Kung Fu TV show film REMAKE [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

GeneChing

12-22-2006, 11:31 AM

A little late with this one but I couldn't find an earlier thread (I'll merge it if someone can point it to me)

May 22, 2006
Legenday Pictures to Bring Kung Fu to the Big Screen (http://www.legendarypictures.com/newsmain.php?news_id=1)

Burbank, CA - Legendary Pictures announced today that it has acquired the feature film rights to the classic martial arts franchise, Kung Fu. The company has commenced development of a feature film version that explores the origins of the characters and the events on which the television classic was based.

"We are excited about bringing this property to the big screen. Kung Fu was a key event in the popularization of martial arts and brought the Shaolin Monks and their legend into contemporary culture" said Scott Mednick, Legendary's President of Worldwide Distribution and Marketing. "Our intention is to create a powerful rendering of these compelling characters, especially Kwai Chang Caine. We will delve into the secrets of the Shoalin and explore how Caine became Caine through his training and subsequent adventures in China."

"Much of the story of Kung Fu has not been told and we intend to tell it in a dynamic way that depicts, in a fresh, realistic manner, the very real skills that the priests of the Shoalin Temple have mastery of," said Jon Jashni, Legendary Pictures Chief Creative Officer. "This property has remained popular for decades and we look forward to adding the depth and scope that a theatrical feature can offer."

Kung Fu, made its debut as a movie of the week, starring David Carradine, in 1972, and was an instant hit. It spawned a first series produced by Warner Bros. that aired on ABC-TV from 1972-1975, along with two additional movies of the week as well as a second weekly series in 1993. Kung Fu continues as a cult classic today.

Legendary Pictures has optioned a feature screenplay from the original creator and writers of Kung Fu; Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander.

# # #

Legendary Pictures formed a partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures in 2005 to co-produce and co-finance at least 25 pictures during an initial 5 year term, which includes a first-look distribution arrangement. The company operates from the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. Legendary Pictures first film was Batman Begins, directed by Chris Nolan. Future releases include Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer, M Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water and Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C.

tug

12-22-2006, 08:15 PM

And also glad to see the original writers coming back for it.

TuG.

BlueTravesty

12-22-2006, 10:27 PM

I wonder who they will get to play the part of Caine? Maybe they'll get someone who's really Chinese-American and not some dude who squints a lot (like a certain person who also played "Bill" in Kill Bill.)

Let's also hope history doesn't repeat itself to the point that an up-and-coming Chinese Actor/Martial Artist gets turned down because of out-and-out racism- er, I mean "decline to take the part."

Gold Horse Dragon

12-23-2006, 08:26 AM

Yeah, I saw the announcement a month or two ago...think it is great they will be making the movie. I loved the first series...still do. I hope they do not ruin the movie by using any of the contemporary wu shu though. I think is imperative that the keep true to the original flavour of the series

I have reservations about who will play KCC, as DC did such a great job at it. The producers and casting sure chose right back then, and he won the part fair and square...he had what the part called for and acted it well. BTW his eye shape is natural and not due to squinting or tie backs...he is part Native and naturally has the eye shape...take a look at photos of him on his ranch back in the 80's. Hiring a man who is part Native, I do not think can be called racist...what was racist is that the Chinese actors guild or something like that, wanted the producers to fire him and to hire a Chinese person...they refused and correctly so. I am no DC fan, but what is fair is fair and he played the part with excellence.
I wonder if the movie will have an older KCC (DC) telling the story with flash backs.
I hope they use the same filming techniques and flavour that the old show did.

Dim Wit Mak

12-23-2006, 11:56 AM

I, too, would plead with the producers to stay away from the politically correct Modern Wushu stuff. I like an acrobatic act as much as the next guy, but not in my Kung Fu. I would hope that many historical styles would be spotlighted and used extensively.

firepalm

12-23-2006, 01:47 PM

Argh, Gene say it isn't so?

I know the argument, how it helped introduce Kung Fu (the art not only the TV seris) to the West, blah, blah, blah.... but honestly David Carrradine would have been nothing without the series and not vice versa. David Carradine is a pathetic martial artist and from all reports not much of a human being (a drunk that once hit a child on set).

Comparatively speaking to the stuff that has been out (movies & such) in the years since the Kung Fu TV series is crap. That's crap period full end of sentence.

As to the writers are we talking about the ones that did Kung Fu the Legend Continues.... please that fortune cookie stereo typical crap!

The only way this could ever be done right is to not let the same writers do it, not let an American director do it (Ang Lee would be fanastic for this, he would be able to touch on the emotional content of the story about the monk in the West and his quest to find his brother).

As to the action, choreography by Donnie Yen, or Yuen Woo Ping's crew, but put it in the hands of any American and they will screw it up.

BUT THE NO. #1 THING - Don't let David Carridine anywhere near the movie!!!

CRAP CRAP CRAP........ :D

If you'll excuse me I think I am going to go and watch Kung Fu Hustle!

firepalm

12-23-2006, 02:02 PM

Say they could get Aaron Norris, brother of Chuck and responsible for a lot of really memorable fight scenes by way of Walker Texas Ranger .......

Americans make such crap martial arts movies and TV

bahahahahahahahahahahaha.....

:eek:

tug

12-23-2006, 05:36 PM

"BUT THE NO. #1 THING - Don't let David Carridine anywhere near the movie!!!"

I couldn't agree more.

TuG.

Li Kao

12-24-2006, 01:38 AM

This might be getting a little sidetracked, but does anyone remember the 2 made-for-TV Kung Fu movies that starred Brandon Lee? I always thought that was interesting, that they snagged him to do those movies, when the lead role was originally destined to go to his father.

Not that this is official or anything, but according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(TV_series), ole DC won't be in the new movie. Here is what they have said: In June of 2006, Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander announced that a feature film (which will serve as a prequel to the original Kung Fu series and take place in China) is in development. They have also announced that David Carradine "will not be returning to the project, nor will it be an effects-laden movie". The movie will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures & Legendary Pictures.

tug

12-24-2006, 03:51 PM

mickey

12-24-2006, 08:50 PM

Greetings,

The thought of seeing "wushu" in the training sequences makes me want to go out tonight and shoot Santa, twice.

I enjoyed the pilot and enjoyed having the chance to see the traditionalists like Kam Yuen and the late Ark Wong do their thing. Not even the training sequence of Jet Li's Shaolin Temple topped it.

I have to throw up, now.

mickey

BM2

12-25-2006, 10:17 AM

[QUOTE=Li Kao;727435]This might be getting a little sidetracked, but does anyone remember the 2 made-for-TV Kung Fu movies that starred Brandon Lee? I always thought that was interesting, that they snagged him to do those movies, when the lead role was originally destined to go to his father.

Believe it or not LK, I actually own the original tv pilot, the two made for tv's and season 1 and 2 of the series.

I agree that it was very interesting using Brandon, but I also have always thought it was kind of a slap in the face to his father.

TuG.

I have,somewhere, Brandon Lee in what I had thought was the only part he was in Kung Fu. The end was crap, flames shooting out of the elephant gun.
However, in the original series, KCC does bed a concubine of the Emperor's and that could have resulted in him having a son which the TV show with Brandon Lee should have used as they could have done a Flash back.

mickey

12-25-2006, 07:50 PM

Greetings,

I thought Brandon Lee was playing Caine's son in the one where he played Mako's henchman. It seemed to be alluded to but not actually stated. My feeling was that the producers did not want to create any kind of funk by having Brandon play the son of the character, a role that should have gone to his father.

mickey

BM2

12-25-2006, 08:31 PM

I meant to state that the TV movie could have used an earlier episode where Cain falls in love with the Emperor's concubine and has sex with her.
She laughs at Cain when he suggests that they could have a future together and she states something about what he could do for her? And he knows the skills she would be depriving the Emperor of :D if she didn't go back to him.
I don't recall how Brandon was written into script but I thought it was somehow being Cain's son.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-26-2006, 10:26 AM

Dim Wit Mak

12-26-2006, 10:57 AM

Being at or near the top of the ratings of the time plus the popularity of the 70's series proves they had the right formula and actor. The actor's personal life has to be separated from the series. There are many actors who have problems and difficulties of one form or another. It would be best to not be so judgemental of a person's weaknesses...it was not like he was hurting someone else...and he has taken steps to overcome this. The series and the character of KCC as portrayed by DC did just as much as BL to promote the art of KF. Doesn't matter if DC knew KF at the time the series started...it is a show...acting. Most, if not all actors portray something they are not an expert in or even know very much of anything about it. What counts is how they act and portray the character.

I agree that DC was the right choice for the time. He and Bruce Lee did more to promote the martial arts than can be imagined. Even though a Caucasion had the lead role, there was a huge cast of Asian actors. Carradine readily admits that he started out as a dancer who has had to fight many of his own demons over the years. Let's give the guy a break. He has fought hard to improve himself as an individual, and has been a diligent student of martial arts for many years now. How good he is is open to interpretation, but all any of us can do is to put diligent effort into our art, and be the best we can be.

There should be an Asian in the lead role this time. It is a different era with different values and needs.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-26-2006, 09:16 PM

But, unless the whole premise of the character is changed ie. half Chinese, half Caucasian...a full Chinese cannot be cast for the part. A person who is half Chinese, 1/2 Caucasian could be. Yeah, it is a new era with some differing values and yet somethings never change.
I hope they do the character and the movie justice. I don't want to pay $20 for the wife and I to see the movie and walk out thinking...boy was that lousy or what.

firepalm

12-26-2006, 10:08 PM

:eek: Tell you right now don't bother! If it's done the American way (as in US director) it's not going to look any better then the lame a s s current TV incarnation (KF Legend Continues - god what crap that is). It will especially be lame in the action department. Now if they were smart like the Wachowski brothers in the case of the Matrix and let some HK action folk handle the action (not talking Computer graphics) it might look good but my guess is they will have some 'super talented' US guy like Aaron Norris!

Crap crap crap............... :eek:

Dim Wit Mak

12-26-2006, 10:28 PM

Hishaam

12-27-2006, 05:02 AM

I've been known to score pretty low on logic tests, but if a Caucasion can play a half Chinese guy, why can't a Chinese play a half Caucasion guy?:confused:

Good one. :D

I totally agree with Firepalm as far as the people who should be involved in making the movie.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-27-2006, 10:12 AM

I've been known to score pretty low on logic tests, but if a Caucasion can play a half Chinese guy, why can't a Chinese play a half Caucasion guy?:confused:

DC is not full Caucasian...he is part Native American and so did not look full Caucasian...had the eye look, nose. A full Chinese would look full Chinese, not half Chinese and half Caucasian. Since the part calls for half and half...thats the look that is needed.

As far as the directors/fight choreographers that FP mentions...I don't really care for the ultra violent, special effects laden, contemporary wu shu, close up action (to cover and try to make it look okay, because it really shows nothing).
Give me the American directors/fight choreographers who make a fight scene look like a fight scene without the special effect laden stuff and flying on wires stuff with guys flying 20 feet through the air after getting hit, then smashing against the wall and then the floor and then getting up for more...not what I consider a good martial arts movie, but hey each to their own taste.

firepalm

12-27-2006, 08:07 PM

David Carradine, half this half that whatever the case he is 100% lame as they come.

:eek:

Gold Horse Dragon

12-27-2006, 08:35 PM

[QUOTE=firepalm;727925]David Carradine, half this half that whatever the case he is 100% lame as they come.

As stated earlier...it is not about DC, but rather about the character KCC and the series and who the character KCC is and what he stands for. This thread has been after all, about a movie being done from the 70's series Kung Fu in which DC portrayed KCC and not about the actor DC. Whether DC is lame or not is not relevant to the subject of the thread.

tug

12-27-2006, 10:06 PM

Li Kao

12-28-2006, 03:03 AM

Li Kao

12-28-2006, 03:04 AM

More Taoist wisdom from the Kung Fu series:

"It is written, 'Shape clay into a vessel, it is the space within that gives it value. Place doors and windows in a house, it is the opening that brings light within. Set spokes within a wheel, it is the emptiness of the hub that makes them useful.' Therefore be the space at the center. Be nothing and you will have everything to give to others."

"A man may die from a hunger of the body. But whole nations have fallen from that of the spirit. Discipline. Discipline cures."

"'It has been said that a man is three things. What he thinks he is, what others think he is, and what he really is.' - Master Kan
'. . . if a man is wrong about himself and others are wrong about him. . . who is left to say what he really is?'" - Young Caine

"There is a strength in us that can shatter an invincible object with a hand which comes from a strong and disciplined body. There is another strength that allows us to feel the pain of others and give comfort where comfort is needed. This comes from a compassionate heart. True strength must combine both for that is in harmony with the duality of our nature."

"A man truly himself will not enrich his own interests and make a virtue of poverty. He goes his way without depending on others, yet is not arrogant that he needs no other. The greatest man is nobody."

"The sage says, 'That which shrinks must first expand. That which fails must first be strong. That which is cast down, must first be raised. Before receiving there must first be giving."

"Beware of judgments of others. In this imperfect world in which we live, perfection is an illusion. And so the standards by which we seek to measure it are also, themselves, illusions. If perfection is measured by age, grace, color of skin, color of hair, physical or mental prowess, then we are all lacking."

"One cannot always keep a friend when that friend believes that one has wronged him. . . . Each man has the right to choose his enemies and his friends. He may choose unwisely. But the decision is his alone to make. Then he must live with the consequences. And so must his enemies and his friends."

"'Do you sometimes feel love. . . and joy? Do you sometimes feel pride in what you have accomplished?. . . And do you sometimes feel good?. . . But the threads that make up our human nature are two ended. There is no capacity for feeling pride without an equal capacity for feeling shame. One cannot feel joy unless one can feel despair. We have no capacity for good without an equal capacity for evil.' - Master Po
'Must we not fear evil?' - Young Caine
'Shall we fear our own humanity?' - Master Po
'Must we not fight evil?' - Young Caine
'Who can defeat himself? For what is evil but the self seeking to fulfill its own secret needs. All that is necessary is that we face it and choose.'" - Master Po

"Any man can be broken. . . By a strength outside greater than himself or a weakness inside which he cannot understand."

"The Sage says, 'A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and cold. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry. Therefore, the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.'"

"'As we stand with two roads before us, how shall we know whether the right road or the left road will lead us to our destiny?' - Young Caine
'You spoke of chance, Grasshopper, as if such a thing were certain to exist. In the matter you speak of, Destiny, there is no such thing as chance for whichever way we choose, right or left, it must lead to an end. And that end is our destiny.'" - Master Po

tug

12-28-2006, 03:17 AM

Not sure why there is so much DC hate. I think a lot of people have a sour taste from his casting based on the knowledge that the role was supposed to go to Bruce Lee. Obviously, looking back, it is a real shame that the prejudices that existed in American media prevented this from happening. Would the show have been better with Bruce? Most likely ... but I don't hold that against DC, the blame should fall on the network and the producers. When I was teenager, watching the series for the first time and ignorant of the politcal background, it did capture my imagination and I have fond memories of the show and its characters. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I thought DC did a good job with the lead role. -- here are some of my favorite lines-

"When ones words are more worthless than silence... One should be silent."

"Perceive the way of nature and no man can harm you. Do not meet a wave head on. Avoid it. You do not have to stop force. It is easier to redirect it. Learn more ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check. Check rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. For all life is precious nor can any be replaced."

"All creatures - the low and the high - are one with nature. No life is insignificant. If we have the wisdom to learn, all may teach us their virtues.... From the crane we learn grace and self-control. The snake teaches us suppleness and rhythmic endurance. The praying mantis teaches us speed and patience. And from the tiger we learn tenacity and power. And from the dragon we learn to ride the wind."

"He who knows how to live need not fear death. He can walk without fear of rhino or tiger. He will not be wounded in battle.... In him the rhino can find no place to thrust his horn, the tiger no place to use his claws, and weapons no place to pierce.... Because a man who knows how to live has no place for death to enter."

"The best charioteers do not push ahead. The best fighters do not make displays of anger. The wisest antagonist is he who wins without engaging in battle."

"If a man dwells on the past then he robs the present. But if a man ignores the past, he may rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nurtured by the roots of our past."

"If while building a house, a carpenter strikes a nail and it proves faulty by bending, does the carpenter lose faith in all nails and stop building his house?"

"I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is mercy for from mercy comes courage. The second is frugality from which comes generosity to others. The third is humility for from it comes leadership."

