Donnie Yen At The 24th Shanghai International Film Festival

 

Donnie Yen vs. Wu Jing At CNY

First time watched Donnie Yen and Wu Jung (Jacky Wu) in their epic battle was in the movie SPL (2005) also known as Kill Zone. Both were in their prime and put on quite an extreme fight with fast moving and hard hitting moves.

15 years later, the duo once again collide, this time in a performance for the Chinese New Year Eve celebration.

Although there is none of the violence that we see in the movie, their performance were equally entertaining with speed, intensity and poetic moves.

第一次看到甄子丹和吴京（Jacky Wu）决斗是在电影［杀破狼］（2005）中。当时年他们俩都处于巅峰状态，并以快速的武打招数和激烈的动作来一场生死之战。

15年后，两人再次有机会切磋，但这次是在中国除夕庆祝活动中。

两人表演无论在速度，强度和诗意的移动方面同样令人着迷。果然宝刀未老！

Bruce Lee - Idol or Villain

Nearly 50 years 

after his death

, Bruce Lee remains not only Hong Kong but Asian cinema’s biggest icon. That’s quite a feat given the subsequent rise of other martial arts stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Japanese and Korean idols like Takuya Kimura and Jun Ji-hyun, and award-winning directors like 

Wong Kar-wai

, 

Ang Lee

 and Bong Joon-ho.

Even today people are 

intensely passionate about preserving Lee’s legacy

. Just last year a storm erupted when Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, featured a portrayal of Lee that showed him as arrogant and which exploited his legend to put over what a tough guy Cliff Booth, Brad Pitt’s character, is.

Earlier this year Shannon Lee, Bruce’s daughter, talked to the South China Morning Post about the film and discussed the pain that Tarantino’s characterisation of her father caused.

“My feeling is the same. I was very disappointed,” Lee said. “I’m not going to say I wasn’t angry at all, but certainly sitting in the movie theatre and having that experience with an audience was not a fun experience for me.

“I was very disappointed to see Quentin Tarantino’s response, which was to continue to say, ‘Oh, Bruce Lee was arrogant, he was an asshole’, and to incorrectly cite my mother’s book as a defence. I really thought it was irresponsible of him to do what he did and have that portrayal.”

Tarantino received widespread criticism for his depiction of Lee – not just from family members like Shannon Lee, but fans across the world. It’s not hard to understand why. For decades Lee has been heralded as an icon. He did untold good in breaking down barriers for Asians in America.

When Lee started working in Hollywood in the 60s, it was normal for Caucasians to play Asian characters – this was the same decade, remember, when Mickey Rooney played the racist caricature that was Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Lee came along and changed that. Suddenly, an Asian character like Kato, in The Green Hornet, could actually be played by an Asian actor. In an era where white folk were always the hero and people of colour were often the first to die in Hollywood films, Bruce Lee stood tall, not only surviving but saving the day along the way. When Lee defeats Chuck Norris in the Coliseum at the climax of The Way of the Dragon, he represented all people of colour still fighting wars against Western imperialism.

Given the hagiographic nature of much of the coverage surrounding Lee, I was surprised to come across a work that suggested there might be negatives to Lee’s legend. The work in question was Paul Bowman’s scholarly text Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-Fantasy-Fighting-Philosophy.

“What is Bruce Lee?” the author asked. “One answer might be: a trivial and trivialising, violent, masculinist, Orientalist stereotype; a mythologized commodification of alterity packaged for a fetishistic Western gaze; the mythological reduction of ethnicity into posters, T-shirts, nerds’ film collections; one which provided bullies, show-offs, fighters and fantasists the world over with an entire new lexicon of moves and stances for posturing, parading and pugilism … The sort of thing you might want to keep very far away from kids.”

Viewed this way, Lee – or at least the cult surrounding him – could be summed up as: “Trivial, nerdy, fetishistic, violent, Orientalist, exploitative, and typifying the Western impetus to appropriation.”

