Fist of Fury: The Legend of Chen Zhen (2010)

[Guest LoBo]

Donnie looks like a porn star with that pencil mustache.

________

Infant prilosec

[DiP]

The Legend of Westernised Chen Zhen, The Piano Virtuoso

-- Legend of Chen Zhen --

On December 21, the press got to visit the set of Legend of Chen Zhen, and witnessed the filming of a scene where Donnie Yen, having just returned from abroad, is playing the piano with aplomb at Hundred Joys, sweeping girls off their feet.

Donnie Yen, who, in a way, came from a family of musicians in which his mother is a soprano and father a violinist, picked up the piano while very young. He was last seen on the piano in Love on The Rocks, and gets to flaunt his piano virtuosity again in Legend of Chen Zhen.

For the better or worse, in this complete overhaul and new twist on Chen Zhen, who just returns from Europe and speaks French, is dressed in Western suit rather than Zhongshan Zhuang, and sports a moustache and hairdo that look like William Clark Gable, "I hope everyone would change their opinions of action stars, their thinking in the past was all wrong, I'd be performing Chopin in Legend of Chen Zhen."

Donnie Yen, who's choreographing the action himself, says that he'd be fighting throughout the film, right from beginning to the very end. Recently, he got ill after shooting a fight scene in the rain amidst such a cold winter. Donnie Yen says that he's going after something new with the action, crafting a unique kungfu for Chen Zhen, hoping to bring about another kungfu trend, create yet another classic that is very different, "I'm coming up with many new forms of martial arts, there are some very lethal moves, very exciting. But I would spend more time on acting, hoping to have breakthrough in this area, I have confidence in becoming a true-blue actor."

Yet the film might not be hiring professional fighters like in Bodyguards and Assassins to be his opponents (but it remains to be seen if there are other martial arts film stars onboard this film), "It's not real fight, so it's not that important to have martial arts exponents. I hope to advance with each film I do, if I have to rely on martial arts sequences to leave an impression, I would feel rueful."

With his rise in popularity, Donnie Yen is receiving countless offers, with lineup up to 2011, most of which are big productions. Donnie Yen intends to do a comedy next year or the year after, he reveals that Raymond Wong had thought of casting him in All's Well, Ends Well Too 2010, but due to his tight schedule, with only two weeks to spare, he had to give up the role.

Apart from a Westernised background, Chen Zhen doubles as an agent, engaging spies from various countries in battles of brains and brawn. Andrew Lau says, "Donnie Yen has been fighting so much in his previous films, the audience might be bored already. And Chen Zhen story has been done to death, insofar as the audience could memorise it already.

"So, Gordon Chan and I were discussing how to change. We noticed that the period after Chen Zhen left Jing Wu Men gives plenty of room for story development. And against the backdrop of 1925 Shanghai, we thought that Chen Zhen should be like this. It would shock everyone initially, yet after watching the whole film, you would feel that this Chen Zhen is very real, very compelling. Chen Zhen has little ties left with Jing Wu Men, he appears like this by day, and like that by night, very mysterious."

http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/754-The-Legend-of-Westernised-Chen-Zhen,-The-Piano-Virtuoso.html

[DiP]

Donnie Yen Portrays a Different Chen Zhen

Unlike Bruce Lee or Jet Li who both portrayed Chen Zhen as a tough martial artist, Donnie Yen is set to add a new identity to the fictitious character - special agent.

Yen plays the title character in "The Legend of Chen Zhen", a star-studded film being shot in Shanghai by "Infernal Affairs" co-director Andrew Lau.

Chen Zhen, a frequent character on China's big and small screens, is usually portrayed as a student of martial-arts legend Huo Yuanjia (1867-1910). On the screen, Chen Zhen lives in 1920s Shanghai.

Bruce Lee interpreted the role in the 1972 film "Fist of Fury", while Jet Li followed in a 1994 remake.

Lau told the media on Monday that Donnie Yen's Chen Zhen will not just be a martial-arts master, but also an agent who plays the piano and can speak several languages.

"This will be a brand-new Chen Zhen," Yen said.

"The Legend of Chen Zhen" features Shu Qi as a Japanese spy. Other cast members include Anthony Wong, Huo Siyan and Huang Bo.

The film's domestic release is set for next year, with possible international releases in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

http://english.cri.cn/6666/2009/12/22/1261s537213.htm

[Drunken Monk]

All credit due to Donnie Yen but I wish he would make up his mind. With appetites well and truly salivating for his films, I'd really hoped he would give the martial arts genre something it needs. I really thought he would reinvent on screen action as we see it and even mentioned doing so, himself.

Now he is taming his fightwork and, instead, focusing on acting. Sure, he does need the acting skills under his belt in order to progress but I really hope he works on giving true kung fu fans what they want.

[DiP]

I'd really hoped he would give the martial arts genre something it needs. I really thought he would reinvent on screen action as we see it and even mentioned doing so, himself.

But that's what he has been doing. SPL, Dragon Tiger Gate, Flash Point. And people who have seen B&A have given nothing but high praise for his work on the fight scene with Cung Le. So I believe he's going to break the barrier once again with this one. But for now, I'm still waiting for confirmation of which people he's going to fight as it looks uncertain at this point (besides, I don't rely on that link too much as the sources are mainly translated from the Chinese media whom have the tendency to misinterpret or exaggerate on what's actually being stated).

I wouldn't mind seeing him expand his acting range as I think that would make his fighting all the better and interesting as opposed to fight and just improvising with less or no depth at all (we have seen this from him too many times now). But I do hope that he will still continue to take action choreography as serious (or more) as improving his acting. But I'm sure Donnie knows what he's doing (otherwise, we wouldn't have seen him starring in Ip Man and B&A) when it comes to choosing projects and deciding what kind of fighting styles to show to the audience so I trust him.

[AlbertV]

Something happened on the set of Chen Zhen:

Andrew Lau’s Legend of Chen Zhen has been quietly shooting in Shanghai. Recently, producers discovered a suspicious man in the studio. When detained and asked if he was an extra, the mysterious man was found to have a sophisticated pinhole pen camera on his possession. Producers found numerous scenes of high quality had been recorded. When questioned, the man did not reveal his motive and said he was a graduate and only fooling around. The pen and identity card were confiscated before allowing him the leave. The man later returned with police to retrieve his ID card and pen. But because of fear of leaks, security is high and all cast had signed confidentiality agreements, the producers were reluctant to release the pen camera.

This happened sometime last week I believe.

[doug maverick]

where is the source article for that?

[DiP]

Here's the source, in Chinese.

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-01-18/10452847551.shtml

[mark187]

http://hktopten.blogspot.com/2010/01/20100122-donnie-yens-time-has-not.html

here's some new set photos. starting to get more excited about this one, they got Donnie Yen wearing one of the vintage costumes finally. and still no signs of capes and masks.

[DiP]

Gordon Chan Going Boldly Where No Chen Zhen Has Gone Before

-- Legend of Chen Zhen --

After watching a sample reel and production stills from Legend of Chen Zhen, the producers, being very happy with the results, are increasing the budget by 20m yuan to 120m yuan, for use mainly in post-production, as they intend to hire Hollywood special effects team to give the film a more polished look.

When conceptualizing Legend of Chen Zhen, Gordon Chan hoped to do something that has never been done by Chinese directors, but he felt very pressurized after finishing the script, "After having the script written, I dared not direct by myself, so whom should I work with? Andrew Lau and Donnie Yen came to my mind. Even though during the initial meetings, we had very fierce debates over the script and the nature of the character, but it was precisely because of such a tense atmosphere that we quickly developed a great rapport, fast turning it into a very happy collaboration.

"When I first talked to Donnie Yen on this film, he asked me if there was such a need to take such a risk. For the story and the character are all new, and it's a very audacious move. I told him, if we were not enterprising enough, and simply go about shooting a Huo Yuan Jia or Chen Zhen story that everyone is familiar with, we would just be repeating ourselves, it's not creativity and challenge.

"Everyone's doing a pretty good job on this film, but the biggest surprise to me comes from Donnie Yen. In this film, Donnie Yen has yet elevated himself to another level, whether it is drama or action. He is bound to become a superstar in 2010, and be crowned Best Actor at Hong Kong Film Awards the following year.

"This film is more drama oriented. We don't have minor brawls strewn all over the film. We are concentrating on a few more important fight scenes."

Producer Zhang Zhao says, "The action in this film is rather unusual, it's like Spider-man, going from top to bottom, or going up from below, something like that."

Andrew Lau says that they hare having a great time working together on the set, and both he and Donnie Yen are eager to shoot a sequel.

http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/770-Gordon-Chan-Going-Boldly-Where-No-Chen-Zhen-Has-Gone-Before.html

[One Armed Boxer]

"The action in this film is rather unusual, it's like Spider-man, going from top to bottom, or going up from below, something like that."

Possibly the most bizarre description I`ve ever read to describe the action in a kung-fu movie!!

