Wolf Warrior 2 [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

GeneChing

07-12-2017, 10:36 AM

From Well Go USA's site (http://wellgousa.com/theatrical/wolf-warrior-2):

July 28, 2017
NEW YORK CITY

AMC Empire 25
234 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036

College Point Multiplex Cinemas
2855 Ulmer St
Flushing, NY 11354

LOS ANGELES

AMC Atlantic Times Square
450 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 407-0240

AMC Puente Hills 20
1560 South Azusa Avenue
City of Industry, CA 91748

AMC Orange 30
20 City Blvd W
Orange, CA 92868
(909) 476-1234

AMC Tustin 14 at The District
2457 Park Ave
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 258-7036

ATLANTA

Regal Cinemas Hollywood 24
3265 Northeast Expy NE
Chamblee, GA 30341
(844) 462-7342

INDIANAPOLIS

AMC Showplace Bloomington 11
1351 S College Mall Rd
Bloomington, IN 47401

CHICAGO

AMC River East 21
322 East Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 596-0333

COLUMBUS

AMC Lennox Town Center 24
777 Kinnear Rd
Columbus, OH 43212

DALLAS

AMC Grapevine Mills 30
3150 Grapevine Mills Parkway
Grapevine, TX 76051
(972) 539-5909

WASHINGTON, D.C.

AMC Loews Rio Cinemas 18
9811 Washingtonian Ctr
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Regal Cinemas Rockville Center 13
199 E Montgomery Ave
Rockville, MD 20850

EUGENE

Regal Cinemas Valley River Center 15 & IMAX
500 Valley River Center
Eugene, OR 9740
(844) 462-7342

HAWAII

Regal Dole Cannery
735 Iwilei Rd
Honolulu, HI 96817
(844) 462-7342

Consolidated Theatres Kapolei
890 Kamokila Blvd #107
Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 674-8031

Pearlridge West 16
98-1005 Moanalua Road
Aiea, HI 96701
(808) 483-5339

HOUSTON

AMC Studio 30
2949 Dunvale
Houston, TX 77063
(713) 977-4431

Edwards Houston Marq'e Stadium 23 & IMAX
7620 Katy Fwy
Houston, TX 77024
(844) 462-7342

LAS VEGAS

AMC Town Square 18
6587 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 362-7283

MIAMI

AMC Sunset Place 24
5701 Sunset Dr #300
South Miami, FL 33143
(305) 740-8904

PHILADELPHIA

AMC Cherry Hill 24
2121 NJ-38
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
(856) 486-7420

UA Riverview Plaza Stadium 17
1400 S Christopher Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19147

PITTSBURGH

AMC Waterfront
300 West Waterfront Dr.
West Homestead, PA 15120

PHOENIX

AMC Centerpoint 11
730 South Mill Ave
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 207-2534

SAN DIEGO

AMC Mission Valley 20
1640 Camino Del Rio N
San Diego, CA 92108

SAN FRANCISCO / BAY AREA

AMC Metreon 16
135 4th St Suite 3000
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 369-6207

AMC Cupertino Square 16
10123 N Wolfe Rd
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 252-5960

SACRAMENTO

UA Laguna Village 12
8755 Center Pkwy
Sacramento, CA 95823
(844) 462-7342

GeneChing

07-24-2017, 11:11 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy4WQdkgxQk&t=4s

Here's the U.S. trailer, same as the one above, but with subtitles.

GeneChing

07-31-2017, 07:33 AM

China Box Office Roars Back to Life as 'Wolf Warrior 2' Makes Massive $130M Debut (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-roars-back-life-as-wolf-warrior-2-makes-massive-130m-debut-1025315)
12:24 AM PDT 7/31/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/07/3_8-h_2017.jpg
Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
'Wolf Warrior 2'

'Captain America' directors Joe and Anthony Russo consulted on the action film, which handily outperformed a propaganda film during the summer season when China blocks international competition from the market.

After a lackluster series of months, the Chinese film industry finally has a homegrown summer blockbuster on its hands.

Actor-director Wu Jing's Wolf Warrior 2, a sequel to his 2015 film of the same name, opened Thursday to $15 million before pulling in an enormous $131 million over the weekend.

The action flick surpassed the first Wolf Warrior film's entire $86 million run in less than three days, while dominating The Founding of an Army, the much-hyped state propaganda film about the establishment of the People's Liberation Army, which also opened Thursday.

Produced by former China Film Group boss Han Sanping and directed by Hong Kong's Andrew Lau, The Founding of an Army debuted to just $5.6 million, despite getting nearly twice as many screenings as Wolf Warrior (about 69,000 showings compared with 38,000, respectively). As Wolf Warrior proceeded to pull further and further ahead, cinema managers began to disregard official instructions from Beijing's media regulators to give the propaganda flick heavy play. On Friday, Wolf Warrior received 113,000 showings and earned $31.6 million, compared to 94,000 showings and $8 million in ticket sales for Army; by Sunday, Wolf Warrior was way out ahead with 133,000 showings for $53.7 million, over 81,000 showings for $8 million by Army.

Hollywood is conspicuously absent from the Middle Kingdom this month, thanks to China's usual policy of blocking international competition from the market during the busy summer blockbuster season. But traces of the U.S. industry's fingerprints could still be detected within Wolf Warrior 2's success. Marvel mainstays Joe and Anthony Russo, co-directors of the Captain America franchise, consulted on the film via their Chinese studio venture Anthem & Song, which has strategic partnership with Beijing Culture Media Company, one of the local production companies behind Wolf Warrior. The Russos introduced some of their usual stunt team, led by veteran action coordinator Sam Hargrave (Captain America: Civil War, Atomic Blonde), to boost the quality and intensity of the film's fight sequences.

Wolf Warrior 2 stars Wu as a former Chinese Special Forces operative who is drawn out of retirement to battle bloodthirsty American mercenaries during an African revolution. American actor Frank Grillo (Captain America), also a Russo Brothers regular, co-stars as the film's baddie, while Hong Kong's Celina Jade plays the female lead.

Lingering in the marketplace since its pre-Hollywood blackout release last month, Universal's Despicable Me 3 landed in third place for the weekend, earning $3.7 million. After four weeks on Chinese screens, the film has earned $146 million.

The next major international title to hit the Chinese market will be Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets on Aug. 25, a week before Dunkirk bows Sept. 1 and Spider-Man: Homecoming spins its web across the Middle Kingdom on Sept. 8.

I can't wait to see this now. I hope it stays in theaters for a few weeks because I won't be able to get out to it for a while.

Imagine, a Hollywood action coordinator schooling a PRC stunt team on how it's done. That's just awesome.

GeneChing

08-08-2017, 07:36 AM

Although I didn't really care for Wolf Warrior 1, I suspect I'll enjoy Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) more than I enjoyed The Mermaid (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69162-The-Mermaid).

