"I Like Uncle"… Teens Rush to Buy Tony Leung Merchandise [2022 BIFF]

The 27th Busan International Film Festival On Site

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Busan=Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] The most triumphant person at Busan Cinema Center. The one who won the open-run this morning. Between the large envelope held by Jeon Eun-bi (19, Busan), the face of Tony Leung catches the eye. It is Tony Leung merchandise. The goods shop opened at 10 a.m., but she arrived two and a half hours earlier and said there were about 40 people ahead of her. She lined up at 8:30 a.m. and got the merchandise. The price is 35,000 won. It will be sold in limited quantities of 150 per day until the closing day on the 14th. Jeon said, "I became a fan of Tony Leung after watching the Marvel movie 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'." She added, "His dignified atmosphere and gaze are attractive."

The hottest actor at this year’s 27th Busan International Film Festival is Tony Leung (Liang Chaowei, 60). Tony Leung seems to be firmly holding the festival’s momentum as it declared a full-scale normal reopening after three years of the pandemic. The festival organizers prepared a lot to return to the times when people deeply cherished and enjoyed movies. Above all, bringing Tony Leung at this important time will be talked about for a long time.

Is there any cinephile who does not love Tony Leung? The phrase "Tony Leung is Tony Leung" did not come out for no reason. He is an actor who has led Hong Kong cinema and performed on the world stage beyond Asia by starring in films such as "As Tears Go By" (1989), "Chungking Express" (1994), "Happy Together" (1997), "In the Mood for Love" (2000), and "Infernal Affairs" (2002). The Busan International Film Festival selected Tony Leung, one of the most important contemporary actors, for the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award this year. It was an undisputed award. He fully participated in the festival’s opening ceremony, press conference, audience talk (GV), and open talk over a packed 3-day schedule.

Having started his acting career in the 1980s, Tony Leung is no longer just a middle-aged icon. This year in Busan, he felt the enthusiastic response from audiences in their teens and twenties. The open talk was packed with 5,000 seats, most of which were young viewers. Tony Leung said he didn’t know this until he met the audience face-to-face at the Busan Film Festival. Captivating the 10-20 audience with Marvel’s "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," Tony Leung later gained attention riding the wave of re-released remastered films. The young audience’s reaction was even hotter. It was a temperature he had never felt anywhere else before coming to the festival. The GV scalper tickets reached as high as 500,000 won. At sixty, Tony Leung enjoyed popularity rivaling that of an idol.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The passionate support and popularity of the 10-20 audience for Tony Leung translated into merchandise consumption. The merchandise became a "precious item" because it sold out immediately upon the shop’s opening. The goods, including large posters, mini posters, postcards and badges in a box, and movie tickets, sold out for the fourth consecutive day. On the afternoon of the 8th, Tony Leung merchandise samples were displayed at the goods shop set up at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae-gu, Busan. A staff member said, "Some people line up from 4 a.m."

The festival organizers are also surprised by the unprecedented popularity. After the open talk on the 7th, Executive Committee Chair Heo Mun-young, who went on stage for the handprinting with Tony Leung, said, "About 5,000 people gathered for the open talk," and added, "Contrary to the expectation that the main audience would be in their 30s and 40s, teenagers showed tremendous interest, which is surprising." He continued, "We thought 700 sets of Tony Leung merchandise would be enough during the festival, but that was far from the truth. We are happy, surprised, and grateful that a queue of 40 to 50 meters formed two hours before opening, showing such enthusiastic interest."

Tony Leung merchandise has become as hard to get as catching a star from the sky. Is there any way to get it? Chair Heo said, "We are considering a method of online ordering and later delivery," and added, "We will decide based on the stock situation."

Busan=Reporter Lee Isul