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News
Article
MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT - Wind beneath
my Wing
The Straits Times, 18
March 2002
By Ruby Pan
Having fighting scenes enhanced digitally may mean easier filming, but Chiu Mun-cheok (Zhao Wen Zhuo) - who stars in the TV series Wind And Cloud - prefers
to rough it out. Martial arts extraordinaire Wing Zhao, better known as Chiu
Mun-cheok, was taken aback when he saw the final cut of the
Taiwanese television series Wind And Cloud.
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Set to soar: Chiu (right) stars as Nie Feng in the TV
series Wind And Cloud, which co-stars Peter Ho. An adaptation of a popular
HongKong comic book series, the serial kicks off on Channel U today.
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'I was shocked,' revealed the
soft-spoken Chinese actor on the line from Shanghai last week, where he had been
shooting Romance Of The Book And Sword. 'I didn't expect that so much had been
added post-production.'
The physical education graduate from Beijing University of Sports found the shoot one of
the easiest in terms of physical exertion, as the fighting scenes had been
spiced up by 3-D computer graphics and special effects. The serial is an
adaptation of the popular comic book series of the same title by Hongkong artist
Ma Rong Cheng.
Chiu plays the character Nie Feng (Wind), who was portrayed by Hongkong actor
Ekin Cheng in the film version of the comic Storm Riders (1998). Commented
the 28-year-old in Beijing-accented Mandarin: 'I've only watched half of the
movie, so I can't make any comparison between our performances.'
The Harbin-born actor was talent-spotted by Hongkong producer-director Tsui Hark
in 1992 and became a household name after starring in the 1993 movie Fong Sai
Yuk. He later went on to replace Chinese martial arts actor Jet Li in the movie
series Once Upon A Time In China.
After almost a decade in the business, he still finds fighting scenes the most
challenging to film. He said: 'Working with TV extras tires me out the most. I
must always consider whether they will make unexpected movements or forget their
moves. I need to find ways to make up for their mistakes.'
But he prefers roughing it out himself instead of having his stunts enhanced
digitally. Playing the lead in Romance Of The Book And Sword has allowed him to
get a piece of the action once again. Still, he sounded tired as he spoke about
his gruelling training schedule. 'I run 10 km every day. Last night, I practised
my gongfu twice and I was already exhausted.'
* Catch Chiu Mun-cheok on Wind And Cloud on Channel U, Mondays to Wednesdays
starting today, at 10.30 pm. |
