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-- Coweb --

Back in May 2008, 《战·无双》 (Skirmish, Peerless) Coweb, an action film by Xiong Xin Xin began production quietly. Filming has already wrapped up and Xiong Xin Xin proceeded to play a cameo role in Butterfly Lovers starring Wu Chun, Charlene Choi and Hu Ge. Coweb stars Jiang Lu Xia, Sam Lee, Kane Kosugi, Cheung Siu Fai and Mike Moller. Joe Ma, Chan Shu Chi are producing the film which is written by Chan Wing Sun.

-- Five Disciples of Master Wong --

Five Disciples of Master Wong TV series focuses on the stories of, well, the five renowned disciples of Wong Fei Hung, namely Leung Foon, Clubfoot Seven, Lam Sai Wing, Bucktooth Su, and Moon, starting from how they become accepted by Wong Fei Hung, who was unwilling initially, as his disciples and how they eventually join forces to fight against the mastermind behind illegal opium trade. Max Mok, Xiong Xin Xin and Kent Cheng return as Leung Foon, Clubfoot Seven and Lam Sai Wing. Xiong Xin Xin also directs the action which appears to be realistic and hard-hitting. Trailer: Sina | Order DVD: YesAsia

-- Light Blue, Deep Blue --

《浅蓝深蓝》 Light Blue, Deep Blue (tentative), produced by Ciwen Production, the studio behind Seven Swords, has begun filming quietly on Sept 1. Tsui Hark serves as the producer for this children action movie while Yuan Wei Dong directs. Light Blue, Deep Blue features a star-studded ensemble that includes Sun Hong Lei, Zhang Jing Chu, Zhao Wen Zhuo, Max Mok, Tao Hao, Mei Kun, Luo Hai Qiong, Dong Xiao Yan.

Sun Hong Lei is playing a pilot, the father of the child protagonist Dou Ding. Imposing and cool, he is very caring and understanding towards kids. Dong Xiao Yan will play the mother of Dou Ding. Zhang Jing Chu will play a tomboyish character, while her screentime is strictly limited, it will be a great change for her compared to her previous roles, with promise of an explosive performance. Tao Hong will play the mother of the other kid Kai Wen, and her husband is played by Wang Yi Fu, an Olympics pistol gold medallist. Both of them will be edifying sports(wo)manship through their roles. Comedian Mei Kun will play the principal of the kindergarten. Max Mok takes on the role of an oddball teacher who mingles and plays with kids merrily and riotously. Zhao Wen Zhuo plays a wushu coach and will work with action director Xiong Xin Xin to bring about fight scenes that are kinetic but without bloodbath. Shooting will take two months.  Sina | Video: Sina | Photos: Sina

Xiong Xin Xin on the Vicissitudes of Stunt Profession
 

China Movies Weekly, 13 April 2005

 
Xiong Xin Xin (aka Hung Yan Yan), most commonly known for his role as Clubfoot Seven in Once Upon A Time in China series, was born in 1962 in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China. He began martial arts training at the age of 12, and 2 years later, became a member of Guangxi Wushu Team and won numerous trophies at Guangxi and National Wushu Competitions. In 1984, under a fortuitous occasion, he stepped into the movie industry. "At that time, I was no longer competing and had taken up the post of a wushu coach. My two seniors who were in Shaolin Temple looked me up to shoot Martial Arts of Shaolin. Because of my impressions on Shaolin Temple, I agreed."

-- The Two Major Martial Arts Scenes in SPL (Sha Po Lang) --

Below is what Grady Hendrix of Kaiju Shakedown says about SPL 《杀破狼》:

"I'm a third party (not involved in the production of SPL) and I loved it. It will not break out in the US -- its flavor is too local -- but it was a mature, dark movie that had some great action. More importantly, the action was totally unique. The fight between Wu Jing and Donnie Yen is like nothing I have ever seen before. To me, Xiong Xin-xin was the last fight choreographer who was really experimenting with action choreography in Hong Kong (in THE BLADE and TIME AND TIDE) but Donnie Yen has done something new with this fight in SPL. The filming of the scene if functional, at best (it was shot in one night), but the choreography itself is intense because they miss. I've never seen this in a movie, where blows don't connect. It really looks like two guys trying to beat each other to a pulp -- you can see them strike a blow, miss, improvise their reaction, stop to think about what to do next -- it feels very vicious and real.

"The Sammo Hung/Donnie Yen fight is good, but you can feel how traditional it is compared to the previous Wu Jing/Donnie Yen scene. These are really the only two action scenes in the movie, but you don't notice. A feeling of darkness and violence is in every frame."

-- Xiong Xin Xin Talks about Seven Swords --

Xiong Xin Xin, best known for his role as Clubfoot Seven in Once Upon a Time in China 3 and onwards, is making a return to the East, after having spent several years in Hollywood as action director, "I am returning, for I believe that Mainland market would make a major leap forward." And so, he joined Tsui Hark in The Seven Swords, working alongside Liu Chia Liang as the martial arts choreographer. He found that it was most difficult to choreograph the swordplay, for Tsui Hark wanted the swordplay to reflect the nature each of the characters, but in reality, everyone is using sword no matter what their personality is.

Cast and Crew on Seven Swords

Back in the 1970s, when TVB was making a TV adaptation Liang Yusheng's Jade Bow, Tsui Hark sought hard to direct the TV series, only to be rejected by TVB's powers that be on the grounds that he had never done wuxia before. It had a major impact on Tsui Hark, who has since then set out to produce exemplary wuxia productions.

Tsui Hark says he intends to make Seven Swords China's answer to Lord of the Rings trilogy. He says because of the sheer scope of the novel, a total of six movies will be made, "In Liang Yusheng's original novel, many people die at the very beginning, such as Yang Yun Cong. The development of the story, of The Seven Swords are thus incomplete. So, I thought, firstly, I had to define the skeleton of the characters very clearly, in order to allow ample room for the story.