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

Yuen Biao is playing Tan Zong, one who is responsible for assembling 12 other monks to form Thirteen Cudgel Monks to deal with Wang Shi Chong. He is expert in 72 Peerless Arts of Shaolin, his skills unfathomable, having reached the state of union of Zen and Kungfu. He is pensive, collected, and doesn't exhibit his emotions. He has the bearings of a grandmaster of his times, caring for the affairs of the world.

Leung Kar Yan plays the antagonist Wang Shi Chong, a cunning, greedy, vicious, merciless general of Sui who later usurps the throne. He throws his weight about in the court and oppresses the populace. He bans martial arts practice in order to forestall any future threats.

Have Perseverance, Will Succeed

李渊 Li Yuan was born on August 7, 1982 in Shangdong to an impecunious peasant family of over 10 members, at the time when Jet Li's Shaolin Temple took the nation by storm. Growing up being a fan of martial arts films, Li Yuan started formal training in martial arts at the age of 12. When he was in primary 4, he made a bold decision to quit school in order to learn wushu. He was subsequently punished by his parents. But on considering that he wasn't doing very well in his academic studies, Li Yuan's parents finally relented.

Li Yuan was raised mostly by his wushu champion brother 李炳雷 Li Bing Lei, who also teaches him martial arts. Li Bing Lei is 8 years his senior. Li Yuan was brought up under very strict upbringing, and he matured earlier than most people. In his youth, he got only one rest day on Lunar New Year; on other days, he would train for four to five hours daily. There were times when thoughts of skiving did occur to Li Yuan, but on thinking of how hard his parents were toiling in the fields in his hometown, even in bitter winters, Li Yuan cast aside all weariness.

-- Seven Swords 2 --

Sun Hong Lei reveals that Seven Swords 2 film is still an on-going project and Tsui Hark has been working on the script. He estimates that production might possibly begins next year. Charlie Yeung, who's invited, along with Sun Hong Lei, to a ribbon cutting ceremony, would not say anything about the script other. She believes Tsui Hark would give her a role that would be a delightful surprise. On the hand, Ciwen Pictures, the studio behind the TV version of Seven Swordsmen, is putting the TV sequel on hold due to high costs involved as well as the audience's declining interest on ancient series.

Tsui Hark had recently completed filming of Missing, a mystery about one of a couple gone missing at an ancient underwater ruins off Yonaguni Island. He also has several other projects ahead including 《女人不坏》 She Ain't Mean, which is a somewhat modern version of Peking Opera Blues, and Di Ren Jie. In addition, he has just acquired the rights to Jing Xu Feng's suspense novel 《天眼》 Divine Eye which deals with cracking of an enigmatic case in the recent 100 years.  Chengdu Evening News

-- Tsui Hark's Projects --
Tsui Hark plans to film 《少林拳手》 Shaolin Fighter (tentative) in the second half of 2006, and the movie will star Jet Li and Li Bing Bing. Tsui Hark, who shown The Warrior, a fantasy animation on Wong Fei Hong which he supervised, at the Shanghai International Film Festival, vows to adapt Journey into the West into a movie when the time is ripe. It's his biggest dream to turn the Chinese classic into a feature film, but he hasn't decided if it would ultimately be an animation or live-action film. However, he feels that the technology is not yet mature enough for him to realise his ambition yet, and he needs to come up with the right script first.

In the meantime, he is seeking to collaborate with a Shanghai animation studio, 上海美术电影厂, to do an anime based on Chinese folk tales and culture next year. Tsui Hark is also working on a comedy with actor Sun Hong Lei. At the same time, the weird genius and ever prolific director is in pre-production of Empress Wu Ze Tian TV series, Seven Swords 2, which will see the return of Sun Hong Lei as another character, and a collaboration with Ringo Lam and Johnnie To in which each of the three directors will come up with a portion of the script that will piece together to form the overall picture.  Tianfu Morning News, Enorth News

-- Shaolin Temple: Broken-Armed Abbot --

《少林寺·断臂方丈》 Shaolin Temple: Broken-Armed Abbot (tentative), the first of 120 episodes 《少林寺传奇》 Shaolin Legends Trilogy drama serial will begin production on a CCTV soundstage in Hebei on June 1 and expects to be completed in October. Directed by Du Xiao with Ching Siu Tung as the martial arts director, the cast consists of such celebrities as Anthony Wong, Bao Guo An and Guo Da, and various wushu champions and martial artists, including Yu Cheng Hui, Ji Chun Hua, Xiao Miao, Li Yuan, Pan Yuan Jia, Ye Jian Wei, Wang Xiao Long, Chen Jia Jia (the female general in Seven Swords), etc.

-- Dragon Tiger Gate and Ong Bak 2 Promo Reels at Cannes --

Senh Duong writes: SPL, starring martial arts star Donnie Yen and directed by Wilson Yip, was one of the most talked about martial arts films of 2005. Their follow-up, "Dragon Tiger Gate" is one of the films shown at the Marche du Film or Film Market at this year's Cannes Film Festival. I happen to catch a fifteen minute promo reel of the movie broadcasted in a hotel theater, which showcased hard-hitting martial arts mayhem.

