Otto Leong, whose family came from Xinhui in Guangdong, was born in Hong Kong, where his father Leung Sinfun managed the Lee Theatre and the boy grew up around cinemas. Graduating in 1978 from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Government and Public Administration, he worked briefly in Commercial Television's marketing department and then joined Capital Artists Limited as booking coordinator of the Academic Community Hall, later moving to the company's headquarters to manage shows and live performances before turning to the distribution and scheduling of Western films. He was production manager on Young Cops (1985) for IP Movie Productions. In 1985, when D & B Films leased four prime theatres from Shaws to form its own circuit, Leong became manager of the new operation and helped establish D & B Film Distributions, running the four houses and arranging releases and new sources of films. He reorganised the theatres' management, separating ticketing and finance from house operations so that accounts were more tightly controlled. He worked hard to enrich the film supply: recognising the topicality of A Terra Cotta Warrior (1990), he gave it a better release slot and it earned strong box office, while his distribution company lent money to independent producers in instalments. After a 1987 reorganisation concentrated theatres, circuit and overseas sales in one company, he also took charge of overseas distribution, opening markets in Europe, South America, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. When D & B ended its circuit at the end of 1991 and Regal took over, he carried over with the distribution team. In 1992 he joined Raymond Wong's new Mandarin circuit for about a year, then in 1993 moved to the Sino-Hong Kong venture United Media & Entertainment to distribute television series on the mainland. Invited by Tsui Siu-ming, he joined Emperor Motion Picture Ltd. in 1998 to handle distribution, later moving to Sun TV and Cable TV, where he oversaw programme distribution and mainland channel development and became a vice president of Sundream Motion Pictures. In 2009 he became head of distribution for Greater China at BBC Worldwide Channels Asia. In 2004 he convened and helped found the Hong Kong Televisioners Association.
Otto Leong spent decades running cinemas and distributing films, and during his D & B years he reorganised the theatres' management, broadened the pool of available films and extended the release network to Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. His handling of A Terra Cotta Warrior showed how powerfully a circuit manager's scheduling could shape a film's fate. Moving between film exhibition, television programming and mainland channel distribution, he carried Hong Kong's distribution know-how across media and helped bring the industry's professionals together in a trade body.
Achievements
- 1985 · Became manager of D & B's new cinema circuit and helped establish D & B Film Distributions.
- 1990 · Recognising the topicality of A Terra Cotta Warrior (1990), he arranged a better release slot that brought strong box-office returns.
- 2004 · Convened and helped found the Hong Kong Televisioners Association.