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 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"

-- 27th Hong Kong Film Awards --

The 27th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held on April 13 Evening. Jet Li receives Best Actor award for his excellent performance in Warlords, which sweeps through the event with seven other wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visuals, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Effects.

    

Jet Li says that he does not intend to thank director Peter Chan, for had the latter told him earlier that he'd win an award doing drama roles, he would not have done over 20 years of action films. He also expresses gratitude to the panel and his fans. He says there are too many people he'd like to thank, the scriptwriter, the director, his mother and father, his wushu mentor Wu Bin, Shaolin Temple's director Cheung Sing Yim...

 

Best Screenplay goes to Au Kin Yee and Wai Kar Fai for Mad Detective. Donnie Yen wins Best Action Direction for his fresh and bold choreography for Flash Point. Lydia Shum, who passed away in February, was honoured posthumously with Professional Spirit Award.  Sina

 -- 'Yip Man' --

 With the limited release of Flash Point in US theatres, Donnie Yen has been getting interviews, such as from San Francisco Bay Guardian. Below are the parts relating to 'Yip Man', now in production, in an interview by Sara Schieron on Rotten Tomatoes:

 

What are your five favorite martial arts films of all time, and why?
Donnie Yen: (I like) Enter The Dragon and Fist Of Fury, because they star my all-time idol, Bruce Lee. Prodigal Son,, starring Yuen Biao, directed by Sammo Hung. In terms of Wing Chun kung fu on camera: Sammo set the bar with that one. And we're trying to raise it (the bar) again with our new film, 'Yip Man'.

 

(I like) Drunken Master, with Jackie Chan, directed by my Sifu, Yuen Woo-ping. That created a whole new style of kung fu comedy. Heroes Of The East, by Lau Kar-leung. This is a classic Shaw Brothers film about a kung fu master who marries a Japanese woman, and finds he has to fight her relatives, all of whom know different Japanese arts. (It's a) Great concept, and someone should remake it. (It's not technically a kung fu movie, but I loved the last Rocky film, Rocky Balboa! Very touching, and the last fight was amazing.)

You must get along with Wilson Yip. Flash Point is one of many collaboration with him and you have more collaborations ('Yip Man') in the works.
Donnie Yen: I have a great time working with Wilson. We did SPL (Killzone), Dragon Tiger Gate, Flashpoint and now we're shooting Yip Man. (As I mentioned above, Painted Skin was directed by Gordon Chan). Wilson's very quiet, very focused. When we work together, he really helps me keep on track in terms of the story and character development. We make a great team, and I hope to work with him again!

Tell us more about your latest project, 'Yip Man'!
Donnie Yen: We're shooting 'Yip Man' now, in Shanghai. Sammo Hung is the action director. I've wanted to do this film for years. I've been training in Wing Chun kung fu, and especially working on the wooden dummy, so I can do justice to this story and this character. We have the full support of Yip Man's family, which is great. Having just done Flash Point, it's great to do a completely different style of action for this film.

Bey Logan's Blog has been updated recently with a number of articles on recent martial arts movies as well as martial arts legends. Firstly, there are interviews with filmmaker, martial arts director, Hung-gar master Liu Chia Liang, a Hung Gar legend Lam Cho, and a trip down the memory lane with Golden Harvest's Raymond Chow.

Next up is an audio commentary session with Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue and Andy On for Dragon Dynasty's Invisible Target DVD, a brief moment with Sammo Hung at Fatal Move Premiere, and, in conjunction with the production of Mandarin Film's "Yip Man", directed by Wilson Yip, action directed by Sammo Hung and starring Donnie Yen, takes a look at Wing Chun lineage and related films.

 

As a side note, Coming Soon interviews Donnie Yen as Flash Point gets limited release in US this week.

-- 26th HK Film Awards --

Both Jet Li and Andy Lau are being nominated for Best Actor award for their roles in the same film Warlords. Warlords has also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume & Makeup, Best Sound Effects and Best Original Film Score. Nicky Li (Invisible Target), Kong Tao Hoi (Twins Mission), Ching Siu Tung (Warlords), Chin Kar Lok (Protege) and Donnie Yen (Flash Point) are contending for Best Action Direction. The awards ceremony will be held on April 15.  HKFAA

-- Flash Point DVD --

The DVD for Flash Point, one of the best martial arts movies ever made that combines excellent direction from Wilson Yip as well as a thorough, well thought-out and visceral showdown between Donnie Yen and Ngai Sing that sets new standards for the way martial arts scenes should be shot, is going to be released on 28 September. The limited edition comes with such special features as the gala premiere, behind-the-scenes video, shooting diary, informer's report, martial arts production, deleted scenes, as well as various trailers. Flash Point was recently screened at Toronto International Film Festival.