An adaptation of "the most popular Hong Kong manga," the promo features lengthy fights with the three lead characters -- Dragon (Donnie Yen), Tiger (Nicholas Tse), and Turbo (Shawn Yue). They're all fast, hard-hitting, and energetic. Dragon fights off his opponents with powerful arm-to-arm combat, Tiger with his acrobatic and precise kicks, and Turbo with his deadly nun chucks. The fights are of the one-versus-a-hundred variety, so expect a whole lotta butt-kicking. The production design, in general, looks pretty good although I'm not a fan of bright solid colors and long flowing hair on men, even if it's true to the comic book. There are sprinklings of CGI and wire-work in the fights, but since the characters possess super human powers, they work. Overall, I'm encouraged by what I saw.

The Weinstein Company picked up US distribution rights to "Dragon Tiger Gate" and Donnie Yen's martial arts epic "Seven Swords." Hopefully, they won't keep them on the shelf and release them in the States soon.

While walking the aisles upon aisles of movie booths, one in particular catches my eye. It's for Tony Jaa's follow-up to his debut film "Ong-Bak," a film in which he displays his impressive acrobatic talent and fighting form. A promo reel is playing for "Ong-Bak 2," but not much is actually shown here. It begins with the scrolls seen in the original. A monk starts performing a ritual. Tony Jaa, in parallel, does a lengthy Thai martial arts form showing off his artistry, agility, and acrobatics. I'm there."   Rotten Tomatoes

-- Seven Swordsmen TV Series DVD with English Subtitles --

Taiseng is releasing the epic wuxia adaptation Seven Swordsmen TV series on DVD that includes English subtitles. Those finding the movie version disjointed or felt too rushed in some parts will appreciate the details in the TV version, which has a more coherent feel. It also features a more dynamic, ethnic soundtrack, and great audio and visuals. While boasting a cast of top martial artists from Mainland, save for a rare few scenes, the fights aren't especially worth lauding thanks to the quirky-editings. 

In Seven Swordsmen, Tsui Hark sets forth to to provide a logical explanation to the events before the original Liang Yu Sheng novel Seven Swords of Mt Tian, telling how The Seven Swords are formed, introducing new characters and fresh plotlines of scintillating intrigues and twists. He also explores the complex inner world of Chu Zhao Nan, whose ideals, beliefs and pride get shattered time and again once he sets foot onto the mundane world, which results in his change.

 In this wuxia saga set in 17th century China, the Manchurians have taken over the country from the Ming dynasty rulers. As the new Ching government begins a crackdown on martial arts practitioners, seven kung fu masters, each of whom carry a sword that represents one of the seven states of being, must struggle to keep their art and themselves alive. Based on the classic martial arts novel by renowned novelist Liang yusheng, Seven Swords is an epic story of love betrayal, friendship, heroism and masterful swordplay.

Directed by Jacob Cheung Chi Leung, Clarence Fok Yiu Leung. Cast includes Zhao Wen Zhuo, Yu Cheng-Hui, Xu Xiang Dong, Ji Chun-Hua, Qiao Zhen Yu, Sang Wei-Lin, Sun Jian Kui, Ada Choi, Li Xiao Ran, Wang Li Kun, Edell Ai Dai, Ray Lui, Wang Xue Bing, Leung Kar Yan...

Seven Swordsmen DVD ships on May 19 and maybe ordered from YesAsia.

-- SPL Sequel,  Yet Not SPL 2 --

Donnie Yen, who is currently working on post-production of Dragon Tiger Gate, confirms that he is indeed working on the sequel to SPL (which is expected to begin production in May or June), now financed by Mandarin Films, which produced Seven Swords and Dragon Tiger Gate. However, due to change of studios, they won't call this crime movie SPL 2. He intends to enlist the original production crew. However, since most of the principal characters died in SPL, the sequel will not succeed the storyline of the original.  Bailing Entertainment

-- Donnie Yen's Next --

Donnie Yen's management, on being queried about SPL sequel going into production in May, with financing from the producers of Dragon Tiger Gate, clarified that, it's indeed true that the team behind SPL would be working together again on a new crime movie. However, it's not SPL sequel, and the story won't be related. It would feature similar kind of action, and Donnie Yen might again play a police officer. But since the script is not out, nothing has been finalised.  Nangfang Daily

-- Seven Swords 2 --

Ma Zhong Jun, producer of Seven Swords, says that preparation for Seven Swords 2, budgeted at over 100 million yuan, is going on well. Having listened to audience feedback, Tsui Hark and the production are working on improving the weaker aspects of the first movie. One of the main complaints was that the screentime was too evenly spread out between the various characters such that none of them really stood out and all felt rather nondescript, and the story felt disjointed and hazy. So, in the sequel, the story will focus on two main characters, so that their personalities would be more pronounced and scintillating. They'd also try to keep the sequel shorter, since length was the main concern of the investors and audience alike.