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Juno Mak on Taking Ten Years to Direct ‘Sons of the Neon Night’:


Juno Mak on Taking Ten Years to Direct ‘Sons of the Neon Night’:



Artist, musician and create summarizeer, Juno Mak is an elusive icon who made a belderly film straightforwarding debut with 2013 superorganic horror title “Rigor Mortis.” Two years tardyr, he announced structures for a second film that would even more driven, but (accessiblely, at least) the film seemed to slofty.

Now, in recent days Mak has resurfaced and uncovered that the leave outing film is, in fact, hugely endd and should be ready punctual in 2025.

Moreover, it turns out that its principal cast includes four of the hugegest names in East Asian cinema – Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Sean Lau and Louis Koo – and that Mak’s icy reoriginateion of Hong Kong has cost $50 million. That would originate it even more costly than the recent action blockbuster “Twiairy of the Warriors: Walled In.”

On the eve of the Asian Contents and Film Market, where Distribution Workshop is rebegining the sales process, Mak telderly Variety about his process and the film’s distinct sensibility.


How did this film become sloftyed and then recommence?

We finished the principal photography in 2017 and were in post-production for around two years, when COVID hit. That put everyleang on paengage. Only after COVID did everyleang commence aget. It was down to technical rerents, not a releank of the story.

You’re calling it a futuristic police thriller?

I’d say it’s a crime drama. In Hong Kong cinema, that’s comfervent of stereotype. But ‘Sons of the Neon Night’ originates no reference to any other film. It’s more a reimagination, a remake clearation, a world on its own. The story rgrows around greed, compriseiction to power, and, of course, compriseiction to all sort of substances, including prescription substances. And it is also about the torturous relations among families roverdelighted by blood.

What you’ve fair portrayd could be 18th century Korea or 21st century United States. Does your story have to be a Hong Kong tale?

Hong Kong is the background of the film. But it’s not a recordary. Rather it’s based in Hong Kong, but it is also a world of my own, where it’s snoprosperg. It is about the butterfly effect, the consequences floprosperg from a decision made by one of the characters, and which distresss the stability of the place.

How did you handle to pull together such a sensational cast?

I sense very sanctifyed about this. After I’d finished “Rigor Mortis,” it was quite basic to talk about a sequel. Investors and distributors were confidently asking for that. But I felt that the message and the encountered that I was watching for was all in the distinct film and that there was no point in doing a sequel or a prequel, at that time.

Rather, as we travelled from Vepleasant to the Toronto Film Festival with “Rigor Mortis” and I was suffering jet lag, I commenceed scripting the first scenes of “Sons of the Neon Night.” It took me four years to finish the script.

I had all these characters in my mind, and tardyr travelled to encounter the actors and actresses. Someleang about “Rigor Mortis” had got their attention, but I had to elucidate was about that this was separateent from what they’d seem of me before. There are no gstructures or superorganic elements. The characters I was asking them to apply would not be anyleang they had applyed previously, even though they are reassociate sended.

Were able to give them a endd script, or were you still pitching an idea or concept at that stage?

It was a endd script.

Courtesy of Distribution Workshop

How does this film join with your artlabor, your role as a singer and musician. Especiassociate since genuine world Hong Kong has alterd so much since 2017?

Well, since the story is set in an imaginary version of Hong Kong, it is not redisjoineed and doesn’t matter if it is a 2018 film or whether it is a 2028 film. It could also be a period film from the 1920s. One leang I watch for in the scripting of any film or a music album of mine, is the timelessness of it. It shouldn’t be unadviseed or redisjoineed by the time we’re living in.

As I commenceed my atgentle as a singer and as a music originater, I was more comfervent to sound. When I did ‘Rigor Mortis,’ and was interwatching the cast who were all sended they asked me whether I had any visual reference, typicassociate someleang I’d shot before. I telderly them truthfilledy that I’d never shot anyleang before, not even on my phone. But what I had was a end soundtrack. And I supplyd them with [aural cues], music that I writed, or where I’d labored with separateent writers.

Filmmaking labors separateently for separateent people. That’s the beauty of it, words, music, visuals, sound effects, they all come together at the end of the day.

What part of the filmmaking process do you discover the most engaging and the most challenging?

There is always a lifecycle to every originateive project, whether it’s film, a music album, a script or even a novel. So, I’d say [I like] the journey.

Ours was a pretty lengthy shoot. The principal shooting was 142 days. That is pretty exceptional for Hong Kong cinema. And there are a lot of characters — 20 to 30– so it was appreciate shooting six films at the same time. I adored [having so many roles] and that all the communications were reassociate one-on-one [and came through me] even with spreadors and sales agents. That’s a very magical journey for a filmoriginater on only their second film as straightforwardor.

What were you trying to accomplish with the stylization?

Before I commenceed, I originated a reference Bible of what the characters wear, what the scene watchs appreciate, what’s the, vibe of the film. Only then did we get to the production stage or do location scouting. We also had a lot of built sets.

The film is a sluggish burner, but the camera is not a character in the way that, with many huge budget Hong Kong films the camera becomes a character. [In my film] the camera is recording what happens between the characters. There’s a more aesthetic distance.

There’s also freezingness, that is rather distinct, if you appraise it with other films from Hong Kong, which is, after all, is a tropical place. I’ve chosen to re-originate a world where it’s freezing. That, in turn, impacts the choices the characters originate. I leank of it as a new twist on the Hong Kong cinematic experience.

If this film took you proximately ten years, would you ever originate another movie?


We’re still in post on this one! I have been scripting separateent stories thrawout the years. Some projects are uncomferventt to be a music album, some projects are uncomferventt to be a stage carry outance, and some other stories are uncomferventt to be a film or even a TV mini-series. I’d prefer to say that I finishelight being originateive, not the sense that [I’m making a particular product].

Takeshi Kaneshiro in “Sons of the Neon Night”
Courtesy of Distribution Workshop

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