This is a selfie by Raman Hui posted on his LinkedIn account. (Photo : Raman Hui/LinkedIn)
A long, long time ago, Raman Hui declared a wish that also seemed like a promise.
Concluding an interview by Cherry Cheung, Raman said, "I still want to come back to Hong Kong and do something for the Chinese because I'm a Chinese." The interview appeared in the April 2004 issue of "Varsity," the monthly magazine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong's School of Journalism and Communication.
Fast forward to 2015--11years after--and China will get to see a 3D movie and hear all characters speak in Chinese. Yes, Raman made sure his debut as a solo director for a full-length film will be one that is exclusively for his fellow Chinese.
His animated feature film, "Monster Hunt," will soon open in cinemas. It took him three years to shoot it, and director-screenwriter Alan Yuen spent five years doing the script.
Raman, who once identified himself as a "Hong Konger living in America" when interviewed by Victor Chau in 2006, successfully carved a name for himself in Hollywood as an animator. His impressive resume details his more-than-a-decade-long work in the animation industry, such as with the film production giant, DreamWorks.
When it comes to Hong Kong film investors, he said to Chau that it is only natural for them "to be very skeptical." That's not the case with Bill Kong of Edko Films, the producer of Raman's fantasy adventure movie.
Kong said to reporters that producing a movie is "like gambling" where one has to bet. For "Monster Hunt," he allotted $30 million as budget.
Raman revealed something to Cheung regarding his stay in Canada in 1989 where he enrolled at Sheridan College for a three-month animation course. Like any non-native English speaker, he said that he initially had a hard time conversing in English, even failing to pronounce clearly the "i" in "beautiful."
Now, after many years of living and working in America, he can definitely and effortlessly pronounce "beautiful" correctly. He actually did far more than becoming fluent in English.
The 52-year-old graphic design graduate from Hong Kong Polytechnic University is best known for his work in the hugely successful 2001 computer-animated Oscar-winning film "Shrek," where he is the supervising animator. The movie grossed some $484.4 million worldwide and is the very first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature during the 74th Academy Awards in 2002.
Raman gets credits for more than 20 TV shows and films combined. To name some, he is the animation director for "How to Train Your Dragon," the TV version based on the movie of the same title; the animation supervisor for "Batman Forever" and "Antz," which are both worldwide box-office hits; and the director of the short films "Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos" and "Secrets of the Furious Five."
"Monster Hunt" is another feather in his cap. It is expected to hit theaters in the second week of July.
After 11 years, it's a wish granted and a promise fulfilled for Raman Hui.
