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Ip Man 2's release has been brought forward to April 29, 2010. While there were sayings that it was to avoid the World Cup fever that might affect box office, it has been denied by the production.

 

On the other hand, release date for The Legend is Born: Ip Man is being pushed back to end of June. Yip Chun says, "No matter how well-received Ip Man was, there were areas that could have been better. For example, the film was obviously set in Foshan, yet it was not shot on location on the actual place. Neither was the mansion like the original. Hence, we have The Legend is Born: Ip Man shot in Foshan, showing Foshan as it is meant to be."

With a recent flood of Ip Man films on the market, Donnie Yen, who gives himself 120 marks for his performance in Ip Man 2 compared 90 marks for the first, has made up his mind, "After Ip Man 2, I would never ever touch any films related to Ip Man. This will be my final film on the subject. Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon, this is very frightening. Did you know how many Ip Man films are in production? Under such condition, we would not progress, it'd only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter."  Guangzhou Daily, Sina

 

Below is Ip Man 2 shooting diary, which shows a bit of Donnie Yen's duel with Sammo Hung towards the end.

Continue reading "Donnie Yen Has Had Enough of Ip Man"

-- Ip Man 2 --

Lots of Ip Man 2 images of Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Fan Siu Wong, Kent Cheng, Darren Shahlavi, To Yu Hang, Jiang Dai Yan, etc. have recently been published on Flickr by its Australian film distributor Dream Movie.

 

Continue reading "Ip Man 2 Stills and Teaser"

-- The Legend is Born - Ip Man --

The Legend is Born: Ip Man trailer, with really awesome intricate, blazingly-quick Wing Chun exchanges between Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, To Yu Hang, Fan Siu Wong and Ip Chun, courtesy of action director Leung Siu Hung, has just been posted to Youtube. And it appears that martial arts philosophy plays quite a big part in the film, based on the conversations in the film.

 

The production recently celebrated the completion of the film, attended by the main cast To Yu Hang, Yuen Biao, Huang Yi, Bernice Liu, Rose Chan, Xu Jiao, Lam Suet and Ma Sai, as well as Gold Typhoon's Paco Wong.

Continue reading "A Trailer Showing How The Legend is Born: Ip Man"

It had long been the wish of Sin Kwok Lam, a longtime martial arts practitioner and shrewd businessman and capitalist who is a major player in Hong Kong financial sector and has even published a controversial book on big corporations swallowing up small firms last year, to bring the account of his grandmaster Yip Man to screen, but he couldn't find any filmmakers willing enough to take the risk as Yip Man was little known. Continue reading "And thus, Ip Man, The Legend, is Born"

 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"

-- 14 Blades --

Spoilers ahead

Law Kar Ying is playing an eunuch Jia Jing Zhong, one who is scheming, treacherous and insatiable. His portrayal of one who is vile and effeminate is very piercing.

Continue reading "A Cursory Glance at the Cameos in 14 Blades"

-- Ip Man 2 --
Ip Man 2 has wrapped up production on November 8. While everyone is eagerly looking forward to the match between Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen, but perhaps because the recent surgery and health conditions, Sammo Hung regrets not getting enough kicks out of it, "Although I'm the martial arts choreographer, our moves were all rather regulated, being confined by the script. So, I made a pact with Donnie Yen to have a rematch next year if the opportunity arises."

Wilson Yip reveals that there is another martial arts exponent in the film, "He has been Donnie Yen's fan since he was a kid. He wouldn't have imagined getting the chance to spar against his idol after ten years."

With no intention of revealing who he is and what role he plays, Wilson Yip tantalises, keeping it a mystery, "I can only say that he fights even more vehemently than Sammo Hung."  Beijing Times

《叶问前传》 Ip Man the Prequel (tentative) has begun production in Hong Kong on November 7. Herman Yau is directing this film, produced by Sin Kwok Lam. Ip Chun serves as the film's advisor and will cameo as Yip Man's second mentor Leung Bik. Under invitation from Foshan government, 2/3 of the scenes from Ip Man the Prequel will be shot on location in Foshan, including the original village Ip Man lived in.

Continue reading "Ip Man the Prequel Begins Filming"

 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"

Yuen Wah is playing Little Zhuge, one who is highly skilled, and also a very humorous person. Yuen Wah says that he has a sunny disposition, and he doesn't let anything unhappy affects him. As such, he hopes to cheers up the audience with this character. Yuen Wah describes his character as a minor villain, one who often overrates himself and does many foolish things.

Continue reading "Meeting Yuen Wah and Ji Chun Hua On Legend of Shaolin Kungfu 3: Heroes of the Great Desert"

14 Blades teaser trailer: A, B Sina

Being tired of killings and power struggle within the Imperial Court, Donnie Yen resigns from his post as an Imperial Guard but being privy to their dark secrets, he is hunted by other Imperial Guards who now come under the control of scheming officials. Opens in Spring 2010.

 

 

 

According to director Daniel Lee, 14 Blades will show a never seen before Donnie Yen that'll give the audience a big shock. While he designed actions, as choreographed by Ku Huen Chiu, for Donnie Yen from the beginning to the end, it's his romance with Vicki Zhao that'll be the highlight.

 

Update: An extended trailer lasting 2:51 minutes with more promising action added.