THE GRANDMASTER Sweeps Hong Kong Film Awards WIth 12 Wins

The Grandmaster, director Wong Kar Wai’s dramatic telling of the life of martial arts master Ip Man, swept the Hong Kong Film Awards this weekend, winning in 12 categories including Best Director, Actress (Zhang Ziyi), Best Supporting Actor (Zhang Jin), Screenplay and Action Choreography.

The Grandmaster was released in the United States last year in edited form by the Weinstein Company who has previously indicated that they were not interested in releasing Wong’s original version of the film with Harvey Weinstein’s infamous “Who gives a shit?” response when asked about the original edit being released stateside. Given that the edited version failed to even earn a nomination in the Foreign Language Film category for the Academy Awards maybe you should have given a shit Harvey.

This is Wong’s third best director win at the Hong Kong Film Awards, following Days Of Being Wild (1990) and Chungking Express (1994). Taking to the podium the director stated “I remember it was 1994 when I was last here. It was a short walk from the podium to the stage, but it took me 20 years to come back to this spot.”

Nick Cheung took home his second Hong Kong Film Award, this time the Best Actor Award for his work in Mixed Martial Arts drama Unbeatable. He previously one for his work in Beast Stalker (2008).

The complete winners

Best Film – The Grandmaster
Best Director – Wong Kar Wai (The Grandmaster)
Best Actor – Nick Cheung (Unbeatable)
Best Actress – Zhang Ziyi (The Grandmaster)
Best Supporting Actor – Zhang Jin (The Grandmaster)
Best Supporting Actress – Kara Wai (Rigor Mortis)
Best New Director – Adam Wong (The Way We Dance)
Best New Performer – Babyjohn Choi (The Way We Dance)
Best Screenplay – The Grandmaster
Best Art Direction – The Grandmaster
Best Costume and Make Up Design – The Grandmaster
Best Cinematography – The Grandmaster
Best Film Editing – The Grandmaster
Best Visual Effects – Rigor Mortis
Best Sound Design – The Grandmaster
Best Film From Mainland and Taiwan – So Young
Best Original Film Score – The Grandmaster
Best Original Film Song – The Way We Dance
Best Action Choreography – The Grandmaster
Lifetime Achievement Award – Cheung Yam-yim (The Shaolin Temple)