[DiP]

Media Asia page of the movie. Featuring few small-scale stills!

http://www.mediaasia.com/movie.php?isFilm=1&sortOrder=filmOrder&film_id=258

[DiP]

While China is traumatized by military cliques during the Warlord Era in the 1920s, Shanghai is the cynosure of all eyes. People see it as both Hell’s Kitchen and Heaven’s Gate. One of the city’s most memorable heroes has to be Chen Zhen, who single-handedly avenges his mentor’s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Vanished from the public eye ever since, he has been taken for dead though his body is never found.

Seven years later, a wealthy entrepreneur called Koo returns from abroad and makes a grand entrance on the Shanghai social scene by befriending the notorious mafia boss of the city. This mysterious man is none other than Chen Zhen in disguise who dwells in a world of nefarious means in order to infiltrate the criminal empire. He soon discovers a clandestine collusion between the mafia and the Japanese.

Disguised as a caped crusader at night, Chen sets out to dismantle with his martial arts skill the evil collusion that plaques the country. One of his foremost missions is to ferret out the assassination list prepared by the Japanese.

http://www.cinando.com/DefaultController.aspx?PageID=FicheFilm&IdC=1122&IdF=84983

[ben]

Thanks for these, the stills look nice

[lillippa328]

i have a feeling theyre gonna be fighting in air kinda like in Mortal Kombat vs DC when you knock some1 off the level and ur falling and throwing punches...that type of thing lol

[Maz]

40 second short clip of Legend of Chen Zhen showing some action

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/_50wGx_FUmk

[DiP]

The Green Hornet meets Blood Brothers meets Assembly. Now I'm looking forward to this!!!

[ben]

Maz, thank you for posting it. The action looks great, I'm looking forward to this movie even more

[gorhama]

Very much looking forward to this. Again 2010 is going to be a great year for asian cinema and martial arts action!!

[Drunken Monk]

Is that Donnie Yen in the short clip? It looks a little too...well...acrobatic for him.

[DiP]

I'm pretty sure the spin was done by a double. It's no secret that Donnie can do acrobatic moves, only that it's something he doesn't rely on so we rarely get to see that in most of his movies.

[Gaijin84]

Looks pretty fun. Wish they didn't put the double knee to the chest move in this showcase clip. We've seen that in every single Tony Jaa movie already.

[bamboo spear]

Next to The Empire Strikes Back, Fist of Legend is probably my favorite film, but I don't have a lot of hope for this. To whoever mentioned Iron Monkey 2, yeah, I feel your pain. I remember getting that DVD from Amazon a few years ago, and wow, talk about probably the biggest letdown in the long, sad history of awful knock-off sequels! If anyone can pull this off it's Donnie Yen, but the character is entering "Black Mask" levels of superhuman skills, whereas Jet's Chen Zhen was just an angry and fueled young martial arts student.

Regardless, I'll probably pick it up.

[DiP]

Donnie Yen Dedicates Legend of Chen Zhen to Bruce Lee

-- Legend of Chen Zhen --

In an interview with The Bund, Donnie Yen describes the rendition of his role in Legend of Chen Zhen as an enhanced version of Bruce Lee's Chen Zhen, "The Chen Zhen that I'm portraying will carry traces of Bruce Lee's shadows, his sentiments, his deportment. I hope to pay tribute to him. At the same time, I'd also incorporate my own ideals, and fighting styles, you can say that this is Bruce Lee's Chen Zhen completely re-imagined, and elevated.

"That I also served as the martial arts director for Legend of Chen Zhen was because I'm more familiar with how Bruce Lee fought. Moreover, personally, I'm partial to Bruce Lee. It's very trying being a martial arts director, I didn't want to do it, but when many producers look for me, all of them want me to action direct, apart from acting.

"In today's market, there are only 2, 3 martial arts choreographers with real abilities, but they're all very busy. And, I, having a predilection for innovations, am game to try out bold, new things, it's even harder to look for someone like this. It's double the workload when you also work as the martial arts director, and you don't get a very high pay for it, certainly much less than being an actor, but for the sake of the film's final result, I would still take up the job."

Legend of Chen Zhen, starring Donnie Yen, Anthony Wong, Ryu Kohata, Chen Jia Jia, Shi Feng, Shu Qi, Huo Si Yan, has wrapped up filming in early February. Recently, CCTV aired an early preview footage from the film that has been uploaded and posted on Baidu forum.

http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/785-Donnie-Yen-Dedicates-Legend-of-Chen-Zhen-to-Bruce-Lee.html

[ben]

I know it's far away from the original character but I like that kind of over the top action, and anyway I like that Donnie Yen has given it his own interpretation, having returned from Europe, playing piano, being able to speak French.

Nothing compared to "Fist of Legend", of course, but for what it is I think it will be enjoyable.