The Happenings

--Yip Man, Painted Skin --

On the set of Yip Man, actor Donnie Yen was seen busying himself, running about, and giving instructions intently, such as completely immersing himself in admonishing a kid, while martial arts director Sammo Hung appeared to be more relaxed, seated comfortably in a chair.  NetEase

A press conference was held on April 29 for Donnie Yen's other film Painted Skin remake, during which contracts were signed with 10 major Chinese cinema operators regarding its distribution in China. The release date was announced as September 28. Donnie Yen says that he has never approached a role from the perspective of love, and it's a breakthrough for him in terms of acting. He says that while Painted Skin doesn't contain much action, the characters are very fresh. Video: Sina

-- Legend of Shaolin Kungfu 2: Thirteen Cudgel Monks --

Filming of Legend of Shaolin Kungfu 2: Thirteen Cudgel Monks is nearing completion. Pan Yuan Jia has posted videos of his two fighting scenes on his blog. Also, there's a news report at Youtube. Finally, various photos, a few of which are high resolution, have been released by cast members Li Yuan, Sun Hui Ning, Leung Kar Yan, Li Chong.

Numerous pics from "Yip Man" may be found at the blogs of cast members Zhou Zhong and Xing Yu.

-- Missing --

Missing trailer may be viewed at Sina. A better quality trailer is now available at MTime.

The suspense mystery, starring Angelica Lee Sinjie, Guo Xiaodong, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Isabella Leong, Chang Chen, is set for release on June 20.  Photos: MTime

In the meantime, She Ain't Mean, another work directed by Tsui Hark, is wrapping up towards the end of this month. Tsui Hark says that in order to return Kwak Jae Young's favour for writing She Ain't Mean, he'd write a script for him too.

-- Tai Chi Tiger --

While in Seoul promoting his latest movie Street Kings, Keanu Reeves, during an interview, becomes especially excited on the mention of Yuen Wo Ping. He says he met Yuen Wo Ping, whom he addresses as master or Eighth Master in Cantonese, in Beijing around half a year ago to discuss a kungfu movie, tentatively called Tai Chi Tiger. He'd play a villain character. Tiger Chen Hu will play the lead as a Tai Chi master.

Keanu Reeves says that it's still in scripting stage and that the film will be shot on location in China. He'd show the script to Yuen Wo Ping upon completion and hopes that Yuen Wo Ping would direct it. A few months back, Keanu Reeves was in Sichuan scouting locations with Tiger Chen.

On being enquired, Yuen Wo Ping says that he's very happy and look forward to collaborating with Keanu Reeves, but clarifies that he'd only be the martial arts director. The film will be directed by Tiger Chen himself, in other word, its going to be directorial debut of this young member of Yuen Clan. Yuen Wo Ping adds that he has also invited Keanu Reeves for another project to be shot next year.  Sina

-- Forbidden Kingdom --

In this interview, maestro martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo Ping gives a blow by blow account of the choreography behind Forbidden Kingdom.

It has always been my practice to choreograph the action based on the script as well as the personality of the character, this is very important. Jackie Chan plays Drunken Immortal in the movie, he's more outgoing and lively, as well as suave, he loves drinking, it's like he's roaming the mundane world casually.

Continue reading "Yuen Wo Ping's Annotations on Forbidden Kingdom's Martial Arts Choreography"

On the biggest reason for taking up Forbidden Kingdom

Jackie Chan: If I were the director, I would not shoot such a movie in China. The story is too bizarre, it incongruent with Chinese culture. But the US studios think that it's fun to put everything together, such as Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon.

The storyline is very absurd, yet could be created in the West. Though to me, it's extremely ludicrous, but the US audience can accept it, so I shot it according to the script. The story is a fairy tale, just like a cartoon. I believe the scriptwriter loves Chinese culture, for he could combine Drunken Fist, Jade Emperor, Eight Immortals, Monkey King, etc. together.

-- Forbidden Kingdom --

The world premiere of Forbidden Kingdom was held in Beijing on April 16. Apart from the major cast and crew such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Liu Yi Fei, Rob Minkoff and Yuen Wo Ping, various guests such as Zhao Wen Zhuo, Wong Jing, also turned up to show their support. 

Multiple videos at Sina

Photos from Sina:

-- Yip Man --

On Saturday afternoon, on the set of 'Yip Man', under martial arts choreographer's Sammo Hung's coaching, Li Qi Long and Fan Siu Wong begin going through the moves for a duel between them. Li Qi Long is training very hard, trying to get himself fully prepared. This scene will be shot in a day or two, and Li Qi Long is set to bring about an exciting bout between Fan Siu Wong and him. Following this might be the exchange between Li Qi Long and Donnie Yen.  Li Qi Long's Blog