As a member of the dominant Western, white, male culture that has done much to package Lee’s legacy for its own ends, I wouldn’t want to pass judgment on Lee or these accusations that not even Bowman suggests he actually believes.

Nonetheless, it’s worth considering these points. Was Lee too successful as an icon of martial arts and a modern day Confucius? Could that be one reason why it has taken Asian actors so many years to be seen as anything except masters of kung fu or mystic sages? Could something like Last Christmas, where 

Asian actor Henry Golding was the romantic interest

 for Emilia Clarke, have come along sooner if Lee, through his brilliance, had not set a particular image of Asian males in the minds of Western directors?

I highly doubt Lee did more bad than good – and much of his legacy was fixed after his passing anyway. Whatever the reasons, here’s hoping that the West continues to reappraise its use and portrayal of Asians in cinema, as it has only recently and belatedly begun to do.

Source: SCMP

Yoson An In Mulan

With a black belt in karate and skilled in kick boxing, ninjutsu, power lifting and Olympic weightlifting, Yoson An's martial arts background stands him in good stead playing the romantic interest of Hua Mulan in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Mulan.

An, who also does kayaking and rock climbing, says his sports background helps with his grasp of the fight choreography in the movie. "I actually did most of my stunts in this film, except for the really dangerous stuff which I leave to the professionals," he tells the South China Morning Post.

With most of the shooting done on New Zealand's South Island, where he lives, the 28-year-old says he was one of the first actors on the film to start training for it.

"The production was based 30 minutes away from my house. There was a lot of vigorous training involved. For (around five months), I had to train three to four hours a day with stuntmen and martial artists. For five days a week, I needed to do (extra) high-intensity interval training to maintain my physique throughout the shoot. I also did a lot of horse-riding and archery. I had never ridden a horse before this production."

Born in the city of Zhuhai, in southern China, An studied at an international school in Macau before moving to Auckland when he was seven years old. His movie career grew from pursuing musical theatre as a hobby when he was in high school.

"I didn't think (I would become an actor) when I was a kid. But that musical theatre hobby eventually turned into a passion," says An, who speaks fluent Cantonese, Mandarin and English "I did four years of acting classes with my coach, (American actor) Michael Saccente. I was lucky enough to have various exciting projects come my way leading up to Mulan."

After bit parts in films including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016), Mortal Engines and The Meg (both 2018), he secured his first breakout role in Australian police drama Dead Lucky. He played the male lead Charlie Fung in the four-part television series, a trainee detective who blames his partner, played by Rachel Griffiths, for the death of his best friend.

The biggest role so far in his career is unquestionably Mulan's Chen Honghui, a fierce warrior who joins the corps of Commander Tung (Donnie Yen Ji-dan). Tung is also the mentor of Hua Mulan (Liu Yifei), who disguises herself as a man to spare her elderly father from having to join the military. Chen then becomes Mulan's most important ally and, eventually, love interest.

An says it took two years for him to land the role. "My first self-taped audition was (sent over to Disney) in 2016. I didn't hear anything back for three months, so I thought I didn't get the role and moved onto the next project. But a year later, my agent (told me) Disney wanted to see me again for the role. Within five days, I had to learn these new scenes to do a Skype audition.

"A week later I was flown to LA from New Zealand to meet with Niki (Caro, the film's director) for an in-person audition. I had a great time on that short trip as I saw it as a free vacation to LA. I didn't hear anything again from Disney for another nine months after that. So the casting process was close to two years."

A fan of traditional Chinese stories, An says his interest in ancient Chinese culture helped him master the role of Chen. "My mum recited the (original Ballad of Mulan) poem (composed around AD400) to me a few times (when I was growing up); Disney's live-action Mulan version closely aligns to the poem.

"Also, one of my favourite TV series was the 1996 Hong Kong (TVB) version of Journey to the West (based on a 16th-century Chinese novel), starring Dicky Cheung Wai-kin."