Wolf Warrior 2 beats The Mermaid to become China’s biggest ever hit at the box office (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2105882/wolf-warrior-2-beats-mermaid-become-chinas-biggest-ever-hit-box)
Patriotic action movie breaks Hong Kong fantasy romance’s record for takings in mainland cinemas just 12 days after release
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 08 August, 2017, 11:36am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 08 August, 2017, 3:25pm

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/08/08/d3892cce-7be3-11e7-83c9-6be3df13972a_1280x720_123335.JPG?itok=5w_UXnGw

Mandy Zuo
mandy.zuo@scmp.com

The action movie Wolf Warrior 2, the release of which coincides with the 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army, had taken 3.4 billion yuan (US$505.9 million) at the mainland box office by the end of Monday, beating the 3.39 billion record set by the Hong Kong fantasy romance The Mermaid last year.
The film, which stars martial artist Wu Jing, who also directed and co-wrote it, has proved to be a hit since its release on July 27 thanks to a screenplay that promotes nationalism and features Hollywood-like production values, local audiences say.
It has also made history with box office takings of over 200 million yuan every single day since the release.
Wu Jing, who directed and starred in the film, said there was a market for patriotism in Chinese cinema. Photo: Handout
In previous interviews with mainland media, Wu explained its success by saying: “Patriotism has been hidden inside the audience for a long time, and this sentiment needs to be released via a film and a role.”
The Hollywood directors Joe and Anthony Russo were consultants on the film and foreign actors – including American Frank Grillo, who played the villain, and Hong Kong-American Celina Jade, playing the female lead, made it a departure from traditional patriotic movies.
Celina Jade, the female lead. Photo: Handout
Domestic films have been suffering a box drought since Lunar New Year. Some analysts argue that the high quality and crowd-pleasing film has come just in time for the industry.
Patriotic Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 packs a Hollywood-style punch at the box office

The first Wolf Warrior, released in 2015, grossed US$89 million in China. With similar nationalistic messages, it tells the story of a special forces officer, played by Wu, fighting foreign mercenaries hired by a drug lord in Xinjiang.

GeneChing

08-10-2017, 08:12 AM

I was hoping to catch this in the theaters but I don't think I'll be able to make it. Well Go USA usually offers me a screener, maybe even a sweepstakes and typically it comes to Netflix eventually.

China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Smashes All-Time Record With $571M Haul (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wolf-warrior-china-box-office-record-holder-1027564)
2:33 AM PDT 8/10/2017 by Abid Rahman

http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/07/3_8-h_2017.jpg
Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
'Wolf Warrior 2'

The action movie, the biggest beneficiary of the summer blackout of Hollywood films in China, eclipsed the mark held by Stephen Chow's 'The Mermaid.'

Wolf Warrior 2 became the biggest grossing film ever at the Chinese box office after collecting a massive $571 million after 14 days.

The action movie took the crown from Stephen Chow's fantasy phenomenon The Mermaid, which earned $527 million during its theatrical run last year. Wolf Warrior 2 also relegated The Fate of the Furious, the most successful Hollywood title in China ever, down to third place.

Wolf Warrior 2 started big with a $130 million debut, but it has really turned heads with its second weekend gross of $161 million.

Wolf Warrior 2's performance is even starker as the first film in the franchise, released in 2015, made a so-so $89.1 million. Moreover, the film was released in the summer months in China, not traditionally seen as a period to make box office hay. The Chinese New Year holiday season, which usually falls in late January and early February, is still the most lucrative period in the release calendar and can turbo charge earnings as it did for The Mermaid did in 2016 and Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga ($252 million) earlier this year.

Despite its summer release, Wolf Warrior 2 has been the biggest beneficiary of the summer blackout of Hollywood films in China, an attempt by the authorities to give local productions a clear run. But the lack of foreign competition alone doesn't account for the stellar success of Wolf Warrior 2, judging by social media engagement the film has struck a chord with Chinese audiences with its overt patriotism and intense and top-quality action scenes.

Written, directed, produced and starring Wu Jing, the film reportedly cost $30 million to make and co-stars Hong Konger Celina Jade and token Hollywood import Frank Grillo (an upgrade on Scott Adkins from the first film). The action takes place in Africa, where a team of Chinese special forces is tasked with freeing their compatriots being held by mercenaries.

An undoubted domestic triumph, there are Hollywood fingerprints on the film. Joe and Anthony Russo, co-directors of the Captain America franchise and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, were consultants on the film via their Chinese studio venture Anthem & Song, which has a strategic partnership with Beijing Culture Media Company, one of the local production companies behind Wolf Warrior 2. The Russos' go-to stunt team, led by veteran action coordinator Sam Hargrave, were a key element behind the highly praised action and fight sequences in Wolf Warrior 2.

Likened to Rambo, Wolf Warriors 2 unashamedly harkens back to the testosterone- and patriotism-fuelled Hollywood films of the 1980s, but this time with a Chinese hero saving the day.

GeneChing

08-10-2017, 09:52 AM

http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/3/704.jpg

RisingTones
Moutai Thanks Hit Movie ‘Wolf Warrior 2’ for Free Advertising (http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1000645/moutai-thanks-hit-movie-wolf-warrior-2-for-free-advertising)
Patriotic action flick has broken China’s all-time box office record.
Zhang Liping

Aug 08, 2017

Chinese box office hit “Wolf Warrior 2” has received a thank-you letter from the president of Kweichow Moutai, the country’s most famous brand of liquor, because of the hero’s propensity to take long swigs of the drink in-between saving the people around him.

The movie, which premiered July 27, tells the story of a former People’s Liberation Army soldier protecting Chinese citizens and local factory workers in an African war zone.

The patriotic overtones have proven popular with audiences. As of Tuesday, “Wolf Warrior 2” has earned more than 3.4 billion yuan ($507 million), breaking China’s all-time box office record, set last year by Hong Kong comedy “The Mermaid.” Wu Jing, 43, both starred in and directed “Wolf Warrior 2,” whose prequel earned 525 million yuan in 2015.

On Monday, Yuan Renguo, president of Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd., congratulated Wu on his success in an open letter on the company’s website. “The movie has hit a new record and become a phenomenon,” Yuan wrote. “The movie is now synonymous with patriotism.”

Kweichow Moutai’s brand of liquor, a premium type of baijiu, or Chinese sorghum liquor, appears in the movie four times. The drink is given about a minute of screen time in total — advertising that the company did not pay for, Yuan said in his letter.

“Your free placement of Moutai, the national liquor, in the movie has once more allowed this famous Chinese brand to impress the world,” Yuan wrote.

http://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/3/705.jpg
A still frame from the film ‘Wolf Warrior II’ shows actor Wu Jing drinking Moutai liquor.

Kweichow Moutai was once favored by Chinese officials but saw its sales drop following President Xi Jinping’s campaign against government extravagance, which launched in 2013. But the liquor maker has started to make a comeback this year: While the company’s production levels have not yet fully recovered, its stock price is on the rise.

Yuan also added that the company had organized screenings of the film for its 30,000 employees, which he said boosted their feelings of nationalism and “company cohesion.”

Many moviegoers also said they were impressed by the patriotic plot of “Wolf Warrior 2.” Tong Yemeng, a 32-year-old office worker from Beijing, told Sixth Tone that she watched the film because of positive reviews from her colleagues and on social media. “I felt so moved and proud of my country when I saw Wu Jing waving the national flag in the war zone,” she said. “It showed our increasing national power.”

Kong Mingzhe, a film enthusiast from Shanghai, told Sixth Tone that the patriotism of “Wolf Warrior 2” was not as over-the-top as in other movies. “Since we are still 20 years behind Hollywood action movies,” he said, “it’s good to see we have such a movie today.”

