The Movie Emperor

The Movie Emperor is a 2023 Chinese satirical comedy film directed by Ning Hao and starring Andy Lau. The film had its premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in Gala Presentations section on September 15, 2023. It was also the closing film of the 28th Busan International Film Festival where it was screened on October 13, 2023.

Synopsis
The film tells the story of a Hong Kong film star, Dany Lau Wai-chi, who collaborates with a mainland Chinese director, Lin Hao, to create an awards-baiting arthouse film, where Lau stars as a peasant farmer.

Cast

 * Andy Lau as Dany Lau Wai-chi (English name an anagram of Andy; Chinese name an amalgam of Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Stephen Chow Sing-chi)
 * Rima Zeidan as Summer
 * Pal Sinn as Lau's manager
 * Kelly Lin as Lau's ex-wife
 * Ning Hao as Lin Hao
 * Miriam Yeung (cameo)
 * Tony Leung Ka-fai (cameo)
 * Wong Jing (cameo)

Production
In February 2022, the opening ceremony of the film was held in Shenzhen. Principal photography began on 23 February 2022. The filming locations also included Guangzhou, Shanwei, Haifeng County and Haikou, and filming was wrapped up on 21 April 2022.

Release
The film was premiered at 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in Gala Presentations section on 15 September 2023 at Roy Thomson Hall. It was also selected in Gala Selection of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival and was screened on 25 October 2023.

The film was initially scheduled for release in mainland China on November 17, 2023. However, on November 8, 2023, the film changed the release date to February 10, 2024, the first day of the Chinese New Year. Due to poor box office performance and low scheduling rates (representing the percentage of screenings in China) during the Chinese New Year, the film was withdrawn from its competitive slot on February 16, 2024, and rescheduled for later release on March 15, 2024. Ultimately, the film grossed only 94.18 million yuan in mainland China, becoming one of the year's biggest flops, and marking a rare misfire for both Andy Lau and Ning Hao.

Reception
Kevin L. Lee reviewing for AwardsWatch at Toronto Film Festival, graded the film A− and praised the performance of lead actor writing, "[Andy] Lau not only continues to cement his place as a Hong Kong legend in cinema, but he strolls right in and delivers a comedic performance like no other."

Lee Marshall of ScreenDaily reviewing in Busan Film Festival opined that the film "packed with references to Lau’s career and to Hong Kong and Chinese mainland films and celebrity culture, is a film that has been precision-engineered for local audiences." Concluding Lee wrote, "While there are more than a few China-specific in-jokes here, Hao’s knowing comedy makes a good case for the cross-border universality of the world it portrays." Lee cites example of “Yumeji's Theme” from 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love, used as a repeated motif in the film to make the point.

Peter Debruge giving positive review for Variety wrote that the film is "one of the year’s savvier satires."

Controversy
One of the film's trailers featured a scene suggesting the "seat snatching" controversy between Eddie Peng and Li Bingbing during the 2018 Weibo Movie Night, where Peng, who had been supposed to be in the second row, allegedly taking away the spot that Li was meant to be in. This infuriated the actress, who refused to take a place in another row. However, the scene was cut from the released version.