An has enjoyed working closely with Liu on Mulan. "I grew up watching The Forbidden Kingdom when I was 15 years old," he says of the 2008 Hollywood film starring Liu. "We had a lot of fun hanging out together as a group. She's probably one of the most humble and focused actors I know. That aspect of hers has inspired me to be even more diligent and dive deeper into my craft."

Besides Liu, working alongside superstars such as Yen, Gong Li (who plays a powerful witch in the film) and Jet Li Lianjie (playing the emperor of China) was a surreal experience for An.

"I grew up watching all their movies. I had a lot of respect for them. All three of them are incredibly nice people. Whilst we were shooting in the South Island, I lived with Donnie for over a month under the same roof. We had dinner every night and played pool together, so we got to know each other pretty well both on and off the set."

With a production budget of US$200 million, Mulan distinguishes itself from most other Hollywood productions with its all-Asian cast. An says the increasing representation of Asians following the success of Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and The Farewell (2019) in the United States is an important industry change.

"It distorts the perception of who the Asian community are," says An of Hollywood's past practice of typecasting Asian actors in nerdy academic roles. "It's very irresponsible for filmmakers to portray communities of any kind in a false light. It also creates an illusion of separation in the world.

"In this age, we need more love, acceptance and compassion. I believe authentic storytelling can be a medium to bring these values to (the audience)."

Mulan will be released on Disney+ on September 4 in select countries, before opening in Hong Kong cinemas on September 17.

Source: SCMP

Donnie Yen Pays Tribute To Director Benny Chan

Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan paid tribute to Hong Kong director Benny Chan Muk-Sing, who died over the weekend from cancer at the age of 58.

“I will miss your smile, our creative exchanges and fatherhood stories. You will be greatly missed my friend. RIP,” he wrote on Facebook and Instagram.

“Benny and I first worked on the TV series Kung Fu Master and Fist Of Fury, back in 1995-1997. Benny was the producer and director. I was fortunate to work with him again on our latest film: Raging Fire. 25 years later, he’s still the same positive, strong, happy, inspiring director and friend.” 

Kung Fu Master

Fist of Fury

Chan is best known for directing Jackie Chan movies such as New Police Story and Who Am I? Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2019 after falling ill while filming his last film, Raging Fire, which stars Yen and Nicholas Tse.

Source: South China Morning Post

Sammo Hung In Shanghai

(Shanghai June 13, 2016) As Sammo Hung established his own film studio in Shanghai, his son Timmy Hung and godson Eddie Peng, Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang, Wah Yuen, Chin Karlok and his wife Joyce Mina Godenzi all arrived to show their support for this kung fu star. 

Sammo said, “One of my purposes is to see that the legacy of kung fu will go on in the future.”  

Eddie said he’d do his best for his mentor, but Sammo said smilingly, “You are already a senior member.” 

When asked if he had any plans to work with Jackie and Eric, Sammo said, “We have been cooperating for decades. It will be a joy for us to film together.”  

Eric Tsang urged Sammo to make more kung fu movies, saying, “Kung fu movies are most representative of the Hong Kong movie industry and we can do them better than foreign countries. The legacy must not be lost.”

Source: MSN

Indeed, the world came to know about the Asian film industry thanks to the charismatic Bruce Lee who was the No. 1 ambassador of not only Hong Kong but Asia as a whole.

In fact, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung worked alongside Bruce Lee as extras when they weren't famous back then. Since Bruce Lee's death, the Kung Fu vacuum was filled out by first Jackie Chan then Sammo Hung. Both of them have long outstanding career which last even to this day.

In recent years, they are somewhat being overshadowed by the rising fame of Donnie Yen who achieved the climax of his career in 2008 for the film Ip Man.

Jackie Chan vs. Bruce Lee

What will happen when two of the biggest martial arts superstars Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee were two fight each other? When asked about this question, Jackie Chan humbly said that it would definitely be Bruce Lee!