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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"

-- Shaolin --
As Shaolin is about to go into production later this month, the cast are receiving training in either Hong Kong or Mainland. Since two months back, Andy Lau has been training under martial arts directors Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak, as well as watching videos to learn the basics of Shaolin Fist.

Recently, Reverend Yongzhi and his disciple Xing Yu (aka 延能 Yan Neng) arrived in Hong Kong to give the cast specialised training. Andy Lau has been learning Seven-Star Fist under both of them, Reverend Yongzhi's fist is quick and powerful, and he is very fastidious about each movement and footwork, while Andy Lau is working very hard on it, practising each and every stance repeatedly and mindfully. Apart from martial arts training, Andy Lau, who meditates 45 minutes daily, also went to Shaolin Temple for a three-day retreat earlier on, hoping to understand the meaning of Zen and martial arts as one, in preparation for his role in Shaolin.

Andy Lau, whose earnest attitude influences his colleagues to train with him, says, "I have never tried meditating in the temple, studying scriptures and doing not doing, I didn't even have my handphone with me, thinking of nothing, purifying my thoughts. Actually, it's possible to talk nothing for three days, I felt more at ease and free. The true meaning of Shaolin kungfu is not limited to the kungfu per se, but also relates to the cultivation of one's mind, to reach the state of union of Zen and martial arts, gaining a deeper realisation of martial spirit."

Reverend Yongzhi, who rarely takes in any disciples, and has never taught anyone else outside the premises of Shaolin Temple, is making an exception for the film Shaolin, "I hope this new Shaolin film will propagate the real meaning of Shaolin martial arts. Shaolin kungfu is not simply about fighting, it also encompasses autogenous, infinity, understanding of Self, this is the meaning of Zen and martial arts as one. It's an affinity for Andy Lau to have the chance to pick up Shaolin kungfu."  

Aside from Andy Lau, director Benny Chan reveals that Wu Jing and Yu Shao Qun would be learning Joint-lock Techniques and Sticky Hands respectively, while Nicholas Tse gets a unique set of skills specially devised for the film. However, as the three of them are busy filming in Mainland, missing the chance to be coached personally by Reverend Yong Zhi, Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak will record his movements and pass the instructions to them later. Benny Chan has also gone to Shaolin Temple with the assistant director several months back to meditate, to experience firsthand the spiritual practice of Shaolin martial arts.  Netease

  

Video: Andy Lau Training in Seven Star Fist   Sina

On October 8, a press conference marking the launch of Ip Man official site, now carrying Ip Man trailer, was held. Following that, Wilson Yip, Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung proceeded to a chat organised by Sina, hosted by Zhao Ning. They were joined in by film critic Wei Jun Zi.

Continue reading "Wilson Yip, Donnie Yen and Lynn Hung At Ip Man Sina Chat"

Legendary Assassin, a HK$31m film directed by Nicky Li and Wu Jing, with a cast including Wu Jing, Celina Jade, Kou Zhan Wen, Alex Fong Lik Sun, Aoyama Noriko, Jiang Bao Cheng, Sammy Leung, Lam Suet, Shui Hung Hui, Mark Cheng, Ronald Cheng, etc. was introduced at Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival in Dalian, Liaoning on September 11 afternoon.

Continue reading "Wu Jing Talks About Legendary Assassin at 17th Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival"

-- Legendary Assassin --

Press conference marking the inaugural filming of 《狼牙之阿布》 Legendary Assassin: Bruce was held in Beijing on July 25, attended by producers Paco Wong and Ng See Yuen, directors Nicky Li Chung Chi and Wu Jing, famous erhu soloist Chen Jun, who's scoring/playing the main theme, cast members Celina Jade, Kou Zhan Wen, Alex Fong Lik Sun, Jiang Bao Cheng. To the applause of the guests, Wu Jing and his senior Kou Zhan Wen put up a captivating fight on the stage.

Continue reading "Legendary Assassin Beijing Press Conference: Wu Jing Confronts Giant Wrestler"

 -- '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.

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"

-- 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.

-- Wu Jing on Impact --

December's Impact Magazine contains the first part of an exclusive interview with Wu Jing, whose latest work Fatal Contact, also featured on the magazine, was released in Hong Kong last month. The upcoming issue will conclude the interview as they discuss SPL, working with Sammo Hung, Fatal Contact and Wu Jing's plans for the future.

