[8 mins Wu Xia Trailer Included]
Wu Xia, Wu Xia, Wu Xia..
The crowd at GV VivoCity was encouraged by the emcee to cheer the title repeatedly in welcoming the director Peter Chan and action movie star Donnie Yen. It was a nice attempt but rather short-lived as the cheer gets a little weird after awhile. Try saying the title repeatedly over a few times. In case you weren't there at the venue to witness Donnie Yen in Singapore, we have put up more than 30 photos of the Red Carpet and the Gala Premiere of Wu Xia on our Facebook. The last time Donne Yen was here in Singapore was in 2008 when he came to promote Painted Skin (2008)
It was known that Donnie Yen and Peter Chan had their first collaboration during the making of Bodyguards And Assassins (2009) but Peter Chan wasn't the director then. In a way, the movie Wu Xia has fulfilled Donnie's wish to star in one of Peter Chan's movie. In the press conference held at Fullerton Hotel on Tuesday 19 July, Donnie Yen shared his feelings about Wu Xia. "I have always been a fan of Peter Chan and I believe every actor will want to star in his movies. I have been hoping to find a breakthrough in acting since Ip Man and to work with Peter Chan, I know this is my chance."
Join Wu Xia Facebook Page for more of its update!
Peter Chan, on the other hand, found it hard to accept such huge compliments from Donnie Yen. He feels that it is also his luck to be able to get along very well with Donnie Yen. "Donnie Yen is the kind of character that is genuine and not the scheming type. Although we haven't work together for very long, we have a lot of chemistry and trust in each other."
And we all know that most directors also have their own favorite casting. Apparently, Takeshi Kaneshiro is one of Peter Chan's choice. "I enjoy working with Takeshi very much. He is very humble and always striving to improve himself," Peter also notes the similarity of Takeshi and himself. "We are very much alike. We're like the perfectionists, always seeking ways to make things better but at the same time, we feel insecure about ourselves." Peter points out that Takeshi is very self-conscious and would often discuss with him to see how he can best portray the character Xu Bai Jiu. "We want to remove the shadow of Takeshi in Xu Bai Jiu so I gave him the hat and other stuffs and we have a tryout. But Takeshi doesn't feel quite right and one day, he heard one of the crew using the Si Chuan dialect. We gave it a try and the effect turned out pretty well."
Join us on InCinemas Facebook Page!
About whether Takeshi's performance, especially with the unique dialect accent, will outshine the lead character Liu Jin-Xi in Wu Xia, Donnie is quick to point out that in the movie it is never about one person. "Ultimately, a successful movie is from a team effort to complement one another to make it outstanding."
Donnie Yen is also the Action Director in the movie. If you have watched the 8mins trailer (embedded below at the end), you will notice that there is actually 2 point of views and explanation about what exactly happened during the fight in the hut which resulted in the deaths of 2 bandits. When asked about the challenges, Donnie Yen recalls,"It is very complex in not just the actions sequence but also playing the character. I have got to act and direct these scenes and filming doesn't go in a chronological order. In addition, the audience already know that I will definitely attack the bandits. So it is a challenge to switch between Tang Long and Liu Jin-Xi and also to the extent of the difference in their portrayal."
Read our InCinemas review of WU XIA!
Peter Chan praised Donnie Yen's performance in the movie. "Donnie must make the audience believe that he is Liu Jin-Xi. There is one silly smile of Liu Jin-Xi which Donnie Yen has managed very well for the character. This is very difficult to portray. His performance is very good."
WU XIA is rated NC16 (Violence) and opens InCinemas 21 July 2011.
[Additional Information]
Also about the movie 1965, Peter Chan has also clarified that he is likely to be like a consultant to the movie than a director and he doesn't know about the casting.
Whether Donnie hopes to have his son entering the film industry to become his successor, Donnie Yen is leaving the decision to his son in future. "My son has never seen my movies and he is able to come out with a kung fu stance when he's only 3-4 years old. I don't normally believe in inheritance but now I must say my son has the talents."
[Wu Xia 8 mins movie trailer]
