Lawrence Louey (1935–24 December 1992) was the son of Louey Sui-tak (1909–1962), who co-founded the Kowloon Motor Bus Company in 1933 with Tang Shiu-kin, Louey Leung and Tam Woon-tong. A professional accountant by training, Louey took over the family business in 1979, running the bus operation as KMB chairman while also serving as chairman and managing director of the Kowloon Development group, with interests spanning property investment and entertainment and several cinemas. In early 1978 the family formed a circuit around its Lai Sing cinema, and by the end of that year his Golden Princess Entertainment began distributing films through it, the company's English name taken from his Golden Gate and Princess cinemas. Weak film supply meant poor results at first, the circuit being nicknamed the 'glass circuit', so he set out to recruit promising independent producers; since most Cantonese films were then controlled by Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, Golden Princess lacked a steady supply despite owning cinemas, and so courted the independent outfit run by Karl Maka, Dean Shek and Raymond Wong. In the early 1980s he brought them together to form Cinema City, later backed Tsui Hark's Film Workshop and supported independent companies such as Wing Kai and Man Neng. His heavy investment secured a steady supply of product and expanded the scale of Hong Kong film-making, repeatedly breaking box-office records — Cinema City's 1981 'Aces Go Places', starring Sam Hui, took HK$27 million. Besides distribution he set up Golden Princess Film Production in 1987 to make films, and on his death in Hong Kong on 24 December 1992 the company ceased operating. As an investor he never interfered with creation, giving his producers full freedom, a style long admired by the industry.
Using the Golden Princess circuit as his platform, Louey backed independent producers such as Cinema City and Film Workshop, helping push the scale and box-office of Hong Kong films to new heights in the 1980s; his hands-off investment style made him a key figure in the industry's golden age.
Achievements
- 1978 · Formed a cinema circuit around the Lai Sing, and by year's end Golden Princess Entertainment began distributing films
- 1980 · Brought Karl Maka, Dean Shek and Raymond Wong together to form Cinema City and later backed Tsui Hark's Film Workshop
- 1987 · Founded Golden Princess Film Production to make and release its own films