JOHNNIE (TO) GOT HIS GUN! (ON THE SET OF “LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE”)

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Last April when I was in Hong Kong, I had the chance and the privilege to shoot during a whole day, the behind the scenes of (one of) the new movie produced and directed by Johnnie To, “ Life Without Principle奪命金” (a.k.a. “ Death of a Hostage”) starring Lau Ching-wan.

 Lau Ching-wan& Johnnie To on the set of " Life Without Principle" (Hong Kong - April 2010)That day, I was actually working for Yves Montmayeur, a French director who did a lot of documentaries related to genre movies and Asian cinema.  The footage that I shot was used for his latest film, “ Johnnie Got His Gun!”, which has a World Premiere right now inKoreaat the Pusan International Film Festival.

Yves Montmayeurin Paris (January 2010 )

“Yves Montmayeur's "Johnnie Got His Hun!" (Johnnie To interview).” (CHO Young-jung)

Yves Montmayeur's "Johnnie Got His Hun!" ("Breaking News" behind the scenes)In 2007, the Fantasia Film Festival did a retrospective of Yves Montmayeur’s work, showing 5 of his films: “ Electric Yakuza, Go To Hell!” (2003) (about Takashi Miike), “ Ghibli & le Mystère Miyazaki” (2005), “ In the Mood for Doyle” (about Christopher Doyle), “ The Angry Young Men of Korean Cinema” (about the new generation of “hardboiled” Korean directors like Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Kim Jee-woon,

Kim Ki-duk ect.) and “ Hong Kong Film Noir/Milyway Image” (about Johnnie To’s production company).

In 2009, he directed “ Viva Ma Muerte! Autopsied du cinema fantastique espagnol” (2009) (about the generation of Spanish successful directors like

Alejandro Amenabar, Guillermo Del Toro, Paco Plaza & Jaume Balaguero, Juan Antonio Bayona, Alex De La Iglesia…) and “ Yakusa Eiga” (about the Japanese gangster movies).

Produced by Crescendo Films, “ Johnnie Got His Gun!” is screened in the Wide Angle/Documentary Showcase section of the Pusan International Film Festival. After that, this documentary will be screened in Hong Kong on October 30th, 2010 at the 7th Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (HKAFF).Check it out if you have the opportunity to be there.

Frédéric Ambroisine (Oct. 12 th, 2010)