Sing girls explained
"Sing girls" is a nickname for actresses who starred alongside Stephen Chow, often as the main character's romantic interest.[1] Many are young, new actresses who go on to receive considerable media attention after appearing in one of Chow's films,[2] and their success is often attributed to the attention brought to them by Chow—Zhang Yuqi, for example, has been referred to as Chow's "protégée" after appearing in the 2007 film CJ7.[3] The Chinese word 星 (xīng) refers both to Chow's nickname 星爷 (Sing Yeh, "Grandmaster Sing")[2] and to 明星 (míngxīng), the word for a star or celebrity.
Chow has not always chosen newcomer actresses to co-star with him; for example, Vicki Zhao already had a successful music and film career when she appeared as the female lead in Shaolin Soccer,[1] and Gong Li was already famous as an "Yimou girl" (谋女郎) for her frequent collaboration with director Zhang Yimou before she starred in two Stephen Chow films in the early 1990s. Many times, though, starring with Chow has been a "Sing girl"'s first major role and has kick-started her career, as King of Comedy did for Cecilia Cheung. Eva Huang and Zhang Yuqi both gained considerable attention from media and netizens after appearing in Kung Fu Hustle and CJ7, respectively, even though their roles were relatively small.[1]
Kingdom Yuen appeared in numerous 1990s Stephen Chow films not as a lead female or romantic interest, but rather in minor roles as a comedic stock character.[4]
The youngest "Sing girl" is 7-year-old Zhang Yuwen, who appears in .[5]
List
Name !! First appeared with Chow in !! Other films with ChowSharla Cheung[6] | Faithfully Yours (1988) | All for the Winner (1990), God of Gamblers II (1991), (1991)**, Fist of Fury 1991(1991), Fist of Fury II 1991(1991), Fight Back to School (1991), Fight Back to School II (1992), Royal Tramp (1992), Royal Tramp II (1992), Fight Back to School III (1993), King of Beggars (1992), Hail the Judge (1994) |
| Dragon Fight (1989) | |
| The Unmatchable Match (1989) | |
| Thunder Cops II (1989) | Love Is Love (1990), All for the Winner (1990), When Fortune Smiles (1990), The Magnificent Scoundrels (1991), (1991), All's Well, Ends Well (1992), Royal Tramp (1992), The Lucky Guy** (1998) |
| Sleazy Dizzy (1990) | |
| Look Out, Officer! (1990) | Royal Tramp (1992), Royal Tramp II (1992) |
| My Hero (1990) | |
| Legend of the Dragon (1990) | Magnificent Scoundrels (1991), All's Well, Ends Well (1992) |
| God of Gamblers II (1991) | |
| Fight Back to School (1991) | Justice, My Foot! (1992), King of Beggars (1992), Flirting Scholar (1993), The Mad Monk (1993), Forbidden City Cop (1996), God of Cookery (1996), The Tricky Master (1999) |
| (1991) | Flirting Scholar (1993) |
| Tricky Brains (1991) | Royal Tramp (1992), Royal Tramp II (1992), Lawyer Lawyer (1997) |
| Tricky Brains (1991) | |
Athena Chu[7] | Fight Back to School II
| A Chinese Odyssey (1994) |
| Justice, My Foot! (1992) | The Top Bet (1991), Fight Back to School III (1993) |
| Royal Tramp (1992) | Royal Tramp II (1992) |
| Royal Tramp II (1992) | |
| All's Well, Ends Well (1992) | The Mad Monk(1993) |
| Fight Back to School III (1993) | |
| Love on Delivery (1994) | Hail the Judge (1994), God of Cookery** (1996), All's Well, Ends Well 1997** (1997) |
| Hail the Judge (1994) | A Chinese Odyssey (1994) |
| A Chinese Odyssey (1994) | Out of the Dark (1995), God of Cookery (1996), Lawyer Lawyer (1997), King of Comedy (1999), Shaolin Soccer** (2001) |
| From Beijing With Love (1994) | |
| Sixty Million Dollar Man (1995) | |
| Forbidden City Cop (1996) | |
| Forbidden City Cop (1996) | |
| The Lucky Guy (1998) |
|
| King of Comedy
| Shaolin Soccer
|
| Shaolin Soccer (2001) | |
Eva Huang[8] | Kung Fu Hustle
| |
| CJ7
| Shaolin Girl
|
| CJ7
| |
| The Mermaid
| (2017)*** |
| The New King of Comedy
| |
- Film debut
**Minor appearance only ***Film produced or directed, but not acted in, by Chow
| |
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: 张雨绮亲述一夜成名:30秒搞定周星驰 (Zhang Yuqi's overnight fame: 30 seconds to win over Stephen Chow) . 邱致理 (Qiu Zhili) . 南都周刊 . 10 December 2007 . 28 June 2009. zh.
- Web site: 大洋 (dayoo.com) . 28 June 2009 . 从"翻版张柏芝"看女星整容是非 (From "New Cecilia Cheung", seeing if female stars are having makeovers or not) . 许慧健 (Xu Huijian) . 9 June 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090705203656/http://life.dayoo.com/fashion/200906/09/33683_7956406_5.htm . 5 July 2009.
- News: The Straits Times. Boon Cheng. Stephen Chow's Play: CJ7. 6 February 2008.
- Web site: 4 July 2009 . Yuen King-tan/Kingdom Yuen . Hong Kong Cinema: View from the Brooklyn Bridge . Yves . Gendron . 5 October 2004.
- Web site: 揭秘《西游》最小星女郎 张煜雯喊星爷哥哥. Hunan TV. 2013-03-28. 2013-02-18.
- Web site: Lanuque, Arnaud . Sharla Cheung Man. Hong Kong Cinemagic. French. 28 June 2009.
- Web site: Athena Chu Yan . LoveHKFilm.com . 2008-10-03.
- Web site: Eva Huang feels grateful to Stephen Chow . . 28 June 2009 . 29 May 2006.