# Breaking News (2004 film)

Breaking News (Chinese: 大事件) is a 2004 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Johnnie To, and starring Richie Jen, Kelly Chen, and Nick Cheung. The film premiered out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

## Plot

The Hong Kong Police finds itself in a public relations crisis after a disastrous shootout and the scene of a police officer surrendering in apparent fear to the mobsters was captured and telecast by the local media. Inspector Cheung and his crew are assigned to the task of catching these mobsters, led by the intelligent and resourceful Yuen.
In the meantime, Superintendent Rebecca Fong leads an effort on the part of the Hong Kong Police to mislead the media and salvage the reputation of the police team. She sees the chance in a raid on the mobsters hiding out in an apartment, while Inspector Cheung leads his own team to search for the mobsters, with many gunfights breaking out in between. While the police are evacuating the apartment, Yuan accidentally rescues another team: the killer Chun and his companions. Yuan and Fong use the media to wage a propaganda war.
Yuan and Chun finally decides to create chaos. They escape from the apartment after freeing the remaining residents of the apartment, having a gunfight with the police during the chaos with the death of their companions. Cheung and Fong see through their trick and followed Yuan. Yuan takes Fong as a hostage and goes to the place where Chun goes to assassinate the target, and acts in his place, but Cheung and other police officers follow Fong's tracker and rush to the scene, which makes the assassination impossible. Fong says that she would not let this "show" be messed up in her hands. Yuan knews that the defeat was doomed, so he decides to expose himself and is shot dead by the police. The police promotes Cheung and Fong as the heroes of this "show".
At the end of the story, the killer Chun takes Yuan's place in hijacking the cash withdrawal vehicle and is also shot dead.

## Cast

* Richie Jen as Yuen, an intelligent criminal
* Kelly Chen as Superintendent Rebecca Fong
* Nick Cheung as Senior Inspector Cheung of District Crime Squad
* Eddie Cheung as Chief Superintendent Eric Yeung
* Benz Hui as Sergeant Hoi, subordinate of Inspector Cheung
* Lam Suet as Yip, hostage
* You Yong as Chun
* Ding Haifeng as Lung
* Li Haitao as Chung
* Simon Yam as Asst. Commissioner Wong (special appearance)
* Alan Chui Chung-San as Chun's target
* Maggie Shiu as Inspector Grace Chow, Police Public Relation (special appearance)
* Wong Chi-wai as Wang
* Wong Wah-wo as White Hair

## Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations :
| Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
| 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Film | Breaking News | Nominated |
| 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Director | Johnnie To | Nominated |
| 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Maggie Shiu | Nominated |
| 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Film Editing | David M. Richardson | Nominated |
| 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | Breaking News | Nominated |
| 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Director | Johnnie To | Won |
| 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Film Editing | David M. Richardson | Won |
| 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Action Choreography | Yuen Bun | Nominated |
| 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Visual Effects | Stephen Ma | Nominated |
| 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Art Direction | Yee Chung-Man | Nominated |
| 11th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Film of Merit | Breaking News | Won |
| 10th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Top Ten Chinese-language Film | Breaking News | Won |
| 7th Changchun Film Festival | Best Actress | Kelly Chen | Nominated |
| 34th Sitges Film Festival | Best Director | Johnnie To | Won |

## Remakes

A remake called Goryachie Novosti (international title: Newsmakers) has been shot in Russia. It is produced by Moscow-based Tandem Pictures and Gothenburg's Illusion Film and helmed by young Swedish director Anders Banke. The Russian/Swedish version of Breaking News was theatrically released in Russia and ex-USSR on 7 May 2009.