Wu-Jing.org

-- Forbidden Kingdom --

The world premiere of Forbidden Kingdom was held in Beijing on April 16. Apart from the major cast and crew such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Liu Yi Fei, Rob Minkoff and Yuen Wo Ping, various guests such as Zhao Wen Zhuo, Wong Jing, also turned up to show their support. 

Multiple videos at Sina

Photos from Sina:

 -- Tai Chi and Hollywood Project --

Zhao Wen Zhuo says that it's by chance that he got to work with TVB on "Tai Chi", "Once, in Beijing, I met producer Tommy Leung. We talked about Tai Chi, and he had the intention to shoot a drama serial concerning it. Later, he showed me the synopsis. Perhaps it's because I have been training in Taichi since young, I was very keen."

He says that after having read the entire script, he was happy with it, saying that the story was well written and within logic. And it would also introduce Tai Chi to the audience. Perhaps, it's the dreams of countless actors to enter Hollywood, and now, Zhao Wen Zhuo gets such a chance. He says that the movie would begin production in Beijing in September. It's a martial arts movie and he'd be playing the lead role. And he has spent over a year in US studying English to prepare himself.

Zhao Wen Zhuo has already settled down, having married Mainland actress/Peking Opera performer Zhang Dan Lu, who now take cares of the family fulltime, in the previous year. He says that having a family gives him a motivation, that he can only succeed, and cannot afford failures. Currently, Zhao Wen Zhuo has two kids, one son and one daughter.  67.com

-- Tai Chi --

One of TVB's heavyweight dramas of the year, Tai Chi, shot in HD in exotic locales of Yunnan, begins airing on HK TVB Jade station on February 25. While this isn't Zhao Wen Zhuo's final work, he says that he'd be focusing his career on the film industry after Tai Chi, and he'd also work more behind the camera.

Zhao Wen Zhuo, who's also behind the martial arts choreography of Tai Chi TV series, hopes to share his inference and insights on martial arts through Tai Chi, "I hope to show the audience what Taichi is, many people do not understand it very well, such as whether Taichi is an effective means of combat. Taichi is a superior internal style of martial arts, many wushu techniques, such as joint-locks were derived from Taichi. Above all, it's a form of philosophy, an approach to life, to survival."  Nanfang Daily

Plot: Orphan Wu Ma (Zhao Wen Zhuo) grows up in the mountain, being adopted by his mentor who teaches him Tai Chi. Being abandoned by his parents, he's filled with animosity towards the world. To rid Wu Ma of his feelings of inequities and resentment, his mentor sacrifices himself.

To repay his mentor, and to fulfil his father's wish to glorify wushu, Wu Ma seeks the highest level of attainment in Tai Chi. He challenges the strongest sect's leader Duan Xiao Xing (Raymond Lam) to a duel, only to be defeated. So, he sees defeating Duan Xiao Xing as his ultimate goal in life. Moreover, because of a girl and an ambitious Southern exponent Lu Qiu Ao (Kwok Jing Hung), the two inevitably get into more fights.

And the same time, the gap between Wu Ma and his confidante Sang Qing (Melissa Ng) widens as he walks closer towards achieving his goal.  Sina

-- 8 Min Tai Chi Trailer --

Here's a longer trailer of Zhao Wen Zhuo's Tai Chi at Youtube.

The series is going to be released early next year.

-- Zhao Wen Zhuo Endorses Wild Life Preservation --

Back in March, Zhao Wen Zhuo shot a charity commercial for Wild Aid which calls for protection of endangered species, essentially applicable to all animals, that are being hunted down illegally and murdered mercilessly for their exotic skins, tusks, fins, flesh, etc. with the message reminding everyone not to buy any of such products so that killings would stop. The commercial will soon be airing globally in either Chinese or English, usually with a run time of only 15 or 30 seconds. A full 60-seconds commercial featuring some short martial arts sequences is up at Zhao Wen Zhuo's blog.

-- Zhao Wen Zhuo Getting Ready for Hollywood Roles --

Zhao Wen Zhuo, who has stayed in Los Angeles for half a year, is pursing a career in Hollywood. Presently, besides martial arts training, he is also learning English and is now able to converse comfortably in English. He regularly meets up with Hollywood producers and directors and is well regarded by Rush Hour 3 director Brett Ratner. Zhao Wen Zhuo reveals that if all goes as planned, he night have a chance to appear in a movie produced by China, US and UK in May. He also admits to marrying Zhang Dan Lu, whom he met in 2003, quietly last June.

Zhao Wen Zhuo is grateful to Jackie Chan who not only helps introduce him to Hollywood directors and producers, but also gives him encouragement and support, "When I just arrived here, life was very tough. I didn't speak English, and was unfamiliar with the roads. I almost gave up and wanted to return to China. But Jackie Chan encouraged me to press on. We would meet every week, and I would also visit him on the set of Rush Hour 3. Now I'm able to talk in English for 1, 2 hrs, and even dream in English!."   Netease

-- Taichi Trailer --

The trailer to Zhao Wen Zhuo's Taichi has been posted at YouTube.

 -- Zhao Wen Zhuo Gets Ready for Hollywood Roles --
 Zhao Wen Zhuo, who, according his blog, has just flown to US recently and has been polishing up his English in the hope of doing a Hollywood movie next year, confirms with the press that he has just signed up with CAA, an artiste management firm in US which has many big names under its label, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Lee Ang, John Woo, Jackie Chan, etc. This will, hopefully, put Zhao Wen Zhuo on the international film industry. Zhao Wen Zhuo says "While CAA has one of the largest resources in Hollywood, her rules and management are more humane, and she has well-rounded plans for her clients, would not type-cast or restrict her clients to one type of role, and her legal service, negotiation and business skills in the field are second to none."  Dayoo

--  Taichi --

After around 5 months of filming, TVB's 《太极》 Tai Chi TV series, starring Zhao Wen Zhuo, Raymond Lam, Myolie Wu, Melissa Ng and Lau Siu Ming, has just wrapped up. It's now in post-production in Beijing. TVB is very happy with Zhao Wen Zhuo's performance in the series and has invited him to dub his own character.

Besides playing the lead role, Zhao Wen Zhuo also served as the martial arts adviser, coming up with various exciting action scenes that avoid the use of wires and special effects, returning to the roots of kungfu, bringing out the most realistic wushu moves and wushu culture to the audience.

Taichi is a form of martial arts that Zhao Wen Zhuo specialises in. Since young, he has come into contact with the different schools of Taichi. Zhao Wen Zhuo elaborates that while each school has its own unique qualities, their philosophies remain the same. The most important aspect of Taichi  is the cultivation of the body and mind rather than the moves, steps, and stances.

With the successes of such action stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan abroad, foreign studios are also starting to take notice of Zhao Wen Zhuo, inviting him to join their productions. Zhao Wen Zhuo, who also has the intention of showing his martial arts ability to the West, is, after some negotiations, gearing up to enter the foreign market. The choice of studio, script, director and crew for his international blockbuster is in the process of being finalised.  China News

Related Links:

Taichi Zhao Wen Zhuo Interview   Jayne Stars

Taichi Raymond Lam Interview   Jayne Stars