Josie Ho Does It All. Ho Talks Upcoming Films and Her Globally Successful Production Company 852 Films
Eight-time award winner Josie Ho has an array of acclaimed works under her belt. Named one of Forbes’s Most Intriguing Billionaire Heiresses, the multi-proficient actress is rich in personality and appareled with natural skill. Ho is the daughter of one of the richest men on the planet, casino mogul Stanley Ho, but is individualized by her works as an actress, producer, and singer, just to name a few.
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Growing up in Hong Kong, Ho got her feet wet singing in Taiwan and embedded her roots in the local Hong Kong industry. Initially, the bonny starlet’s father opposed his daughter’s aim to submerge herself in the arts, but he soon came around to the idea. The bona fide career commenced with films Moman luiching, Chi yu fungbo, Dei gau tin cheung, and many more films to follow. Since then, she has starred in over 30 productions, with three more in a row.
Edge of the World.
Edge of the World is a co-production between the United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia, and China. Based on a true story, this adventure drama film follows British soldier James Brooke (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) on his journey from a British soldier to Raj of Sarawak in 1840s Borneo. Ho plays Madame Lim, a close friend of Brooke. The film offers a history lesson.
“Edge of the World is a truly epic story based on a real hero Sir James Brooke and his journey. It has exotic sceneries, which are like a dream to be in an Asian Rain Forest where we depict war and humanity. It shows how certain people may struggle with the world,” says Ho. On working with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Dominic Monaghan, “Oh my god. Jonathan was so into his character. He is such a friendly and gentle guy once we had a chance to chat on the set. Dominic is so interesting and fun. I found out he was specialized in insects. In the forest of Sarawak, when all of the crew was screaming and afraid of the flying bugs, Dominic was able to chill us out as he gently caught them and told us those insects were harmless. I think the whole ensemble was very much into our characters during this project, and we shared wonderful moments. It was an unforgettable experience for all.”
Edge of the World hits theaters June 21st, 2021.
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Mother Tongue
The beginning of 2022 sees the release of suspense-thriller Mother Tongue, directed by Academy Award nominee Mike Figgis and produced by Josie Ho, who also plays two characters. One is an award-winning actress involved with a younger woman and the actress’s sister. The film also stars Julian Sands and Canon Nawata and is produced alongside Ho’s own company 852 Films. Mother Tongue depicts the motifs of love, family, togetherness, and tragedy. To make it even better, Mother Tongue was filmed in Hong Kong, and Ho states her excitement:
“I’m so proud of Hong Kong being a very capable city and able to host a Western director who is meticulous in every way. We had so much fun together, and there was so much cultural exchange happening.”
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Habit
Lastly, Habit. Habit, Janell Shirtcliff’s debut as a director, circles a Los Angeles-based, unfiltered party girl who has an unhealthy obsession with Jesus, who happens to be a Lesbian. She becomes bewildered in a drug deal gone awry. Bella Thorne plays the L.A party girl. Paris Jackson, Gavin Rossdale, and Hana Mae Lee also star in the story.
“I think audiences are going to enjoy a fun and wild, crazy romance from watching the film. I don’t know what is going to stick in the audience’s mind. I only hope people will enjoy,” confesses the actress as she continues, “Working with actors like Jamie Hince, Gavin Rossdale, and Alison Mosshart was such a blast -- maybe because we are all musicians we kind of speak the same language. Working with Bella Thorne was a very smoothly experience because I know she is a very good actress. I thought our session went smoothly that I could trust her completely. I have a profile of working in over 50 films and lots of stage experiences whether as a rock singer or as a stage actor in over 10 theatre plays which all toured.”
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Ho is walking in her gambling mastermind father’s footsteps in an entrepreneurial fashion. She established 852 films, representing the international dialing code for Hong Kong, alongside her husband, Conroy Chan. 852 Films is an international film company that unfolds original stories. They produce top-notch content for contemporary audiences with talent hailing from Hollywood and Asia. 852’s film Dream Home was released in 2010 and obtained nominations from the Hong Kong, Taiwan Golden Horse, and Sitges Film Festivals. More recently, the globally acknowledged production company aided in producing John Cameron’s How To Talk To Girls At Parties starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.
Ho on some of 852’s work, “ Our debut film was called “Dream Home” made by Pang Ho Cheung. We’ve successfully revived the arthouse “Cult Slasher” genre, which gave us a huge achievement. I even won a “Best Actress Award” from Sitges, the world’s first fantastic film festival. I thought it was a very flattering result. Honestly, I don’t enjoy business, but we are an indie company, so both my husband and I wear many hats, from searching for a project to distribution, marketing, promotion, and we have good friends who make sales for us. So, we are blessed.”
Meet the Author
Brianna Vacca is a Philadelphia-based writer. She has an unhealthy addiction to true crime documentaries, celebrity gossip, and writes overly dramatic sad songs.