Did you know? Far out stories from Martial Arts Cinema

[thekfc]

 

Andy Lau had a fan become obsessed with him, she forced her parents to sell everything to have her meet him and after she met him she was angry he didn't give her enough attention. Her father was so upset he wrote Andy a letter about it and then killed himself. Andy had to have therapy for this and has still had lasting effects even though this happened in 2007

http://www.jaynestars.com/news/andy-laus-crazy-fan-yang-lijuan-regrets-fathers-death/

Here is the long story of it

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20070416_1.htm

 

 

That was a good read.

There are lots of crazy people out there.

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...Before he met Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly had already applied the principles of Jeet Kune Do through his individual approach to Karate, resulting in a different understanding to that of most of its practitioners. Bruce recognized what Kelly had done and paid him the ultimate compliment by not choreographing Kelly's fights in Enter The Dragon.(He told Kelly that he understood his own art and should do what he wanted)

 

That's a prime example to the maxim"Great minds think alike" Eternal love and respect to both men and the fond memories that they blessed us with! ?✌

 

 

[Asmo]

So this leads to another did you know (but about a modern Asian Cinema star)!!

 

Andy Lau had a fan become obsessed with him, she forced her parents to sell everything to have her meet him and after she met him she was angry he didn't give her enough attention. Her father was so upset he wrote Andy a letter about it and then killed himself. Andy had to have therapy for this and has still had lasting effects even though this happened in 2007

http://www.jaynestars.com/news/andy-laus-crazy-fan-yang-lijuan-regrets-fathers-death/

Here is the long story of it

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20070416_1.htm

 

 

I had heard about this but never the full story. Something clearly went wrong with that family long before the daughter met Andy Lau. Possibly one or more of the events listed there triggered some sort of lapse into a mental illness that they may have been unable to get help for, or were unaware of. Traumatic for everyone involved, but I feel that if these people had had the access to what they needed, the daughter's fascination with Andy Lau wouldn't have grown into an obsession and it wouldn't have led to her father's suicide.

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...Ninja in the Dragon's Den was originally intended to be a J.C. film. It was to be a collaboration between Seasonal and Golden Harvest but Roy Horan convinced Ng See-Yuen that if Seasonal found a J.C. lookalike, they wouldn't need to share box office receipts with Golden Harvest. In Asia, the film gained the distinction of having the biggest box office draw ever for a new action film star, hence the temporary media and Triad interest in Conan Lee.  

 

A sequel to Ninja in the Dragon's Den was rushed into production but Conan left during filming. His was convinced that abandoning the production to pursue a career in American cinema would make for an equally smart business move as when Jackie abandoned the production of Fearless Hyena 2 to work on The Young Master. Conan would end up being the fight choreographer for a Hollywood movie titled Undercover Brother. (starring Eddie Griffin) Conan's birth name was Lloyd Hutchinson - which wasn't an appealing movie star name nor did it suit his obvious Asiatic apperance.

 

 

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...Seeing as how there's often confusion surrounding on how Jet Li turned down the opportunity to play Chow Yun Fat's character Li Mu Bai in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, it's best to realize that it was actually a property which Ang Lee and Jet had been discussing off-and-on for years, exchanging ideas on how this elaborate production could best be shaped and executed.  

He didn't turn it down to make Romeo Must Die as he was already making the film so therefore if that was the only problem then surely Ang would have stalled the project ala Quentin Tarantino stalling Kill Bill for Uma Thurman's pregnancy scenario. But Jet's wife, HK actress Nina Li Chi (who appeared alongside Sammo Hung in Pedicab Driver and Jackie Chan in Twin Dragons), was pregnant. Back in 1989, Jet had promised her that when ever she should become pregnant with their child, he would put his career on hold to be with her throughout the pregnancy. Thus, intent on keeping his word to her, he turned down the male lead role in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.  

 

In the beginning when I first heard about Jet turning down the role I thought otherwise and figured it was due to money offerings not being enough and so fourth.Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon was obviously the better career move and it was the comfort zone For Jet being that period pieces were his specialty and he was familiar with working alongside Yuen Woo Ping and his clan.

Upon learning this it was refreshing to hear that it was due to honorific obligations to a loved one.

Besides...Chow Yun Fat did a better job portraying Li Mu Bai than expected.?

 

 

[DragonClaws]

Did you know...Seeing as how there's often confusion surrounding on how Jet Li turned down the opportunity to play Chow Yun Fat's character Li Mu Bai in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, it's best to realize that it was actually a property which Ang Lee and Jet had been discussing off-and-on for years, exchanging ideas on how this elaborate production could best be shaped and executed.  

He didn't turn it down to make Romeo Must Die as he was already making the film so therefore if that was the only problem then surely Ang would have stalled the project ala Quentin Tarantino stalling Kill Bill for Uma Thurman's pregnancy scenario. But Jet's wife, HK actress Nina Li Chi (who appeared alongside Sammo Hung in Pedicab Driver and Jackie Chan in Twin Dragons), was pregnant. Back in 1989, Jet had promised her that when ever she should become pregnant with their child, he would put his career on hold to be with her throughout the pregnancy. Thus, intent on keeping his word to her, he turned down the male lead role in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.  

 

In the beginning when I first heard about Jet turning down the role I thought otherwise and figured it was due to money offerings not being enough and so fourth.Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon was obviously the better career move and it was the comfort zone For Jet being that period pieces were his specialty and he was familiar with working alongside Yuen Woo Ping and his clan.

Upon learning this it was refreshing to hear that it was due to honorific obligations to a loved one.

Besides...Chow Yun Fat did a better job portraying Li Mu Bai than expected.?

 

 

Interesting post, I didn't know Jet Li was up for the role given to Chow Yun Fat. This is the last Martial Arts films I can recall their being any big hype about in the British media.

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...Apart from Chow Yun Fat and Terence Chang, the one person who John Woo seems to get along with the most is Philip Kwok which is unsurprising given the fact that they both had the same teacher - Chang Cheh. Woo was so impressed with Kwok's previous work on Once a Thief and Hard Boiled, he called him back to work on Hard Target Starring Jean Claude Van Dam.He was scheduled to go and be his stunt co-ordinator but there was a problem with the stunt union saying that since he was a non union guy, he couldn't get work on the picture.  

 

Years later...Philip Kwok Chow Fung was offered to be the main villain of the James Bond movie,Tomorrow Never Dies but due to an impasse of Philip not being able to speak the english language that Hollywood felt was a barrier he was reduced to an cameo appearance walking past Pierce Bronson glaringly wordlessly at him.He was however the action coordinator this time around and was responsible for the awesome sequences within the movie which costars fellow superstar Michelle Yeoh who was glad to have him on that production as am I.?

 

 

[DragonClaws]

Did you know...Apart from Chow Yun Fat and Terence Chang, the one person who John Woo seems to get along with the most is Philip Kwok which is unsurprising given the fact that they both had the same teacher - Chang Cheh. Woo was so impressed with Kwok's previous work on Once a Thief and Hard Boiled, he called him back to work on Hard Target Starring Jean Claude Van Dam.He was scheduled to go and be his stunt co-ordinator but there was a problem with the stunt union saying that since he was a non union guy, he couldn't get work on the picture.  

 

Years later...Philip Kwok Chow Fung was offered to be the main villain of the James Bond movie,Tomorrow Never Dies but due to an impasse of Philip not being able to speak the english language that Hollywood felt was a barrier he was reduced to an cameo appearance walking past Pierce Bronson glaringly wordlessly at him.He was however the action coordinator this time around and was responsible for the awesome sequences within the movie which costars fellow superstar Michelle Yeoh who was glad to have him on that production as am I.?

 

 

Hollywood could have hired Phillip Kwok and just used subtitles for his character. But with the stigma still surrounding subtitled films I guess they thought it would turn people away.

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

Did you know...Apart from Chow Yun Fat and Terence Chang, the one person who John Woo seems to get along with the most is Philip Kwok which is unsurprising given the fact that they both had the same teacher - Chang Cheh. Woo was so impressed with Kwok's previous work on Once a Thief and Hard Boiled, he called him back to work on Hard Target Starring Jean Claude Van Dam.He was scheduled to go and be his stunt co-ordinator but there was a problem with the stunt union saying that since he was a non union guy, he couldn't get work on the picture.  

 

Years later...Philip Kwok Chow Fung was offered to be the main villain of the James Bond movie,Tomorrow Never Dies but due to an impasse of Philip not being able to speak the english language that Hollywood felt was a barrier he was reduced to an cameo appearance walking past Pierce Bronson glaringly wordlessly at him.He was however the action coordinator this time around and was responsible for the awesome sequences within the movie which costars fellow superstar Michelle Yeoh who was glad to have him on that production as am I.?

 

 

That boggles my mind they wouldn't use subtitles. English isn't the main language for the world but Hollywood...

 

and why people are so stupid about subtitles...

Edited October 24, 2015 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...The Caucasian martial artist Hwang Jang Lee fights at the beginning of Tower of Death is Graham Ravey. He is a 6th Dan in Goju-Ryu Karate. At one time, he left a life in England to study Karate for many years. He has a book out too. He trained with the late and great Phil Milner!

 

As to how he got the job, himself and some others went for the job. A man came into the room and did a sequence of moves, nobody else could do the sequence apart from Graham - he got the job!  He also said that HJL was very good but wanted Graham to do things just the way he wanted them.

Now here is a good example of how skills pays the bills as well as just enough luck to be in the right place at the time with the perfect opportunity.✌

 

 

[DragonClaws]

Did you know...The Caucasian martial artist Hwang Jang Lee fights at the beginning of Tower of Death is Graham Ravey. He is a 6th Dan in Goju-Ryu Karate. At one time, he left a life in England to study Karate for many years. He has a book out too. He trained with the late and great Phil Milner!

 

As to how he got the job, himself and some others went for the job. A man came into the room and did a sequence of moves, nobody else could do the sequence apart from Graham - he got the job!  He also said that HJL was very good but wanted Graham to do things just the way he wanted them.

Now here is a good example of how skills pays the bills as well as just enough luck to be in the right place at the time with the perfect opportunity.✌

 

 

 

Interesting facts KoKuryuha, love the expression on his face in Tower Of Death when he realizes hes no match for super kicker Hwang Jang Lee. Did he get any other small parts in HK movies?.

Edited October 26, 2015 by DragonClaws

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

Did you know...You will not find too much in the way of love scenes in the Venoms films because the Venoms fan base was full of women as they were seen to be matinee/pin-up poster idols as much as heroic/action figure icons. Much like how Jackie had dealt with two suicidal female fans (when hearing about his marriage to Brigitte Lin Chin-hsia's sister Joan Lin Feng-jiao), there were stories about women killing themselves out of infatuation with the Venoms.

 

For example, in Two Champions of Shaolin, Lo Mang has a love interest in the form of Yeung Jing-Jing, so taking the suicides into consideration, another woman in the form of Candy Wen Xue-Er was brought in - her character is bad and is hired to assassinate Mang's wife on their wedding day. Yeung was the only woman to marry a Venom on screen. So just as how Jackie has a procedure about not mentioning his love life in interviews, the Venoms also had to abide by a strict policy put forth by the Shaws.

 

Talk about fatal attraction huh? ?

 

 

Oh geez, I had no idea young ladies there would go that far. I will refrain from making any poison can jokes. 

 

I may teeny bop when it comes to David Chiang and swoon over Chan Wai Man (who has vainly put himself in that position - xiexie Sir), but I really respect their talents / skills first and understand there are human beings inside. That's why I generally gravitate more towards characters than the actual people to keep that respectful barrier there (although Chan's history is too damn fascinating to just push aside.) 

 

 

 

[kokuryuha]

Did you know....The U.S. DVD version of The Victim, it is stated on the audio commentary (by Bobby Samuels and Ric Meyers) that this was actually Sammo's directorial debut. This has an air of credence to it for a variety of reasons. Bobby has worked with Sammo (as you may have seen in films such as Gambling Ghost and Don't Give a Damn) and lived with him for several years, so therefore there is a lot of credibility given towards this factoid thereby making it plausible.

 

Of particular note is that in the beginning, Sammo looks quite similar to the way he did in Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog (in regards to his hair style, hair colour, girth and clothing) hence this film was made in 1977. Iron Fisted Monk was only labeled his initial directorial effort due to the film being his first film as director for Golden Harvest as well as his first released (The Victim was released in 1980 where Sammo's popularity had escalated hence the confusion).  

 

 

Edited October 26, 2015 by kokuryuha

[kokuryuha]

Oh geez, I had no idea young ladies there would go that far. I will refrain from making any poison can jokes. 

 

I may teeny bop when it comes to David Chiang and swoon over Chan Wai Man (who has vainly put himself in that position - xiexie Sir), but I really respect their talents / skills first and understand there are human beings inside. That's why I generally gravitate more towards characters than the actual people to keep that respectful barrier there (although Chan's history is too damn fascinating to just push aside.) 

 

 

 

Same here Szu Yi.I'm more mystified with the roles that they portray onscreen but respect who they really are as a person.With that said...If I ever meet Lo Mang I'll be sure to show love but not enough to give the impression that I wanna be kissed.Y'know what I mean??

Edited October 26, 2015 by kokuryuha

[DragonClaws]

Unfortunately DC,outside of Tower of Death He never did another another HK movie or any other movie period.However Sensei Graham is the chief instructor of the TOGKA (Traditional Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate Association) and he did star in an American live action tv series called "Photon" which was geared at children during the 80's.He played as a villain called Lord Baethan.He gives an interview on his experience in the link which I have provided for your viewing pleasure if it tickles your fancy.http://Interview with Sensei Graham Ravey, Photon TV Sho…: http://youtu.be/Zoj_56aTDSM

If you are going to only make one appearance on film, it might as well be alongside a kicking legend.

[kokuryuha]

 

Interesting facts KoKuryuha, love the expression on his face in Tower Of Death when he realizes hes no match for super kicker Hwang Jang Lee. Did he get any other small parts in HK movies?.

Unfortunately DC He never did another hk based movie outside of Tower of Death or any other movie period.But Sensei Graham is the current instructor of the TOGKA (TRADITIONAL OKINAWA GOJU-RYU KARATE ASSOCIATION) and he did appear in a children's live action t.v. show that aired in the 80's on Saturday morning called "Photon"as a villain called Lord Baethan.I posted a lengthy review link for your viewing pleasure if you're interested....http://Interview with Sensei Graham Ravey, Photon TV Sho…: http://youtu.be/Zoj_56aTDSM

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...Even before Lethal Weapon 4 was in distribution,Jet Li had won the strong interest of the Hollywood entertainment industry.Universal Pictures wanted Li to star in The Art of War, and were offering a reported seven-figure salary for Jet's services. This left Warner & Silver to exercise their option on Jet and they scurried to find a showcase for him - then considered hot property.

 

As for The Art of War, which Li now had to reject, it would eventually be made at Warner Bros. for a 2000 release with Wesley Snipes in the lead role. Coincidentally, as before with Jackie, Snipes was to team up with Jet for the Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever before the two rebuffed the offer. 

 

Yet another missed opportunity to pair two martial arts superstars/actors in a movie that Would've no doubt garnered more attention to both men and and mark a noteworthy entry in their filmography.Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu who were the substitutes for the former and good actors in their own right,failed to deliver in the aforementioned movie and resulted in a box office failure.

[AlbertV]

Did you know...Corey Yuen worked as the action director on American Shaolin and at the same time, he was working on Stephen Chow's Fist of Fury 1991 as the action director. That would explain why the finales in both films virtually have the same moves in sequence (double drop kick to the legs, the multiple axe kicks to the head of the villain in the corner of the ring, and the Bruce Lee-style punches to end the fights, of course Chow's was more exaggerated as it was meant to be that way)

 

Did you know...On the making of Undisputed II, it was revealed that Ving Rhames was offered to reprise his role of George "Iceman" Chambers. However, he opted to do the failed Kojak series instead. 

[DragonClaws]

Did you know...Even before Lethal Weapon 4 was in distribution,Jet Li had won the strong interest of the Hollywood entertainment industry.Universal Pictures wanted Li to star in The Art of War, and were offering a reported seven-figure salary for Jet's services. This left Warner & Silver to exercise their option on Jet and they scurried to find a showcase for him - then considered hot property.

 

As for The Art of War, which Li now had to reject, it would eventually be made at Warner Bros. for a 2000 release with Wesley Snipes in the lead role. Coincidentally, as before with Jackie, Snipes was to team up with Jet for the Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever before the two rebuffed the offer. 

 

Yet another missed opportunity to pair two martial arts superstars/actors in a movie that Would've no doubt garnered more attention to both men and and mark a noteworthy entry in their filmography.Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu who were the substitutes for the former and good actors in their own right,failed to deliver in the aforementioned movie and resulted in a box office failure.

Snipes and Chan would have made a good team and its a shame it never came to pass. He was often connected to Sylvester Stallone around the same time but each project never made it to the screen.

 

Did you know...Corey Yuen worked as the action director on American Shaolin and at the same time, he was working on Stephen Chow's Fist of Fury 1991 as the action director. That would explain why the finales in both films virtually have the same moves in sequence (double drop kick to the legs, the multiple axe kicks to the head of the villain in the corner of the ring, and the Bruce Lee-style punches to end the fights, of course Chow's was more exaggerated as it was meant to be that way)

 

Did you know...On the making of Undisputed II, it was revealed that Ving Rhames was offered to reprise his role of George "Iceman" Chambers. However, he opted to do the failed Kojak series instead. 

That's interesting regarding Corey Yuen and American Shaolin/Fist Of Fury (1991).

 

[kokuryuha]

Did you know...Lam Ching Ying(R.I.P.)recalls that Bruce Lee was a very righteous person and very tough. He remembers one day, when filming The Big Boss, a Thai boxer broke the arm of a stuntman. Bruce became very angry and furious. He went up to the boxer and asked him to fight with him. He ran up to him and asked: "Are you really strong to fight with me? You should control yourself and stop before making trouble. Can't you see we are in a process of shooting? How could you break his arm, have you no mercy?" Lee really persuaded to fight with this Thai Boxer. The boxer was afraid of Bruce’s fame and power and he stepped back. But Lee was really furious, he even cursed.  

 

Lam also notes that Bruce was always (and mainly) challenged in foreign countries. He never started a fight but when he was attacked, he had to defend himself. There was a person back in Hong Kong, called Li Dachuan, who always wanted to challenge him and criticized Lee in the newspapers. Once they met face to face but Lee hid himself in a corner, in a quiet place. And that person started to stare at his feet, just his feet, and then Bruce understood that this man had no idea about Kung Fu at all. So there was only one punch. Bruce was a very kind-hearted person. Lam remembers a time when he saw  an old man pushing a cart, which was too heavy for him and Bruce went up to him and helped him push it.

 

The "Little Dragon" was indeed a force of reckoning but a down to earth person with an irresistible charm and charisma that always showed on or offscreen which validates his immense following even to this day.✌

P.S. According to Sammo...Lam Ching Ying was a tough S.O.B. in his own right! ?

[FieryReign]

Did you know....The U.S. DVD version of The Victim, it is stated on the audio commentary (by Bobby Samuels and Ric Meyers) that this was actually Sammo's directorial debut. This has an air of credence to it for a variety of reasons. Bobby has worked with Sammo (as you may have seen in films such as Gambling Ghost and Don't Give a Damn) and lived with him for several years, so therefore there is a lot of credibility given towards this factoid thereby making it plausible.

 

Of particular note is that in the beginning, Sammo looks quite similar to the way he did in Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog (in regards to his hair style, hair colour, girth and clothing) hence this film was made in 1977. Iron Fisted Monk was only labeled his initial directorial effort due to the film being his first film as director for Golden Harvest as well as his first released (The Victim was released in 1980 where Sammo's popularity had escalated hence the confusion).  

Ric also said Yuen Cheung Yan was Yuen Shun Yi and vice versa as well as countless other nonsensical statements. This is a cool thread, no need to sully it up with Ric Myers false statements or imaginings. Even though it was Bobby who adamantly claimed this. How would he know? He sure wasn't working in HK in the 70s. He also brought up the blackface bullshit Sammo seemed to love. Kind of saying you think you know someone but you really don't. Even after living with him and being mentored by him. Sounded awkward.

 

[kokuryuha]

Ric also said Yuen Cheung Yan was Yuen Shun Yi and vice versa as well as countless other nonsensical statements. This is a cool thread, no need to sully it up with Ric Myers false statements or imaginings. Even though it was Bobby who adamantly claimed this. How would he know? He sure wasn't working in HK in the 70s. He also brought up the blackface bullshit Sammo seemed to love. Kind of saying you think you know someone but you really don't. Even after living with him and being mentored by him. Sounded awkward.

 

 

 

 

Don't fret over this thread being sullied by anything but someone's negativity.Ric Meyer's thoughts or beliefs have no place in what I post unless it's to systematically correct his mistakes and misquotes.Secondly,you're in no place to challenge what Robert Samuels said in a commentary because you weren't there working in HK during the 70's either.Neither was I.Also you pointed out yourself that he lived with Sammo so obviously that's where the info originated from.

As far as Blackface is concerned I wrote a post about that right here in this very same thread concerning Sammo and Robert in the Don't give a damn movie revolving around that same issue.No,I don't approve of Sammo using it in his movies or anyone else for that matter but politics within the movie industry always crosssed that line.Nothing new.At least Robert Samuels can say that he had an experience that very few people have and numerous yearn for by living and working alongside a legendary figure like Sammo Hung.It wasn't all going to be roses and rainbows while doing it.But I'll bet if you ask him of he has any regrets he'll most likely say no or at the least,not much.

[AlbertV]

Here's something I learned Tuesday night:

 

If you have seen the trailer to The Martial Arts Kid, there is a brief scene where there are many people in a room doing a workout that is being supervised by Don "The Dragon" Wilson's character, Christine Bannon-Rodriguez, Olando "The Warrior" Rivera, Jeff Smith, Dr. Robert Goldman, and Glenn C. Wilson (playing themselves). This scene was brought in at the last minute by co-writer & director Michael Baumgarten for this specific reason:

 

Before shooting of the film began, Baumgarten held an open audition for roles in the film in Cocoa Beach, Florida. While he knew he wasn't going to be able to cast everyone, he decided that the kids who came in to audition for the film should be involved in the film. Thus, he created this scene, so if you get to see the movie, the big "Masters Workshop" scene features all of the youngsters who had auditioned for the film. 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Did you know....The U.S. DVD version of The Victim, it is stated on the audio commentary (by Bobby Samuels and Ric Meyers) that this was actually Sammo's directorial debut. This has an air of credence to it for a variety of reasons. Bobby has worked with Sammo (as you may have seen in films such as Gambling Ghost and Don't Give a Damn) and lived with him for several years, so therefore there is a lot of credibility given towards this factoid thereby making it plausible.

...

I have tried to find a secondary source confirming this about The Victim being filmed first.  Has anyone been able to find it?

For those bored I took notes of that commentary a few years back:

The Victim (1980) commentary by Ric Meyers and Bobby Samuels (2001)