 

"Mainland Chinese Wushu maestro Wu Jing first jump kicked his way onto the Jade Screen as the youthful star of Yuen Woo ping’s kung fu comedy Tai Chi 2/Tai Chi Boxer, before carving a name for himself in the world of Chinese martial arts dramas on the small screen. Wu worked for director Tsui Hark on Legend of Zu, and Lau Kar leung for Drunken Monkey, but it his cameo role in Wilson Yip’s dark classic SPL/Killzone that re-introduced him to cinema audiences across Asia. This month Wu Jing headlines a dark martial arts thriller Fatal Contact, which sees him drawn into the world of illegal martial arts fights. Impact’s Eastern Editor Mike Leeder caught up with the man for the following interview."   Courtesy of Big Mike

-- Let's Steal Together --

When Tsui Siu Ming and Sammo Hung held several meetings to discuss their upcoming collaboration Howling Arrow, Tsui Siu Ming mentioned the storyline of Let's Steal Together to Sammo Hung, who found it to be appealing. So, Tsui Siu Ming invited him to join this movie as well, to give the audience a pleasant surprise. Coupled with suggestions from Sammo Hung, producer Tsui Siu Ming and director Kong Tao Hoi designed many earthshaking fight scenes in the movie. Sammo Hung plays a lama who is skilled healer, and has many scenes opposite Wu Jing.

 

"After accepting Let's Steal Together, I often contemplated on improving the action scenes. This time around, Wu Jing is my partner. I have already witnessed his excellent skills in SPL (aka Kill Zone), in which he showed his great agility and power. He is someone with great potential. So, it's a great opportunity to work with him on a martial arts film. I believe I have a very important mission: to protect the two lovely female leads Twins Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi. Though they have encountered hundreds of battles, but facing such a strong opponent as Wu Jing, it'd benefit them to learn some self-defense techniques, so that they would be able to counter his attacks."

 

Wu Jing feels it a great fortune to work with Sammo Hung again, saying that he has much to learn from him, "I respect brother Sammo Hung a lot, for he treats everyone on the set equally, taking good care of newcomers like us. For example, when he learned that I'd injured myself when filming, he visited me to enquire about my wellbeing. He even said, 'Though you might have had some minor injuries, I won't hold back when filming, for we have to achieve that authentic feel.' He told me not to be hesitant when fighting him simply because he was a senior. He wanted me to give my all. It's very lucky to work with such a professional actor like brother Sammo Hung."   Sina

-- SPL 2 --

On Aug 29, Paco Wong arranged for Wu Jing, who has just wrapped up Let's Steal Together, to go to Hong Kong to meet the press and talk about future plans. Paco Wong declared that they'd be filming SPL 2 next year, sometime after the Lunar New Year. Wu Jing, Sammo Hung and Simon Yam has already signed on to this project.

 

Paco Wong revealed that SPL 2 is a prequel to the original movie, mainly dealing with the relationships between Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Wu Jing. And in order for it to be approved for release in China, they'd try to accommodate the film regulations of Mainland, reducing some gore. They'd also increase the proportion of fight scenes to keep it thrilling. It's possible that SPL 2 will pit Wu Jing against a number of foreign martial artists, one of whom might possibly be Tony Jaa.

 

While SPL 2 is still in pre-production, Wu Jing has his own views of the film's plot, "I feel that the prequel should describe how I turn into a cold-blooded killer, why would I carry out a series of murders on Father's Day, why I'd regard Sammo Hung as my father..."

 

Wu Jing came to Hong Kong mainly to do dubbing for Fatal Contact, which opens in Hong Kong on October 5. Fatal Contact would not be released theatrically in Mainland. Rather, it'd go straight to video there.  Nanfang Daily

-- Army Breaker (Po Jun) --

According to Raymond Wong, Wilson Yip's next crime movie will be called 《破军》 Po Jun (or P or Army Breaker - tentative), the second word from Sha Po Lang (SPL), which means destroying thousands of opponents in war. After some discussions, they decided to choose Army Breaker over various other titles, including 《强战型警》 Battling the Police Force. The US$8m Army Breaker begins production next month, with Donnie Yen, Louis Koo and some unnamed Chinese actresses playing the lead roles.

 

The movie traces one of Hong Kong's darkest historical moments, depicting the fierce battles between the police and the triads before Hong Kong's sovereignty was handed over to China from United Kingdom on June 30, 1997. It's based on a true case in Macau concerning corruptions and conspiracies between the police and secret societies.

 

Donnie Yen and Louis Koo play two righteous police officers in the times when Macau was very turbulent, with frequent breakouts of gun fights and bombings. The police force was too weak to stand up against the triads. Majority of the police were bribed, and all Macau casinos were controlled by the triads. Donnie Yen plays a police officer who has just returned from training in Portugal. Out of social conscience, he begins an intense battle against the secret societies. Apparently, Louis Koo will Donnie Yen's buddy who is equipped with excellent martial arts ability too. It appears that there will be two main villains like SPL, the underworld gang leader and his able assistant.  Information Times, Xiao Xiang Morning Post