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One Foundation C1 Celebrity Charity Race was held on Shanghai International Circuit on May 25. Jet Li signalled the start of the race, participated by Michelle Yip, Sun Nan, Wu Jing, Stanley Tong, Wu Jia Le, Bowie Lam, Chen Juan Hong, Zeng Li, Lee San San etc, while Ruby Lin and Wang Zhi Wen turned up as cheerleaders.

Due to hiccups or accidents, there were only a few left by the end of the six-lap race. On the first few laps, cars driven by Stanley Tong, Wu Jing, Michelle Yip, etc. crashed, collided, broke down, or suffered from burst tire. Sun Nan almost won the race until his car broke down on the last minute. The champion male and female racers were Wu Jia Le and Chen Juan Hong. To the participants, it's not about winning, everyone was more concerned about doing their part for charity.

The 700 thousand yuan raised for the day will be contributed towards earthquake relief. Jet Li, who gives up filmmaking this year in order to devote his time entirely to charity as well as building up One Foundation, assures everyone of the transparency of One Foundation accounts. He also says that one should not mind the amount one donates, depending on one's ability, whether its one dollar or a million, it's the thought that counts. He also encourages everyone to make a regular donation to sustain the relief effort as well as to provide for unforeseen circumstances.

While many may be curious about how much Jet Li has donated, Jet Li's not going to spill it, "When One Foundation was first set up, I had an agreement with the first batch of contributing members, never to divulge the amount I have donated personally. This was my promise to them. So, my answer remains the same, I'll not reveal how much I have contributed towards Sichuan earthquake relief."  Shanghai Daily | Videos: Sina, Sohu

-- Legendary Assassin --

Twitch has just posted a preview of Legendary Assassin's promo reel at this year's Cannes Film Festival:

"Also up on the Hong Kong action tip, I got to check out a promo made up of completely raw footage for Wu Jing’s Legendary Assassin. Beyond the fact that it was still in very rough form and graced with one of the most hilariously over the top bits of English narration ever – apparently done a bit tongue in cheek – it looks decently well shot and there is certainly no shortage of action in this movie. Nope. And it’s all old fashioned Hong Kong ass whuppin – fists and feet meeting faces. Wu must’ve been tired."

Besides Legendary Assassin, Twitch also reports on two Donnie Yen projects - Painted Skin and Legend of Yip Man - being marketed at Cannes:

"Anyway, there were still good things to be had.  Such as?  The promo for Ip Man, the Wilson Yip directed, Donnie Yen starring bio pic of Bruce Lee’s mentor.  The current promo is largely behind the scenes footage but also includes some final work and it all looks very, very impressive.  Donnie looks strong - you’d expect a strong effort from him considering how highly he regards Bruce Lee - as do the production values and the supporting cast. Fans of Fan Siu Wong - who we talked about a little while back thanks to his part in The Moss - will be glad to know it looks as though his role is pretty significant."

Last month, Taiwan singer Elva Hsiao Ya Xuan, who went on a vegetarian diet in 2003 as a healthier living option, specially invited Wu Jing to join her music video More More More, which combines dance with wushu. Elva Hsiao specifically picked Wu Jing to star opposite her due to his excellent wushu skills as well as his exalted status as a martial arts star.

Elva Hsiao was coached by Wu Jing, who also choreographed the action. While a little maladroit initially, Elva Hsiao picked things up quickly thanks to her background in dancing. Elva Hsia, who aims at breaking into the film industry as a female action star this year, managed to meet Wu Jing's demands quickly, and she was able to handle to action like wirework and kicking conversantly.  HK Headline

More More More is part of Elva Hsiao's first EMI album 3 Faced Elva since her return, and is scheduled for release on June 17, 2008. Taking 16 days in production and costing NT$5m, More More More is one of the more expensive music videos on the album, and Elva Hsiao suffered from bruises and injuries while training and filming.

On May 8, the press was granted a visit to the set of Grand Master Yip Man on a Shanghai soundstage, where filming of Butterfly Lovers/Butterfly Swords, starring Wu Zun and Charlene Choi as the re-incarnations of the star-cross lovers, with choreography by Ching Siu Tung, is also going on nearby.

They were filming a scene whereby Yip Man (Donnie Yen) goes shopping with his wife Zhang Yong Cheng (Lynn Hung) and son Yip Chun (Li Ze) in the bustling streets of Foshan. However, owing to unexpected drizzle, filming was affected. At one end of a street is the congregation of all kind of martial arts schools. The set will be altered at a later stage to give a worn-down, grim and dismal look following Japanese invasion and occupation.

Gordon Lam plays constable Li Zhao and while enforcing his duty, he inevitably comes into conflicts with Yip Man. It's Li Zhao's duty as a constable to ensure law and order, but those martial arts practitioners are constantly taking on each other. Thus, they are a perennial threat to public security as well as a headache to the police force. In other words, Gordon Lam's character per se may be a wet blanket to the audience for potentially disrupting any matches.

More photos at: Sina. Here are the videos from the set visit at Sina: Shopping, Interviews with Donnie Yen, Wilson Yip, Lynn Hung, Gordon Lam

-- Grandmaster Yip Man --

Videos from May 7 Shanghai press conference featuring Donnie Yen interview with some film footages from Sohu/Sina/QQ: A, B, C, D, E, F

During the press conference, director Wilson Yip explains the reasons for focusing on Yip Man's life in between the 1930s to 1940s.

As Yip Man came from an affluent family, he could afford the time and energy to engross himself in the studies and research of martial arts. He did not have the cares of the world on his shoulders, was not particularly concerned about anything around him. He's a refined, well-cultivated person.

But at the age of 30, Yip Man's family underwent severe changes. At that time, Foshan fell to the Japanese. His tranquil and quiet life was shattered, his family became impoverished, and he was at his lowest ebb. It's at this point that Yip Man began to realise to importance of his family and his friends, and he started to take a completely different outlook and perception.

Out of love for the people as well as his continual and dawning realisation of the essence of wushu, Yip Man gradually snapped out of the limitations as a martial arts fanatic, and amidst countless battles and struggles without any ego, took on the new onus of restoring the flag of the nation.

 
"To me, this period marks a significant turning point in his life, at the same time, it is a detailed portrayal of the values of Yip Man wushu spirit, as such, our movie is based largely on this portion of his life." explains Wilson Yip.  Sohu | Photos: TheFirst.cn, MTime