'". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  7. Yan, Lim Ruey (2020-08-24). "New Police Story director Benny Chan dies at 58". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  8. "Benny Chan, leading film director in the Hong Kong action tradition – obituary". The Telegraph. 2020-08-26. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  9. Lee, Edmund (2020-08-24). "Remembering Benny Chan: action director's top five films". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  10. "New Police Story director Benny Chan Muk-sing dies at 58". sg.news.yahoo.com. 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  11. "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival". www.goldenhorse.org.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  12. "Hong Kong director Benny Chan of New Police Story fame dies at 58". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
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