"'We learn to make powerful the force of our bodies. Yet, we are taught to reverence all against whom we may use such force.' - Caine
'When your life is threatened or the innocent life of another, you will be prepared to defend them.' - Master Kan
'Being thus prepared better than others, should I not always stand and fight?' - Caine
'Ignore the insulting tongue. Duck the provoking blow. Run from the assault of the strong.' - Master Kan
'Are these not the actions of a coward?' - Caine
'The wild boar runs from the tiger knowing that each being well armed by nature with deadly strength may kill the other. Running he saves his own life and that of the tiger. This is not cowardice. It is the love of life.'" - Master Kan

"What is cowardice but the body's wisdom of its weakness? What is bravery but the body's wisdom of its strength. The coward and the hero march together within every man. So to call one man 'coward' and another 'brave' merely serves to indicate the possibilities of their achieving the opposite."

"Young Caine, when I was a boy, I fell into a hole in the ground and I was broken and could not climb out. I might have died there but a stranger came along and saved me. He said it was his obligation. That for help he had once received, he must in return help ten others each of whom would then help ten others so that good deeds would spread out like the ripples from a pebble in a pond. I was one of his ten and you became one of mine. And now I pass this obligation on to you."

"Is not the spider also trapped in its own web? Which is truly the prisoner? The fly, which moving freely enters unknown danger? Or the spider, which having spun its web, remains, never knowing the pleasure or the danger of the fly?"

"The undiscerning mind is like the root of a tree - it absorbs equally all that it touches - even the poison that would kill it."

"If a man lives, it is a certainty he will die. Therefore, it is foolish to think of death as if he were a foe to be vanquished. He will come when he will come."

"There is much evil in the world, Grasshopper. It has always been thus. And so our ancestors built this monastery and developed the art of Kung Fu so they might cultivate virtue and protect themselves from harm. But whatever one man possesses another will covet. The Manchu Emperor heard of our prowess. So he sent an army of soldiers to burn the monastery to the ground. Only five escaped. They made their way to Fukien and founded the Tong to overthrow the Manchus and restore the Ming Emperors to the throne. Violence became their tool and combating violence. Thus the Sage Chuang Tzu has said, 'By ethical argument and moral principle, the greatest crimes are shown to have been necessary and in fact a great benefit for mankind.' Two hundred years have passed. The Manchus still sit upon the throne. The Tongs still kill, no longer for noble cause. Yet they are the children of the five Shaolin priests who went to Fukien long ago."

More Taoist wisdom from the Kung Fu series:

"It is written, 'Shape clay into a vessel, it is the space within that gives it value. Place doors and windows in a house, it is the opening that brings light within. Set spokes within a wheel, it is the emptiness of the hub that makes them useful.' Therefore be the space at the center. Be nothing and you will have everything to give to others."

"A man may die from a hunger of the body. But whole nations have fallen from that of the spirit. Discipline. Discipline cures."

"'It has been said that a man is three things. What he thinks he is, what others think he is, and what he really is.' - Master Kan
'. . . if a man is wrong about himself and others are wrong about him. . . who is left to say what he really is?'" - Young Caine

"There is a strength in us that can shatter an invincible object with a hand which comes from a strong and disciplined body. There is another strength that allows us to feel the pain of others and give comfort where comfort is needed. This comes from a compassionate heart. True strength must combine both for that is in harmony with the duality of our nature."

"A man truly himself will not enrich his own interests and make a virtue of poverty. He goes his way without depending on others, yet is not arrogant that he needs no other. The greatest man is nobody."

"The sage says, 'That which shrinks must first expand. That which fails must first be strong. That which is cast down, must first be raised. Before receiving there must first be giving."

"Beware of judgments of others. In this imperfect world in which we live, perfection is an illusion. And so the standards by which we seek to measure it are also, themselves, illusions. If perfection is measured by age, grace, color of skin, color of hair, physical or mental prowess, then we are all lacking."

"One cannot always keep a friend when that friend believes that one has wronged him. . . . Each man has the right to choose his enemies and his friends. He may choose unwisely. But the decision is his alone to make. Then he must live with the consequences. And so must his enemies and his friends."

"'Do you sometimes feel love. . . and joy? Do you sometimes feel pride in what you have accomplished?. . . And do you sometimes feel good?. . . But the threads that make up our human nature are two ended. There is no capacity for feeling pride without an equal capacity for feeling shame. One cannot feel joy unless one can feel despair. We have no capacity for good without an equal capacity for evil.' - Master Po
'Must we not fear evil?' - Young Caine
'Shall we fear our own humanity?' - Master Po
'Must we not fight evil?' - Young Caine
'Who can defeat himself? For what is evil but the self seeking to fulfill its own secret needs. All that is necessary is that we face it and choose.'" - Master Po

"Any man can be broken. . . By a strength outside greater than himself or a weakness inside which he cannot understand."

"The Sage says, 'A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and cold. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry. Therefore, the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.'"

"'As we stand with two roads before us, how shall we know whether the right road or the left road will lead us to our destiny?' - Young Caine
'You spoke of chance, Grasshopper, as if such a thing were certain to exist. In the matter you speak of, Destiny, there is no such thing as chance for whichever way we choose, right or left, it must lead to an end. And that end is our destiny.'" - Master Po

Extremely well said, LK. This is the foundation of what was trying to be put forth as a basis for the director's vision of KF. This is also exactly the idea of such that I took from them back in the day.

Honestly, when things are bad, I always ALWAYS go back to these sentiments.

TuG.

firepalm

12-28-2006, 03:44 AM

When I said a 100% lame I meant that also to infer his acting abilities and martial arts abilities in his protrayal of the KCC. And honestly he just got worse, KF Legends Continues and DC's acting & martial arts was utter crap.

It would be correct in saying his personality should not be confused with the role etc... but on a side note Bruce Lee issue has nothing to do with it, what I do find annoying about this guy is he has the audacity to try to come off as legitimite martial artist. Publishing books & videos and such. He is in all honesty quite probably one of the poorest representations of Chinese Kung Fu. :rolleyes:

But hey here are some current Eurasians that probably won't get the role Donnie Yen (actually one quarter Caucasian from his fathers' side of SPL & Dragon Tiger Gate), Russell Wong (not my first choice by hey half Caucasian from his mothers side, of Black Sash & Forgotten Son), Mark Dascascos (Haiwan Filipino German of Brotherhood of the Wolf & Only the Strong), I could go on but an American production will most like cast someone like Jason Scott Lee (oh he looks kind of more Westernish and he did do the Dragon Story) and then as the Master someone like James Hong (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0393222/ )

It'll be crap!:D

firepalm

12-28-2006, 03:50 AM

Gold Horse Dragon

12-28-2006, 08:51 AM

LK...nice!

Tug...you are right, it was a spiritually uplifting series and also setting good examples for society. BL did try for the part, but the execs of the show found him to be too forceful and not the peaceful monk they needed for the part. This does not detract from BL...he made some darn good films, but not the peaceful kind.

FP... Do not agree. As I mentioned, the ratings and popularity of the 70's series is in itself the proof that the series had the correct formula and the correct actor. An actor miscast for a part can squash the entire series. The series was great and a large part of that was due DC's portrayal of the character along with great writers, support cast and cinematography. The series also gave huge opportunity to Asian actors who were in every episode. The fight choreography was also by Chinese David Chow and Kam Yuen, Sifu and they also acted in some of the series episodes).

As far as the new series goes...the requirements will or should be half Asian (or similar look) and half Caucasian (doesn't have to be exact...just the look), along with the ability to act the part as it is meant to be. So as long as the actors you mention fit those requirements then they stand a good chance to get the part.

I disagree about DC's acting skills. He is a pretty good actor. Have seen him in Silent Flute aka Circle of Iron where he does a darn good job. He also played well in the KB episode.

Li Kao

12-29-2006, 01:06 AM

FP -- regarding DC's tai chi / kung fu videos -- I haven't seen them, so I can't really comment on the content or their value. My impression is that they are pretty basic workout / form type videos and there are other instructors on there demonstrating stuff as well. Personally, I can't ever see watching them myself -- I have enough material and instructors and friends who practice already and I'm content with my own progress. I'm sure part of it is him cashing in a bit on his celebrity, which I am fine with -- I'm sure some people have gotten something out of them, and it's everyone's right to make a buck

I like some of the suggestions you made for the lead role -- Russell Wong in particular has been one of my favorite Asian American actors over the years and I think he would definitely have the charisma to pull off the role. To be honest, I'm not sure why everyone is fussing so much about the racial makeup of the role -- if KCC is supposed to be half American and half Asian, then couldn't he look mostly American, mostly Asian, or a mix of the two? Does it really matter that much?

And you seem to imply that having James Hong would be a poor choice -- how so? He is a living legend in my eyes -- other than the recently departed Mako, can you think of a more recognizable Asian American actor ever? He has had over 450 movie and TV roles in his 50+ year career -- that is a truly staggering body of work -- and his role as the immortal David Lo Pan in John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China is enough to cement his status as a "god walking among mere mortals" in the acting world. He worked with Nicholson in 2 films -- Chinatown and The Two Jakes, with Harrison Ford in Blade Runner, has been on Seinfeld and numerous TV shows, and also is a founder of the oldest Asian American theater in Los Angeles -- the guy has literally done everything. And lets not forget that he was a frequent guest on the original Kung Fu TV series!

It seems like you are dooming this project before it even starts -- the casting hasn't even been made, and the producers have already stated that DC will not be involved. For someone who obviously dislikes DC so strongly, I am guessing that you probably didn't enjoy the series that much, and wonder why you even care about the movie? Obviously Donnie Yen or Mark Dacascos are two of my favorite actors as well, but I don't think you necessarily need a kung fu superstar for this movie -- not sure what you are expecting out of the movie, but I would hope for more of a philisophical piece of work than a balls-to-the-wall action piece. Hey -- maybe if we're lucky, they'll get Steven Seagal -- here is a preview: :D All I want to do is walk the stupid path of peace, but you're forcing me to walk the path of pieces (http://www.movies.martialarm.com/videos/Martially_Humourous/Comedy_David_Carradine)

Hishaam

12-29-2006, 01:45 AM

I hope that the Kung fu movie will be a martial art one as Jet Li described his movie Fearless, the action serving MA philosophy and the storyline not the other way around.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-29-2006, 09:09 AM

Looking a little this way of half or that way of half does not matter...whatever the case may be, he has to be able to play the part correctly.

MA philosophy...how would you define that? I think this is about Chan/Zen philosophy which the monks who know martial art follow. This movie has to have the flavour of the 70's series or you might as well just make it a Jet Lee movie.

doug maverick

12-30-2006, 11:18 AM

i hate purest, letr me just state thatup front, and i mean purest in the movie sense. i would love to see someone play the character in their own way. as a director i never tell an actor word for word how i want them to say a line(it's hard to explain) i want to see their interpretation of the words how do they feel the character would say a line. its like when they were making kill bill an warren beatty was suppose to be bill and QT kept telling him to act like KCC, so warren finally said why don't you just get david. only DC can play KCC the way he played him know one else, if they get another actor and they will, he's gonna play it his way. and we get to see another interpretation of the character. this is strictly from a filmmakers perspective.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-30-2006, 09:11 PM

That is a given...DC is too old for this particular part. Naturally, whom ever plays the part will put his own into it, that's okay, as long as he keeps the persona of the character on course, otherwise it is just going to be another martial art movie. Personally, I do not expect anyone to be able to play the character as well as DC did...but you never know.

firepalm

12-30-2006, 09:37 PM

well on the martial arts side I could think several dozen eight year olds that do could better then Carradine on his very best days. :eek:

BlueTravesty

12-30-2006, 11:29 PM

I have reservations about who will play KCC, as DC did such a great job at it. The producers and casting sure chose right back then, and he won the part fair and square...he had what the part called for and acted it well. BTW his eye shape is natural and not due to squinting or tie backs...he is part Native and naturally has the eye shape...take a look at photos of him on his ranch back in the 80's. Hiring a man who is part Native, I do not think can be called racist...what was racist is that the Chinese actors guild or something like that, wanted the producers to fire him and to hire a Chinese person...they refused and correctly so. I am no DC fan, but what is fair is fair and he played the part with excellence.
I wonder if the movie will have an older KCC (DC) telling the story with flash backs.
I hope they use the same filming techniques and flavour that the old show did.

The eye shape of Native Americans is SIMILAR to that of a Chinese person, yes, due to their shared Asian ancestry. Assuming that is indeed the reason for the somewhat-but-not-quite Asian appearance in the early series, did DC have surgery to lose that eye shape later on in life? Because he sure doesn't have it any more (or during "The Legend Continues" for that matter.) These days he doesn't look any more Native or Asian than I do- granted I'm only 12% Oneida, but still.

To the subject of who SHOULD have gotten the part (irrelevant and moot a point as it may be)- if you ignore the fact that they chose a mostly-white guy with no martial arts experience over a Chinese-American Actor and Martial Artist to play the part of a MARTIAL ARTS MASTER, then yes I guess you can say that racism was not an issue for this particular casting choice. Don't get me wrong, DC is a good actor and all, but cripes man!

While I'm not totally adverse to the idea of a non-martial artist playing the part of a martial artist, or the idea of a non-Chinese playing the part of a half-Chinese person, I am adverse to that person not developing the requisite skills to at least appear to be one (think Chow-Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh- neither of them have extensive MA experience, but do pretty well at looking the part.) I'm no shining example of Martial Artistry myself, but I'd like to think I could do well enough if it was a major part of my job, and I had close to the amount of time that I would like to devote to it (2-4 hours or so a day, 5 days a week would be WONDERFUL!!) as well as the occasional stuntman to help me out.

In the end, I like the Kung Fu TV series for what it aspired to, rather than what it was (I own the 1st boxed set on DVD.) I think having Bruce Lee playing the part of the monk would have lent it the air of quasi-authenticity it desperately needed. And just so this doesn't come across as being biased against an American show, I feel the exact same way about 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Gordon Liu is a very good martial artist, and the story and training scenes were great, but the bare-hand fights were much too chop-pose-block-pose-punch-pose-repeat for my liking.)

I am with you guys in keeping Modern Wushu out of the movie, though. Not only does it not interest me, but there's enough BS about Shaolin being Wushu only without adding to it like that. It would be cool to see some nice traditional stuff in there... San Huang Pao Chui, Lohan, etc. Some animal styles too.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-31-2006, 12:17 PM

well on the martial arts side I could think several dozen eight year olds that do could better then Carradine on his very best days. :eek:

You should give it up already...like already said...the popularity and the ratings of the series are proof in itself of the correct actor having been chosen for the series. You have not backed up any of your opinions with facts.

Gold Horse Dragon

12-31-2006, 12:28 PM

The eye shape of Native Americans is SIMILAR to that of a Chinese person, yes, due to their shared Asian ancestry. Assuming that is indeed the reason for the somewhat-but-not-quite Asian appearance in the early series, did DC have surgery to lose that eye shape later on in life? Because he sure doesn't have it any more (or during "The Legend Continues" for that matter.) These days he doesn't look any more Native or Asian than I do- granted I'm only 12% Oneida, but still.

Even with Chinese the tighness of the eyeshape diminishes in most with age, giving a more round appearance.

To the subject of who SHOULD have gotten the part (irrelevant and moot a point as it may be)- if you ignore the fact that they chose a mostly-white guy with no martial arts experience over a Chinese-American Actor and Martial Artist to play the part of a MARTIAL ARTS MASTER, then yes I guess you can say that racism was not an issue for this particular casting choice. Don't get me wrong, DC is a good actor and all, but cripes man!
While I'm not totally adverse to the idea of a non-martial artist playing the part of a martial artist, or the idea of a non-Chinese playing the part of a half-Chinese person, I am adverse to that person not developing the requisite skills to at least appear to be one (think Chow-Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh- neither of them have extensive MA experience, but do pretty well at looking the part.) I'm no shining example of Martial Artistry myself, but I'd like to think I could do well enough if it was a major part of my job, and I had close to the amount of time that I would like to devote to it (2-4 hours or so a day, 5 days a week would be WONDERFUL!!) as well as the occasional stuntman to help me out.
In the end, I like the Kung Fu TV series for what it aspired to, rather than what it was (I own the 1st boxed set on DVD.) I think having Bruce Lee playing the part of the monk would have lent it the air of quasi-authenticity it desperately needed. And just so this doesn't come across as being biased against an American show, I feel the exact same way about 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Gordon Liu is a very good martial artist, and the story and training scenes were great, but the bare-hand fights were much too chop-pose-block-pose-punch-pose-repeat for my liking.)

