Giddens Ko

Early life and education

Ko was born on 25 August 1978 in Changhua County, Taiwan. He was the second of three sons to parents who owned a pharmacy.

Ko discovered his love of writing when he penned a story as part of his university application. He graduated from National Chiao Tung University with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in management science and earned a Master of Social Science (M.S.S.) from Tunghai University.

Career

Early period: establishing reputation as a novelist

He started writing fiction in 1999, and posted most of his first works on the Internet. Ko struggled through the first five years of his writing career, before branching out into multiple genres, namely horror, science fiction, and romance. He writes 5000 words daily, and at his peak writing pace published one book per month for 14 consecutive months. This set of work helped Ko's popularity rise in Taiwan. Ko has compared himself favorably to Louis Cha, Gu Long, and Ni Kuang.

Pen name

"Jiubadao" was originally a song written by Ko as a senior high school student. The song's title stuck as a nickname when a tutor spotted students passing notes signed by Jiubadao and asked who he was. Classmates revealed Jiubadao to be Ko and he used the nickname as a pseudonym after graduating college.

Directing films

In 2008, Ko directed the film , along with Vincent Fang, Chen Yi-xian and Mickey Huang. based on his book **. In 2011, Ko adapted his "Killer" series into the film The Killer Who Never Kills. He produced a documentary focusing on Taiwan's animal shelters in 2012, titled Twelve Nights. In 2014, another of Ko's books was adapted into the film Café. Waiting. Love. The film adaptation of another of Ko's books, Kung Fu, was originally set to be released in 2014, but its release date was pushed back to 2015. In September 2015, Ko announced another book–to–film adaption, The Tenants Downstairs, was to be released in 2016.

In 2012, Ko notified Apple Inc. that some approved applications on the company's iOS platform were accessing pirated versions of his books. Apple initially refused to pull the apps, as the company was unsure about Ko's publisher having proper authorization to contact them. Ko traveled to Hong Kong to file a complaint in person before the matter was resolved with the removal of the apps. On 9 October 2012, Ko was chosen as one of "Ten Outstanding Young People of Taiwan" by the Junior Chamber International Taiwan.

In 2017, Ko directed the high school horror-comedy film Mon Mon Mon Monsters. Ko originally intended for the film to be a mockumentary shot entirely on iPhone. This idea, however, was eventually disregarded as the project evolved into a more personal work inspired in part by the negative publicity the director was receiving at the time for his affair with Chou.

Ko's film Miss Shampoo, adapted from his 2010 novel Precisely Out of Control, premiered at the 2023 Taipei Film Festival.

Personal life

Family

In October 2014, Ko admitted to cheating on his girlfriend of nine years, Hsiao-nei, with television reporter Chou Ting-yu. In early May 2015, Ko confirmed that his relationship with Hsiao-nei had ended. Ko and Chou began dating in March 2016; they married in late 2017. On 4 April 2020, Ko announced the birth of their first child, a girl. Ko and his wife welcomed the birth of their second child, a daughter, in 14 July 2022.

Political views

In October 2014 it was reported that Beijing had ordered works by Ko removed from shelves in China. A few weeks previously, Ko had shaved his head to show solidarity for Occupy Central with Love and Peace, the organization that started the 2014 Hong Kong protests.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "小三修成正果！九把刀、周亭羽登記結婚".
2. (22 November 2011). "Success a miracle, says director Ko". [[AsiaOne]].
3. link. [[SET News]]. (1 October 2014)
4. (13 February 2011). "Hollywood studio buys the rights to Giddens Ko story". [[Taipei Times]].
5. (January 2012). "Giddens Ko: This Ain't No Foolin' Around". Taiwan Panorama.
6. link. (1 January 2012). [[Yanzhao Metropolis Daily]]
7. (9 October 2011). "Apple of his eye". [[South China Morning Post]].
8. (28 August 2011). "The Talents of Giddens Ko". [[Wall Street Journal]].
9. (25 August 2014). "Giddens Ko's new film to hit theaters in Malaysia, Singapore".
10. (14 November 2011). "Giddens Ko 'Speechless' When It Comes to 'Apple'". Wall Street Journal.
11. (13 December 2013). "Film Triggers Debate on Plight of Taiwan's Homeless Dogs". Wall Street Journal.
12. (22 December 2013). "Documentary gives viewers wrong impression, animal shelter staff say". Taipei Times.
13. (5 September 2014). "Cafe.Waiting.Love is a brew of appealing fresh faces and a fantastical story". [[The Straits Times]].
14. (23 August 2014). "Giddens Ko's new film soars at box office".
15. (10 April 2013). "FIP to produce Giddens Ko's Kung Fu". Screen International.
16. (10 April 2013). "Fox International Productions Backs Taiwanese Film 'Kung Fu'". Hollywood Reporter.
17. (23 July 2014). "Giddens Ko's upcoming movie halts production". Yahoo! News.
18. (30 September 2015). "Popular Taiwanese writer Giddens Ko's thriller to be made into a film by mm2 Entertainment". The Straits Times.
19. (2 October 2015). "Busan: Adaptation of Giddens Ko's 'Tenants' to Star Simon Yam, Lee Kang-sheng". Variety.
20. (15 November 2012). "Apple staff call Taiwanese filmmaker an 'idiot'". [[The Register]].
21. (15 November 2012). "Jiubadao denies pursuing lawsuit over Apple apps". Taipei Times.
22. (11 October 2012). "Giddens Ko is selected as one of "Ten Outstanding Young People of Taiwan"". Asia Pacific Arts.
23. (2017-05-10). "Interview: Giddens Ko talks Mon Mon Mon Monsters". FilmDoo.
24. (22 June 2023}} Republished as: {{cite news). "2023 Taipei Film Festival opens with Giddens Ko's new film". Taipei Times.
25. (23 October 2014). "Director Giddens Ko admits cheating on girlfriend with TV reporter, refuses to apologise to public". The Straits Times.
26. (22 October 2014). "Bestselling writer admits cheating on girlfriend".
27. (23 October 2014). "Giddens Ko admits to cheating on girlfriend".
28. (6 May 2015). "Giddens Ko breaks up with girlfriend of nine years". Yahoo! News Singapore.
29. (23 June 2016). "Giddens Ko reconciles with "third party"". Asianpopnews.com.
30. "曾經的「真愛」破滅！九把刀耽誤小內10年被噓爆".
31. Ruey Yan, Lim. (2020-04-06). "Apple of his eye: Taiwanese director Giddens Ko announces birth of daughter".
32. Lim, Ruey Yan. (2022-07-14). "More apples of his eye: Taiwanese director Giddens Ko welcomes second child". The Straits Times.
33. (13 October 2014). "Giddens Ko Among Authors Banned by China in Hong Kong Political Reaction". [[Variety (magazine).
34. (12 October 2014). "Books by Taiwanese writer allegedly banned by China".
35. (14 October 2014). "Culture minister refrains from comment on China's ban on writers". Central News Agency.