RIP Run Run Shaw, dead at 107

[Equipoise]

To ward off the most obvious inevitable questions.

1. Who? (legendary Hong Kong movie mogul)

2. He was still alive? (I know, right?!)

From Yahoo! Movies:

Run Run Shaw built a Hong Kong movie and TV empire that nurtured rising talents like actor Chow Yun-fat and director John Woo, inspired Hollywood filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and produced the 1982 sci-fi classic “Blade Runner.”

Shaw’s prolific studio helped bring kung fu films to the world but he also passed on the chance to sign one of the biggest names in that genre: the young Bruce Lee.

The missed opportunity was a rare misstep for Shaw, who died at age 107 on Tuesday, according to a statement from Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), which he helped found in 1967. No cause of death was given.

His Shaw Brothers Studios, once among the world’s largest, churned out nearly 1,000 movies and gave young directors like Woo their start. He produced a handful of U.S. films that also included the 1979 disaster thriller “Meteor.”

…

It came full circle when Tarantino appropriated the Shaw Brothers logo for use in his two “Kill Bill” movies, which were in homage to the studio and other Hong Kong martial arts movies.

“For a year, I’d watch one old Shaw Brothers movie a day — if not three,” Tarantino told the Los Angeles Daily News in 2003, discussing his preparation for filming.

I loved that logo and recognized Tarantino’s homage immediately.

He had his critics, rightly so, but man, he helped launch a lot of careers and inspired a lot of filmmakers.

Film production ceased in 1983, but by then Shaw had switched his focus to television. In 1973 he took control of TVB, which remains Hong Kong’s dominant TV station. It served as the launching pad for the careers of talents including Chow Yun-fat, Wong Kar-wai, heartthrob Andy Lau and comedian Stephen Chow.

His (incomplete, I’m sure) IMDB page.

[Justin_Bailey]

@Equipoise

I loved that logo and recognized Tarantino’s homage immediately.

But isn’t it just a rip-off of the WB logo?