HK director Benny Chan dead at 58, best known for Jackie Chan's 'New Police Story'

Hong Kong director Benny Chan at a 2016 press conference in Kuala Lumpur for the movie Call Of Heroes. Photo: THE STAR/Filepic

Hong Kong director Benny Chan Muk-Sing, who is best known for directing Jackie Chan movies such as New Police Story and Who Am I?, died yesterday (August 23) after a battle with nasopharyngeal cancer. He was 58.

According to reports by Hong Kong media, Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer (or nose cancer) last year after falling ill while filming his final film, Raging Fire, starring Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. Although he finished directing Raging Fire, he was unable to complete post-production on the film.

Chan began his career as an assistant to acclaimed director Johhnie To while in TVB, before moving on to directing his own films. He made his directorial debut in 1990 with A Moment of Romance, produced by To and starring Andy Lau and Jacklyn Wu. Veteran actor Ng Man-tat later won Best Supporting Actor at the 10th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in the film.

In 1996, Chan directed, produced and co-wrote the critically acclaimed Big Bullet, which won awards for film editing at the Golden Horse Film Festival and the Hong Kong Film Awards that year.

Chan on the set of Shaolin in 2010.

Chan was also known for directing a number of Jackie Chan's movies, namely comedy Rob-B-Hood, Who Am I?, Shaolin, and New Police Story, a gritty, dramatic reboot of the action star's Police Story franchise which garnered numerous awards nominations. He is also well-known for crime and police thrillers such as Gen-X Cops, The White Storm, Call Of Heroes, Connected and many more.

Yen, who first worked with Chan on TV series Kung Fu Master and Fist Of Fury in 1995-1997. shared a heartfelt tribute to the director on his official Instagram account yesterday.

"I will miss your smile, our creative exchanges and fatherhood stories. You will be greatly missed my friend," he wrote.

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Benny and I first worked on the TV series Kung Fu Master and Fist Of Fury, back in 1995-1997. Benny was the producer and director. I was fortunate to work with him again on our latest film：Raging Fire. 25 years later, he’s still the same positive, strong, happy, inspiring director and friend. I will miss your smile, our creative exchanges and fatherhood stories. You will be greatly missed my friend. RIP #gonetoosoon #bennychan #陈木胜导演 A post shared by Donnie Yen 甄子丹 (@donnieyenofficial) on Aug 23,2020 at 8:16am PDT