Alan Tang Kwong-wing (1946–2011) was born in Guangdong, the son of the owner of the Tai Ping cinema in Guangzhou, and grew up in Mong Kok, attending Tak Ming Middle School and Sun Faat College. In 1963 he sat the casting call for the film The Student Prince and was chosen from more than a thousand applicants, earning the nickname 'Student Prince'; tall and handsome, he later worked as a singer and model as well as an actor, and was widely known by colleagues as 'Dai Go' (Big Brother). In the 1970s he made more than thirty romantic films in Taiwan opposite stars such as Chen Chen, Brigitte Lin and Joan Lin, becoming a leading screen idol much sought after by local producers. Returning to Hong Kong in 1977 he founded the Tai Wing film company, whose gangland stories about loyalty and brotherhood included A Man Should Never Give Up, The Truth and Flaming Brothers. In 1987 he set up Movie Impact; the screenplay of Flaming Brothers was written by Wong Kar-wai, whose talent he spotted and whose As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild he then financed. Days of Being Wild cost HK$40 million and took only HK$9 million, a heavy loss for him, yet it won Best Film and other top prizes at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards. He faded from the screen after starring in The Black Panther Warriors in 1993 and died of heart disease on 29 March 2011, aged 64.
Moving from a Taiwan romantic-film idol into production, Alan Tang founded Tai Wing in 1977 and Movie Impact in 1987, backing the then-unknown Wong Kar-wai on As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild. Though the latter lost him money, it became a classic of Hong Kong cinema and won Best Film at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards, his trust in a new director having lasting influence.
Achievements
- 1963 · Was chosen from more than a thousand applicants for The Student Prince, launching his acting career.
- 1977 · Returned to Hong Kong and founded the Tai Wing film company.
- 1987 · Set up Movie Impact and later financed Wong Kar-wai's As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild.