| The Rooftop | |
| Director: | Jay Chou |
| Producer: | Huang Zhiming Will Liu |
| Starring: | Jay Chou Eric Tsang Xu Fan Li Xin'ai Alan Ko Wang Xueqi |
| Music: | Jay Chou Huang Yuxun |
| Cinematography: | Mark Lee Ping Bin |
| Studio: | Chuang Yi Motion Pictures Evergrande Entertainment Edko Films Beijing Talent International Media |
| Distributor: | Buena Vista Distribution Edko Films |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes |
| Country: | Taiwan |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Gross: | TWD$250,000,000 |
The Rooftop is a 2013 Taiwanese musical film. It is the second feature film directed by Taiwanese singer/actor Jay Chou. Similar to his first feature film, Secret, Jay played multiple roles in the production of the film, as the main lead, director, script-writer and music composer.
The Rooftop is one of the many scripts that Chou has written since the success of Secret in 2007. Most of the scripts are sequels to Secret. However, Chou and his long-time friend Will Liu decided to work on The Rooftop as a challenge to produce the first Chinese mainstream musical-come-martial arts film. They claimed that The Rooftop is a film that is difficult to be categorized, for it combined the elements of musical extravaganza and actions.
Chou has made good use of his experience from filming The Green Hornet in Hollywood, Initial D in Hong Kong and directing over 60 of his own music videos, to conceptualize The Rooftop with music as its roots,[1] combined with actions, to create a genre never seen before in Asia.
The film is released in Mainland China as "天台爱情" (literally "The Rooftop Love"), to avoid duplication and confusion with box-office sales with another Chinese film named "天台". However, the film poster and promotional materials remained as "天台“. The film is released in all other countries as "天台" (literally "The Rooftop").[2]
The story occurs in a fantasy world called Galilee City, that consists of two contrasting communities. One group lives on the Rooftop, where they dance and sing their days away with no worries. While those on the ground are affluent and possess more power.
In a chance encounter, Wax gets to meet his billboard dream-girl, Starling, who is an up-and-coming actress/singer. However, their blossoming love is put into test when both are involved in the fight over power on the ground.
| width=100 | Actor ! | Character Name | Relationships/Descriptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wax (浪子膏) | The film's protagonist. A romantic and reckless young man staying on the Rooftop. He has a close-knit relationship with all the residents on the Rooftop, especially Jasmine, who is like a real older sister to him, and his 3 buddies - Tempura, Egg & A-Lang. He works at Po-Ye's extravagant medical hall, but is always seen fooling around and skipping work throughout the film. He met his dream-girl, the celebrity Starling, on a chance encounter, and introduced her to the carefree lifestyle on the Rooftop. However, his involvement with Tempura's work at the City Housing Authority put their relationship into test. | ||
| Tempura (黑輪) | An honest and down-to-earth chap from the Rooftop, and is 1 of Wax's 3 buddies. He is one of the few residents from the Rooftop who hold a stable job in the "world below". As a junior member in the City Housing Authority (a triad), he is in-charge of collecting rental from the street hawkers. His persistence (with Wax's help) and honesty earns him high recognition from Rango and causes Big Red's position in the triad to waver. | ||
| Starling (心艾) | Wax's love interest.Wax's friends called her "Sister-in-law". An up-and-coming actress/singer who is forced into the entertainment industry by her debt-ridden father. She met Wax and his buddies and they became good friends without her father and William knowing. Upon visits to the Rooftop and Lovers' Lake Night Market, she was begrudge of their carefree lives and wishes to live her own life and to seek her own happiness too. However, misunderstandings raised, causing her to mistrust Wax's intention to get close to her. | ||
| Darren Chiu | William (方旭威/威少) | A handsome and wealthy celebrity who has strings attached with the Mayor. He has utmost control over the movie that he is filming, as well as his female co-star, Starling. | |
| Rango (雷哥) | The leader of the City Housing Authority (a triad) with a group of underlings in-charge of collecting rental from the town's merchants. His authority over the town makes him even more influential than the local Mayor. | ||
| Big Red (紅毛) | Hot-temper and arrogant. Rango's most steadfast underling who tops the ranks every year in the amount of rental collected. However, Rango discovered through Tempura of his dishonesty and stripped him of his duties in the triad. | ||
| Jasmine (茉莉姊) | Older sister figure staying on the Rooftop. |
The film was shot on location in Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai.
The film was named as New York Asian Film Festival Closing Night Selection.[3]