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Meetings with Wu Jing in Hengdian, the City of Films

Author :  Ninnie, in Chinese

Date :  22 -24 August 2001

Translation :  Martial Arts Movies and TV Series - Wu Jing

Original Compilation :  Jing Wu Men

Legend of Zu

"Tsui Hark films a movie according to his fancies, to whatever thoughts that strike him at that moment. Every morning, we would report ourselves at the make-up coach. But there were times when there weren't any part for some of us. For example, Tan Yao-Wen waited for two, three days in the coach, after the make-up was done and his wig was put on, without anything to do. We would gather in the coach, chew the fat while waiting for our turn, and thus become good friends." ~ Wu Jing

When Wu Jing enquired if we had watched Legend of Zu, all of us shook our head, saying that it was not yet released in Taiwan.

"Didn't buy its VCDs?"

"Er... We just bought it." We decided to spill the beans [Ed: and make a mess of the floor? Or trying some balancing skills à la The Seven Tiered Tower scene in Master of Taichi?] after some initial hesitation.

"Huh? Must be pirated version."

We anxiously explained to him that the distributor, in an attempt to combat piracy, released the Legend of Zu VCDs earlier, and our VCDs were the original versions but he was still doubtful. On the other hand, on hearing that we found it hard not to buy any VCDs of his, he felt consoled.

While browsing through our news collections, when he saw a photo printed by Shi Bao Papers where his sword clashes with Zhang Ziyi's, he was perplexed, "Where did you get this? From the VCD cover? I have never seen it before."

We told him it was on the newspaper and he was rather taken aback, saying that there was very little coverage on him in Legend of Zu news, as it was produced by China Star, which would only be doing publicity for its stars. As such, he wasn't invited for its premiere in Hong Kong. He attended Legend of Zu premiere in Shanghai on the invitation of a the local cinema, Dong Fang Cinema. Actually, we had always felt it unjust over this matter, but we didn't know that Wu Jing was also aware of it. While he described it casually, his speech also carried some degree of incapacity, which affected us too.

Anyone who has seen Legend of Zu is unlikely not to find the swordplay between Wu Jing and Zhang Ziyi among most impressive scenes in the movie. As Legend of Zu employed plenty of special effects, many audience remarks that the authentic martial arts sequence between Wu Jing and Zhang Ziyi is the only scene with traces of Yuen Wo Ping's shadow.

When shooting that scene, Wu Jing was fighting mostly with Zhang Ziyi's double who wore the wrong costume time and again, and it had to be re-shot many times. As to Yuen Wo Ping's work in the movie, Wu Jing told us the truth: The actions are mainly Tsui Hark's concepts, and they were presented in the form of Story Book (Comics) format. Yuen Wo Ping assisted in consolidating and organising the moves from the the drawings, so that the actions could be done in real life and be captured. Wu Jing also said that it's best to watch this show in the theatres, for one could only see its special effects in their unadulterated form in the cinemas.

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