The movie’s patriotic success can be attributed to its timing, Qian Lijun, a Beijing-based marketing executive, told Sixth Tone. He pointed out that “Wolf Warrior 2” hit cinemas as India and China were involved in a border dispute, as the central government is promoting its international Belt and Road Initiative, and as the People’s Liberation Army celebrated its 90th anniversary.

Qian theorized that the movie serves as an outlet for people’s nationalistic feelings. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t have such a big impact,” he said.

Editor: Kevin Schoenmakers.

(Header image: A still frame from the film ‘Wolf Warrior 2’ shows actor Wu Jing shooting at his enemies. IC)

I missed Baijiu (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?60794-Bai-Jiu) day (8/9 = ba jiu) this year but maybe I can celebrate by just watching Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2)?

GeneChing

08-11-2017, 07:39 AM

I'm just going to launch this thread already (giving the BO, part 3 will surely happen) and copy it to Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) and the Adventurers (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70111-Adventurers).

Headlines from China: Andy Lau Expressed His Interest in Playing in ‘Wolf Warriors 3’
BY CHINAFILMINSIDER AUG 11, 2017

http://chinafilminsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/VCG111123205802-1024x683.jpg
Andy Lau Expressed His Interest in Playing in Wolf Warriors 3

In a recent interview, Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau talked about his upcoming movie The Adventurers, his previous hit movie Infernal Affairs, and the Chinese film market. When Andy was asked about Infernal Affairs, he said that none of the Hong Kong action movies produced over the past 15 years achieved the level of success Infernal Affairs achieved, and co-production might have been one of the important reasons, as co-produced movies try to cater to audiences from different cultures and restrict filmmakers’ creative freedom. In addition, Andy commended on the uncertain nature of the movie industry, saying that he is not sure if he will be invited to play in Wolf Warriors 3, but he will be prepared.

And for reference, here's Wolf Warrior 1 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68576-Wolf-Warrior).

GeneChing

08-15-2017, 08:59 AM

I caught this on Friday and enjoyed the ultravi. I'll have a personal review up later.

Media & Entertainment #BoxOffice
AUG 14, 2017 @ 03:00 PM
Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Cracks 100 All-Time Biggest Grossers List (https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/08/14/box-office-wolf-warrior-2-cracks-100-all-time-biggest-grossers-list/#72e5837c43a4)
Scott Mendelson , CONTRIBUTOR
I cover the film industry.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/scottmendelson/files/2017/08/WechatIMG380.jpg?width=960
Well Go USA Entertainment
'Wolf Warrior 2'

Wolf Warrior 2 has now earned $685 million after earning $83m over its third Fri-Sun frame in China. That’s a mere drop of 50% from last weekend’s record-crushing $162m Fri-Sun frame and down just 41% from its opening weekend of $141m two weeks ago. Yes, the Chinese action sequel made more money in its second weekend than in its opening weekend. Moreover, that $162m Fri-Sun cume was the biggest non-opening weekend ever, ahead of The Force Awakens’ $149m in Christmas of 2015. Sadly, the $83m third frame was below Force Awakens’ $90m third weekend, so no new records there.

The film has earned $683 million in China after 17 days (including Thursday previews), along with $2m in North America on just 32 screens. So, here’s the gist: The film is now the first non-Hollywood release ever to crack the top-100 list of all-time biggest global box office champions. And with around $680m, it is now in 99th place, between Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation ($682.7m in 2015) and The Hunger Games ($694.7m in 2012). I don’t have Monday numbers at the moment (thanks to time zone magic, today is technically Tuesday in China), but if it hasn’t crossed $700m in China already, it will in a day or two.

Speaking of which, with a relative downturn in that third weekend, which would still be insanely leggy for any other movie of this scale, the film is probably not going to catch the $937 million North American gross of Star Wars: The Force Awakens or the worldwide total of Universal/Comcast Corp.'s Despicable Me 3 ($921m-and-counting) to win the summer. But with $680m+ and counting, it is already the third-biggest single-territory gross in history, behind only the North American totals of Avatar ($760m in 2009/2010) and The Force Awakens ($937m in 2015/2016).

By the way, if you don’t count the online ticketing fees that have only recently been included in the respective Chinese box office, then the film actually sits in fifth place in single-territory grosses, with $644 million, or behind Jurassic World ($652m in 2015), Titanic ($658m in 1997/1998 and then 2012) and the other two aforementioned biggies.

But even with that Roger Maris asterisk, it’s all-but-certain to end up in second place behind Walt Disney’s Star Wars sequel when all is said and done. Heck, it’s entirely possible that it will be the biggest-grossing single-territory earner of 2017, as there is no guarantee that Star Wars: The Last Jedi will reach the $800-$850m final total of Wolf Warrior 2’s China run via its North American sprint. But that’s a conversation for another day.

One fun milestone that the Wu Jing action spectacular has already notched is essentially becoming the biggest “part 1 to part 2” jump for any modern sequel where both films played in somewhat wide release. Wolf Warrior 2 has earned $685 million thus far, which is 7.7x the $89m Chinese total of Wolf Warrior back in 2015. If you look at North American sequel jumps, that’s ahead of the likes of Austin Powers ($54m for International Man of Mystery/$204m for The Spy Who Shagged Me) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($39m/$204m) and The Dark Knight ($205m/$534m).

The only two bigger such jumps were for Boondock Saints ($30,471 in five theaters vs. $10.2m for Boondock Saints II in 524 theaters nine years later) and Robert Rodiguez’s gunslinger series ($2m for El Mariachi on 88 screens vs. $25m for Desperado on 2,027 screens). But as you can see, those franchises began as limited runs and went wide for the sequel. Otherwise, Wolf Warrior 2 has taken the biggest such jump for any wide release film (in North America or elsewhere) that I can find.

So, that’s enough for one update. It is all-but-certain that Wolf Warrior 2 will become the second film in history to earned $800 million in a single territory. So now the only questions are how far it’ll go, how well Wolf Warrior 3 will perform and how the almost inevitable English-language, PG-13 remake will play out.

GeneChing

08-16-2017, 08:08 AM

Yes, I did see this last Friday and I will review it here soon. And spoiler alert - I enjoyed it thoroughly. But given it's popularity in China, it did give me pause. These articles touche on some issues that crossed my mind too.

Wolf Warrior movie is a wake-up call too (http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2106577/wolf-warrior-movie-wake-call-too)
China’s new-found confidence is well reflected in the entertaining hit move Wolf Warrior 2, though the stereotypes and generalisation in it have the potential to stir dangerous nationalistic feelings
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 13 August, 2017, 12:57am
UPDATED : Sunday, 13 August, 2017, 12:57am

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/08/13/26d369fa-7f7f-11e7-83c9-6be3df13972a_1280x720_005752.JPG?itok=b5cQ7nsc

China’s new-found place in the world was bound to be eventually reflected in its movies. Chinese audiences have resoundingly taken to the idea, propelling the action film Wolf Warrior 2 into the box-office stratosphere. In a matter of weeks, it has broken all records, crowds in part drawn by the Hollywood-style production elements of fast pace and impressive stunts. But its success can also be put down to national pride, patriotism and recent messages from President Xi Jinping about the nation’s might.

