Anchor: The Return of Cuckoo, a huge hit on Hong Kong's TVB, will soon be making a comeback this time in a movie version set to be released on November 20th.
The movie employs entirely the same cast as that in the 20-episode drama series broadcast back in 2000. Xu Fei brings us more of this highly anticipated film.
Moonlight of October 5th Adapted for Big Screen
Fifteen years after the TVB hit series Cuckoo aired to audiences in and outside Hong Kong, a movie version of the same name is set to be released later next month.
Starring Julian Cheung (張智霖) and Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) who were also in the hit TVB series, the movie has another name as Moonlight of October 5th or Shi Yue Chu Wu De Yue Guang in Chinese (十月初五的月光). Will it be making history on the big screen as the story makes comeback?
The upcoming film revolves around a moving love story, with Julian Cheung playing the same role as Wen Chu, a young boy who was rendered mute as a result of child abuse from his own mother.
But not everything in the movie will stay the same as in the series, because Cheung has revealed that, there are some notable differences for his role in the movie version.
"I was concerned about the movie version not being as good as the TV drama series. But our screen writer makes it surprisingly even more interesting. In the TV drama, my character is mute however in the film I'm likely to speak. And if that's the case, Joe Chen will play a new mute character,using gestures and sign language."
From the story, Wen Chu permanently lost his voice after consuming a corrosive liquid given to him by his mentally unstable mother. He later was adopted by a kind-hearted family friend, Ah Jiao, who took him in and brought him up alongside her daughter Jun Hao. As fate would dictate, the two eventually developed romantic feelings for one another.
The Wen Chu character has always been portrayed as that of a self-sacrificing individual with an inferiority complex due to his disability. And we're yet to see how this will play out in the new film.
Meanwhile, another notable difference in the movie version is the addition of a character portrayed by popular Taiwan actress, singer and model Joe Chen Qiaoen. She will play a girl who is also in love with Wen Chu.
According to Charmaine Sheh, who still acts as Jun Hao in the movie, the newly added part played by Joe Chen adds excitement to the updated movie story.
"As soon as I heard the adapted story, I was so touched and decided to be a part of the movie. With Joe Chen joining the cast in the movie version, the conflicts between main roles are a lot more intriguing. And of course Joe Chen is an actress with superb acting skills."
Other cast members include Nancy Sit (薛家燕) who plays Ah Jiao and Helen Ma (馬海倫) who acts as Jun Hao's husband.
Patrick Kong (葉念琛) directed the film.
Whether the movie adaptation is as captivating as its earlier TV drama series, viewers should grab tickets and check it out at the cinema late next month.
For Studio Plus, I'm Xu Fei.