I do not know why eveyone thinks that a actor in a martial art movie needs to actually be a martial artist. Look at any actor...they act a part, for example - Sylvestor Stallone is not a boxer, but makes movies where he plays the part of a boxer. DC did okay and the fight scenes were choreographed by David Chow and later by Kam Yuen Sifu...DC with his dance conditioning along with this choreography did an acceptable job.

I am with you guys in keeping Modern Wushu out of the movie, though. Not only does it not interest me, but there's enough BS about Shaolin being Wushu only without adding to it like that. It would be cool to see some nice traditional stuff in there... San Huang Pao Chui, Lohan, etc. Some animal styles too.

Agree.

GeneChing

11-08-2007, 04:25 PM

I just got this in my work email, and judging by the long list of cc's, a lot of you did too.

Hello,

my name is Larkin MacKenzie-Ast and my Casting partner, Melissa Perry, and I are holding an OPEN CASTING CALL on Sunday, December 8, 2007. We are looking for Asian and part-Asian males, between the ages of 20-30, with some Martial Arts or Dance background.

Please forward this email to anyone you know who may be suitable for the role. I have attached the Open Call Memo with further details. Please visit our website: www.kungfucasting.com for further information.

If you are an instructor or School/Academy Owner, please feel free to post this notice on any Information Board that you may have, to reach all of your students.

Thank you for your time,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OPEN CALL - ACTORS WANTED FOR FEATURE FILM
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

Legendary Pictures is producing a feature film based on the popular 1970’s television series “Kung Fu”. We are looking to cast the lead character, CAINE. In the film, Caine is male, 20-30 years old, with a Chinese mother and American Father. The story takes place in the American Old West during the 1800’s and is a Martial Arts Western. A martial arts background is not strictly necessary, but the ideal candidate for the role is physically fit with some athletic training, preferably in martial arts, gymnastics or dance.

If you think you could be the new CAINE, we invite you to come to our open call!

For the Open Call
- Please prepare a one-minute monologue of your choosing, delivered in English
- Please prepare a one-minute demonstration of your martial arts or athletic ability – You will be timed and stopped at the end of one minute!
- Please bring your headshot/resume as well as CLEARLY LABELLED demo reels or publicity materials that will help us get to know you and your talents better
- Please be prepared to wait – possibly all day
- Candidates clearly not right for the role will be excused early
- Call-backs will take place on the same day, at the end of the day
- If you have already auditioned for casting it is not necessary to attend

Open call takes place as follows:
Date: Sunday, December 2, 2007
Time: 10:00 AM – Sign In
Address: Shoreline Studios Inc
33 7th Avenue East
Vancouver, BC
For further information please check out our website: www.kungfucasting.com
No phone calls please!

sanjuro_ronin

11-09-2007, 05:18 AM

Dance,,,Gymnastics ...this does not inspire confidence.

GeneChing

11-09-2007, 11:35 AM

Carridine attributes his ability to portray a Shaolin monk so well was his extensive dance background.

sanjuro_ronin

11-09-2007, 11:38 AM

Carridine attributes his ability to portray a Shaolin monk so well was his extensive dance background.

And he did such a great job....:(

Dragonzbane76

11-10-2007, 06:00 PM

"BUT THE NO. #1 THING - Don't let David Carridine anywhere near the movie!!!"

Glad some other feel that way as well. :cool:

doug maverick

10-31-2011, 05:04 PM

scooped ya gene!!!

Bill Paxton In Talks To Direct ‘Kung Fu’
By MIKE FLEMING | Monday October 31, 2011 @ 6:18pm EDTTags: Bill Paxton, David Carradine, John McLaughlin, Kung Fu, Legendary East, Legendary Entertainment
Comments (7)
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Paxton is in talks to direct Kung Fu, a screen adaptation of the classic 1972 TV series that starred David Carradine. Paxton, who’s coming off a run in the HBO series Big Love, gets the job after helming two solid films: Frailty and The Greatest Game Ever Played. John McLaughlin will write the script. The film’s being put together under the Legendary Entertainment banner to shoot partly in China next summer. It is possible that this will come under Legendary East, the Hong Kong-based joint venture that involves Thomas Tull’s Legendary, but insiders said that hasn’t happened to this point.

The original series tracked the adventures of a Shaolin monk as he wanders the American West. The monk wants peace but usually winds up using his spectacular martial arts skills to kick some serious tail, in between flashbacks of his early life in the monastery. Below is a reminder of the show.

GeneChing

11-01-2011, 09:14 AM

We should have predicted this one coming, eh? Maybe not the Bill Paxton part, but in retrospect, this is a perfect candidate for redux.

GeneChing

03-13-2012, 10:19 AM

A western with martial arts....how novel...;)

Bill Paxton On KUNG FU: It'll Be "A Western With Martial Arts" (http://twitchfilm.com/interviews/2012/03/paxton-interview-excerpt-1-the-colony-star-set-to-direct-kung-fu.php)
by Jason Gorber, March 12, 2012 2:23 PM

Last week TWITCH was invited to fly (by private plane no less!) to the set of the upcoming post-apocalyptic cannibal thriller The Colony. We toured the incredible underground facility where the set was located, the decommissioned subterranean former home of NORAD in North Bay, Ontario. This nuclear age relic was the perfect setting for a wide ranging conversation with Bill Paxton - star Aliens and Big Love, director of the under-appreciated Frailty.

Paxton was somewhat mercurial with the television interviews he did between takes, but when he sat down after the scene's completion for our discussion he could not have been more generous with his time. His passion about film is contagious, as evident in the way he talks about his upcoming project, Kung Fu.

____________________________________

What were you up to before ending up at the bottom of a mountain in Northern Ontario?

I just came off a fifteen week shoot in Romania with Kevin Costner and a big international cast doing The Hatfields & McCoys, coming on in May on the History channel.

While I was doing that I was hired on last summer by Legendary to do Kung Fu, based on the old Warner Brothers television show with David Carradine. I was working the script all Fall with my writer, and we turned that in in late January. [The Colony] came along, and I thought, well, it's going to take the studio a while to get back to me, so this was a job that came along at the right time basically.

Can you talk about the angle you're taking on KUNG FU?

[The studio] had gone down a few different roads with a few writers. What happens a lot when people go back to redo a TV show to do a movie, a lot of times they don't pay a respect to the original thing - asking why was it successful in the first place. The fighting is important, but people remember the Shaolin teachings, that he would take so much and then start wailing. We went back, John McLaughlin [writer of Black Swan, Making Of Psycho] and myself, and we watched the original three seasons.

I didn't realize until recently that there had been a second series with Caradine here in Canada, in the late 70's? [ed. Actually, they were shot in Toronto in the mid 1990s] I have not seen those.

We're pretty much following the story - the "A" story is Caine as a young man, in the American West of the 1870s looking for his birth father. While you're following him there, you fill in with the "B" story, what his background was, how he ended up being orphaned, how he ended up at the monastery, how he was raised to be a Shaolin priest, and then how he had to leave under adverse circumstances.

We have the Cherry Blossom festival when he runs into Master Po and the Emperor's nephew - we've got back to a lot of that stuff, but we've really enriched it in a way in thematic terms, there's a great theme of redemption through this thing.

The original series was shot so cheap and so low budget. They used the old Camelot set on the redressed back lot of Warner Brothers. They'd be shooting a railway camp and there might be 15 extras, and we're going to have 10,000 men on a hill building a trellis. We're going to be bringing a scale and a grandeur that the story should have always had, but because of budget and time they were unable to.

You're going to have 10,000 real people?

No, but I have to shoot the whole picture in China, because part of the financing is going to come out of there. Legendary is starting a new company called "Legendary East", it's made of a consortium of Chinese investment. Kung Fu is a natural title for them, it's a Western with an Eastern hero.

To take that a step further, I think the character of Caine, whoever this actor this is, and we're going to have to do a big search, he has to be Chinese-something... Chinese-Irish, Chinese-Israeli, Chinese-American, Chinese-Canadian... He's probably going to have to be a pretty skilled martial artist.

This is going to be more of a Western, with violence, sort of like what True Grit was, as opposed to a lot of wire work. To me to do a big martial arts film - God, there are so many great ones, and believe me the Chinese do great ones, to me it makes more sense to make it a Western with martial arts.

What's interesting about Caine is because he's a product of both worlds is that even though he's raised in China he comes to the West, by the time he goes back to China in the third act he's picked up a bit of a Western thing. We've found some clever ways for East to meet West, and to resonate with the audience.

The full Paxton interview from the set of The Colony will be published on Friday. Come back tomorrow for Paxton's take on his love for Apollo 18 and hatred of Hugo!

Thanks to everyone on set, the Town and Mayor of North Bay, and the tireless Claire at Alliance for making the trip possible.

mickey

03-13-2012, 01:03 PM

Greetings,

Given the strong hip hop support to CMA cinema, Caine will have to be Chinese or Chinese African. Caine's mother escaped the cruelty of The Transatlantic Slave Trade by swimming to China. They can have Taraji P. Henson play the mother. Her booty is well appreciated in China.

mickey

sanjuro_ronin

03-13-2012, 01:15 PM

Well....I personally would have remade it in modern times with the appropriate changes but hey...
This has the potential to be pretty good IF they don't screw the pooch in all the way the original did or it can be a horrific mess.
The whole "half-breed' thing is not needed BUT if they are going to go with that I would probably suggest either an european missionary or something more "sinister" ( as in the case of an incestious/illicit or perhaps forced encounter type thing).
In the western time frame/era China, you didn't really get many african slaves/workers being able to play hide-the-salami with the local women so I don't know how the chinese-african thing would work...

doug maverick

03-14-2012, 01:33 AM

A western with martial arts....how novel...;)

i like his ideas, and where he is going...i like that he isnt attempting to make it a kung fu western but a western with kung fu...i dig that....because all the real good kung fu movies, got their ideas from japanese cinema(everyone knows the famous story of run run shaw showing all the shaw bros directors samurai films and saying "we need this!") and since those samurai films borrowed so heavily from the american western(and later vice versa) its only fitting that it kind comes full circle...im interested in seeing what he does...i have feeling they will try and get keanu reeves for this film...he is now the go to "asian".

rett

03-14-2012, 09:04 AM

Please no, not Keanu Reeves....:mad::rolleyes:

Jimbo

03-14-2012, 08:34 PM

I think Russell Wong would be better...I'm not a big fan or anything, but he can really act, and he also does (or did) actually train kung fu (Fu Jow Pai).

But I really think Donnie Yen would be the best. Except he couldn't really pass for a Chinese/European, at least onscreen.

mickey

03-14-2012, 08:37 PM

Greetings,

I am all for Jason Scott Lee. I am willing to bet y'all forgot about this guy. He can act and he has been a student of Jeet Kune Do for over 15 years.

mickey

doug maverick

03-14-2012, 11:07 PM

sorry guys...wishful thinking...lol...although donnie would be great. but it aint happening.

GeneChing

03-15-2012, 09:22 AM

Bill Paxton says his Kung Fu film will have `scale and grandeur' (http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Bill+Paxton+says+Kung+film+will+have+scale+grandeu r/6301509/story.html)
By Jay Stone, Postmedia News March 14, 2012

NORTH BAY, Ont. - Bill Paxton says his film version of the 1970s TV series, Kung Fu, will have ``a scale and a grandeur that the story should have always had.''

Paxton - in Canada to co-star in the upcoming sci-fi thriller The Colony - is directing Kung Fu as what he calls ``a western with an eastern hero.''

When movies are made from TV shows, ``a lot of times, they don't pay the respect due the original thing,'' Paxton said during a break of the filming of The Colony in an abandoned NORAD bunker.

``Why was it successful in the first place? The fighting is important, but people remember the Shaolin teachings as much: He would take so much and then he would start whaling.''

The original series starred the late David Carradine as a Shaolin monk named Kwai Chang Caine, who leaves China to find his family in the American West. Paxton said he and screenwriter John McLaughlin (The Patriot, Ray) watched all three seasons of the original series.

``The original series was shot so cheap and so low-budget,'' he said. ``They used the old Camelot set on the back lot of Warner Brothers, and redressed it.'' He said that, where the TV show might have 15 extras working on a railway, ``we're going to have 10,000 men on a hill building a trellis.''

Paxton is best known as the star of such films as Aliens and Apollo 13, but he said he's now more interested in directing. He has made two previous features, the 2001 thriller, Frailty, and the 2005 sports film, The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Kung Fu will be filmed in China for the Legendary Entertainment studio. There's no star yet: Paxton said there will be a big talent hunt for the right actor.

``He has to be Chinese-something,'' Paxton said. ``Chinese-Irish, Chinese-Israeli, Chinese-American, Chinese-Canadian, and have to be a skilled martial artist.''

He said Kung Fu will be ``a western with violence, kind of like True Grit was,'' as opposed a film that relies on the special-effects wirework that has become the trademark of martial-arts movies.

jstone(at)postmedia.com
canada.com/stonereport
Like True Grit indeed. Who's gonna replace Hailee Steinfeld? :rolleyes: Maybe they can help launch a new starlet like the original series did with Jodie Foster.

GeneChing

07-22-2013, 08:52 AM

nice interview

Comic-Con 2013: Bill Paxton Talks 7 Holes, Kung Fu…and a Twister Sequel? (http://www.craveonline.com/film/articles/538553-comic-con-2013-bill-paxton-talks-7-holes-kung-fu-and-a-twister-sequel)

The star of “Big Love,” Aliens and Frailty discusses when he might next step back into the director’s chair and whether Helen Hunt should get ready for another round in that Twister-mobile.
July 19th, 2013 Fred Topel
http://cdn2-www.craveonline.com/assets/uploads/2013/07/Bill-Paxton.jpg

Bill Paxton came to San Diego Comic-Con to promote a graphic novel he is presenting. Bill Paxton Presents 7 Holes For Air is the story of Bob Rourke, a hard living construction worker diagnosed with a tumor. As the cancer consumes him, he imagines many of his encounters in life as a spaghetti western,and himself as its gunslinging hero. I read a digital copy to prepare for this interview, but when I met Paxton in the lobby of the Hilton Bayfront, he presented me with a hard copy of 7 Holes For Air. We also got to talking about his plans for directing a Kung Fu movie based on the David Carradine series, and ideas for a Twister sequel that make Franchise Fred intrigued.

Bill Paxton: You’re holding the first one. I’ve still got a little more work to do on it but we’ve come down here with a couple hundred copies. It won’t really be out officially until September.

CraveOnline: Now, it’s Bill Paxton Presents 7 Holes For Air. What exactly is involved in presenting this graphic novel?

http://cdn1-www.craveonline.com/assets/uploads/2013/07/7-Holes.jpg

Yeah, exactly. This was a screenplay by John McLaughlin. He’s an old colleague of mine, a good friend. It was a script he wrote on spec and I read it about five years ago and I thought it was one of the best screenplays I’d ever read. And then Mick Reinman is a great artist who happens to be a very close friend of mine. He had worked with me on all my storyboards for The Greatest Game Ever Played, which I directed for Walt Disney. I thought, why not turn 7 Holes into a graphic novel? I knew it would take a long time to do that. I’m hoping to eventually direct it as a film, but I love the story so much and the screenplay, I wanted it to exist on some level. So the graphic novel serves a few purposes for me. It’s a chance to get the story out where people can enjoy it, even if it never becomes a film, but hopefully if it does become a film, it’s a great backbone in terms of my art department and my storyboards.

If you direct it, would you want to play Bob also?

You know, originally when I read the script five years ago, I thought, “God, what a part.” Yeah, I would have loved to have played Bob, but I don’t know if I could get the money on my name so I’d be willing to just direct it now. I’ve kind of resigned myself to directing it.

Another one of my questions was going to be when will you direct again. Could this be the next thing?

Possibly. I was hired about a year and a half ago by Legendary to develop the Kung Fu property for them. They got it from Warner Television and they wanted me to help them turn it into a new movie franchise. So John McLaughlin, I got him hired by Legendary to write the screenplay. We put it through a few drafts and now Mick Reinman has done about 500 drawings for it so far. We’re kind of in a holding pattern because they want to make it under their new company Legendary East. That’s taken a while to put together because that’s a Chinese coproduction company.

Have you gone out to casting on Kung Fu?

No, it’s the early days. I have a feeling it’ll be an unknown actor.

As Caine?

Kwai Chang Caine, because building a new franchise, you really can reach out to a new actor and the brand will carry an unknown whereas some films you need a star name. I think with this, the name Kung Fu is the star. There were a lot of great characters in it, but as you remember, he was an orphan, but he was of a Chinese and American descent so he didn’t belong. He was a guy in between two worlds, wasn’t accepted by either really. The Shaolins raised him as one of his own but he goes to America to try to find who his father was.

I remember you compared Greatest Game to House of Flying Golf Balls. Would this be your chance to actually do full-on Kung Fu action?

Absolutely. This has a ton of action in it, but I’d like to find, whoever the lead is, someone who has martial skills. You end up doing some wirework, but I’d like to shoot it more like a gritty western so it’s pretty head to toe what’s going on in the frame, more like True Grit did but with some martial arts, as opposed to people dancing up trees and all that. To me, I fall out of the reality of the story if it’s too much like that.

Are you also thinking of shooting a lot of master shots so we can see the martial arts without cutting, or shaking the camera?

Absolutely. I’ll definitely want to shoot head to toe as much as I can.

The artwork in 7 Holes for Air is a little bit ambiguous. Is it supposed to be your likeness as Bob?

No, no, it’s not my likeness. We had a few different people in mind when we were doing it. I had James Gandolfini in mind. I had Mickey Rourke kind of in mind. Bryan Cranston is great, but no. Mick is actually a fine artist but he’s also worked as an illustrator. A lot of stuff to me is too conformed. We found, when we were looking for a publisher, that they like it more conformed.

Again, this was kind of an altruistic project. It was a story we wanted to bring to the graphic novel world, but also my father was a great art collector and he commissioned artists to do a few things for him and said, “You never want to restrict an artist. You don’t tell him how to paint the portrait.” So I turned him loose and I like the looseness of it. You can almost look at a panel of this and it almost could look like something that was done by Roy Lichtenstein or Rauschenberg. To me there’s some fine art involved here.

Also Mick is a great figurative artist. That’s very tough. That is the hardest art as a painter to master, the figure. I love the attitude and I know they’re loose, but I just love the action of the figures. Also he has a great eye for layout. I love the way the panels are all laid out on each page.

And the women, talking about figures, the way he presents the women.

Yes, they’re buxom and beautiful.

Just the poses he has them in, he emphasizes the forms.

You’re right, absolutely. Again, he’s just a guy who really knows figurative painting and drawing. He can really draw. We’re living in an age where there are not a lot of artists who can draw. I’m more of a conceptual artist, so the Bill Paxton Presents is kind of like Alfred Hitch**** Presents. I took John’s script, I brought Mick together, I oversaw it all, I did a lot of the editing on the piece and the formatting, all of that. Went over it, have revised it over and over again.

Is it scene for scene what the screenplay was?

No, it’s an adaptation. It’s a little more compressed. The screenplay is 115 pages. It’s very textured, very detailed so with Mick, we had to carve out what we thought was the real meat and potatoes of the story. In the screenplay, you get to know Bob’s relationship with James, the brother-in-law, who he seems to have a detestable contempt for but in the screenplay it actually becomes kind of a bromance as these two men come to really have a fondness and a respect for each other. It’s a great piece of business.

It also has its own rules and it’s rare that you find a screenplay. So many times they play fast and loose with the rules. As an audience member for me, it really ****es me off where suddenly in the third act there’s some kind of deus ex machina thing and you’re like, what? You’ve seen shows, they go off the rails and suddenly anything goes. This thing sets the rules up for the audience that you’re going to go back and forth to these two stories and there’s something inherently entertaining in that.

Have you had to deal with that as an actor where you’re in one of the big movies and they say, “Now we’re doing this” and you have to go along with it because you’re just the actor?

It’s very frustrating. I’ve been lucky lately. I’ve got two great parts in the can. I’ve got this one coming out with Denzel and Mark Wahlberg called 2 Guns. That was based on a graphic novel but it was also based on a famous Don Siegel movie from the ‘70s that Walter Matheau starred in called Charley Varrick. There was a character who was hired by the mafia, like a human bloodhound character played by Joe Don Baker, great character actor. That’s the part I play in this and I didn’t re-watch the film. I’m a film geek. I don’t know a lot about the name of the “Doctor Who” characters but if you want to talk about films, I can talk about films.

continued next post

GeneChing

07-22-2013, 08:53 AM

The rest is about Twister 2 pretty much.

I heard you were trying to get a Twister sequel made. Is there any heat on that?

I was. Well, I got Kathy Kennedy interested. I did a lot of research. The biggest Tornado to ever hit this country was called the Tri-State Tornado of 1925. It still holds all the records. It was a tornado that was up to two miles wide traveling 70 miles an hour and it stayed on the ground almost three hours. It’s called the Tri-State because it started out in Missouri, crossed the Mississippi river, cut a swath of death and destruction across southern Illinois before going across the Wabash and killing a bunch of people in Indiana.

I went on a trip with a guy named Scott Thompson. He played preacher in Twister. He’s an old friend of mine. We did a road trip where we tracked the trail of the Tri-State and we went to all the old historical societies. The one which we went to was Murphysboro. The headline, it’s an aerial shot, it just looks like WWI bombed out city. It said, “In the blink of an eye, Murphysboro is gone” and we saw it because some of the old timers there, you know what they say? They say if it happened once…

Now, can you imagine, we’ve seen some very deadly tornadoes in the last few years. These ones that hit Oklahoma this year, the one that hit Joplin a couple years ago. They’re just death and destruction because these are now very populated areas. The midwest is populated now. Can you imagine something on the magnitude of a Tri-State coming through there? That would be the third act of the sequel.

Right, because it never hit a big city in the movie.

It’s going to hit St. Louis and it’s going to take the famous Arch and just twist it like one of those ribbons.

Would Warner Brothers be interested in bringing back this franchise?

No, you know what, really right now, I think it’s really in Steven Spielberg’s camp. I’ve never had a chance to have an audience with him. I grew up with him. I used Bill Butler to shoot Frailty. He shot Jaws. I’ve kind of been a student from afar, met him a few times, he knows me but I’ve never really had a chance to sit him in a room and and go, “I’ve got some ideas for this you wouldn’t believe.”

He and Kathy control it, and does Michael Crichton’s estate have a stake?

Michael Crichton’s estate, I saw Michael years ago about it, a couple years after the first one and he seemed to me a little bit negative about it because he kept thinking, “What’s the gizmo?” We had the Dorothy in the first one. “What’s it going to be?” I felt like there’s a lot of ideas you can explore. To me, the first one was kind of the Pepsi Light version of what we could really do with that subject. There’s something so incredibly about the anthropomorphic nature of tornados. They’ll kill everybody on that side of the hotel and leave us not even harmed. It almost has an evil mind of its own. There are so many things to explore in that, and there were so many weather phenomena I wanted to explore like ball lightning, which is very creepy and very obscure.

What’s it called?

Ball lightning, look it up. It’s very cool.

And All You Need Is Kill is called Edge of Tomorrow now. What do you play in that?

I play a guy named Sgt. Bobby Farrell from Science Hill, Kentucky and I’m his platoon sergeant. It’s kick-ass. I’ve seen some of it. What’s cool about it is he keeps having to live through this day like Groundhog Day. It has its own rules again and as you get into the rules, it’s pretty gnarly. It’s very dark and it’s very humorous.

GeneChing

09-20-2013, 08:43 AM

Revisiting Kung Fu With Martin Zweiback (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/293102-kung-fu-an-eastern-western-and-a-hit/)
By Maria Banks, Epoch Times | September 19, 2013
Last Updated: September 19, 2013 7:55 pm

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At first glance, Martin Zweiback’s warmth, candor, and humility were immediately felt, and a great starting point as we embarked on resurrecting his stories written back *****in the 1970s for the hit TV series Kung Fu, starring David Carradine. Mr. Zweiback is one of the most revered writers of the iconic Kung Fu TV series.

Reporter: How would you describe the Kung Fu TV show?

Zweiback: A Spiritual Western—the only one of its kind ever on TV, to this day. It also presented “Eastern philosophy” as written by American writers, and actually preached non-violence by presenting the violence of martial arts. All contradictory but it worked. Pretty incredible, especially considering that this was 1973 and we were still embroiled in Vietnam. Keep in mind that most of the Asians were presented in the show as the “good guys”: downtrodden, exploited, or very wise. The “bad guys” were usually the American gunslingers or red necks. Actually I only realize this looking back 40 years later, but that’s pretty extraordinary if you think about it.

Reporter: You use the word “embroiled” in the Vietnam War, could you elaborate?

Zweiback: Embroiled; trying to figure a way out. Very much as we are now in Afghanistan, and just were in Iraq. We got into Vietnam in ‘55 and we didn’t get out until ‘75. Good men and women and children were dying for almost 20 years before we got ourselves out of that mess. The interesting thing is that the Kung Fu show started in ‘72. That was three years before we finally helicoptered ourselves and a few lucky friends out of a country we probably never should have been in to begin with. So, here was a TV show presenting Asian and half-Asian heroes to the American public while our men were still fighting the so-called “gooks” overseas. And the show was a hit. The American public loved it. They loved it because it was good storytelling, and they responded to its wisdom and compassion—as well as to its basic message of non-violence. Can you imagine a show on TV today where most of the good guys are the Muslims?

Reporter: What was the source of inspiration for referencing “Eastern philosophy?”

Zweiback: In my case I made it up as I went along, but the tone of it came from my reading of the Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu, and what little I knew of Buddhism. What I loved about writing for the show was that it encouraged me to put my own feelings about life into words—words that I didn’t always fully understand as I was writing them.

Reporter: What was your greatest challenge writing for the Kung Fu TV series and how did you overcome it?

Zweiback: Getting the assignment and going after it. I had “crossed over” into features and had been nominated for Best Screenplay for Me, Natalie by the Writer’s Guild. I had not done TV for years, but I saw the pilot show and loved it, so I went after it.

Reporter: How has this project impacted your life, as a writer and in your personal life, both past and present?

Zweiback: I consider it the highlight of my creative life in TV—thus far.

Reporter: How did this opportunity come to you?

Zweiback: It didn’t come to me, I went after it—because I loved the pilot and the Carradine character, and thought I could make a contribution.

Reporter: What was your biggest surprise?

Zweiback: One, getting the assignment. Two, some of the thoughts and lines I was able to come up with by just going with the flow of the story.

Reporter: How long did it take you to come up with an idea for a story and then write it?

Zweiback: It varied. About 2 to 3 weeks. “Ancient Warrior” I had to write in four days because there was an upcoming writer’s strike and the script had to be in by midnight of the fourth day, and it was delivered with only minutes to spare. It turned out to be the highest-rated Kung Fu episode ever! The show went from about 34th place to first place in the ratings. I was particularly pleased because I had recommended Chief Dan George for the title character, and he was magnificent in the part!

Reporter: Was this person a real Indian chief? How did you come to know about him?

Zweiback: “Ancient Warrior” came from my imagination, though the image of Chief Dan George, from the movie Little Big Man, was very much in my mind when I wrote the story. I was very pleased when I found out that they had cast him in the part—and particularly pleased to find out that he agreed to do the show, even though he was actually quite ill at the time, because he loved the script.

Reporter: Did you have any idea how successful the series would become?

Zweiback: Never questioned it. The surprise was, in all modesty, how my particular episodes seemed to resonate with audiences, which producer Jerry Thorp acknowledged in a letter thanking me for “your enormous contribution to the success of our first season.”

Reporter: Would you consider writing a new series if asked?

Zweiback: Yes.

Reporter: How do you feel about your Kung Fu audience now requesting Netflix to offer the series via instant stream, so as to be able to watch several in a row online?

Zweiback: Can’t complain about it since it’s a tribute to the continuing popularity of the series—but I’m not sure you don’t get more out of each episode by watching them separately, rather than turning the show into a marathon.

Reporter: Will there be TV reruns of Kung Fu?

Zweiback: No idea, that’s up to Warner Bros. I do know there has been talk for years about doing a feature-length remake.

Reporter: Is there anything you’d like to express that was unasked?

Zweiback: I look back on those words I wrote over 40 years ago in service to the show and wonder what inspired them?

I would have to give major credit to the iconic image that David Carradine delivered; as well as, of course, the original creators of the pilot show, which filled me with enthusiasm and the determination to work on it. Yet for me, as a writer, I would be remiss not to mention my personal inspiration from another writer—the Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu, who was born 600 years before Christ. It was his words that helped me to find my own words in the 20th century. I confess now that I didn’t always fully understand the meaning of my own words, yet I went with the flow, and eventually the words all came to have meaning for me in a very deep and personal way.

Reporter: Could you elaborate on how they touched you personally?

Zweiback: As an example, when I wrote “It is only after death that the depth of our bond to our loved one is truly felt” and that they “become more a part of us in death than when in life” I had not yet experienced the truth of that statement. Decades later, when I did go through that experience, I found it to be absolutely true, at least for me.

The same was also true for many of the statements that I wrote intuitively, and later discovered to be absolutely true through my life experience—including the statement that “There is no truth, except that which cannot be spoken”. Life is a paradox.

continued next post

GeneChing

09-20-2013, 08:44 AM

Reporter: You said you recently watched the episodes you wrote for this interview. Are there any phrases you can recall that you are particularly proud of?

Zweiback: I also went back and checked the scripts to make sure they came from me. I’ll quote from a few that still had meaning for me, after 40 years:

“The Tide”:

“If a man dwells on the past, then he robs the present. But if a man ignores the past he may rob the future. The seeds of our destiny are nurtured by the roots of our past.”

“Those who value Freedom most must sometimes choose to lose it.”

“The Stone”:

“If you fight [injustice and cruelty] anywhere, do you not fight them everywhere?”

“There is no truth, except that which cannot be spoken.”

“The Ancient Warrior”:

PO: It is only after death that the depth of our bond to a loved one is truly felt, and in this way those truly loved become more a part of us in death than when in life.

YOUNG CAINE: And do we only feel this toward those whom we have known and loved a long time?

PO: Sometimes a stranger, known to us only for moments can spark our souls to kinship for eternity.

YOUNG CAINE: How can it be that strangers known for such a short time in our lives can take on such importance to our souls?

PO: Because our soul does not keep time. It merely records growth.

Zweiback: A postscript on this last one—I was told by someone that they had a relative who was seriously contemplating suicide; and who changed his mind because of the words he heard on that show. Can any writer receive a greater compliment?!

Reporter: Are you still working on any projects?

Zweiback: Always. Unfortunately my long-time agent at CAA recently passed away. Finding a replacement has been a challenge.

Reporter: Are there any more screenplays in the works?

Zweiback: Several. But the one I’m most focused on at the moment is a screenplay titled Destiny! It’s an epic adventure love story based on historical fact that takes place in turn-of-the-19th Century China and the U.S. You could describe it as Lawrence of Arabia in China, except there’s a great love story involved.

Reporter: Records indicate that you’ve had a long and fruitful career. Having written for many successful TV series besides Kung Fu you are well-known for several feature films among them; Me, Natalie, which introduced Al Pacino for the first time to the “big screen,” garnering you Best Screenplay nomination by the Writer’s Guild. The Ultimate Solution Of Grace Quigley, which won several awards and starred Katharine Hepburn, and Cactus in the Snow, which was honored at the Kennedy Center as the only anti-war film to come out of Hollywood during the Vietnam War—and which you also directed, to rave reviews.

How would you sum up your career thus far?

Zweiback: I’ve never thought of my career as “long and fruitful”. It’s had its moments—and I definitely consider Kung Fu to be among the moments—but I’m still on the journey. I still have songs to sing, and I’m still banging on the castle doors trying to get the powers-that-be to listen.

Reporter: Any plans for retirement?

Zweiback: Maybe when I’m dead—or shortly thereafter.

The interview comes to a close, but not without gaining an indication as what to look forward to in the future. All good thoughts go to Mr. Zweiback in gaining access to the movie industry’s giants who are thirsty for a great story to tell.

By the way, I had the privilege of reading Destiny!, and master wordsmith Martin Zweiback has left no stone unturned in telling this most compelling story, demonstrating qualities most like his main character in the episode “Ancient Warrior,” Mr. Zweiback embodies strength, conviction, and a passion for his work.

We look forward to seeing Destiny! on the big screen in the near future.

This article was originally written for Circle Magazine.

Gotta remember to search "Caine" to find this thread.

GeneChing

04-07-2014, 08:32 AM

KUNG FU Adaptation Back in the Spotlight (http://nukethefridge.com/2014/04/04/kung-fu-adaptation-back-spotlight/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kung-fu-adaptation-back-spotlight)
Namtar.
April 4, 2014

http://nukethefridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Kung-Fu.jpg
Legendary Pictures has pursued and succeeded in putting an adaptation of the 1970′s “Kung Fu” television series into development in a deal with Universal. The past few years has seen the project announced and re-announced several times over. The last time was in 2011 with Bill Paxton (“The Greatest Game Ever Played”) set to direct from a script by John McLaughlin (“Black Swan,” “Hitch****.”) Nothing came to fruition from this potential collaboration, but Legendary never let their goal to make a film based on the adventures of Kwai Chang Caine stray too far away. They have had a number of writers including Cory Goodman (“Priest”) and Rich Wilkes (“Iron Fist,” “xXx”) actively work on the project.

http://nukethefridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Kung-Fu4.gif

With the film under the Universal umbrella, producers Jon Jashni, Scott Mednick, Thomas Tull and Vincent Newman are searching for a director to restructure the project around before rewrites go into full swing. Also, rumor has it that the adaptation will not be set in the American Old West of the late 1800s, but will take place in the present day.

http://nukethefridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Kung-Fu1.jpg

Here is the plot for the original television series which aired on ABC for three seasons from 1972-1975. The late actor David Carradine played the fugitive Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine.

Kwai Chang Caine is the orphaned son of an American man, Thomas Henry Caine, and a Chinese woman in mid-19th century China. After his maternal grandfather’s death he is accepted for training at a Shaolin Monastery, where he grows up to become a Shaolin priest and martial arts expert.

In the pilot episode Caine’s beloved mentor and elder, Master Po, is murdered by the Emperor’s nephew; outraged, Caine retaliated by killing the nephew. With a price on his head, Caine flees China to the western United States, where he seeks to find his family roots and, ultimately, his half-brother, Danny Caine.
- See more at: http://nukethefridge.com/2014/04/04/kung-fu-adaptation-back-spotlight/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kung-fu-adaptation-back-spotlight#sthash.86Iqg10p.dpuf Gotta search "Paxton" not "Caine" to find this one again. Like I'm gonna remember that...:rolleyes:

Jae lae

04-07-2014, 08:47 AM

I also think Donnie yen will be great

GeneChing

04-14-2014, 08:51 AM

This would be a MAJOR game changer for this project.

Baz Luhrmann in Talks to Direct 'Kung Fu' for Legendary (Exclusive) (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/baz-luhrmann-talks-direct-kung-695285)
11:40 AM PDT 4/11/2014 by Borys Kit

The project is the big-screen version of the 1970s martial arts Western.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/thumbnail_570x321/2013/04/hollywood_reporter_baz_luhrmann_6_a_l.jpg
Austin Hargrave
Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann could be going from the Roaring '20s to 19th century China.

The Australian filmmaker behind The Great Gatsby is in talks to direct Kung Fu, Legendary Pictures' big-screen adaptation of the 1970s martial arts Western television show. It is unclear how far along the talks are. Legendary had no comment, but the company is beginning to ramp up its Chinese-centric projects again (Yimou Zhang is in talks to revive the company's adventure movie The Great Wall) and Kung Fu has Chinese roots.

If a deal is made, Luhrmann would first do a rewrite on the script before proceeding. (The current script is by Black Swan scribe John McLaughlin.)

Kung Fu starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who came to the American West in search of his half brother. The show featured flashbacks to his training as a teen in which his master called him “young grasshopper,” a phrase that has stuck in the pop culture lexicon. The show aired on ABC from 1972 to 1975 and gained a cult following beyond its run.

According to sources, the current script switches the action to China and finds Caine in search of his father -- at one point ending up in a prison where he must fight to survive.

Luhrmann would bring his own signature sensibility to the martial arts Western. The filmmaker is known for elaborate productions and highly stylized storytelling -- seen not only in the opulent Gatsby but in productions ranging from Moulin Rouge! to Strictly Ballroom.

He is repped by WME.

GeneChing

10-17-2014, 08:46 AM

Just saw this on facebook from three days ago...

Classic Hollywood | Los Angeles Times
October 14 ·

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10268439_719607314786321_3708817023226065860_n.jpg ?oh=08264a1e8c6b63d0171151c01b5bc2cd&oe=54B5421E
Grasshopper! On this date in 1972, ABC premiered its philosophical western series "Kung Fu," starring David Carradine as Caine and Key Luke as Po. The series continued until June, 1975. In 1993, Carradine played Caine's grandson in the syndicated "Kung Fu-The Legend Continues." That series ended in 1996 after 88 episodes. Photo courtesy of AP.

Fa Xing

10-17-2014, 09:25 AM

I actually wanted to write up the Kung Fu story based on the way Bruce Lee originally intended it. I just hope they actually do a good job if they do it, I'm not sure I like the whole "stay in China and look for his father" which is why originally they decided not to do that and have him look for his brother instead. Plus the whole point of the story was that it was supposed to be a eastern within a western.

Just actually get the Buddhist stuff in general, and the Shaolin stuff in particular right this time.

mickey

10-22-2014, 08:47 AM

Greetings,

I expressed my opposition to the "Green Dragon" movie that is coming out; yet, I did not suggest a healthy alternative. The series "Kung Fu" may offer that if it is kept off the big screen. If it is developed as a cable series that has a definite end, several characters can be introduced that possess story arcs of their own that can be spun off into other series. In doing so, it could really offer deeper insight to the paths of the warrior and sage in a way a two hour movie could not. Through those depictions, values are shared and explored via human strengths and frailties. It should not have to be a bunch of high flying stuff.

mickey

GeneChing

02-28-2017, 03:56 PM

I had forgotten Paxton was involved in this reboot at first. I came here looking for something else.

Bill Paxton Was Film's Quintessential Game-Over Man: An Appreciation (http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2017/02/28/517696656/bill-paxton-was-films-quintessential-game-over-man-an-appreciation)
February 28, 2017 11:23 AM ET
CHRIS KLIMEK

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/02/28/gettyimages-476707357_wide-529d6eb7e2a3a42f9eb26506e08b1d711e8008cd-s800-c85.jpg
Bill Paxton as John Garrett on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2014. Garrett perished in the finale of the show's first season, a thing Paxton always did with style.
Kelsey McNeal/ABC via Getty Images

Like a lot of artists who try to make it in Hollywood, Bill Paxton spent a big chunk of his career just trying to survive. The thing is, no one was ever better at getting killed.

The actor, who died Saturday at age 61 following complications from heart surgery, had paid his dues and then some. Twenty years ago — which was 20 years after he'd moved to Los Angeles from Fort Worth to try showbiz — he'd reached the sub-stardom peak of his profession: Circa 1994-7, he appeared in, consecutively, True Lies, Apollo 13, Twister, and Titanic, each among the three biggest hits of its year. Besides huge box office, those films shared another uncommon trait: In all of them, Paxton's character was still breathing when the credits rolled.

Those movies, and several dozen others, were enlivened by Paxton's oddball presence and weirdly emphatic line readings. But more than anything else, Paxton was The Boy Who Died. By the time of that mid-90s run, when even non-cineastes started to recognize him, his legacy was already secure: He was and remains the only actor1 ever slain on screen by a T-800 (a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger flung him into metal bars at the Griffith Park Observatory in The Terminator, 32 years before Gosling and Stone danced among the stars there in La La Land), a Xenomorph (a bug dragged him under the floor in Aliens while he raved his profane epitaph), and a Predator (Paxton emptied his sidearm into the advancing beast on an L.A. subway car in Predator 2; when that didn't work, he tried a machete. And a golfball. Never say die! Even when dying is apparently your job.).

To have been walked toward the light by such a rich assortment of cyborg assassins and invasive species seems fitting for a guy who got his start in movies working behind the camera for no-budget shlockmeister Roger Corman. That's how he became fast friends with James Cameron, an even quicker study of the Corman school. Cameron would cast Paxton in four of his films, including as the panicky, motormouthed Marine PFC William Hudson in 1986's Aliens —Paxton's most memorable role, arguably.

By which I mean: If you say it was anything else, expect an argument.

Two Sundays ago, I dragged a group of friends to a double feature of Alien and Aliens at the National Air and Space Museum. (In IMAX!) This was two weeks after John Hurt died, and when his name appeared in the opening titles of Alien, there was a smattering of respectful applause. When Paxton made his entrance as Hudson two-and-a-half hours later, people hooted and recited his lines along with him, Rocky Horror-style. We were all of us on an express elevator to hell, going... down! It was, paradoxically, heaven.

"To this day, if I do a thousand movies, it'll be at the top of my obituary," Paxton told Marc Maron on Maron's WTF podcast only three weeks ago. "Weird Science!"

Respectfully, no.

That John Hughes transformed Paxton into a talking humanoid turd in 1985's Weird Science is a disgusting fact. But Chet Donnelly, Paxton's Weird Science alter ego, was a bully who earned that gross penance by tormenting his little brother.

Hudson was just a cocky short-timer grunt who tried to mask his insecurity and fear with an easily punctured bravado. Hudson was us. He had to get his famous "Game over, Man!" tantrum out of his system before he could settle down and Semper Fi. But after a stern talking-to from Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, Hudson got it together. He did his part to try to keep his comrades alive. He went down shooting. It was a great movie death, maybe the very best.

Of many.

Herewith, an Almost Inevitably Incomplete List of Movies Depicting the Rather Less Memorable But Still Notable Violent Demise of Bill Paxton Characters:

Next of Kin. (He was avenged by Patrick Swayze.)
The Last of the Finest. (He was avenged by Brian Dennehy.)
Navy SEALs. (He was avenged by Charlie Sheen or Michael Biehn or somebody; this one hasn't shown up on Encore Action in a while so my memory is hazy.)
Tombstone. (Avenged by Kurt Russell. But shot in the back by Michael Biehn, of all people! They'd done five movies together!)
He got killed by Tim Matheson in Impulse.
He got killed by Scott Glenn in Vertical Limit.
He got killed by a young up-and-comer named Wesley Snipes in a 1986 episode of Miami Vice.
The following year, in future Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark, Paxton played a psychotic vampire. He was already undead, and still he wasn't permitted to unlive through the movie.
In Carl Franklin's superb, underseen 1992 crime picture One False Move, Paxton's character — an Arkansas sheriff — is stabbed and shot. The film's ending makes his survival ambiguous. The name of his character is One False Move Dale "Hurricane" Dixon. The name of his character in Twister is Bill "The Extreme" Harding. In the military school hazing drama The Lords of Discipline, he was credited as "Wild Bill" Paxton.

That tells you something about the screen persona of his salad days. But he gradually started landing more down-to-earth roles in movies outside of the genre stuff that had been so good to him. Sam Raimi — like Cameron, an unwashed low-budget genre filmmaker who over time became respectable — cast him in the marvelous 1998 thriller A Simple Plan. Paxton made his feature directing debut with 2001's Frailty, a psychological horror flick wherein he starred opposite Matthew McConaughey. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars. Paxton's character was killed, naturally. By his own son. With an axe.

Like so many movie veterans, Paxton gravitated in the 21st century towards television, where he died in the miniseries Hatfields and McCoys and on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But he lived again in two of 2014's strongest features: As an unscrupulous freelance TV news cameraman in Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler, and as the no-nonsense Master Sgt. Farrell in Doug Liman's time-loop sci-fi movie Edge of Tomorrow. It was, like so many Paxton films, brilliant but underseen.

Putting Paxton in Edge was a sort of easter egg to longtime fans in multiple ways: With him playing the unflappable sergeant forced to deal with a knock-kneed Tom Cruise, it was a sort of inverse of his part from Aliens a generation earlier. But it was also a nod to Paxton's many, many prior screen deaths: Because Edge finds Cruise's character beginning the same horrific day anew each time he is "killed," Paxton's character, along with the other soldiers in Cruise's unit, dies onscreen only once but dies by implication dozens or hundreds of times.

Paxton logged more screen hours as Bill Henriksen — a polygamous patriarch on the Showtime series Big Love — than as any other character he ever played. 53 episodes over five seasons, 2006-2011.

I'll go ahead and slap a Spoiler Alert here for those who haven't yet watched that show (though if you followed Paxton's career, you really won't need it):

In the series finale, he was shot and died.

*I HAVE HEARD FROM PEOPLE ON TWITTER WHO MAINTAIN THAT LANCE HENRIKSEN, WHO CO-STARRED WITH PAXTON IN THE TERMINATOR AND ALIENS BUT ALSO APPEARED IN THE FRUSTRATING-BUT-FASCINATING ALIEN 3 AND THE BETTER-FORGOTTEN ALIEN V. PREDATOR, SHARES THIS DISTINCTION. THIS IS A VICIOUS FALSEHOOD. WE NEVER SEE HENRIKSEN'S RUMPLED LAPD DET. HAL VUKOVICH DIE IN THE TERMINATOR, A FACT HENRIKSEN HIMSELF POINTED OUT IN STARLOG NO. 121 (AUG. 1987), ANGLING FOR A ROLE IN THE SEQUEL.

STARLOG IS WHAT NERDS HAD BEFORE THE INTERNET, PEOPLE.

GeneChing

09-29-2017, 08:50 AM

‘Kung Fu’ Female-Led Series Reboot From Greg Berlanti & Wendy Mericle Set At Fox As Put Pilot (http://deadline.com/2017/09/kung-fu-female-tv-series-fox-greg-berlanti-wendy-mericle-put-pilot-1202178645/)
by Nellie Andreeva
September 28, 2017 12:15pm

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/kungfu.jpg?w=446&h=299&crop=1
WBTV

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Fox has landed Kung Fu, a drama with a female lead based on the 1970s David Carradine-starring TV series. The project, executive produced by Greg Berlanti, was given a put pilot commitment.

Written by Arrow executive producer and longtime Berlanti collaborator Wendy Mericle, Kung Fu is a sequel to the original 1880s-set series, which was created by Ed Spielman and chronicled the adventures of Kwai Chang Caine (Carradine), a Shaolin monk who travels the American Old West armed only with his spiritual training — including a ton of aphorisms — and his skill in martial arts in search of his half-brother.

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The new Kung Fu follows the adventures of Lucy Chang, a Buddhist monk and kung fu master who travels through 1950s America armed only with her spiritual training and her martial arts skills as she searches for the man who stole her child years before. When she teams with JT Cullen, a charming Korean War vet with his own secrets, the two form an unlikely alliance that allows Lucy to continue her search while also coming to the aid of people in need. (It is unclear whether Carradine’s character and Lucy Chang are related.)

Mericle and Berlanti Prods’ Berlanti and Sarah Schechter executive produce for Warner Bros TV and studio-based Berlanti Prods.

If the project goes to series, it would mark a rare Big 4 broadcast drama series with an Asian character at the center.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/fox-tv-logo__131101190305.png?w=279&h=121

The original 1972 Kung Fu series started with a 90-minute TV movie, which served as a pilot (you can watch the series’ opening sequence below). The drama’s three-season run on ABC was followed by a stand-alone TV movie, Kung Fu: The Movie, which aired on CBS in 1986 with Carradine reprising his role and Brandon Lee playing his son. CBS the following year tried to launch a sequel series, Kung Fu: The Next Generation, centered on Lee’s character, though it did not go beyond the pilot stage. There also was Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, an American-Canadian series, which aired four seasons from 1993-97.

It has been another big development season for Berlanti Prods., which has 10 series on the air. The company’s sales include three other put pilot commitments — for an untitled legal drama written by Martin Gero & Brendan Gall at CBS; the White House political drama Republic, written by Alex Berger, at NBC; and light hourlong procedural God Friended Me at CBS, from Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt and Marcos Siega. Additionally, Berlanti Prods. has three projects set up at the CW including The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, eyed as a Riverdale companion.

Mericle’s first writing job was on Berlanti’s first series as a creator, Everwood. She also worked with him on Jack & Bobby and Eli Stone before joining Arrow after the pilot, rising to executive producer. She is repped by CAA and attorney Nina Shaw. Berlanti is with WME.

Here’s the original Kung Fu sequence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=rp1AuBj53Co

A Shaolin nun. Interesting twist.

GeneChing

10-10-2018, 08:48 AM

‘Kung Fu’ Sequel Drama From Albert Kim & Berlanti Prods. Set At Fox As Put Pilot (https://deadline.com/2018/10/kung-fu-drama-albert-kim-greg-berlanti-fox-put-pilot-1202479763/)
by Nellie Andreeva
October 9, 2018 5:00pm

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/albert-kim-2.jpg?w=446&h=299&crop=1
Courtesy of UTA

Fox has given a put pilot commitment to Kung Fu, a present-day sequel to the 1970s David Carradine-starring TV series, from former Sleepy Hollow executive producer Albert Kim, Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Prods. and Warner Bros. TV, where the company is based.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/greg-berlanti.jpg?w=297&h=186
Courtesy of International Emmy Awards

Written by Kim, Kung Fu is an action-driven procedural about a young Chinese-American woman who inherits her father’s kung fu studio, only to discover it’s actually a secret center dedicated to helping members of the Chinatown community who have nowhere else to turn. With the help of a former star pupil — a smart and driven ex-Marine — she vows to continue the school’s mission. In the process, she discovers things she never knew about her cultural background and family’s heritage, including a connection to a legendary ancestor.

That legendary ancestor presumably is Carradine’s character from the original series, Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine. The 1970s series, created by Ed Spielman, chronicled the adventures of Caine who travels the American Old West armed only with his spiritual training — including a ton of aphorisms — and his skill in martial arts in search of his half.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/kungfu.jpg?w=363&h=204
WBTV

Last year, Fox, Berlanti Prods. and WBTV developed a more straight-forward female-lead reboot of the original series with a different writer. The period drama, which did not go to pilot, followed the adventures of Lucy Chang, a Buddhist monk and kung fu master who travels through 1950s America armed only with her spiritual training and her martial arts skills as she searches for the man who stole her child years before.

Because Fox was Kung Fu‘s home last year, I hear the new take was taken to that network first, and Fox brass bought it with a put pilot commitment. Kim executive produces with Berlanti Prods.’ Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/fox-logo-featured.jpg?w=243&h=166
Fox

Kim most served as executive producer/co-showrunner on Fox/20th TV’s Sleepy Hollow, and before that as writer/co-executive producer on the CW/Warner Bros. TV’s Nikita. He also developed at WBTV last season. Kim is repped by ICM Partners and attorney Jeff Frankel.

This is Berlanti Prods.’ fifth drama sale this broadcast pitch season. Kung Fu joins Prodigal Son, which also has a put pilot commitment at Fox. Elsewhere, the company has a pilot production commitment at CBS for The Secret To a Good Marriage, a put pilot at ABC with an untitled Nkechi Carroll project as well as a Batwoman DC adaptation at the CW, which is eyeing a pilot order. Berlanti and Schechter are repped by WME and attorney Patti Felker.

As Fox prepares to go independent following Disney’s acquisition of major Fox assets, including 20th Century Fox TV, the network has been actively buying from indie studio WBTV. Fox takes ownership in all projects it buys from outside studios.

"Lucy Chang, a Buddhist monk and kung fu master" - 'monk' typically refers to men in English. Should be 'nun'. But never mind. Looks like they abandoned that concept.

I think Finn Jones would be a good fit for the ex-marine. :p

GeneChing

11-07-2019, 09:42 AM

I watch more CW shows than any other broadcast network nowadays. Which isn't saying that much because I seldom watch broadcast networks nowadays.

NEWS
‘Kung Fu’ Female-Led Reboot From Christina M. Kim, Martin Gero & Berlanti Prods. In Works At The CW (https://deadline.com/2019/11/kung-fu-reboot-female-led-christina-m-kim-martin-gero-greg-berlanti-prods-at-the-cw-1202779400/)
By Nellie Andreeva, Denise Petski
November 6, 2019 12:30pm

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/christina-m.-kim-martin-gero.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Chris Kapa/Maarten de Boer

The CW has put in development Kung Fu, a reimagining with a female lead of the 1970s David Carradine-starring TV series. The hourlong project hails from the Blindspot team of writer-executive producer Christina M. Kim, creator-executive producer Martin Gero, executive producers Greg Berlanti & Sarah Schechter and Warner Bros. TV, where Kim, Gero and Berlanti Prods. are under deals.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/kungfu.jpg?w=338&h=190
WBTV

Written by Kim, inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, in the reimagined Kung Fu, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice…all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/greg-berlanti.jpg?w=320&h=180

Kim and Gero executive produce via Gero’s Quinn’s House Production Company, which produces in association with Berlanti Prods. and Warner Bros. TV. Berlanti and Schechter executive produce for Berlanti Prods.

Two incarnations of the project with different writers — both featuring a female lead — were in development at Fox the last two seasons from Berlanti Prods and Warner Bros. TV with a put pilot commitment. Neither went to pilot.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/the-cw-2019-logo-black.jpg?w=297&h=167
The CW
Berlanti Prods. and WBTV have a successful track record moving to CW projects that had been originally developed at Fox. The CW hit Riverdale and DC drama Black Lightning both originated as Fox development before migrating to the CW.

Kim has been with Blindspot since the first season, starting as a co-executive producer and rising to executive producer in Season 4. Her other credits include consulting producer on Hawaii Five-O and co-executive producer on NCIS: Los Angeles. She began her TV career as a story editor on Lost.

Gero also is executive producing The Service, a one-hour drama from writer Drew Lindo (The 100, Reign), via his Quinn’s House and WBTV, which has received a script commitment with penalty at Fox.

Gero, who also created The L.A. Complex and has been working on a reboot for the CW, did stints on several Stargate series: Stargate Atlantis — on which he rose to showrunner — Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Universe. At WBTV, in addition to creating, executive producing and showrunning Blindspot — which is heading into a fifth season on NBC — Gero also executive produced the ABC series Deception.

GeneChing

11-14-2019, 09:56 AM

We don't have a thread dedicated to the original series. "Kung Fu" is impossible to search so I use "Carradine" and nothing popped. So I'm posting this here.

Actor Who’s Lived In San Francisco For Decades Evicted From North Beach Apartment (https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/11/12/sam-hiona-actor-whos-lived-in-san-francisco-for-decades-evicted-from-north-beach-apartment/)
By Joe Vazquez November 12, 2019 at 11:37 pm

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — Sam Hiona, the 86-year old film actor and entertainer, a well-known character in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, is being forced to leave his home through an Ellis Act eviction.

He is retired now and spends most of his time at the Columbus Cafe, but Hiona was once a local star. Hina was an actor in movie and television roles, including a short turn on the show “Kung Fu” as David Carradine’s martial arts teacher.

He later traveled to Thailand to be in a film with Jim Kelly and spent some time in Vancouver for a Sidney Poitier movie. He has also been a surfer and a singer. Hiona has spent most of his 86 years in San Francisco.

But that could soon change because he is getting evicted from the small apartment in North Beach where he has lived since 1965.

“They just want to get rid of me,” Hiona said. “I pay a low rent. They’re trying to get rid of low rent people so they can raise rent.”

His wife Cathleen Thompson said a realtor named Janice Lee bought the property and told the couple they had to leave in 2017. It was an Ellis Act eviction.

“They say they are going to move in, we haven’t seen that,” Thompson said. “They’re saying their intent with the Ellis Act eviction is to get out of the rental business. We don’t think that’s true.”

But Lee’s attorney, Scott Freedman, told KPIX 5 it is absolutely true that Janice Lee and her husband plan to move into the property they bought.

“They selected the property because they wanted a place for their parents,” Freedman said, adding that Lee’s elderly parents plan to move in next door, as do some other immediate family members. Freedman said Lee came to the U.S. as a child from Hong Kong with her single mother escaping “less than favorable conditions.”

Freedman says they have offered the Hionas more money than the law requires, and yet the renters are fighting it in court and it’s costing Lee’s family tens of thousands of dollars.

“These folks have been put through the wringer,” Freedman added.

The judge has already decided the case in favor of the property owners, but Hiona and his wife are making one last appeal in court at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

The Hionas are asking for a stay for the duration of time it takes for the appeal to work its way through the courts, but they worry the judge will deny the stay and they will be thrown out for good after more than 50 years in the same apartment.

“The shame is San Francisco is changing,” said Thompson. “And people like my husband will no longer be living in the city and it’s just not the same.”

San Francisco supervisor Aaron Peskin said he will attend the hearing Wednesday.

“I will be appearing in court to let the judge know that ‘this is an unjust illegal eviction,'” he said.

Peskin is also organizing a neighborhood event on Thursday at 11 a.m. for nearby Caffe Sappore, whose owner has also been notified by his landlord that he is getting evicted.

The supervisor said his colleagues in local government have tried to pass ordinances to help prevent evictions, but he is growing frustrated at the rate of evictions due to state laws.

“We are losing the tenants and special characters who make San Francisco the envy of the world,” Peskin said.

GeneChing

01-21-2020, 04:23 PM

‘Kung Fu’ Movie Remake Set At Universal For ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ Director David Leitch
(https://deadline.com/2020/01/kung-fu-movie-remake-set-john-wick-co-director-david-leitch-hobbs-and-shaw-david-carradine-1202836768/?fbclid=IwAR1UegUjiagEGskQyrZl_Y6Mvcxoq9-HShQN2Gr_UPPgXi8Ne9yohwX7fc8)
By Mike Fleming Jr
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Film
@DeadlineMike

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/kungfu.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
WBTV
EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to the 1972 TV series Kung Fu for a contemporary-set action packed feature film that will be directed by David Leitch, the co-director of John Wick and director of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/david-leitch.jpg?w=330&h=220
David Leitch
Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

They will set a writer quickly. The original ABC series starred David Carradine as a master martial artist who fled China after his master was murdered. He wandered the Old West helping the downtrodden and weathering rampant racism while eluding assassins trying to kill him. He was a peaceful man until provoked, which happened at least once an episode. Given the action pedigree for the stuntman-turned-director Leitch, there is potential for the kind of choreographed action mayhem found in Hobbs & Shaw as well as John Wick, latter of which he did with Chad Stahelski. Leitch is separately attached to direct a remake of Bruce Lee’s iconic 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon at Warner Bros.

Kelly McCormick and Leitch will produce through their Universal-based 87North Productions along with Stephen L’Hereaux and his Solipsist Film banner. Ed Spielman, creator of the television series, will executive produce.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/kung-fu-e1579289619991.jpg?w=330&h=186
David Carradine
Warner Bros TV/Kobal/Shutterstock

Universal Executive Vice President of Production Matt Reilly will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.

McCormick and Leitch produced the Ilya Naishuller-directed action pic Nobody for Universal, which releases August 14.

Leitch and McCormick are represented by WME and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc.

Deal comes as the CW put in development last fall a female-driven Kung Fu series remake from the Blindspot team of writer-executive producer Christina M. Kim, creator-executive producer Martin Gero, executive producers Greg Berlanti & Sarah Schechter and Warner Bros. TV.

Now I'm happy I saw Hobbs & Shaw (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71193-Hobbs-amp-Shaw&p=1317181#post1317181)? :confused:

GeneChing

01-22-2020, 09:22 AM

Do these people not know about Brucexploitation? It's a whole genre. :rolleyes:

Will the Kung Fu remake right the wrongs suffered by Bruce Lee? (https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2020/jan/22/kung-fu-film-remake-bruce-lee-universal-studios-tv-series-david-carradine)
After Lee was passed over for David Carradine to star in the 70s TV series, Universal must cast an Asian actor for its forthcoming film
Ben Child
@BenChildGeek
Wed 22 Jan 2020 08.34 EST Last modified on Wed 22 Jan 2020 09.11 EST

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fc16da3b99f2865a935418d55f67917a80e9fd72/0_142_2500_1499/master/2500.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&
Unfair caricature … Mike Moh as Bruce Lee in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Photograph: Andrew Cooper

One of the most startling moments in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the scene in which Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth humiliates Bruce Lee (played by Mike Moh) after he boasts of his martial-arts prowess. It has drawn criticism from Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee for portraying her late father as an “arrogant ******* who was full of hot air”, while Tarantino has defended his film as a work of fiction, albeit one, he insists, that has some grounding in truth. It’s sad that while the Pulp Fiction film-maker chose to lionise David Carradine, the star of 1970s TV show Kung Fu, in his Kill Bill movies, he decided to bring the late Hong Kong star back to life by portraying him as full of youthful truculence and hubris.

After all, Kung Fu would never have been commissioned without the 70s martial-arts craze that was largely fuelled by Lee’s early films. And it’s probably fair to say that without the TV show, Kill Bill would have been a different beast. Tarantino not only borrows the TV show’s star, he half-inched its blend of eastern and western influences to frame the two parts of his own endeavour. Yet, while Carradine was treated with the utmost reverence in Kill Bill, Lee, without whom the American star would most likely never have had a career in martial-arts films, is depicted as a cocky idiot. As a creative decision, this is a bit like preferring the squeaky clean Pat Boone version of Ain’t That a Shame to Fats Domino’s full-blooded, velvety original.

Tarantino is not the only figure in Hollywood who owes something to Lee’s legacy. Given the news that Universal is set to bring Kung Fu back to life as a big-screen remake, surely it’s about time to right the wrongs suffered by Lee more than four decades ago.

Even Lee’s most casual fans should be aware that the star of Enter the Dragon was passed over for Carradine, with the suspicion being that TV executives preferred a white actor over the heavily accented Lee to play the mixed-race Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine. Lee’s widow Linda Lee Cadwell, in her memoir, even fuelled rumours that her late husband had come up with the idea for Kung Fu, and it seems that Lee was working on a similar concept titled The Warrior at the time of his death.

Kung Fu went on to be one of the most celebrated TV shows of the 70s. Watching and enjoying its iconic moments – Caine’s early tutelage by Keye Luke’s Master Po as a “young grasshopper” in those much-imitated flashback sequences; the cavalcade of film and TV stars from William Shatner to Sandra Locke who appeared during the show’s three seasons in supporting roles – one is forced to remind oneself that the series represents one of the worst examples of yellowface in TV history. And yet, there it is.

Perhaps, in reverence to the show’s cultural origins, Universal could make a gesture to the Lee estate. It would be fitting if some of the action star’s ideas from the long lost The Warrior ended up making it into the new Kung Fu, though that prospect has probably been diminished by the existence of Cinemax’s own Warrior show, which Lee’s daughter Shannon oversees.

Still, there are other ways to ensure the film does not experience the ignominy of its TV predecessor. The very least Universal can do is to ensure Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw director David Leitch casts an actor of Asian heritage this time around.

THREADS
Kung Fu TV show REMAKE (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62248-Kung-Fu-TV-show-REMAKE)
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70864-Once-Upon-a-Time-in-Hollywood)

GeneChing

01-31-2020, 09:02 AM

Hang on now...CW? Does this mean it's going to be some soap opera-esque series like the Arrow (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67811-Arrow)verse?

Actually, that might be kinda good...:o

JANUARY 30, 2020 5:00PM PT
‘Kung Fu’ Reboot, ‘Republic of Sarah’ Ordered to Pilot at CW (https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/kung-fu-reboot-republic-of-sarah-pilot-cw-1203487699/)
By JOE OTTERSON
TV Reporter
@https://twitter.com/joeotterson

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/the-cw-logo.jpg?w=729&h=410&crop=1
CREDIT: COURTESY OF THE CW

The CW has ordered pilots for the dramas “Kung Fu” and “The Republic of Sarah.” Both projects were previously set up at different networks prior to coming to CW.

“Kung Fu” is a reboot of the original series created by Ed Spielman. In the new version, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice, all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

The project was previously set up at Fox with a put pilot order. Christina M. Kim will write and executive produce. Martin Gero will executive produce via Quinn’s House along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions. Warner Bros. Television will produce. Kim, Gero, and Berlanti Productions are all currently under overall deals at WBTV.

The reboot has been in the works for some time, with Wendy Mericle originally attached to write before Albert Kim came onboard in 2018. The original “Kung Fu” starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who traveled the Old West in search of his brother. The series ran for three seasons on ABC.

Christina M. Kim has been a writer and producer on the NBC drama “Blindspot,” which was created by Gero and produced by Berlanti Productions, since the show’s first season. Her other credits include “Lost,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and “Ghost Whisperer.”

In “The Republic of Sarah,” rebellious high school teacher Sarah Cooper utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence from the U.S. when faced with the destruction of her town at the hands of a greedy mining company. Now Sarah must lead a young group of misfits as they attempt to start their own country from scratch.

A previous iteration of the show was set up at CBS last year with a pilot order but was ultimately passed over. Jeffrey Paul King remains attached as writer and executive producer, as do executive producers Marc Web via Black Lamb and Jeff Grosvenor and Leo Pearlman of Fulwell 73. Mark Martin of Black Lamb will also executive produce. CBS Television Studios will produce. Fulwell is currently under a deal at the studio.

These two pilots mark the first formal pilot orders for The CW of the 2020-2021 season. The network previously ordered backdoor pilots for both an “Arrow” spinoff about the Canaries and a prequel to “The 100.” The CW also gave series orders to a “Walker, Texas Ranger” reboot starring Jared Padalecki and to “Superman & Lois” starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch.

One more question. Is this different than the Leitch project announced a week+ ago (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62248-Kung-Fu-TV-show-REMAKE&p=1317377#post1317377)? Like is that a movie and this a TV show? :confused:

GeneChing

02-19-2020, 09:35 AM

‘Kung-Fu’: Tzi Ma & Kheng Hua Tan To Co-Star In the CW Reboot Pilot (https://deadline.com/2020/02/kung-fu-tzi-ma-kheng-hua-tan-cast-the-cw-reboot-pilot-1202862221/)
By Nellie Andreeva
February 18, 2020 11:23am

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/tzi-ma-kheng-hua-tan.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Photos: Diana Ragland, Shevonne Wong

EXCLUSIVE: Tzi Ma (The Man In the High Castle, The Farewell) and Kheng Hua Tan (Marco Polo, Crazy Rich Asians) have been cast as series regulars in the CW pilot Kung Fu, a reimagining with a female lead of the 1970s David Carradine-starring TV series. Ma and Kheng will play the parents of the protagonist in the project, from Christina M. Kim, Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Warner Bros. TV, where Kim, Gero and Berlanti Prods. are under deals.

Written by Kim, inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, in the new Kung Fu, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice…all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

Ma and Kheng will play the woman’s father, Jin Chen, and mother Mei-Li — a husband-and-wife restaurateurs whose secrets threaten to destroy their lives just as they deal with the return of their estranged daughter.

Kim and Gero executive produce via Gero’s Quinn’s House Production Company, which produces in association with Berlanti Prods. and Warner Bros. TV. Berlanti and Schechter executive produce for Berlanti Prods.

Together with his parents and four of his siblings, Ma worked in a family-owned restaurant on Staten Island when growing up. His extensive acting resume includes major roles on Wu Assassins, Veep, The Man In the High Castle, 24, Hell On Wheels and Satisfaction. His feature credits include Arrival and The Farewell, Disney’s upcoming live-action Mulan and Netflix’s Tigertail. He is repped by BRS/Gage Talent Agency and Echelon Talent Management.

Kheng, well known in her native Singapore and Malaysia, co-starred as Empress Dowager on the Netflix original series Marco Polo. She plays Kerry Chu, the mother of protagonist Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), in the Crazy Rich Asians movie franchise. Her English-language credits also include the Channel 4 limited series Chimerica and guest shots on Medical Police, Magnum P.I. and Grey’s Anatomy. She is repped by Zero Gravity, GVA Talent Agency and Fly Entertainment in Singapore.

Still confused about whether this CW series is different from a feature film from Leitch.

GeneChing

02-24-2020, 09:47 AM

NEWS
‘Kung Fu’: Jon Prasida, Shannon Dang & Eddie Liu To Co-Star In the CW Reboot Pilot (https://deadline.com/2020/02/kung-fu-jon-prasida-shannon-dang-eddie-liu-to-co-star-in-the-cw-reboot-pilot-1202865838/)
By Denise Petski
Senior Managing Editor
February 21, 2020 3:20pm

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/jon-prasida-shannon-dang-eddie-liu.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
(L-R) Jon Prasida, Shannon Dang and Eddie Liu
Johnny Diaz Nicolaidis/Paul Smith//Kane Lieu

EXCLUSIVE: Jon Prasida (Hiding), Shannon Dang (The L Word) and Eddie Liu (Silicon Valley) have been cast as series regulars in the CW pilot Kung Fu, a reimagining with a female lead of the 1970s David Carradine-starring TV series. It hails from Christina M. Kim, Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Warner Bros. TV.

Written by Kim, inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, the new Kung Fu sees a quarter-life crisis causing a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice — all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and now is targeting her.

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/the-cw-2019-logo-black.jpg?w=300&h=169
The CW

Prasida will play Ryan Chen, a quick-witted medical student who has to deal with the sudden return of his estranged older sister, Nicky.

Dang will portray Althea Chen, Nicky’s larger-than-life older sister who’s newly engaged and on her way to planning her dream Chinese wedding.

Liu will play Henry Chu, a martial arts instructor and Chinese art history buff who has instant chemistry with Nicky.

They join previously announced series regulars Tzi Ma and Kheng Nua Tan.

Kim and Gero executive produce via Gero’s Quinn’s House Production Company, which produces in association with Berlanti Prods. and Warner Bros. TV. Berlanti and Schechter executive produce for Berlanti Prods.

Prasida starred as Garys in the TV series Hiding, and went on to play the role of Lee in the TV series adaptation of the book series Tomorrow When The War Began. He most recently guest starred in the ABC drama Warriors and will next be seen in the upcoming TV series Harrow and Sando. He is repped by CBM Management in Australia and Silver Lining Entertainment in the U.S.

Dang’s credits include include The L Word, Sorry For Your Loss, Veronica Mars, The Romanoffs, American Vandal and Doubt. She recently wrapped supporting roles in the comedy features Film Fest and Prison Logic. Dang is repped by Singular Talent and Working Entertainment.

Liu is best known for his role as Doug in HBO’s Silicon Valley. He’s repped by Greene & Associates Talent Agency, A & R Management and attorney Jeff Bernstein.

I'm not familiar with any of these actors. Would it be silly to ask if any of them have any martial arts skills?

@PLUGO

02-26-2020, 12:11 PM

By Nellie Andreeva for Deadline.com (https://deadline.com/2020/02/kung-fu-olivia-liang-cast-the-lead-the-cw-reboot-pilot-1202868906/)
February 26, 2020 9:09am

10815

The CW pilot Kung Fu has found its star in Legacies‘ Olivia Liang. She will headline the reimagining with a female lead of the 1970s David Carradine-starring TV series, which comes from Christina M. Kim, Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Warner Bros TV, where Kim, Gero and Berlanti Prods. are under deals.

Written by Kim and inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, in the new Kung Fu, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Chen (Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice — all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

Liang joins previously cast Tzi Ma and Kheng Hua Tan, who play her parents, as well as Jon Prasida, Shannon Dang and Eddie Liu.

Kim and Gero executive produce via Gero’s Quinn’s House Production Company, which produces in association with Berlanti Prods. and Warner Bros TV. Berlanti and Schechter executive produce for Berlanti Prods.

Chang’s casting in the CW/WBTV pilot Kung Fu pilot comes on the heels of her joining the network and studio’s drama series Legacies as a recurring earlier this season. She plays Alyssa Chang on The Vampire Diaries offshoot.

Liang’s previous credits include Dating After College and guest shots on Grey’s Anatomy and One Day at a Time. She guest stars on the current second season of Hulu’s Into the Dark. Liang is repped by Abrams Artists Agency.

GeneChing

03-02-2020, 08:53 AM

https://i1.wp.com/hnentertainment.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CW_PILOT_KUNG-FU_SHOOTS_MARCH_IN-VANCOUVER_.jpg?fit=1409%2C781&ssl=1

CW’s ‘Kung Fu’ Reboot Pilot Directed By Hanelle M. Culpepper Shoots Next Month In Vancouver – Will Star Olivia Liang (https://hnentertainment.co/cws-kung-fu-reboot-pilot-directed-by-hanelle-m-culpepper-shoots-next-month-in-vancouver-will-star-olivia-liang/)
By Christopher Marc -February 27, 20200

Yesterday, Deadline announced that Legacies actress Olivia Liang had landed the lead role in CW’s reboot of the David Carradine martial arts series Kung Fu.

HN Entertainment has confirmed the pilot will be directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper and will shoot from March 9th to March 30th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Hanelle’s credits include Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery, Supergirl, The Flash, Gotham, Lucifer, and Quantico.

Written by Kim and inspired by the original series created by Ed Spielman, in the new Kung Fu, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Chen (Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice — all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

Carradine was famously chosen over martial arts legend Bruce Lee for the lead role on the original series.

At the same time, Warner Bros. is developing a feature film adaption with director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw, Atomic Blonde, John Wick).

If CW likes the pilot they’ll likely give Kung Fu a series order.

This is the first article to distinguish between the Leitch film and the CW TV pilot. I should probably split the threads at some point.

GeneChing

03-06-2020, 09:22 AM

I'm splitting this thread now.
There's the original thread which I'm adding 'film' to Kung Fu TV show REMAKE (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62248-Kung-Fu-TV-show-REMAKE) and a new thread which will just focus on the Kung Fu TV show CW REMAKE (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71750-Kung-Fu-TV-show-CW-REMAKE).

NEWSMARCH 5, 2020 1:00PM PT
Hanelle Culpepper to Direct ‘Kung Fu’ Pilot at CW (EXCLUSIVE) (https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/kung-fu-reboot-cw-hanelle-culpepper-1203525156/)
By JOE OTTERSON
TV Reporter
@https://twitter.com/joeotterson

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/hanelle.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: WILLY SANJUAN/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

Hanelle Culpepper has signed on to direct and co-executive produce the “Kung Fu” reboot pilot at The CW, Variety has learned exclusively.

This marks the latest high-profile directing credit for Culpepper, who made headlines when it was announced she would direct the first three episodes of “Star Trek: Picard” at CBS All Access, marking the first time a female director launched a new “Star Trek” series in the franchise’s 53-year history. She previously directed multiple episodes of fellow All Access how “Star Trek: Discovery.”

Her other directing credits include shows like “Mayans MC,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Gotham,” “Empire,” “American Crime,” and “NOS4A2.” It was also recently announced that she will direct the feature “1000 Miles,” Big Beach’s adaptation of the memoir “Running A Thousand Miles For Freedom” by William and Ellen Craft.

“I am very excited to join the fantastic team of Christina Kim, Martin Gero, Berlanti, and Warner Bros. to bring ‘Kung Fu’ to a new generation,” Culpepper said. “An authentic and honest portrayal of a Chinese American family is rare in mainstream media so I am honored to be able to introduce the Shen family and shoot some thrilling action sequences as well. I think many people, myself included, can relate to our heroine’s journey of self-discovery and finding her purpose.”

Culpepper is repped by Verve and Metamorphic Entertainment.

The CW’s “Kung Fu” is a reboot of the original series created by Ed Spielman. In the new version, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Chen (Olivia Liang), to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, Nicky uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice — all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.

Along with Liang, the cast also includes Tzi Ma and Kheng Hua Tan. Christina M. Kim will write and executive produce. Martin Gero will executive produce via Quinn’s House along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions, with Culpepper co-executive producing. Warner Bros. Television will produce. Kim, Gero, and Berlanti Productions are all currently under overall deals at WBTV.

GeneChing

02-24-2022, 11:55 AM

...can't find it now so I'll post this here.

Herbie J Pilato
Feb 22
·
14 min read
Happy 50th Anniversary to “Kung Fu” (https://herbiejpilato.medium.com/happy-50th-anniversary-to-kung-fu-f062ae05790b)
The Groundbreaking “Eastern Western” That Mainstreamed Asian Culture in America and Asian Actors in Hollywood
https://miro.medium.com/max/700/1*b3BMrNcGESV8oZAjxX-41Q.jpeg
Grasshopper springs eternal.
With the new Kung Fu martial arts TV series enjoying its second season on The CW, the past and present merge with a reminder of the familiar phrase, “Take the pebble from my hand.”
That line was first heard five decades ago on February 22, 1972, when the original Kung Fu debuted as a 90-minute TV-movie and back-door pilot on ABC. While President Nixon held historic meetings in China with Chairman Mao, TV’s first “Eastern Western” was being defined by critics, industry professionals, and pop-culture fans alike as a Fugitive/Shane fusion, with a compound of corporal, cerebral and ethereal creeds imported from the Orient. Ancient Shaolin wisdom and martial arts moves would be exampled by the adult half-Chinese/half-American monk Kwai Chang Caine, portrayed by David Carradine (who died in 2009), and his adolescent self, Young Grasshopper, portrayed by Radames Pera (who turns 62 this year).
The adult Caine was confronted with the ignorance and deception of Western America in the 1870s. Key lessons from his past, sometimes in the form of the show’s trademark flashback sequences, would inform the reality of his present — and ours. Both Carradine and Pera’s Caine introduced Asian thought to the American mainstream on a weekly basis. As Caine roamed the Old West, in search of himself (and his American half-brother), the message of holistic health for the mind, body, and spirit increased in modern culture at the same time.
During the somewhat murky social norms of the 1970s, people of all ages, creeds, colors, and religions were comforted by Caine’s wise words, kind manner, and respect for other people’s truths. Both the young and adult Grasshopper would learn from Master Po, played by the legendary Keye Luke, and Master Kan, portrayed by the late Philip Ahn, while several Old Western souls gained insight from Caine in America. In the process, two generations of contemporary TV viewers around the world were enlightened as well.
With near-mosaic screen imagery, through popular TV, the viewer was inspired by and inspirited with a strong message; memorandum derived from several different sources. Kung Fu creators Ed Spielman (The Young Riders, Dead Man’s Gun), and Howard Friedlander gathered information from Confucius, La Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Zen Buddhism, and the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Spielman, in particular, was a fan of the classic 1954 Japanese epic drama, Seven Samurai, co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa (which gave birth to The Magnificent Seven western directed by John Sturges in 1960).
https://miro.medium.com/max/700/1*cyXbZ-HZoH4XamX1Tiy8bA.jpeg
Radames Pera as “Young Grasshopper”
With Kung Fu, the common themes involved gentleness, peace, and compassion and how such are to be the priorities if one is to have a spiritually sound and happy existence.
It was Master Po who first referred to Caine as “Grasshopper” because the elder, who happened to be visually impaired, had once sensed the insect at the young boy’s feet. As such, the affectionate term stuck, and Caine and Po bonded. Unfortunately, a short time after Caine graduated from the Shaolin Temple, he, in a fit of anger, murdered the Royal Nephew of the Emperor, who had killed Po for obstructing his path in the street.
https://miro.medium.com/max/697/1*NBuzvjf2D84ITLIzYpvosw.jpeg
Keye Luke as Master Po counsels the adult Kwai Chang Caine, played by David Carradine
Thus, Po urges Caine to flee to freedom in America, while the Chinese Emperor sends frequent bounty hunters there in pursuit.
Beyond this original Kung Fu premise, and The CW contemporary re-do, there also sprung the 1990s sequel, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, in which Carradine portrayed Caine’s grandson; the 1986 TV-reunion-film, Kung Fu: The Movie, with Carradine co-starring with Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee (who did not create Kung Fu, as has been erroneously reported in the past). There is also the 1987 one-hour pilot, Kung Fu: The Next Generation (also starring Lee), which has become a cult classic.
Certainly, with regard to Kung Fu, parody has also proven to be the sincerest form of flattery. Over the years, The Original Series has been satirized in MAD Magazine and at the movies (1996’s Beverly Hills Ninja and 1989’s Lethal Weapon II), on TV (The Tonight Show, 7-Up commercials, In Living Color, Saturday Night Live, with Carradine, as host, no less), and in music (“…everybody was kung-fu fighting” from the 1970s).
On a more serious note, Kung Fu also inspired Pat (Happy Days) Morita’s Mr. Miyagi and Ralph Macchio’s Young Daniel (from the 1984, 1986, and 1986 Karate Kid films, as well as 1994’s The Next Karate Kid, with the pre-Oscar-winning Hilary Boys Don’t Cry Swank subbing for Macchio), and the new Cobra Kai streaming series (starring Macchio).
https://miro.medium.com/max/700/1*XJGQlr41xKhMEgmBckjeKA.jpeg
Philip Ahn was the wise, leading Master Kahn
The original Kung Fu also inspired the Obi-Wan/Yoda/Luke Skywalker characters (from any version of Star Wars, originally released in 1977, only two years after Kung Fu left the airwaves), Michaelangelo, Splinter, et al, in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchises in time.
Each of these characters and concepts, in one way or the other, were influenced by the core Caine/Po relationship. Some even credit the moody feel of Clint Eastwood’s big-screen Unforgiven (1992) to Kung Fu’s groundbreaking, non-MGM-Technicolor cinematic style.
In 2000, it is evident just how much Jackie Chan’s big-screen hit Shanghai Noon was inspired by Kung Fu (e.g. fugitive from China flees to the American Old West), as was 2001’s multi-Oscar-nominated blockbuster feature film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s sleek, mammal-martial-arts-moves.
https://miro.medium.com/max/471/1*JKbYCHMB2gL739DJTMkB9Q.jpeg
Philip Ahn with Radames Pera in “Kung Fu’s” famous “take the pebble from my hand” scene
In fact, Spielman and Friedlander had completed their original script for Kung Fu in 1966, when they had first envisioned their story as a theatrical release with the title, The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon. But the concept eventually found its way to television, through the valiant combined efforts of studio executives and agents, and a lot of hard work and talent on the part of Spielman and Friedlander. And to clarify, once and for all: these two gentlemen are the creators of Kung Fu. Any claims to the contrary are incorrect, and an injustice, including false claims in the past that director Jerry Thorpe, created Kung Fu.
Thorpe was the visual genius behind the show’s muted cinematic colors, and the slow-motion technique (which helped tone down the violence — and was later replicated on shows like The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman). But like Bruce Lee, Thorpe did not create Kung Fu (all of which is further explained in Matthew Polly’s acclaimed biography, Bruce Lee: A Life).
continued next post

GeneChing

02-24-2022, 11:56 AM

IMG]https://miro.medium.com/max/564/1*7m8pMDh4TvfIjg7_4WDqrA.jpeg[/IMG]
Music helped to set the mood and tone of “Kung Fu”
As a teenager, Spielman worked as a page at ABC-TV in New York. He discovered the secret arts of kung-fu in the early 1960s, and he studied Mandarin Chinese in College at night. He spent years doing his research in New York’s Chinatown and elsewhere unearthing this heretofore secret knowledge. At that time, kung-fu was not known in the Western world and was denied to non-Chinese. It was taught by master/student relationships and within families. It was never revealed to non-Chinese. But, Spielman pressed on.
By the mid-1960s, Spielman had acquired a depth of information and wrote a forty-four-page treatment for film, TV, and publishing (the aforementioned Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, The Sign of the Dragon). He spent the next few years trying to move it forward to film or television. In 1969, he was introduced to young agent Peter Lampack at the William Morris Agency in New York. Lampack liked the material and made a deal with Warner’s executive Bennett Sims in New York.
In February of 1970, in New York City, Lampack bartered a deal for Spielman and his friend and collaborator, Howard Friedlander, to write a theatrical motion picture screenplay from Spielman’s original story.
At the end of this development, Warner Bros. chose not to make the theatrical film. But studio executive Harvey Frand had faith in the project and took it to ABC, which by that time had introduced the pioneering Movie of the Week format.
https://miro.medium.com/max/300/1*u86BPe5r9kzd5JxT12s8WA.png
Many of the Carradine clan made guest appearances on “Kung Fu,” including (from left), Tim Carradine, Keith Carradine (who played a version of Grasshopper in the “Kung fu” pilot), and father John Carradine (who was a Hollywood legend all his own)
The Spielman/Friedlander script was pared down for budget, produced and shown on ABC, on February 22, 1972, and was an immediate hit. The iconic Kung Fu monthly-then-weekly series followed in the fall TV season the same year.
Undoubtedly, Bruce Lee had his own ideas and aspirations, but that has nothing to do with Spielman’s ground-breaking and original work. The Writers Guild of America West awarded sole credit to Ed Spielman as the creator of Kung Fu… And no allegation of Bruce Lee’s having to do with the creation of Kung Fu appeared in public until The Bruce Lee Story (1993) in which the allegation was made.
As Spielman relays today, “In 1993, I was preparing a major lawsuit against Universal, DeLaurentis Productions and all of those who were responsible for the false allegations in The Bruce Lee Story to deprive me of the authorship of my work and defame me. But Bruce Lee died in 1973 and his son Brandon also tragically died in 1993. A lawsuit by me would have fallen on Bruce Lee’s widow, Linda. She had lost enough. I didn’t think she would have survived those years in court. I thought about it…then told the lawyers to forget about it. The documents speak for themselves for anyone who cares to look…I was greatly disappointed that Bruce Lee did not appear as a principal in the Kung Fu series. But he had nothing to do with its creation. My work and the Kung Fu project were on the East Coast; he was on the West Coast. My work predated his by years. The complete story and characters were registered in the mid-1960s. The documents and contracts prove that.”
https://miro.medium.com/max/387/1*7hXMqyUzSBW6WuuV2ZCYNg.jpeg
“Kung Fu” creator Ed Spielman
And that’s the end of that, but not the end of Kung Fu, which was paid further homage by other shows that followed it. As martial arts television star Lorenzo Lamas once revealed to Starlog magazine, his lead TV character in his cult-classic syndicated series, The Immortal, was named Cain. And although it was spelled without an “e” at the end, without the allegorical Biblical reference implied on Kung Fu, it was still a tribute to that series and Carradine, both personal favorites of the actor.
“I especially liked the flashbacks where Caine goes back to the Shaolin Temple, where his master gives him lessons,” Lamas told Starlog. “As a kid, I was interested in that show’s logical and mental aspects as much as the fighting. And I knew that no matter how long the wait, there would always be a good fight” (with concentration, of course, on the “good”).
https://miro.medium.com/max/700/1*ZtlVd1HF0JgO0cgVMvra4Q.jpeg
Carradine with Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, in “Kung Fu: The Movie,” a 1985 reunion of the original series.
Also, in 2001, James Titantic/King of the World Cameron, explained in Starlog how he, too, was inspired by Kung Fu, when he created his series, Dark Angel (in the form of Jessica’s Alba edgy Buffy-like Wonder Woman), while Carradine himself appeared in the Kill Bill films, Volumes 1 and 2, both directed by Quentin Tarantino, a huge fan of Kung Fu.
According to Radames Pera, all of these inspirations further prove “how long a set of legs the show actually had and continues to have. A part of why so many people have approached me over the years and made a point of saying how important Kung Fu was to them, how they used to watch it ‘religiously,’ or how it led them to study Martial Arts or Eastern Philosophy, that it actually changed their lives. How many TV shows have ever had that kind of impact? What a legacy!”
https://miro.medium.com/max/461/1*QSXRSBK0LC5QX9VPupsfqA.jpeg
Keye Luke reprised “Master Po” for “Kung Fu: The Movie” in 1985.
Though Pera also observes, “I must express some dismay, however, at the treatment, our show has recently been given in nearly all of the press generated for the new CW Kung Fu series. While I’m not in any position to critique this new show, and I won’t, I can speak to the way our series was wantonly thrown under the bus because of how David Carradine and I were cast in a half-American, half-Chinese role.”
“It’s pretty clear,” Pera continues, “…that this wokie-doke angle was played to the hilt in the marketing and publicity for the new series, and how the producers (also lumping the cast into the fray) were righting the wrongs of the original Kung Fu by authentically casting Asian-American talent this time, and what an injustice was done in the ‘70s.”
continued next post

GeneChing

02-24-2022, 11:57 AM

https://miro.medium.com/max/394/1*1Pk_xtiEXAphZ0iUdwUb4w.jpeg
In the early 1990s, Carradine returned to the “Kung Fu” universe with “The Legend Continues,” co-starring Chris Potter (right)
“Come on!” Pera exclaims. “Anybody who falls for that angle doesn’t have a clue as to how far from the truth this actually is. Not only was there a deliberate and sensitive dialog happening with the West Coast Asian-American Community by the show’s producers back then, with Alex Beaton and Herman Miller at the front of this concerted effort to strike a deal that would be acceptable to the Community, provisions also included Warner Bros. commitment to hiring every Asian-American actor in Hollywood they could find, whether they had a SAG Card [Screen Actors Guild membership] or not!
“In fact, many actors of multi-Asian descent got a leg up into The Biz and established family power bases as a result of this one show! I remember many getting ‘Taft-Hartley’d’ [a verb form of the term relating to getting a non-union performer involved in a union production and thereby fast-tracking them into legitimate SAG standing] throughout the 4 years of production. You can re-watch the series and see just how many ‘real Asians’…and no offense implied…were featured throughout the series, both in speaking roles and as background actors!
“So, to use a now-truly questionable phrase that once had no obvious loading to it, and quoting Bugs Bunny, another Warner’s creation of an even earlier era, ‘Now, just a cotton-picking second!’
“What was done back then was truly the best that could be done at the time. So, to trash a hugely successful production that firmly implanted classic ideas of great Eastern philosophers and mysticism into modern Western consciousness in the mid-1970s is really missing the proverbial boat, big time.”
“I will always remain proud of my work in that show,” Pera concludes, “…because I’ve witnessed the positive impact it has had. Can anything resembling such value be said of subsequent iterations of this powerfully creative DNA?”
https://miro.medium.com/max/630/1*Yp9HokZGjM2z01I7ys8Clg.jpeg
Radames Pera, today
Ed Spielman is in unison with Pera. “Kung Fu was absolutely not a white-wash,” he says. “What’s interesting is the opposite of true. Before Kung Fu, Asian-American actors were given stereotypical roles, dialogue, and accents. For the first time, in American entertainment, Asian actors were actually the stars of the show, if you put the lead guy aside. Every week, Asian characters were intelligent…they were ass-kickers when necessary…they were classy and admirable in every single way. They had none of the negative stereotypes that had been there [prior to Kung Fu].”
“As a matter of fact,” Spielman continues, “…I have a lovely hand-written letter from Key Luke, with whom I corresponded all the time. In 1972, he sent me a letter in which he thanked me for the finest part he ever had as an actor.”
“Now, if there was anything that was in any way denigrating to him, he would have told me. The fact is, that these idiots who write this woke stuff, the character was designed not to be white-washed, but the underlines of his character were that he was half-American and half-Chinese…and he went to America…he was looking for himself. He had to go there because he had to get out of Dodge. He knew about the Chinese part of himself, but about the American part, he knew nothing. His odyssey in America was self-discovery.”
As such, to reiterate the positive and productive impact of Kung Fu, Spielman professes, “The Karate Kid is Kung Fu in Van Nuys. Star Wars is Kung Fu in space. [The term] Grasshopper is part of our language, and the fact is, Kung Fu gave dignified employment for the first time to every living Asian actor who could speak English.”
https://miro.medium.com/max/650/1*TEjEyNIYMznxssoyBrLXog.jpeg
It was because of Bruce Lee’s failure to win the role of Caine on “Kung Fu,” that he returned to his homeland of China, made his first martial arts film, and became a martial arts film legend.
“Key Luke was Hollywood, for crying out loud,” Spielman continues. “This was a guy who was an artist for the studios before he started acting.” And other Kung Fu regulars, such as Benson Fong and Richard Loo also benefited from the series. According to Spielman, Loo, who appeared in propaganda films like The Purple Heart, Fong, and other Asian-American actors who made multiple appearances in the series, “never got to reference Chinese culture as they did in Kung Fu. So [it] was not a white-wash in any way.”
“Those who say it is are the same who would criticize George Gershwin and Porgy and Bess. That play raised the Black milieu from the lowest ebb to the highest level of cultural acceptance and paved the way for Black artists to appear. Porgy and Bess was the greatest thing that was ever done for Black music and Black characterization. But there will be some woke fool who will disagree with that. Well, if that’s cultural appropriation, then I’ll stand with George Gershwin…because Kung Fu was the breakthrough series that offered dignified portrayals of Asians for the first time, allowing them a whole new dimension…in a way that was never seen before.”
“If I mention the name Siegfried Marcus to you, or anybody else, you might not know him, but instead, Thomas Edison. Well, Marcus was ten Thomas Edisons. He was a Jewish man from Austria who invented the first gasoline automobile in 1864, and the Nazis prevented the world from knowing that. But every lawnmower, every car with a piston was used in Siegfried Marcus’ inventions. Not only did he invent the carburetor, but he also invented the word carburetor. He was the first man to use gasoline as a propellant. And no one knows any of this because the Nazis changed and undid all the history so that it would never be recognized and never fixed.”
The point is this: the truth is the truth, and ultimately cannot be manipulated or stifled. In brief, Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander created Kung Fu, which went on to become the first major television show to present Asian-American actors in non-stereotypical roles, providing them with dignity and gainful employment in the process.
Beyond that, Spielman concludes:
“Warner Bros. executive Fred Weintraub took our Kung Fu treatment from the 500 scripts atop of his desk. He ran with it. He loved it. He didn’t take no for an answer, and he made sure it was made…and it was made basically as written, with few changes. And Howard and I received sole credit. Weintraub then also went on to produce the first martial arts movie for Bruce Lee. Howard Friedlander and I did the creative work that spurred Kung Fu worldwide. But without Fred Weintraub, Harvey Frand, or Peter Lampack, it never would have happened. These were the guys who helped to make Kung Fu happen.”

Herbie J Pilato is the author of THE KUNG FU BOOK OF CAINE and THE KUNG FU BOOK OF WISDOM. He is also the author of several other media tie-in books (including biographies of Elizabeth Montgomery and Mary Tyler Moore) and is a screenwriter, producer, and TV personality who hosts Then Again with Herbie J Pilato, a popular classic TV talk show. For more information, visit www.HerbieJPilato.com
50 years. Wow.

Bummed the pix won't embed

GeneChing

05-15-2023, 08:59 AM

Kung Fu star Olivia Liang responds to cancellation of show (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a43878498/kung-fu-olivia-liang-show-cancelled/)
"I am so so so proud of the work we did."

By George Lewis PUBLISHED: 12 MAY 2023

Kung Fu star Olivia Liang has responded to the news of the show’s cancellation.

The martial-arts series, which served as a remake of the 1972 television show, was cancelled by The CW yesterday (May 11), with the network citing a need to “reimagine” their content.

The actress, who played Nicky Shen for all three seasons, posted on Instagram in response to the developments, thanking the crew and audience for their work and support.

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/olivia-liang-645e8d5765847.jpg
Vivien Killilea//Getty Images
Related: Kung Fu star Jon Prasida on queer Asian American representation

“It has been the honour of my f****** life to work with this group of humans,” she began. “We made a historic three seasons of a show. first predominantly Asian cast in a one hour network drama. first Asian American female showrunner.

“I don’t have enough words (or room in this carousel) to express my gratitude to my show-runners, my writers, my cast, my stunt team, my f****** crew… I love you all. I truly won the lottery. they are all the kindest, smartest, funniest, most hard working people in the biz.

“I am so so so proud of the work we did. thank you to everyone who invited us into your homes and watched our little show that could. cheers to Kung Fu, the show that changed my life forever. i love you Nicky Shen,” she concluded.

Related: Supernatural star Jensen Ackles asks fans to help save prequel The Winchesters

Kung Fu was cancelled alongside Supernatural prequel The Winchesters, with The CW saying in a statement: “As we reimagine the new CW, we had to make some tough programming decisions. We thank our partners at Warner Bros. and the casts and creative teams of Kung Fu and The Winchesters for all their hard work, creativity and dedication.”

Kung Fu, which also starred Kheng Hua Tan, Tzi Ma, and Eddie Liu, followed Liang’s Nicky as she used her skills in martial arts to protect her community, with the Harvard dropout becoming a vigilante of sorts.
Anyone still watching this? I gave up in season 2 somewhere.

GeneChing

02-01-2024, 10:11 AM

Levelling up.

Donnie Yen to Star in ‘Kung Fu’ Movie for Universal (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/donnie-yen-to-star-in-kung-fu-movie-1235811774/#:~:text=Kung%20Fu%2C%20the%20long%2Dgestating,The %20Hollywood%20Reporter%20has%20confirmed.)
Filmmaker David Leitch has been developing the project since 2020.

BY AARON COUCH

JANUARY 31, 2024 12:59PM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GettyImages-1474955951.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1&resize=1000%2C563
Donnie Yen KAYLA OADDAMS/WIREIMAGE

Kung Fu, the long-gestating adaptation of the 1970s TV show, is getting a jolt with actor Donnie Yen boarding the project to star. The well-known martial artist and star is in talks to lead the feature for Universal, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Frequent Universal collaborator David Leitch has been on the project since 2020, producing with Kelly McCormick via their Universal-based 87North Productions alongside Guy Danella. Stephen L’Heureux is producing via Solipsist Films. Leitch, who has Fall Guy due out this spring, is eying the director’s chair for Kung Fu, which has a script from Stephen Chin and counts Kung Fu TV creator Ed Spielman as an executive producer.

Yen is a global star, known for his work spanning Hong Kong and Hollywood. He leads the Ip Man films, and was among the cast of the $1 billion grosser Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as well as Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan and John Wick: Chapter 4.

“Donnie Yen is both an immensely talented actor and an action film legend, and it is a privilege to have a true martial arts master leading this global film,” said Leitch. “With Donnie in place as our leading man, it will be a thrill to collaborate with him, our creative partners, and Universal in reimagining this beloved story for the big screen.”

The late David Carradine starred in the Kung Fu series, which aired on ABC from 1972-75. It followed Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who traveled to the American West in search of his half brother. Among its cultural contributions was adding the phrase “young grasshopper” to the lexicon.

Yen is repped by Independent Artist Group and R&CPMK. Leitch is repped by CAA, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, and 42West. Chin is repped by Syndicate Entertainment.