A poster of the film Office featuring Hong Kong icon Chow Yun-fat.

The crew spent 40 million yuan to build an actual office. The cast includes such icons as Chow Yun-fat, Tang Wei, Taiwan author-actress Sylvia Chang and Cantopop sensation Eason Chan.

The movie is inspired by Chang's namesake stage play. Chang also wrote the film script and stars as its lead.

The play premiered to a sold-out house in Hong Kong in 2008. It was performed more than 200 times over the following two years on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and foreign markets.

"I didn't think much about it when To said he was interested in a film adaptation," Chang recalls.

"But when he said he'd been waiting three years for the screenplay, I realized he was serious."

The film was shown at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival and will hit the Chinese mainland's theaters on Sept 2.

Liu Yanming, president of the movie's major investor, Hairun Media, says it's trying to tap China's zeitgeist.

It's worth creating a big-screen chronicle of the stressful commutes and office life faced by the burgeoning white-collar population that has proliferated in pace with the country's skyscrapers as the economy surges, To believes.

Legend has it Hong Kong's crime thrillers once performed so well because filmmakers had real-life underworld connections.

"Gangs flourished when Britain ruled Hong Kong," he says.

"The underworld's dramatic realities－brotherhood, unlikely heroes and turf wars－lend themselves to film."

To believes the mainland can explore its own history of organized crime－Shanghai was a hotbed of gangs during the Republic of China (1911-49), for instance.

But for now, he's trying another approach to appealing to the mainland with Office.

"Because of limited budgets and small markets, Hong Kong filmmakers have no choice but to cater to the mainland," he says, smiling.

"After all, Hong Kong films are a part of Chinese cinema. Other cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are culturally unique, too."

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn