Member DragonClaws Posted January 23, 2019 Member Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) Green Bamboo Warrior & Producer Andrew Vajna "Vajna launched his career in the entertainment industry with his purchase of motion picture theatres in the Far East. He founded Panasia Films Limited in Hong Kong, a highly profitable venture in the distribution, acquisition and representation of films. After Vajna negotiated the sales of Panasia to Raymond Chow's Golden Harvest Company in 1976, and met Mario Kassar at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival" - Link- http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/20/c_137760231.htm "His was also involved in a Bruce Lee film project called Green Bamboo Soldier which did not come to fruition due to the actor’s premature death in 1973" Source- https://industrialhistoryhk.org/notable-players-in-the-hk-wig-industry-in-the-1960s-and-70s/ Andrew Vajna with Chuck Norris. "Andy Vajna was born in 1944 in Budapest. In 1956 he escaped from Hungary at the age of 12 and emigrated to Canada with the help of the Red Cross, and eventually ended up in Los Angeles. He studied at the University of California (UCLA) and began working at the University's Motion Picture Department. Later he started a photography business, then founded a company manufacturing wigs in Hong Kong where he also operated a film theatre. Andy Vajna was one of the world's most prestigious producers. As a producer, 59 films are associated with his name, including world-renowned and acclaimed works such as the Rambo Films, Die Hard, Angel Heart, Terminator, Evita or Jacob's Ladder among others." "A script titled Green Bamboo Warrior was also found. In this movie, set in San Francisco, Lee had planned Andrew Vanja (of First Blood fame) as the producer and had slated Bolo Yeung as his co-star. Some of his projects had even had photo shoots and costumes sketched prior to his tragic death. Golden Harvest had planned on Lee building on his success following The Big Boss and Fist of Fury with a third film, and a competing studio known as the Shaw Brothers had signed Lee on for a movie with filming dates set for September through November of 1973." "During a 1972 shoot, Vajna contacted Bruce again and signed him to two films. According to their plans, they would have made a costume for the first time, except that The Dragon died unexpectedly six days before its Hong Kong premiere. Even though they could never work together because of the actor’s tragic death, they came close together." Left to Right- Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, Andrew Vajna, Bruce Lee, Raymond Chow go to dinner in Hong Kong (1972). Edited July 4, 2022 by DragonClaws 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted January 23, 2019 Member Share Posted January 23, 2019 Dude was a Bruin!! Sad to see him go! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted January 24, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) 22 hours ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said: Dude was a Bruin!! Sad to see him go! Yeah, his name appeared on the credits, to so many of the action films, that I grew up with. Rambo III(1988) behind the scenes photo. Edited January 24, 2019 by DragonClaws 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted January 25, 2019 Author Member Share Posted January 25, 2019 Quote "I was never the artist. I was always the audience" Quote Vajna, who recently made Variety’s 500 most influential entertainment leaders and icons list as the only Hungarian, was first interviewed by the magazine in 1974 when they “first noted his work [as a buyer] in Asia during the now-defunct Mifed market in Milan” and talked about his former wig business in Asia and how he eventually ended up in the film industry. Vajna then bought two theaters in Hong Kong and started distributing films, including Papillon with Steve McQueen or Dino DeLaurentiis films. He also talked about the first first kung-fu film he produced in Hong-Kong, starring Angela Mao and how he learnt production and getting paid while he was at it, which all served as valuable lessons for Vajna. He gained insights to the film industry, learnt everything from shooting to post-production, The full interview/Article, can be found here. Link- https://variety.com/2017/film/spotlight/rambo-terminator-carolco-andy-vajna-1202626572/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 5, 2019 Author Member Share Posted February 5, 2019 Quote 11. Do you take a photo of Andrew Vajna who visited Bruce on the set of "Enter the Dragon"? If so, could you kindly share that photograph with us all please? Dave Friedman: No photos of Andy Vajna on that film. To my knowledge he was never there and had nothing to do with Enter the Dragon. I did work with Andy and knew him well from the Rambo films 11 years later. Source- http://bruceleelives.co.uk/friedman.html Some say Andrew Vajna visited the set of ETD, while David Friedman claims he didnt. Mr Friedman also says he cant recall BBC interview happening either?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member greenbamboo Posted February 9, 2019 Member Share Posted February 9, 2019 (edited) You can see Ted Thomas at the cavern scene so probably the source got confused. If Vajna met Bruce with Norris then you're talking summer 72. Peter Chin told me he was going to star in a film with Bruce that Vajna was producing. I think that was probably Green Bamboo Warrior. RIP Andy Vajna Edited February 9, 2019 by greenbamboo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 10, 2019 Author Member Share Posted February 10, 2019 (edited) On 2/9/2019 at 8:54 PM, greenbamboo said: You can see Ted Thomas at the cavern scene so probably the source got confused. Thats possible, but there cant have been a photographer, or film camera rolling, everytime someone visited the set. Edited May 3, 2019 by DragonClaws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted May 3, 2019 Author Member Share Posted May 3, 2019 Quote His was also involved in a Bruce Lee film project called Green Bamboo Soldier which did not come to fruition due to the actor’s premature death in 1973. Quote Then he entered the movie business by acquiring two cinemas in Hong Kong – Capitol (京華戲院, opened in 1952, closed in 1977) in Causeway Bay and Liberty (快樂戲院, opened in 1949, closed in 1997) in Yaumatei. From movie theaters he moved into film distribution and founded Panasia (泛亞影業) in 1972 to distribute American films in Asia which is still a major foreign film distributor today. At Panasia, he produced his first movie in 1973 – a kung-fu thriller Deadly China Doll starring Taiwanese martial art actress Angela Mao (茅瑛). Notable Players in the HK Wig Industry in the 1960s and 70s Source- https://industrialhistoryhk.org/notable-players-in-the-hk-wig-industry-in-the-1960s-and-70s/ Andy Vajna (left) and his partner in the movie business Mario Kassar in the 1970s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted May 4, 2019 Author Member Share Posted May 4, 2019 (edited) The following, is taken from the book Bruce Lee Fighting Spirit by Bruce Thomas. Quote Once he'd gone back and completed Game of Death in South Korea. He was also said to be planning a new project Green Bamboo Warrior. It now transpires he had a script for this, as early as January 1972 and there are audio tapes of both the storyline and production ideas. Confusingly, Lee had planned to make Green Bamboo Warrior as his third movie, and at firt planned to call it Enter The Dragon. Green Bamboo Warrior which in Chinese logically translates as 'Conquerer of the Golden Mountain' is set in San Francisco at the turn of the century. Bruce Lee plays one of a group of workers who makes the long exhausting journey from China to Carlifornia, the proverbial mountain of gold in California. Soon after their arrival they are put to work in a mining town. Where conditions are harsh and brutal. Lee's chracter is elected leader of the gang of workers. Befor long he is using his skills to lead a rebellion against the cruel Western boss's. He's held at gun-point by the foreman, while rest of the bosses beat him. Despite being badly beaten Bruce finds refuge in the hut of an old Chinese lady, who also works for the mine. She tends to his injuries and nurses him back to health. Once he's back in good health, he vows to take revenge with his weapon of choice: A length of green bamboo. He eventually overcomes his challenges, and becomes a hero of the Chinese workers. While he was filming Enter The Dragon, a Hong Kong business man Andrew Vajna was making in inroads into the film industry. Bruce Lee made a pitch for Green Bamboo Warrior and Vajna was interested enough to seek out Golden Harvest producer Russel Cawthorne to work on an English language version of the script Edited March 1, 2020 by DragonClaws 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted July 21, 2019 Author Member Share Posted July 21, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted January 19, 2020 Author Member Share Posted January 19, 2020 Quote Vajna launched his career in the entertainment industry with his purchase of motion picture theatres in the Far East. He founded Panasia Films Limited in Hong Kong, a highly profitable venture in the distribution, acquisition and representation of films. After Vajna negotiated the sales of Panasia to Raymond Chow’s Golden Harvest Company in 1976, and met Mario Kassar at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, he and the film producer and industry executive formed Carolco, specializing in sales, financing and distribution of films worldwide. Vajna and Kassar had rented a small office in Melrose Avenue where their desks faced each other in the office and Vajna’s wife and Kassar’s girlfriend were their secretaries. In less than four years, Carolco became one of the top three foreign sales organizations in motion pictures industry. Source- https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Andrew_G._Vajna 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted March 1, 2020 Author Member Share Posted March 1, 2020 Are there any other sources to back up the following information?. Quote A script titled Green Bamboo Warrior was also found. In this movie, set in San Francisco, Lee had planned Andrew Vanja (of First Blood fame) as the producer and had slated Bolo Yeung as his co-star. Some of his projects had even had photo shoots and costumes sketched prior to his tragic death. Golden Harvest had planned on Lee building on his success following The Big Boss and Fist of Fury with a third film, and a competing studio known as the Shaw Brothers had signed Lee on for a movie with filming dates set for September through November of 1973. Source- https://worldjkd.com/bruce-lee-movies/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted October 19, 2020 Author Member Share Posted October 19, 2020 Quote Green Bamboo Warrior After completion of The Game of Death, Bruce was planning on returning back to the U.S. to star in another film for Warner Brothers (basically he would alternate between Hong Kong and America for projects in the same way Jackie does now). This was to be 'Green Bamboo Warrior', later to be translated as 'The Conqueror of the Golden Mountain'. Bruce had completed his script for this film by January 1972 after he had completed his second film 'Fist of Fury' a.k.a. Chinese Connection. Apparently there are taped recordings of Bruce Lee explaining the story and recording his ideas. These exist! Bolo Yeung was going to co-star with Bruce in this film. Funnily enough, this was the film Bruce was going to use 'Enter the Dragon' as the title for, and wanted to actually film this script before The Way of the Dragon. Source- http://www.cityonfire.com/hkfilms/qr/rebelliousreign.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted October 23, 2020 Author Member Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) Andrew Vajna Interview excerpt - Cumberland road, Green Bamboo Warrior Link- https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bruceleelivestributeforum/andy-vajna-on-bruce-lee-and-cumberland-road-house-t3076.html Bruce Lee's Broken Rythm - Green Bamboo Whip Link- https://www.jkd.gr/sjambok.html image source- https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-bamboo-fight-staff-bo/793330 Edited November 3, 2020 by DragonClaws 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted October 24, 2020 Author Member Share Posted October 24, 2020 Quote The setting is the turn-of-the-century San Francisco. Bruce plays one of twelve Chinese workers who endure the long sea voyage in their quest for the 'Mountain of Gold', and a new life in America. On arrival they are put to work in a mining town, where conditions are brutal. source- http://bruceleelives.co.uk/warrior.html image source- https://www.kqed.org/news/10413670/draft-boomtown-history-2a 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted May 23, 2021 Author Member Share Posted May 23, 2021 Quote Steve Lee Ka Ting (1945.11.01 - ) was one of the 12 stuntmen Bruce Lee intended to bring along with him to the U.S. in 1973 after completing Enter The Dragon. Steve Lee was a famous HK stuntman since the age of 20 and has played in many movies and HKTVB TV series, usually as villains. He is also well known for his work on Kickboxer (1989) and Royal Tramp (1992). During an interview with TVB show – “Big Boys Club” (episode 1171 – “Stuntmen Years”) in August 19th, 2014, he talked about his stuntman years and recalled about some interesting accounts on Bruce Lee. Q7: Is it true that Bruce wanted to make movies in U.S.A. after Enter The Dragon? SL: Yes, it’s true. Actually, Bruce had come up with a “Green Bamboo Warrior” script which he intended to cooperate with Warner Bros. The film was intended to be shot in San Francisco. However, to make a Kung Fu movie, you need to have good action choreographers and stuntmen. Bruce knew at that time, there was no Hollywood stuntmen that knew Chinese Kung Fu nor understood HK movie style of fighting. Thus, upon discussion with Warner Bros, Bruce returned to HK and formed his own stunt team personally. He picked 12 experienced and capable action choreographers and stuntmen for his team. I was one of them (Note: These 12 should include 1. Lam Ching Ying, 2. Yuen Hwa, 3. Bee Chan, 4. Wu Ngan, 5. Sammo Hung, 6. Jackie Chan, 7. Yuen Biao, 8. Corey Yuen, 9. Meng Hoi, 10. Stephen Tung Wai, 11. Philip Ko Fei, and 12. Steve Lee Ka Ting). After discussing and agreeing to the conditions verbally by his stunt team, Bruce pressed Warner Bros to sign the working contracts with us. Unfortunately, Bruce passed away before we could go to America. I live with regrets till today. It was more than 2 decades after Bruce passing that in the 90s, HK stars like Jackie Chan, Chow Fat, Jet Li and John Woo went knocking at the Hollywood’s door. However, without Bruce paving the way for these stars, the rest would be a different story. source- https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bruceleelivestributeforum/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 23, 2021 Member Share Posted May 23, 2021 Poor Peter Chan Lung was left out of the arrangement. I wonder if he knew about his brother going instead of himself. Ironically, Peter can be seen escorting Brandon in The Man, The Legend. Then again, we don't see Peter in any of the New Territories photos that were shot for GOD. Wu Ngan became his fill-in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Josh Baker Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 Is it me or does this sound awfully similar to Lee's treatment for the Warrior in 1970? I could be wrong here but it seems like hes parlayed some of the ideas from that treatment into his Green Bamboo Warrior script. It's interesting also that Bruce took the concept of the Green Bamboo weapon and its philosophical undertones and used it for Game of Death. It makes me wonder if Bruce was actually going to make Green Bamboo Warrior as hed already used its central concept/selling point, for Game of Death in 1972. Or maybe he was planning to rewrite the script? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 The story of the Chinese coal miners in old San Francisco was too epic to jettison, just like how the pagoda concept of GOD was too good to ditch. With GBW, he had the opportunity to make a film that would be the martial arts equivalent to Once Upon a Time in the West. However, I can imagine him wanting to discard the bamboo whip speech in GOD since it has more of a place in GBW. We already would have got the bamboo symbolism in the opening blizzard scene, so we don't need the opposite to "show and tell" in a fight scene too. Also, the whip doesn't match his jumpsuit like the nunchaku does, and it just seems awfully contrived. That whole whip segment turns the film into a corny preach-fest. Bruce reminds me of Sammo, Jackie and Corey in how he regurgitates ideas. Like how Sammo repeated the finale of Iron-Fisted Monk for Warriors Two, Jackie did the same thing with retooling the Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin finale for Fearless Hyena. As for Corey, he often repeats several of his ideas from time to time because he sees opportunities to explore them in different ways. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Josh Baker Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 8 minutes ago, Cognoscente said: The story of the Chinese coal miners in old San Francisco was too epic to jettison, just like how the pagoda concept of GOD was too good to ditch. With GBW, he had the opportunity to make a film that would be the martial arts equivalent to Once Upon a Time in the West. However, I can imagine him wanting to discard the bamboo whip speech in GOD since it has more of a place in GBW. We already would have got the bamboo symbolism in the opening blizzard scene, so we don't need the opposite to "show and tell" in a fight scene too. Also, the whip doesn't match his jumpsuit like the nunchaku does, and it just seems awfully contrived. That whole whip segment turns the film into a corny preach-fest. Bruce reminds me of Sammo, Jackie and Corey in how he regurgitates ideas. Like how Sammo repeated the finale of Iron-Fisted Monk for Warriors Two, Jackie did the same thing with retooling the Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin finale for Fearless Hyena. As for Corey, he often repeats several of his ideas from time to time because he sees opportunities to explore them in different ways. Man I love the whip speech😂 its corny but it's so Bruce, it reminds me of the "finger pointing to the moon" segment in ETD. I'm glad it was left out of the 78 version though coz hearing Chris Kent say it wouldve been odd😂 It does seem odd however he would put the bamboo segment in GOD considering he seemed fully intent on making GBW around the time he was making GOD. I feel like the blizzard sequence had more of a chance of being jettisoned, especially if he had finished the film in the US, because the symbolism is completely visual and doesnt tie into the main plot. I do love Bruce's idea though and is very poetic in the tradition of a lot of Wuxia pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, Josh Baker said: It does seem odd however he would put the bamboo segment in GOD considering he seemed fully intent on making GBW around the time he was making GOD. He probably filmed the whip scene in case he never got the chance to do GBW since GBW was the sort of project that could only be done on a big budget. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Josh Baker Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 27 minutes ago, Cognoscente said: He probably filmed the whip scene in case he never got the chance to do GBW since GBW was the sort of project that could only be done on a big budget. Yes! That is actually a very good point because he was still on the payroll of GH at that point and making low budget movies- this wouldve continued for a couple of years I think if Warner Bros. had not got on the phone to Bruce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 It's sad that Bruce never got to do big budget movies. The transition would have been akin to JCVD transitioning from Cannon to Universal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted May 24, 2021 Author Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 12 hours ago, Josh Baker said: Is it me or does this sound awfully similar to Lee's treatment for the Warrior in 1970? I could be wrong here but it seems like hes parlayed some of the ideas from that treatment into his Green Bamboo Warrior script. It's interesting also that Bruce took the concept of the Green Bamboo weapon and its philosophical undertones and used it for Game of Death. It makes me wonder if Bruce was actually going to make Green Bamboo Warrior as hed already used its central concept/selling point, for Game of Death in 1972. Or maybe he was planning to rewrite the script? The weapon itself, might not have looked different in design to the thin green whip featured in G.O.D. It might have been a larger/thicker peice of Bamboo?. Sure this was mentioned in an article about the project, that featured in IMPACT Magazine?. Dont quote me, but I think Golden Harvest emplyee Russel Cawthorne was hired to do re-writes for the Green Bamboo Warrior script?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Josh Baker Posted May 24, 2021 Member Share Posted May 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, DragonClaws said: The weapon itself, might not have looked different in design to the thin green whip featured in G.O.D. It might have been a larger/thicker peice of Bamboo?. Sure this was mentioned in an article about the project, that featured in IMPACT Magazine?. Dont quote me, but I think Golden Harvest emplyee Russel Cawthorne was hired to do re-writes for the Green Bamboo Warrior script?. That wouldve been interesting- were these re writes done before or after Bruce's death? It wouldve been interesting to see a filmmaker like Sammo Hung or John Woo make the film in the mid 70s 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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