According to Felix Chongs Once a Gangster, being a gangster in real life is nothing like being one in the movies. Chong, who cowrote the Infernal Affairs series, reportedly got the idea for the film after talking to reallife triad members who complained that Johnnie Tos Election films actually dont reflect how the triad really is today. According to them, no one wants to be the boss anymore because theres no benefit to being so.