Jeffrey Lau

August 1, 1952 — Hong Kong, British Crown Colony [now China]

Jeffrey Lau Chun-Wai (Chinese: 劉鎮偉) is a Hong Kong actor, screenwriter, producer and director. He had studied graphic design in the U.K., then returned to Hong Kong and worked in advertising. He co-founded the film companies Century Films and Wu Zhou Century Films with director Dennis Yu in 1980, and the duo produced various classics during the New Wave Cinema era. With the support of actor-producer Alan Tang, Lau made his directorial debut with The Haunted Cop Shop, which showcased his distinctive style in supernatural comedies. The genre, along with its vampire and horror counterparts, soon became prominent in Hong Kong Cinema. Lau partnered with Corey Yuen again in 1997 and founded Cinemagic. He was also the producer of Stephen Chow’s blockbuster Kung Fu Hustle in 2004.