A director who never stops sharpening his multi-talents
by Mr Lee Lik Chee

The director boasts a career of constant talent sharpening
In secondary school, Lee Lik Chee's art teacher said illustrations was indeed the act of problem-solving on paper. Once you solved all the problems that's when you've completed the painting.

During an 18 years period from 1984 to 2001, Lee Lik Chee was engaged in problem- solving in a film studio, which led to a series of popular dramatic series and movies, including "The Final Combat", "The God of Cookery", "Shaolin Soccer" and others. From "Legend of the Dragon" in 1991 to "Shaolin Soccer" in 2001, Lee directed 16 movies, reaping box office totals of HK$400 million in 10 years.

From his own personal experience in career development, Lee believes in the motto - "No idea is impossible". Working in TV involves intensive efforts and results must be delivered on time. This pressure compelled Lee to acquire lots of flexible techniques when dealing with problems. He adds - "In TV productions, no matter how well you have prepared, there are always unexpected scenarios arising. So you need to know how to take a flexible approach. We often had to solve problems immediately to stop them from becoming even more serious."

As a director, Lee had to be flexible when tackling many problems related to shooting scenes, as well as artist coordination, script writing, background music, art direction, and even acting. "I was not born to know everything but most of the techniques I eventually acquired happened in critical situations. For instance, once I was waiting for a script from a writer who said he would send it to me by 11pm. However, in the end, it never showed up. So, of course, I ultimately had to write the script myself for shooting the next day."

His problem-solving skills were clearly on display in the production of "Shaloin Soccer" where he had to shoot a stadium full of fans. He publicised the filming at nearby factories and invited workers to watch the filming of the movie. What’s more, he even offered to pay them and provide free lunch boxes! It was really worked; they crowds came in droves.

To be competitive in the long run, especially in the entertainment business, Lee has learned from experience the need to sharpen personal versatility and generate ideas.

Imitation is learning
His problem-solving skills had been in play even before he joined the television industry. Wanting to become an assistant producer at Asia television (ATV), he kept sending application letters to the company and studied relevant courses to impress the station executives until he was eventually granted an interview and then landed a job at the station.

His creativity, nourished to his problem-solving skills, based primarily on imitation. "I was accused by many film critics of being an imitator. Nevertheless, I believe copying is necessary. People recognise it when you imitate an entire movie but we can be more skillful by imitating 1,000 separate 'gags' from a hundred different movies," says Lee. "To me creation is imitation plus adaptation. We learn calligraphy by copying masterpiece works. But that still isn't just copying."

Lee adds: - "Imitation is one step in the learning process, but the most important point is to build up your own style through learning."

An extra $5 effort
Although he hasn't directed any new movies after "Shaloin Soccer" which was released in 2001, he has received even more extensive exposure through publishing a series of comedy books, hosting radio programmes and conducting training seminars. He said he is running a 'people business' and the main product is Lee himself.

"Although I'm no celebrity star, I have to maintain my awareness in the market by staying involving in many different creative pursuits," says Lee. "All my works, including movie making, publication and the rest can be linked by this key messag - bring happiness and convey optimism to people."

Lee highly respects David Beckham and Bill Gates for their image achievements and product promotions. "David Beckham is brilliant and good looking, while Bill Gates being the richest man in the world promotes his products on stage. This has inspired all media people to come out from behind the curtain."

Lee also points out that movies should no longer just serve the local market. Instead it should also target the Mainland and reach out to the rest of the world. Although there is no sure-win or sure-loss principle for China, he thinks we should not be too over calculating, instead we should offer a $15 contribution for a $10 salary.