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Jackie Chan Vs. Jet Li in Forbidden Kingdom
The two legends spar on set.
A martial arts fan’s wet dream is about to come true when Jackie Chan and Jet Li costar in The Forbidden Kingdom. The epic fantasy story features both fighters in historical action. Needless to say, their first fight scene attracted a crowd.
“Jet and me on the location, so many people come,” said Chan. “We have to cover with more security guards, everybody wants to see what happens. All the crew members, everybody waiting for something. A funny, funny situation. A funny feeling.”
When the kicks started flying, Chan wondered what took so long. “I’ve known Jet Li for 15 years, 20 years. We’re good friends. The first time on the set with Jet Li, was just like wow, finally we work together. The first time we fight, spar — wow, good feeling.”
Rob Minkoff is directing Forbidden Kingdom, which the Weinstein Co. has slated for an April 18, 2008 release. Choreographer Yuen Woo-ping is serving as both exec producer and action director. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon cinematographer Peter Pau is lensing the film.
The film will loosely follow the Chinese Journey to the West tale, adapted with a Western twist — an American teenager (Michael Angarano) is transported to ancient China, where he encounters the Monkey King (Jet Li), who transforms into the Silent Monk (also Jet Li), and a martial arts master named Lu Yan (Jackie Chan). See Jet Li’s earlier blog posting about The Forbidden Kingdom production here.
Blood Brothers was selected to close the 64th Venice Film Festival on September 8, 2007.[3]
The film should not be confused with The Warlords, a 2007 China/Hong Kong film starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau and Jet Li, that was at one point also called Blood Brothers.
Lo Mang receives Lifetime Achievement Award
News | Events | by Terrence J. Brady | 2007.08.27
The First Annual International Martial Arts Cinema Lifetime Achievement Award and Expo has come and gone but the memories will certainly last a lifetime. Lo Mang, Shaw Brothers star and member of the elite Five Deadly Venoms, made his first ever trip to the U.S. this weekend and it was well worth the wait.
The event got into full swing on a steamy Saturday morning in Philadelphia’s Chinatown as a traditional lion dance welcomed him to the city. Traffic on Arch Street slowed to a crawl as fan and passerby alike watched the opening ceremonies. Soon afterwards, a few lucky ones were able to retreat from the heat of the city street to the Moy Yat Ving Tsun School where fans were able to participate in a fight choreography session.
Richard Hopkins, event organizer and good friend of Lo, oversaw the activities with the assistance of actor/martial artist Bobby Samuels and event MC, Ric Meyers. Lo too joined in and gave everyone some great examples of cinematic fighting. Later, attendees participated in a Q&A with the Venom strongman.
Saturday evening, the venue shifted to the Golden Phoenix restaurant in Chinatown where Lo was presented with his lifetime achievement award for his body of work. There were video tributes by Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street and PA Governor Edward Rendell. The intimate setting allowed many to casually wine and dine with one of the legends of the Shaw studios and Lo mentioned he was moved by the evening’s events and all those who were in attendance for supporting him and his films.
On Sunday, the venue changed again to the International House where other celebrities were in attendance as well. Grandmaster Kim Jin Pai was present and very appreciative of the fans’ support. His film, THE MANDARIN, played on a laptop at his booth as he signed autographs and posed for photos. Bobby Samuels was once again present and was very cordial. Among the various discs and books on display at his booth was an album of rare photographs featuring many of the talented individuals Samuels had met in the industry during his career. Lo Mang remained the center of attention as he signed posters and photos for many eager and star-struck fans.
All in all, this weekend’s event had a very informal feel to it which made both participants and attendees interact in a relaxed environment. Lo Mang was extremely approachable and he appeared to enjoy this event as much as anyone. Lo will continue with his U.S. trip by visiting a few other cities before returning to Hong Kong later in the week.
For those who were unable to attend, Phillywood Entertainment was busy shooting footage all weekend long and will press a DVD of the activities. More information about the disc will be forthcoming, so please visit Phillywoodentertainment.com, as well as, Teako170.com for the latest news regarding the release of this exciting DVD.
