Stephen Chow at a promotional event in Beijing for Chow's new movie Mermaid that will premiere on Monday. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

Now, for most people a mermaid is a creature who has the head and upper body of a sexy woman and a fish tail.

But Chow's version is radically different.

Typical Spring Festival cuisine includes fish as a must-eat dish as the word for fish in Mandarin sounds similar to "surplus"-a sign of affluence－and this tradition is "saluted" in the Mermaid posters where the creatures are placed on disks for meals, as if they were fish.

Despite his box-office success, Chow is considered unpredictable by many in the movie business.

Industry sources say despite the fact that most of them are aware of his "demanding" personality in real life, the 53-year-old veteran, who entered the industry in 1980, is one of the icons of Hong Kong cinema.

His unique style and humor has even led to the creation of a new subgenre of comedy called "Mo Lei Tau".

Reports say that most of the scenes in his latest film have been shot more than 50 times to meet his exacting standards.

Chow has even personally coached most of the cast on acting-from lead stars Deng, Zhang Yuqi and Lin Yun to Taiwan singer-actor Show Lo.

It was also announced that prominent Hong Kong film director Hark Tsui has a role in the movie, Tsui's first appearance in a Chow title.

But to find out more about the film, heed Chow's advice and head to the nearest cinema screening the movie.

Related: Chow ends hibernation for Spring Festival comedy release