Wuxia Red Carpet

So I’ve been to a few movie events lately and I am behind on my posts because I have been so busy lately. I’ll catch you guys up on what I’ve been up in a next post, but for now I want to do a quick post on the 3 movie related events I went to. Upon looking at the pictures all these amazing personalities were in Beijing in a relatively close together time frame and I had the honor of sitting smack dab in the midst of it.

So to count off.. we’ll start with WuXia, starring Donnie Yen.

Donnie Yen at Beijing Red Carpet for Wuxia

This was for the red carpet event premiering the movie in Beijing. I won’t go into a full on review of the movie but I thought the action was good… there could have been at least one more fight scene squeezed in in my opinion. Some people may have qualms with the title “wu xia” but I didn’t mind too much. The film made some moves at innovation with some CSI style forensics of martial arts techniques so I thought that gave the movie a little something different.

Wuxia Cast at Beijing Red Carpet

Above is the cast of the movie. I sat in the front row so I was pretty close to the action.

Next up we have me! …with 3D glasses watching the preview trailer to Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.

Flying Dragon Gate 3D Glasses

It was a pr event with basically a teaser trailer for Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.

Here is my boss and Tsui Hark. They spoke to the media about working together in the past and working together this time.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Last up in no particular order is the screening of Overheard 2.

Our good friends of AnD happened to be in Beijing and so of course we had to go check out Overheard 2 together. I actually never saw Overheard 1, but apparently this is not a direct continuation.. although it uses some of the same actors and themes.

Overheard 2 Cast

Above is the cast who came out at the end of the movie to answer some audience Q&A. I must admit it was rather informal and I didn’t really expect it to be organized like that, but it was cool because everyone seemed really chill. I had a good time.

Overheard 2 and Alive Not Dead

Here we are in front of the posters after the movie ended. Also there was a raffle based off of our ticket seats and we actually won!

Keep in mind these events happened sporadically throughout the past month or two. I just finally got around to posting about it. I’m glad I got to see these movies and see the actors in person to hear their feedback in response to their works. Jia you!

Cung Le Interview

May 6, 2010.
Cung Le Interview by Alfred Hsing

Last Thursday I had the privilege and honor to chat with former US Wushu Team member, former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, and current actor/action star CUNG LE.

Cung might not know it yet, but he is actually the perfect spokesman for the theme of my blog “business, entertainment, and martial arts”. Those are the 3 areas that I strive to reach the next level on and Cung has achieved it. In business – he started his own martial arts school and brand (USH!). In martial arts – he was a medalist at the world wushu championships, he won the middleweight champion title in strikeforce, and he has won countless tournaments in various styles of martial arts. In entertainment – he has worked with action star Donnie Yen and is going to be in the upcoming Hollywood film “Tekken”.

To see Cung in action check out this highlight reel.

So to sum it up- Cung has been an inspiration in more ways than one. To top it off he has helped promote Asian Americans in a positive light AND he is an EXTREMELY humble guy. For a guy that could throw you upside down on top of your head, he is super calm and super chill. Much respect!

Now to the interview! He was in town in LA to promote his recent movie “Bodyguards and Assassins”. This is a movie that was released in Asia, but it was playing at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. I interviewed him for the Pacific Rim Video Channel. In our interview he talks about what it was like working with Donnie Yen, his thoughts on wushu/sanshou in MMA, and his strategy on his rematch with opponent Scott Smith scheduled to fight June 26, 2010!

Without further ado, here is the interview.

For the martial artists, what are your thoughts on his upcoming fight with Scott Smith and do you guys think its possible to juggle a competitive martial arts career with filming and making movies?

Also thoughts on Cung Le and the UFC? Dana White has mentioned that he would like to see Cung in the UFC. Anyways, just food for thought. Feel free to leave comments.

To check out more about Cung, the man, check out www.cungle.com!

This video interview was brought to you in part by Pac Rim Video and WushuKicks.com.

Chris Yen and I

I had a lunch meeting with Chris Yen, Donnie Yen’s sister, last week… and it was a very productive meeting! Read on!

Chris Yen Inside Kung-Fu

For those of you who don’t know – Chris Yen is an awesome martial artist and entrepreneur. Early in her martial arts film career she worked with acclaimed action director Yuen Wo-Ping in 1986 on a project shot in Taiwan. Later in her career she went on to work with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson helping her brother out on the set of Shanghai Knights. Soon after she went to Hong Kong to film a stylish female assassin role in “Black Rose.” Chris Yen’s performance in Black Rose led to a profile in the South China Morning Post, which in turn led to a featured appearance with Matt Lauer on NBC’s The Today Show, broadcast live from Hong Kong to millions of viewers. Invited to LA for auditions by a top casting director from Columbia Pictures, she has been featured in several commercials and was cast as the lead in the youth market action film Adventures of Johnny Tao, as well as in a supporting role in A Good Day to be Black and Sexy, an official 2008 Sundance Selection. She continues to work hard and develop projects with her writing partners.

Her brother Donnie Yen has appeared in more than 40 films and TV shows, including: “Ip Man”(2008), “Flash Point” (2007), “Saat Po Long aka SPL” (2005), “Shanghai Knights” (2003), “Hero” (2002), “Blade II” (2002), “Highlander: Endgame” (2000), and “Iron Monkey ” (1993).

Interestingly enough in March 2009 I posted an article on Chris Yen on the WushuKicks.com Wushu News blog – http://www.wushukicks.com/chinese-martial-arts/tag/chris-yen/ It’s amazing that a year later we got to sit down to chat over lunch.

Enough with the talk. If you haven’t seen her demo reel… check it out. I particularly like the wheel kick at 1:12.

We got in touch through a mutual friend and originally met up to get some feedback on her thoughts on Martial Arts Complete and some sponsorship. If you’ll notice in the picture at the top that pink and white “M” is a Mooto hoodie courtesy of MOOTO USA. Much thanks Mooto! and of course we got love for WushuKicks.com up in there as well.

Chris Yen and Martial Arts Complete

This ad isn’t the FINAL version yet, but it’s pretty close. I must say I’m pretty proud of this because I took this picture on my Nikon D60 at a boba cafe, edited it, and did the design as well. And to do Chris justice I must say that it was not a planned out photo shoot or anything and she just came in her casual attire, but she came out looking great. After clearing out the background and putting in our martial arts complete background I think the whole thing looks pretty cool!

Business aside, we had a lot to talk about regarding wushu, martial arts training, movies, productions, refinancing, and the tasty ham and corn on french bread appetizers. Chris mentioned that she will be back and forth between Asia and the states and we talked a lot about her personal project Kore8Films and what it takes to get things off the ground. It was a really great meeting and I am honored to be able to sit down with such an accomplished yet humble martial artist. Definitely look out for her in some big projects ahead!

ham and corn on french bread