While shooting for Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's latest film, The New King of Comedy, actress E Jingwen found most of the days "miserable".

Every night when she opened the script to prepare for the next day's job, she says she usually read descriptions of her character getting beaten or scolded or humiliated. During film-within-a-film situations, for example, her character, who plays a background role, is kicked around by some characters. In another movie, she spent nearly 40 minutes inside a water tank on set.

As the lead of the upcoming The New King of Comedy, E stars as an aspiring actress who leaves a small town to pursue her dreams but struggles for more than a decade to only land film-extra jobs. In the story, her parents urge her to return home for a more stable life, but the woman sticks to her passion and ultimately moves toward stardom.

The film resembles a Charlie Chaplin-style comedy, which triggers both tears and laughter. It's viewed as a semi-autobiographical account of Chow's life.

Now considered an iconic filmmaker, who is best known for his blockbusters, Chow had struggled with walk-on or cameo roles in the first six years of his film career before he earned recognition for the 1988 crime thriller, Final Justice, which won him a best supporting actor award at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards.

The remake of Chow's 1999 classic King of Comedy will be released on Feb 5, the first day of Lunar New Year.

Aside from E, the cast includes A-list comedian Wang Baoqiang, who plays a former superstar, who's reluctant to face a failing career, and lesser-known actors, such as Zhang Quandan, Jing Rupeng and Huang Xiaoyang.

"I began to think about remaking the film some eight years ago. But it was three years ago when I officially started to write the script," says Chow at a promotional event for the film in Beijing.

But when the film released its first trailer earlier this month, it sparked online controversy as many netizens complained that some funny sequences appeared similar to his 1999 film.

Chow says the forthcoming film will be a "different and fresh story", which reflects both his struggle and success in showbiz over the past two decades.

In recent years, Chow's runaway hits, such as Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons and The Mermaid, have featured big stars. But his latest film has a much lower-profile cast and is also among the shortest films for the competitive Spring Festival holiday season. Chow says he wants to give youngsters more opportunities.

"I was once an unknown actor who just wanted to convey a message through cinema," Chow says, adding that he hopes his new film will be inspirational for young people.

"Besides, in my eyes, there is no so-called minor role in a film. Every character is useful and significant to make an interesting story."

Chow expresses his admiration of those who are passionate and professional, exemplified by his highlighting of Zhou Yunshu, who plays a middle-aged, goosy assistant of Wang's character. Zhou's character speaks just one line in the movie but she shot her scenes with many others from the cast and crew for over two months.

For Wang, who shot to prominence with director Feng Xiaogang's blockbuster, A World Without Thieves in 2004, Chow's latest film is reminiscent of his early tough days in Beijing. The native of rural Hebei province began to practice martial arts at age 8 and moved to the Chinese capital to seek jobs as a film and television extra in 2000.

 Wang had rented a room in a Beijing slum and woke up at 4 am every day to line up for opportunities outside the Beijing Film Studio－then a landmark location for casting directors to select extras－but was often humiliated because of his accent and looks.

"When I was struggling with my dream, it was Chow's King of Comedy that encouraged me, giving me the strength to carry on," Wang says.

"The new film will be inspirational for those who are striving to achieve their dreams. If you don't surrender to failure, you will finally succeed."