BS: worked with Sammo in 2 features; lived with Sammo 3 years; Sammo helped him in Cantonese and helped with action with camera.
BS: Sammo written with 2 n’s [title has one]
Curious statement from both that this was Sammo’s first directed film [his first credited film is The Iron Fisted Monk (1977)]
BS: had to tone down acting when he got back to States.
BS: states how Sammo got facial scar because of broken bottle in face technique.
RM: compares camera style to Chang Cheh [I don’t see it]
RM/BS: reiterates Sammo/Bruce Lee confrontation story [I wonder who won that one?]
BS: Sammo lived next to Leung Kar-yan for years; helped him get into acting; states story that Leung did not know martial arts at all [would repeat this throughout commentary]
States The Postman Strikes Back was Chow Yun-fat’s only MA role until Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
BS: says you need to have 3 prolific stunt directors sign for you for stuntmen card.
BS: Sammo idolized Bruce Lee.
RM: notes Sammo’s obsession for nudity as well as Jackie Chan. BS says this is because they grew up together nude so it was more normal; RM points out scenes where it goes beyond normal.
BS: was directed by Yuen Wo-ping in Red Wolf. Has great things to say about him. Says he is cigarette guy and that many smoked too much. Says only individual choreographer that has complete control of his vision.
Many actresses from pageants.
Chan Lung’s nickname ma goo; won’t state what it means [no idea; if anyone has the characters for his nickname please PM me]. He had problems, was institutionalized.
[Dark Was mentioned as this year; puts the commentary around 2001]
RM: states that Sammo’s career started with 1971 Angry River [not even close; actually his math gets a little weird when he states that sammo had worked for 32 years and Beardy at 26 years]
BS: was not happy about Lee Hoi-sang being in blackface in Enter The Fat Dragon; Sammo could have hired a black actor. Says he could write a book about racism in the industry. He talks about difficult sequence in Don’t Give A Damn until RM breaks him off [on purpose] [this was getting interesting; I have not seen that film, but reviews do not paint it kindly; he later seems to still be upset with Sammo about particular issues dealing with race]
RM: Sammo likes to fill his films with interesting looking characters; hypothesizes because Sammo is scarred and overweight.
BS: Says Chang Yi is one of his favorite villains; from Indonesia [according to HKMDB he is from Huizhou, Guangdong Province], real martial artist.
RM: white is not color of wedding it is color of death; red is color of wedding; BS agrees
RM: Sammo knows how to move camera, says Sammo has hand on camera.
BS: Sammo told him camera was third arm.
BS says he has seen this about 50 times; RM says about six.
Both talk about possible doubling including use of Chung Faat, Sammo possibly being doubled and later use of Yuen Biao [which is very obvious doubling for Wilson Tong Wai-shing].
BS: favorite scene is Sammo versus Leung.
RM: filmed completely on location; “worst things happen to chickens”
BS: Sammo well over 200 pounds; Yuen Wo-ping is godfather of two of Sammo’s sons, Jackie Chan is godfather to younger son.
RM: says fans started to turn on Sammo after Lucky Stars Go Places (1986) [I don’t quite agree with this because Eastern Condors and that film both made over 20m HK; now he didn’t direct for a few years as EC and Millionaire’s Express was a real hit unlike what he states]
RM: started to have sexist, racist mysogonist streak [umm; has RM not seen his first directed film The Iron Fisted Monk (1977) which is very mysognositic]
BS: Sammo well known for his gambling [Bobby definitely is still a little angry with Sammo]
RM: pole stands up to sword, not possible [actually this is funny if you think about it]
BS: not happy with sister (Yuet Yee) not showing emotion after her brother’s death; RM tries to explain why then gives up.
BS: got to work with Lam Ching-ying before he died [not sure when]
RM/BS: could not find other roles for girlfriend played by Fanny Wang [reason why she’s in four films: Fame of Chess (1977), The Victim (1980), All’s Well, End’s Well ’97 (1997) and A Decade of Love (2008) and I’m not even sure about Fame of Chess or A Decade of Love]
BS: Sammo love American films.
Both: terrible scene ghost/Dracula sequence; RM: where did he get the tux? “Sammo Size” “Enter the Fat Vampire”
RM: What year is this supposed to be? [?]
RM: plot issue; get Mom out of room [actually this is funny] “pillage then burn, not burn than pillage”
BS: Sammo wanted Martial Law to go on longer.
RM: says took out Sammo from fighting in second season; took out humor, was top 20 show, TV Guide award; almost as if they wanted it to fail. [Interesting article here: http://kungfuqigong....hp?article=216]
BS: most difficult when you fight multiple people [unless you are Fezzik]
[RM confuses MA audience with mainstream audience]
BS: Sammo spoke English at end of film [can’t tell with this dub]     

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

Thanks for reposting that, Master... Meyers was off in his own little universe wasn't he?

 

And that's all I'll say about Ric Meyers. 

Edited November 3, 2015 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi