Choreography

Director Benny Chan didn't thought of doing a science-fiction initially (This was also echoed by Wu Jing on another occasion, who mentioned that it was a crime film when the director first approached him.), but as he doesn't want to repeat what he has done before, such as the typical cops vs crooks, car chase or gun combats.

Continue reading "Benny Chan Interview on City Under Siege: It's the Mutating Heart that is Most Gruesome"

Ngai Sing (or Collin Chou) says that he admires director Benny Chan for his enterprising spirit, "Director Benny Chan is very bold, he dares experiment something he has never done before, I take my hats off to him for that. I also admire his talents, no matter what subject he's filming, it's as if he's telling the ups and downs of one's life.

Continue reading "Ngai Sing Interview on City Under Siege: A Day in the Life of A Mutant"

Press conference for City Under Siege was held on June 1, 2010 afternoon in Beijing, during which a 5 minutes making-of featurette was shown. The event was attended by the producers/investors, director Benny Chan, the cast Aaron Kwok, Ngai Sing, Wu Jing, Shu Qi.

Continue reading "City Under Siege Making-of Featurette Unveiled at Press Conference"

Heard that you hurt yourself when filming but still insisted on carrying on? Was it very serious?

Sammo Hung: Yes, I still kept on filming after being injured. You could say it was serious, you could also say it's not serious, did not matter. Darren Shahlavi dared not hit me initially. But I compelled him to strike, but he was still holding back, so the outcome wasn't very good and we kept doing retakes.

 

Continue reading "Sammo Hung Interview on Ip Man 2's Martial Arts Sequences"

-- Ip Man 2 --
Wilson Yip, who reveals that Ip Man 2's martial arts scenes are the results of Sammo Hung's painstaking effort, describes the duel between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung as his most unforgettable scene in the film, "Big Brother Sammo Hung's choreography is truly outstanding, I love it very much. And it's not just fighting, for there is a little drama there as well. Sammo Hung, who can't wait to step onto the arena, is asked by Donnie Yen just before the duel if it's more important to determine the winner or having a meal with family?"

Wilson Yip indicates that in order to highlight the characteristics of Wing Chun in this challenge,  whereby Donnie Yen has to win three duels consecutively on the table within the burning time of a joss stick, Sammo Hung specially picked Monkey Fist and Eight Trigram Palm, to compete against Wing Chun, before Sammo Hung himself takes on Donnie Yen using Hung Gar.

 

Lo Meng would employ Monkey Fist's agile moves and leaps to test the waters of Wing Chun's attacks and feigns, while Fung Hak On, using Eight Trigram Palm's seemingly slow but fast movements, circles and clings around the opponent, striking at the most opportune moment. As the other two masters step down, Sammo Hung, the fastest fatty fighter, makes use of Hung Gar's powerful and aggressive moves to counter Wing Chun chain punch, fighting fire with fire.

 

Under such exquisite choreography, the counters between the various forms of martial arts and Wing Chun allow the audience to get a better appreciation of the finer points of wushu. To make it more challenging and precarious, and for heightened visuals as well as adding a touch of wushu vibrancy, Sammo Hung chose a confined space - the top of a 20-seat round table - to be their arena.

 

To sum up, Wilson Yip says that what Ip Man displays through the fights is a kind of forbearance, "武 (Wu) is made up of 止 (cessation) and 戈 (dagger-axe). The spirit of Chinese wushu is to stop fighting, rather than picking up a fight. The pursuit of the highest realm of wushu is not merely about winning or losing. That Ip Man gaining an edge over his opponent is not because of his desire to determine the winner, nor to defeat yet another opponent, it's not about physical victory, but rather it's on another level - winning without waging war."

 

2nd teaser trailer: Youku

 Set against backdrop of the boundless, arid, desolate desert in the western part of China, revolving around the three polar groups: detectives, runaway convicts, and assassins, Tempest of the Westerly Winds explores the hope for survival, the true meaning of love, the final resting place of destiny as the three groups keep each other in check and struggle against each other. Continue reading "Nicky Li Responds to Gao Qun Shu's Call to Give Everyone a Tempestuous Ride on Tempest of the Westerly Winds"

With True Legend's release date drawing nearer, more and more videos and stills from the film are surfacing. The gala premiere will be held in Beijing on January 31, possibly attended by some Hollywood personages. In addition, True Legend, as well as Little Big Soldier, will get a special screening at 60th Berlin International Film Festival in February.

Continue reading "True Legend: More Images, Footages, and Yet More Yuen Wo Ping Pep Talk"

 With his rising popularity and big sellouts of his films, Donnie Yen is fast becoming one of the top earners in the industry, commanding up to 20m yuan per film this year, after Jackie Chan (30m yuan), Jet Li (25m yuan) and Chow Yun Fatt (25m yuan). Hailed as the new King of Kung Fu, he is getting even more offers this year, running the gamut from historical epic  on 《关云长》 General Guan Yun Chang by Felix Chong and Alan Mak, through comic book adaptation 《中华英雄》 A Man Called Hero remake, to mythological feature 《大闹天宫》 Monkey King. Continue reading "Donnie Yen Seeks Quantum Leaps for Each Film He Does"

A 3D montage from True Legend whereby Zhao Wen Zhuo challenges his imagined opponent in order to elevate his martial arts skill was shown for the first time at a press conference in Beijing on December 20, attended by director Yuen Wo Ping, the cast Zhou Xun, Jiang Lu Xia and Will Liu. Post-production took over 10 months in order to create the fight scenes in 3D, done painstakingly layer by layer, frame by frame by Menfond Electronic Art and over 100 digital artists. Yuen Wo Ping says that to shoot the 3D action scenes, two cameras had to be set up, and he tried to devise moves that aren't too fanciful, such that the action could be seen distinctly, for maximum 3D visual impact.

Continue reading "True Legend in 3D - Partially"

While promoting Bodyguards and Assassins in Shanghai on December 9, producers Peter Chan and Yu Dong gave their thanks to Donnie Yen for helping the film wrap up successfully, returning to the set after filming had ended to re-enact a fight scene without taking extra pay. They also presented Donnie Yen with a film print of the parkour fight scene, that Donnie Yen, working with Cung Le and his longstanding team of 17 stuntmen, choreographed.

Continue reading "Donnie Yen Crossing Path with Cung Le in More Ways than One"

 As Ip Man 2 is wrapping up soon, the press was finally granted visit to the set in Songjiang Studio, Shanghai on October 28, when the gripping duel between two of the best martial arts stars Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen was being filmed. Continue reading " Ip Man 2: Sammo Hung Vs Donnie Yen Round 2"

 Press conference for True Legend was held on October 19 afternoon with the trailer being screened and the director Yuen Wo Ping and cast Zhao Wen Zhuo, Andy On and Guo Xiao Dong showing up. Zhou Xun was unable to attend but recorded her speech in advance. Also in the film are Jiang Lu Xia, Michelle Yeoh, Cung Le, Gordon Liu, etc. Continue reading "True Legend Trailer Unveiled at Beijing Press Conference"