 

Preorder at YesAsia

Flash Point DVD (2-Disc Limited Edition)

Flash Point DVD (Regular Edition)

 -- Wisely --
Donnie Yen, who is currently filming Kingdom and Beauty and would be doing Painted Skin remake next, is taking a break from martial arts choreography and is conserving his energy and inspirations for a movie adaptation of Wisely, a detective/mystery novel series by Ni Kuang, "Wilson Yip is currently working on the script, taking care of all the character designs. I'd be in charge of the action direction, and I'd also be taking on the role of Wisely. Wisely is a more gentle, refined, cultured person compared to Ma Jun of Flash Point, so the choreography leans towards this direction." Production for Wisely is likely to start in around December.  Hangzhou Daily

 -- Ngai Sing on Working on Flash Point --
 “Flash Point” with acclaimed Hong Kong director Wilson Yip and veteran actor/stunt coordinator Donnie Yen is scheduled to be released soon. The production began in October of ’06 and took 5 months to finish. Even with my 20 plus years of film production experiences, the cohesive teamwork between Wilson and Donnie was a real eye-opener, like no other productions I had worked on. The success of this film is also attributed to the film’s producers Beijing Poly-bona Film Publishing Company’s Dong Yu, Enlight Pictures’ Zhang Zhao, Mandarin Films’ Raymond Wong, and Nansun Shi; having consistently supported Wilson and Donnie when production was over budget and behind schedule.  CollinChou.com >>More<<

 -- Flash Point’ lights up Asia --
 FLASH POINT, the latest actioner from KILL ZONE’s dynamic duo, director Wilson Yip and action director and star Donnie Yen, premieres in Beijing today, a day ahead of a wide release across Asia. The $10 million production promises to up previous stakes set by Yip and Yen in their recent bid to return Hong Kong to the center ring of international action cinema. The film brings Yen together with fellow kung fu movie star Collin Chou (THE MATRIX TRILOGY), the Shaolin Temple-trained Xing Yu (KUNG FU HUSTLE), Chinese National Tai Chi champion Yan Hua, and co-starring lead Louis Koo who was previously heard as the voice of Shibumi in Yip’s last film DRAGON TIGER GATE.  Kungfu Cinema >>More<<

Donnie Yen Defines the Art of Practical Combat Onscreen

 

Watching Movie, 13/7/2007
Zhu Qin
 

 
I heard that the concept of mixed martial arts is implemented in the upcoming summer movie Flash Point.
Donnie Yen: Mixed martial arts, a combat sport that has become popular in the West in the recent years, is an effective fighting system that employs a vast array of different martial arts techniques. Each contestant possesses a variety of martial arts techniques such as Jujitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, etc. I believe this is the most authentic type of combat. I have been researching, studying and learning it. I introduced some of it in SPL - Brazilian Ju-jitsu.

Continue reading "Interview: Donnie Yen on Flash Point's Revolutionary Choreography"

-- Flashpoint Trailer --

Flashpoint trailer, which offers glimpses of several amazing martial arts scenes, has been posted at DonnieYen.Net.

Flash Point is directed by Wilson Yip, with Donnie Yen working as martial arts director and starring in it. Other cast members include Louis Koo, Fan Bing Bing, Ngai Xing, Xing Yu, Ray Lui.

-- City with No Mercy / Flashpoint --

Shooting of Wilson Yip's City with No Mercy, which promises even more explosive actions and more exciting storyline, has wrapped up in early March. The Chinese title gets a name change to《导火线》(Fuse/Flash Point).  To ensure that the action scenes stand out, Donnie Yen not only hired martial artists from around the globe but also invited Ngai Sing to join the cast. Reportedly, his duel with Ngai Sing will surpass the clash of baton and dagger between him and Wu Jing in SPL.

 

Director Wilson Yip states that City with No Mercy is the best collaboration between him and Donnie Yen, "I dare guarantee that everyone who has seen this film will be shocked." City with No Mercy is being planned for July release and promotional video will be shown at upcoming Cannes Film Festival and Hong Kong Film Awards. The cast includes Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Ray Lui, Shi Xing Yu, Fang Bing Bing, Xu Qing, Ngai Sing.  Sohu | Photos: Sohu

 

Behind-the-scenes video is up at Youtube.