Wolf Warrior 2 was released as the People’s Liberation Army was celebrating its 90th anniversary. The displays of latest-generation naval vessels, aircraft and weapons and the claims by leaders that the military was primed to repel any threat were fresh in the minds of audiences. The on-screen exploits that then unfolded of a tough-guy former soldier who travels to an unspecified African country on special operations to rescue Chinese citizens from Western mercenaries and protect locals was therefore a perfect fit. It also reflected a measure of reality; that three decades of Chinese economic growth and development have led to rising power and influence around the world.
The reason for Wolf Warrior 2’s runaway success in China is what’s keeping Western viewers away

The movie’s hero, Leng Feng, played by the mainland’s first action superstar, Wu Jing, expertly translates those changes onto the big screen. Leng is in the mould of Western fictional characters like James Bond and John Rambo and, like them, he is deeply patriotic for his country and what it stands for, no matter how much he has been wronged. Those rescued have the highest praise for his heroic deeds and superhuman fighting skills. The idea is the same as that articulated in countless Hollywood war and action films, only with a Chinese focus: that China is strong, able to protect Chinese and others anywhere in the world, will act in the best interests of the downtrodden and has to be alert to those eager to exploit.
As Wu’s film shows, that is obviously what mainland audiences proud of the nation’s rise and achievements want to see. Movies are not reality, though, and in a format like that of Wolf Warrior 2, are bound to exaggerate. But while such a blockbuster is highly entertaining, it also, through stereotypes and generalisation, has the potential to stir nationalist feelings. Unchecked, that can lead to arrogance and racism.
There is nothing wrong with being patriotic and loving one’s country. But coupled with a belief that no nation is better and a “them against us” mentality, there is the risk of poor relations with outsiders and domestic instability as a result of finger-pointing. Wolf Warrior 2 reflects China’s growing confidence, but it should also serve as a wake-up call.

China’s Wolf Warriors 2 in ‘war-ravaged Africa’ gives the White Savior complex a whole new meaning (https://qz.com/1052857/chinas-wolf-warrior-2-in-war-ravaged-africa-gives-the-white-savior-complex-a-whole-new-meaning/)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/wolf-warrior-2-poster-21.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600
Saving the day. (Wolf Warrior)

WRITTEN BY Lily Kuo
OBSESSION China in Africa
August 14, 2017 Quartz Africa

In the film Wolf Warriors 2, Leng Feng, a former special forces operative, is on a one-man mission to save Chinese nationals and innocent locals from local rebels and mercenaries in a generic African country. In the film’s trailer, a jeep trawls through a green savannah, passing two lions. African workers dancing around a bonfire at an apparently Chinese-financed factory are attacked by white mercenaries. A busy throughway in a market town comes under fire. Leng, armed with a knife and his martial arts skills, arrives at a compound, telling its occupants, “I’m here to save you.”
Wolf Warriors 2 is now China’s highest grossing film ever, having earned $687.5 million in its first two weeks, takes place on a continent where China’s military muscle and status as a global power are increasingly on display.
The film is a first in other ways. Leng, played by the Chinese action actor Wu Jing, is China’s own version of the White Savior. A Wikipedia entry, referring to American movies, describes the White Savior narrative as “a cinematic trope portraying a white character rescuing people of color from their plight.”

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/wolf-warrior-2-poster-e1502182136809.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
On a mission. (Wolf Warriors 2/Douban)

Leng, a Rambo-style lone wolf fighter who miraculously dodges bullets and uses a mattress to stop a grenade, is charged with getting the adopted African child of a slain Chinese doctor to safety. He’s the first to survive a disease called “lamania” that has killed many locals, thanks to the doctor who discovered the cure before his death.
China has long framed its partnerships in Africa as alliances of equals, built around mutual economic benefit. Now, China is stepping up its role as a humanitarian actor and protector of world peace. Earlier this month, China opened its first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. It has 700 peacekeepers in South Sudan where it is also sending medical teams and food supplies.
Wolf Warrior 2, China's highest grossing film ever, takes place in generic "war-ravaged Africa."

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/screenshot-of-trailer-for-wolf-warrior-2.png?w=640
A screenshot of the official trailer for Wolf Warrior 2. (Youtube/HK Cinema)

When two Chinese peacekeepers were killed in fighting in South Sudan last year, Chinese officials and media described the men as heroes and their deaths as the price of China’s new status($) as a major power. Despite concerns about the experience and capabilities of Chinese peacekeepers, Chinese president Xi Jinping has pledged to increase China’s peacekeeping force to 8,000 troops, from the 2,600 deployed today.
Like many Western films before it, the specifics of the African setting of Wolf Warriors 2 are irrelevant. The film was mostly shot in China and in Soweto in South Africa, but no country is ever named. Leng’s colleagues say they like Africa because of its good food, scenery, attractive women, and the opportunity to use their weapons.
Reaction to the film in China has been mixed, we reported earlier this week, with the film receiving only 7.5 out of 10 on the film portal Douban. Commenters called the movie’s appeal to a sense of patriotism “phony” and testosterone-fueled. “The film tells us Chinese people can also save the world,” one commentator said.

GeneChing

08-21-2017, 08:49 AM

Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) continues to dominate - plus some news on Sha Po Lang 3: Paradox (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70354-Sha-Po-Lang-3-Paradox)

Doubt it'll catch Force Awakens (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?64710-Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens) though.

China Box Office: 'Wolf Warrior 2' Becomes Second-Biggest Single-Market Film Ever After 'Force Awakens' (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-wolf-warrior-2-becomes-second-biggest-single-market-film-ever-force-awakens-1031143)
8:14 PM PDT 8/20/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn4.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/08/wechatimg380-h_2017.jpg
Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
'Wolf Warrior 2'

The Chinese juggernaut climbed to $769 million and nudged aside 'Avatar' in the single-territory charts, with only 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' having earned more from one territory.

Wolf Warrior 2 devoured the competition for a fourth consecutive weekend at the Chinese box office.

The runaway action phenomenon, starring and directed by Wu Jing, added $35.7 million, lifting its local total to an astonishing $768.5 million after 25 days. The blockbuster also climbed higher in the all-time record books, nudging aside Avatar ($760.5 million) to become the second-biggest film ever in a single market. Only Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned more from one territory (($936.7 million, North America).

Hong Kong-Chinese genre vehicle Paradox — the third film in Wilson Yip's SPL action franchise — came closest to unseating Wolf Warriors to date, earning $31.6 million from Friday to Sunday. The crime film, which stars Louis Koo and Thailand's Tony Jaa, opened Thursday and actually topped Wolf Warriors on its first two days. But it quickly fell far behind on Saturday and Sunday to finished the weekend in second place. The film's Thursday-to-Sunday debut totaled $41.4 million, just a notch below the $43.4 million four-day opening of its predecessor, SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015).

Twenty Two, a documentary about the lives of the last surviving Chinese women who experienced forced prostitution at the hands of the Japanese military during WWII, opened Monday (Aug. 14) with just $610,000. But heavy buzz on social media helped the film expand throughout the week, lifting it to third for the weekend with $9 million. By Sunday, Twenty Two's six-day total sat at $18.6 million — an uncommonly strong showing for a nonfiction film in China.

Other new releases included iQiyi Pictures' animated franchise title Seer Movie 6: Invincible Puni, which opened in fourth with $9.3 million, just ahead of Tencent's animated sequel One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes 2 at $8.6 million.

China's annual policy of blocking Hollywood releases during the late-summer blockbuster season — known locally as "domestic film industry protection month" — will come to a close this week when Luc Besson's Valerian, Disney's Cars 3 and Sony's Baby Driver open simultaneously Friday.

GeneChing

08-22-2017, 09:41 AM

Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) rekindled Chollywood's rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising).

Wolf Warrior 2 and the Future of Imported Films in China (http://www.chinalawblog.com/2017/08/wolf-warrior-2-and-the-future-of-imported-films-in-china.html)
By Matthew Dresden on August 21, 2017
POSTED IN CHINA BUSINESS, CHINA FILM INDUSTRY

http://www.chinalawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/110/2017/08/CELINA_JADE_with_WU_JING_Wolf_Warrior_2-600x400.jpg

What a wild ride it’s been for the Chinese film industry! Until July 27, it had been a year of one depressing story after another. Downward-trending box office, high-flying entertainment companies imploding, deals to purchase foreign assets falling through, the biggest movie studio on the planet sold to a real estate developer, the can’t miss co-production The Great Wall tanking. Even the Transformers franchise couldn’t save the day, with the latest installment performing well below expectations in China.

But on July 27, the action film Wolf Warrior 2 opened, and within 12 days of its release it had already become the highest-grossing film of all time in China. As of this writing the film has pulled in more than $720 million in China alone. The narratives are almost writing themselves, with pundits trying to explain why Chinese people are going in droves to see a jingoistic film about a Chinese special forces operative in Africa.

I’m not going to wade into those waters except to note William Goldman’s aphorism that when it comes to the film business, “Nobody knows anything.” The phenomenal success of Wolf Warrior 2 was anything but a foregone conclusion. The first movie was a surprise hit, earning about $89 million, but it’s not like people were lining up Episode 1-style for a sequel. Back in May, Wolf Warrior 2 was pilloried online when it came to light that its trailer had lifted footage from X-Men: First Class. Moreover, Wolf Warrior 2 was released on the same date as the government-backed propaganda film The Founding of an Army, and the latter was allotted the lion’s share of screens.

This movie – this particular movie – couldn’t have come at a better time for China. Hollywood is in the midst of negotiating the terms of foreign (read: Hollywood) films’ market access to China. American studios find China’s protectionism exasperating on multiple levels, with the biggest complaints being (1) the quota system, which only allows 34 foreign films (largely US studio films) each year on a revenue-sharing basis (2) the low percentage of receipts allotted to the foreign studio (currently 25%) for such revenue-sharing films, and (3) the foreign studio’s inability to control the release date. The last point is more serious than might immediately be apparent – not only does the Chinese government determine when each film will be released (via a largely opaque process), it also imposes unofficial blackouts during which no new foreign films are allowed to be released.

Aside from discussions about WTO obligations and fair play, US studios’ best argument for expanding access to the Chinese film market has been an economic one: Chinese audiences want to see American movies (and don’t particularly want to see Chinese movies), and with thousands of new screens every year, Chinese movie theaters need movies people want to see. In other words, limiting the number of American movies hurts the Chinese economy.

Setting aside the fallacy that the Chinese government’s interests are aligned with those of Chinese theater owners, the success of Wolf Warrior 2 upends all of those arguments. Wolf Warrior 2 was released on the first day of a blackout period, and it is already the most successful movie in Chinese history. It is a Chinese-made movie, with purely (even exclusively) Chinese content, and Chinese theaters are raking in the money – and not having to send any of it overseas. The Chinese government will likely infer that Wolf Warrior 2’s success is not in spite of their protectionist policies, but because of them. And President Trump’s saber-rattling about a trade war isn’t likely to improve their attitude.

I certainly hope the U.S. negotiating team is able to make some headway, but U.S. studios and production companies shouldn’t assume anything. They need a backup plan, and right now the best one seems to be investing in and otherwise creating productions in China solely for the Chinese market. A number of studios and production companies are already going down this road, and I think it’s the smart play. Better to be an investor in the next Wolf Warrior than to be shut out completely.

GeneChing

08-22-2017, 09:59 AM

I'm sure Wu Jing is crying all the way to the bank.

Chinese netizens are so feckin catty. I imagine it's because of the censorship.

http://www.ejinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1637019_b451fd9c727bc208c89834a04eb96611-692x360.jpg
Wu Jing made Wolf Warriors 2 for a measly 200 million yuan. The movie has now grossed 4 billion yuan at the box office. Photo: new.china.com

Chung Man
Aug 21, 2017 9:41am
How Wu Jing’s patriotic blockbuster backfired on him (http://www.ejinsight.com/20180821-how-wu-jings-patriotic-blockbuster-backfired-on-him/)

Recently, the mega-hit Chinese action thriller Wolf Warriors 2 directed by and starring martial artist and actor Wu Jing has taken the mainland by storm and become a huge sensation among Chinese moviegoers.

The box office results indeed spoke volumes about how well-received the movie was: despite being a “B” movie with a budget of just 200 million yuan, Wolf Warriors 2 has so far grossed a whopping 4 billion yuan in box office across the country.

The story of Wolf Warriors 2 is set in today’s Africa, in which a People’s Liberation Army soldier, Leng Feng, played by Wu Jing manages to save, against all odds, the lives of hundreds of civilians during an armed rebellion orchestrated by “western villains” in an African country. In the movie, Wu Jing not only demonstrates extraordinary intelligence, bravery, gallantry as well as dazzling kung fu, but also remarkable patriotism.

One of Leng Feng’s most frequently spoken lines in the movie is: “Whoever dares to lay a finger on my beloved country, I’ll get them, no matter how far they are.”

And at the end of the movie, a string of words printed on a page of a mock-up Chinese passport is given a close-up shot, which reads: “no matter what kind of danger you have encountered overseas, remember, your mighty motherland always has your back.”

Apart from being packed with intense and nail-biting fight scenes, Wolf Warriors 2 also showcases a lot of China’s fancy and state-of-the-art weapons.

However, what truly makes the movie such a huge box office success is actually not its fight scenes and fancy weapons, but rather, the patriotic and nationalist themes it pitches, which have just hit exactly the right note with mainland viewers at a time when ultra-nationalist sentiment is prevailing across the nation.

Another crucial factor behind its commercial success is its endorsement by mainland officialdom because the film toes Beijing’s current hawkish patriotic line under President Xi Jinping.

However, as it turns out, ultra-nationalism is indeed a double-edged sword. While Wu Jing has made a lot of money with his movie that pitches ultra-nationalism, ironically he has also recently found himself at the receiving end of the patriotic emotions his movie has evoked.

At a recent public event, Wu once again recited the string of words that appeared at the end of his movie, and added that “the passport of the People’s Republic of China might not be able to bring you everywhere around the world, but it can certainly bring you home safe no matter where you are and what troubles you have run into.”

Yet, much to his surprise, Wu immediately came under fire from mainland netizens for being hypocritical, since, they pointed out, Wu himself has acquired the citizenship of Hong Kong, while his wife is a green card holder, not to mention that his son was born in the UK and is therefore a British citizen.

As some angry mainland netizens put it: “what a bloody nerve that a guy who has given up his Chinese citizenship is telling people to love their motherland.”

Worse still, after Wu had donated one million yuan to the victims of the recent Sichuan earthquake, he drew more ridicule and criticism from netizens, resulting in an open season on him online.

Many netizens accused Wu of being a penny-pincher because he had only donated one million yuan, which was peanuts compared to the big bucks he had made with his recent blockbuster.

There were also many others who mocked that he should have donated 100 million, 500 million yuan or even all the money made from the movie to the earthquake victims in order to prove that he is not just a patriot on the big screen, but also a genuine patriot in real life as well.

Amid the public ridicule, all Wu could do was bite the bullet and remain silent, as he was well aware that any rebuttal from him would only provoke further public backlash.

Many movie critics in the mainland have often compared Wu’s Wolf Warriors series to the First Blood series starring Sylvester Stallone in the 1980s.

Ironically, while Wu, the Chinese equivalent of Rambo, is always invincible on the big screen, in real life he turns out to be completely vulnerable and powerless in the face of the online lynching.

This article appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on Aug. 18

Translation by Alan Lee

GeneChing

08-23-2017, 08:50 AM

I've been waiting for this review, waiting for this other shoe to drop. The important distinction to make here is that Grillo et.al. play American mercenaries, former U.S. military but not active.

Anyone else see this yet aside from me?

August 22, 2017 2:03 pm
China’s biggest movie franchise is obsessed with killing Americans (http://rare.us/rare-news/chinas-biggest-movie-franchise-is-obsessed-with-killing-americans/)

“Wolf Warrior 2,” the biggest movie in China, has raked in $768.5 million at the box office since it debuted on July 28. That’s an incredible amount of money, far more than the domestic box office total for James Cameron’s “Avatar.” The $30 million film is the most successful one in Chinese history. It’s grossed 45 percent more than the last movie to bust that record, last year’s “The Mermaid,” which took in $527 million.

There’s one big difference between “The Mermaid” and “Wolf Warrior 2,” though: only one of them has American villains.

Films in the “Wolf Warrior” series have the conventional action movie setup: a lone, spectacularly-talented-and-potentially-flawed character takes on group of bad guys and beats them after a series of explosions and fight sequences.

But in both films, the villain is an American.

The original “Wolf Warrior” pitted action star Wu Jing against former Navy SEAL “Tom Cat,” played by Scott Atkins. Backed by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Wu Jing’s character takes on Tom Cat, intent on assassinating him, as well as a plot to “smuggle blood samples out of China so that Western countries can ‘manufacture medicine and food products harmful to Chinese health based on their DNA.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec7LY8dLYSc

In the sequel, Wu Jing goes to Africa to fight “Big Daddy,” an American mercenary who, at the peak of the fight, gets a knife to Wu’s throat and tells him “Get used to it. People like me will always be better than people like you.” Wu, countering, cuts Big Daddy’s throat and tells the cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking character “That’s ****ing history” as a line of cruise missiles fired by the Chinese Navy destroy Big Daddy’s forces.

American films, of course, have portrayed many nations as American adversaries, including China.

But that’s tempered in recent years; China has the second-largest market for films in the world, and the government restricts the number of foreign films that make it to screens in the country. Since they automatically blacklist films critical of the nation, some films (Transformers 4, for example) actually cast China in an openly positive light, hoping to be greenlit and well-distributed.

The remake of “Red Dawn” (2012) was the last major motion picture to cast a Chinese enemy.

Patrick McMahon, Rare Staff

Ha! We remember Red Dawn (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1072). The Chinese were NOT the enemy, at least not after some digital tweaks. This author needs to get his facts straight.

GeneChing

08-23-2017, 08:55 AM

'Wolf Warrior II' Star Frank Grillo on How China's $780M Blockbuster Was Made (Q&A) (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wolf-warrior-2-star-frank-grillo-how-chinas-780m-blockbuster-was-made-1031929)
10:10 PM PDT 8/22/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn5.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/05/frank_grillo_h_2016.jpg
Barry King/Getty Images
Frank Grillo

The megahit's only American actor discusses becoming an overnight celebrity in the Middle Kingdom, why director Wu Jing is the "next global superstar" and what Hollywood can learn from the film's success.

As Hollywood remains mired in a downturn at the North American box office, Chinese action movie Wolf Warrior II has firmly established itself as the blockbuster phenomenon of the summer.

With a budget of just $30 million, the film opened in China on July 27 and has earned an astonishing $780 million since. That makes it both China's highest-grossing film ever (Stephen Chow's The Mermaid now sits in a distant second at $527 million) and the second-biggest movie of all time in a single market, with only Star Wars: The Force Awakens having earned more from one territory ($936.7 million, North America).

Written by, directed by and starring Chinese martial artist Wu Jing, the film follows a former Chinese special-forces operative as he battles bloodthirsty Western mercenaries to protect Chinese civilians caught up in an African civil war. The central theme of the film — which is often likened to Rambo — is well encapsulated by the strident jingoism of its tagline: "Whoever offends China will be hunted down no matter how far away they are."

Insiders point to two intertwined factors behind Wolf Warrior II's profound resonance with the Chinese audience: Hollywood-caliber action coupled with a story about unrestrained pride in Chinese national identity.

The heavy dose of Hollywood came courtesy of Marvel mainstays Joe and Anthony Russo (co-directors of the Captain America franchise), who consulted on the project via their Chinese studio venture Anthem & Song, which has a strategic partnership with Beijing Culture Media, the film's lead local producer. The Russos arranged for their usual stunt team, led by veteran stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave (The Avengers, Suicide Squad, The Hunger Games), to join the project and elevate its action. They also introduced the American actor who would play the film's villain, Frank Grillo.

Grillo is a familiar face in Hollywood action projects, having played key parts in films like Warrior (2011), The Grey (2011) and the Purge franchise (2014-2016), as well as the villain Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But his starring role in Wolf Warrior II, which is set to cross $800 million next weekend, will probably come to be viewed as his biggest break to date.

Grillo plays the ruthless American mercenary Big Daddy, who faces off against Wu Jing in a final fight scene that even the film's detractors have tended to praise as simply eye-popping.

"To say that Wu Jing has his thumb on the pulse on what the Chinese people need cinematically is a gross understatement," says Grillo.

THR gave Grillo a call this week to ask him what it was like working on China's biggest movie ever, how it feels to suddenly become an A-list star in the world's most populous nation and why Hollywood should regard Wolf Warrior II as a wake-up call.

How did you originally get involved in this film?

Joe Russo had thrown my name in the hat, and they responded and came to me with this offer. And frankly, I was intrigued because it was Chinese. Everyone in Hollywood is trying to get into the Chinese market, or has tried and failed, or is already in co-productions. I think this is good business. I spoke with Wu Jing and absolutely fell in love with him, and it was a no-brainer. They were generous and terrific to talk to — so that's it, I'm going to China.

What were your expectations going into the project, and what's your reaction to the phenomenon it's become?

I had very low expectations. I had seen the first film, and I thought it was cool in terms of the Chinese cinema I had seen. You know, having been involved in the Marvel world or even the Purge films, the production values are a bit higher on this side. I just thought, if it's a solid success again in China, that will be great. And then this explosion happened. We just surpassed Avatar and we're only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the No. 2 movie in a single market in the history of cinema. So to say that Wu Jing has his thumb on the pulse of what the Chinese people need cinematically is a gross understatement. I'm blown away by it all.

It's always hard to pinpoint precisely why a given movie connects with an audience. But what's your take on why the Chinese have embraced this movie so strongly?

Not to be a jerky overblown actor guy, but I think it goes back to what we do as storytellers — how we continue legacies and pass on our history through storytelling. I think Wu Jing was aware of what he was doing; it's no accident. There's a consciousness that has been developing in China. Maybe it started in 2008 when the country started opening to the world and consumerism became a bigger part of the culture. People say this movie is nationalistic and it's propaganda — and in a sense, it is. But this pride in China is real, and the audience wants to believe that being Chinese means something special. Wu Jing has touched upon something that the world needs to take note of and say, "Wow, this is interesting; this is something important."

Particularly with what's going on in our country, where it's a mess. You can't elect a clown and not expect a circus. I think a lot of Americans are trying to hang onto our own sense of dignity — we're going back to look at videos of John F. Kennedy and trying to understand how to make some sense of what's going on today.

continued next post

GeneChing

08-23-2017, 08:55 AM

What was your experience like on set, and how did it compare to film shoots in the U.S.?

Well, you know, there are no unions in China, and it's not regulated in the same way movies are in Hollywood. So it was more of an independent feel — run and gun. But what the Russo brothers did was they implemented Sam Hargrave and his team, who are the best in the business in stunts, action and fighting. They elevated all of the action to the level that they're used to, which is the standard of a Marvel movie — and that's the top of the food chain. So it was great for me. I had friends there, and Wu Jing and the Chinese team were fantastic to work with — I had a wonderful experience.

How do you think this film will affect the course of your career, now that you're a recognizable face to hundreds of millions of people in China?

This is the kind of business where a phone call or the right role can change the course of your life. It's not unlike the lottery. I've gotten calls from people saying, "Right now you're bigger than Matt Damon in China." And I'm like, what?! I don't know if it's true, but it's crazy to me that people are even saying it. I'm already in talks with Joe Russo to do something kind of Lethal Weapon-ish with a Chinese superstar. CAA has already put me together with a bunch of Chinese production companies. So, it's absolutely already changed my career. I loved my experience in China, so if my star — whatever it is — has risen to a point that allows me to go and make more movies like this in China, I am in 1,000 percent.

Leading-question alert: In China, local movies have tended to beat Hollywood imports in the comedy and romance genres because Chinese viewers naturally want to see their own language and culture on the screen. But Hollywood has always dominated in the action and effects-heavy tentpole category. Wolf Warrior II is perhaps the first Chinese action flick with Hollywood-level production values — and it has outperformed any Hollywood movie ever there. Should U.S. studios be worried about their competitive edge?

Yeah, I do think they should be concerned. If Chinese studios hire the right experienced people — which their market can support now — Chinese action movies can compete head-to-head with Hollywood at the local box office. This movie shows that.

What should really worry Hollywood is when the next iteration of Chinese films starts showing signs of crossing over. Wolf Warrior II is amazing, and it's done some business overseas, but it's mostly a Chinese film for China. When directors like Joe Russo, who understand story from a very global perspective, start working more and more with Chinese filmmakers, you'll start seeing Chinese films that connect with audiences all over Asia, Europe and South America — maybe even North America. That's what will break China out of the home market and make them a big threat to Hollywood's dominance. (Wolf Warrior II has earned $2.3 million in North America since its release on July 28. U.S. distributor The H Collective says it is planning to expand the release in the coming weeks because of audience curiosity over the film's huge China performance.)

There's obviously tremendous interest in Wu Jing now. What can you tell us about him?

I think he's the next Jackie Chan. He's that guy. He can do anything physical. He's charming, handsome and smart. He understands filmmaking. He's open, collaborative and fun to work with. I think this guy is the next global megastar.

What should people in the U.S. who don't normally watch much Chinese cinema know about this film?

People from around the world who don't live in China and don't take in many Chinese movies — they should just see it. Because a movie that has resonated so deeply in a country of 1.3 billion people needs to be seen. Whether you agree with the politics or not, whether you think it's up to snuff with other action movies or not, it's part of history now. People should see it for themselves and try to understand it.

Solid interview with Frank Grillo. I think he comes off very eloquent on this and no one has insight like he does in this particular situation.

GeneChing

08-25-2017, 08:50 AM

Okay, here's that review I've been promising to post for two weeks. Gotta get it out before Birth of the Dragon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67701-Birth-of-the-Dragon) so I'm catching up on forum reviews (see my Atomic Blonde review (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70144-Atomic-Blonde&p=1304528#post1304528) just posted minutes ago too).

Right. Wolf Warrior 2. Wow. What extraordinary ultravi. It is action packed - full auto tank battle explosion action. Wu Jing delivers some major gratuitous ultravi. It's quick cut choreography, one cut, one action, the Russo style which isn't really to my liking after being spoiled by those full-body long single shot fight sequences from classic Shaw Brothers films, but it's still satisfying in its complexity. There's a plot about rebels in Africa, and a plague, but that only serves to catch your breath. The rest is explosions and gunfire. Wu Jing can really move, giving his balletic gunplay an air of grace. There are themes of loyalty, racism, justice, revenge, but mostly patriotism. Gaping plot holes and absurd action (classic bad guys who can't shoot the good guys even though they are running about without cover) but who cares? Just blow up more stuff. Wu Jing vs Grillo finale fight is gritty bloody fun. I'm still not sure what it says about the PRC now but I'm not going to think on that too hard for now. I'm going to defer to what Grillo said in his interview posted above. Grillo really earned my respect with that, and with this film.

The theater I saw it in was fairly full, which is rare because usually when I go to these U.S. theatrical showings, I'm one of the only people in the house. The predominantly Chinese audience applauded at the end.

GeneChing

08-28-2017, 08:46 AM

China's Alibaba Pictures Pacts With 'Wolf Warrior II' Production Company (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-alibaba-pictures-pacts-wolf-warrior-ii-production-company-1033284)
3:02 AM PDT 8/28/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/08/yu_yong_fu_6yue_zai_shang_hai_dian_ying_jie_ti_chu _a_li_ying_ye_zuo_dian_ying_chan_ye_de_xin_ji_chu_ she_shi_.jpg
Alibaba Pictures Group
Alibaba Pictures CEO Fan Luyuan

Jack Ma's film studio says it will work closely with Beijing Culture on film financing, marketing and distribution after the studio's latest release pulled in more than $800 million.

Jack Ma's Alibaba Pictures Group has formed a strategic partnership with Beijing Culture, one of the production companies behind Wolf Warrior II, China's biggest blockbuster of all time.

The partnership was unveiled at a press conference in central Beijing on Friday. The two companies said they would cooperate in areas spanning film financing, promotion and distribution, along with movie merchandising.

Fan Luyuan, Alibaba Pictures' newly appointed CEO, pointed to the partners' recent collaboration on Wolf Warriors II as an example of the scale of success that's possible when Chinese stakeholders work together to get the formula right — while also leveraging the internet prowess of tech giants like Alibaba.

"We want to be part of the infrastructure of China’s movie industry,” Fan said.

Written by, directed by and starring Chinese martial artist Wu Jing, Wolf Warrior II has earned a colossal $810 million in China since its release on July 26. Fan said some 40 percent of all Wolf Warrior II ticket sales were transacted over Alibaba's Taopiaopiao mobile ticketing platform. The service also was used to drive marketing and merchandising offers to filmgoers.

Beijing Culture has been amassing a powerful collection of partners. In April 2016, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Anthem and Song, the Chinese studio venture set up by Joe and Anthony Russo, the Hollywood directors of Marvel's Captain America franchise. That tie-up proved especially fruitful for Wolf Warrior II, on which the Russos consulted and provided their usual stunt team, led by veteran stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave (The Avengers, Suicide Squad, The Hunger Games), elevating its action to a Hollywood standard. The Russos also introduced the film's villain, Frank Grillo, to their Chinese partners.

"For China's film industry infrastructure to be improved, we need to work together," said Alibaba's Fan.

Beijing Culture produces and distributes films, television and internet series, as well as runs a talent agency. The studio's next release will be Feng Xiaogang's period drama Youth, written by popular Chinese novelist Yan Geling, out in China on Sept. 30.

I doubt Youth will do as well. But then again, I had no idea Wolf Warriors 2 would do well.

Alibaba (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69642-Jack-Ma-amp-Alibaba) & Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2)

GeneChing

08-28-2017, 09:21 AM

Hong Kong director Wilson Yip on SPL instalment Paradox, Wu Jing’s rise and Bruce Lee’s key part in the upcoming Ip Man 4 (http://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2107937/hong-kong-director-wilson-yip-spl-instalment-paradox-wu-jings-rise)
Filmmaker explains his casting of Louis Koo in a martial arts action film, says he’s not surprised SPL stars Donnie Yen and Wu Jing have become superstars, and talks about Ip Man 4’s focus on the relationship between Ip Man and Lee
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 23 August, 2017, 2:16pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 23 August, 2017, 4:58pm
Edmund Lee
edmund.lee@scmp.com

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/08/23/723801fa-86ee-11e7-8f03-5f0754277a16_1280x720_143823.JPG?itok=B21UcT7P

Fans of Chinese kung fu cinema will recall the deadly fight scene between Donnie Yen Ji-dan and Wu Jing in the 2005 action film SPL – Hong Kong director Wilson Yip Wai-shun’s ambitious attempt to blend the gritty narrative of crime thrillers with bone-crunching violence delivered by top martial arts actors.

“In my opinion, that scene in particular looked like it’s coming from a wuxia film – even though the characters are in contemporary clothing,” says Yip. “Some of Johnnie To’s films, like Running Out of Time, also play like wuxia movies. SPL is a bit similar to that in style.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H-3NKj8yO8

While SPL was – even by Yip’s own account – “quite a weird movie”, it struck a chord with many movie fans, who have since seen both its main actors rise to superstardom – Yen via the Ip Man films, also directed by Yip, including Ip Man 3 , and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Wu with the record-breaking Wolf Warrior 2 .

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Yip, 53, handed the directing duties to close friend and long-time work partner Soi Cheang Pou-soi (The Monkey King 2) when a sequel to SPL was made in 2015. By reshuffling its plot elements for a new story, SPL2: A Time for Consequences – on which Yip served as both producer and script consultant – provided an efficient template for future instalments to follow.
In new film Paradox – which Yip curiously refuses to call “SPL3” but is really just that in all but name – the franchise’s fixation on karma and destiny finds a new expression with the recasting of the previous chapter’s villain as the film’s hero: just as Wu Jing went from playing the protagonist’s nemesis in SPL to the hero in SPL2, Louis Koo Tin-lok has followed the same path between SPL2 and Paradox.

“It’s a coincidence,” says Yip, who reveals that his original intention was to tell the origin story of Koo’s character in SPL2 – the evil leader of an organ-trafficking syndicate – until he realised that this amoral tale was never going to get past the censors. Instead, the director turned to an idea that had been gestating since he watched the Liam Neeson vehicle Taken in 2008.
“It’s true that Taken has a considerable influence on me,” he admits. “I remember very well that I showed it to Sammo Hung Kam-bo when we were shooting the first Ip Man film; it’s a really great movie. I’ve kept the story inside me as a potential idea. … Here, I’ve used a father’s search for his daughter as the story’s starting point, but after that, our films [diverge].”

In Paradox, Koo plays a Hong Kong policeman who arrives in Thailand to look for his teenage daughter after she is abducted there. As a widower who can’t afford to see his only child in peril, Koo turns into a vengeful killing machine on his way to tracking down the organ traders responsible for his daughter’s disappearance.

The casting of Koo in the intense action film – featuring splendid action choreography by Hung – represents a statement of sorts by Yip, who explains that he wanted to show he “could still make an SPL film even without a brilliant martial arts actor in the lead”.
“I would just as comfortably label a film SPL even if it’s all gunfights. I think of this simply as an action series with strong dramatic elements,” the director says.

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While it remains to be seen whether Koo will replicate the meteoric rise of Yen and Wu after their respective star turns in SPL and SPL2, Yip isn’t surprised by the subsequent success of his regular leading men.

“Actually, you could see the signs,” he says. “After Yen made SPL, people in the industry were all waiting for him [to make it big]; we all considered him a really capable veteran.

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“Wu, at that time, was also doing great. He didn’t have many scenes in [Tsui Hark’s] The Legend of Zu (2001), but [as a] teenager [he] was already very eye-catching. [These actors] need time [to develop] – and 20 years after [he started his acting career], Wu Jing is taking flight. As a martial arts actor, you usually need some time [to make the next step].”

Yip will reunite with Yen on Ip Man 4, his next directorial project. The filmmaker is currently developing the script, and hopes to start shooting in 2018 and release the film by the end of that year.
“In Ip Man 4, I’m inclined to show how Ip Man views his relationship with Bruce Lee,” Yip says of the real-life teacher-student pair around which the film will be based. Danny Chan Kwok-kwan is – if his schedule allows – Ip’s preferred actor to reprise his role in Ip Man 3 as Lee, who, Yip says, will have “a very important presence” in the new film.

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“[The story] won’t be just about Ip Man,” says Yip. “How in reality did Chinese martial arts practitioners live after they went overseas in the 1960s and ’70s? [The film will explore this] through Lee and his martial arts school the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, and his relationship with Ip.”

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In the meantime, the SPL series is also set to roll on for a fourth instalment, which is still in the scriptwriting stage and won’t be ready for shooting until next year at the earliest. To many people, the fact SPL2’s Soi Cheang will return to direct the fourth instalment may be less of a surprise than Yip’s decision to label that film SPL3.

“I don’t treat Paradox as SPL3,” he reiterates. “I don’t know why, but I didn’t include the name ‘SPL’ [in the Chinese film title] at first. It’s only when I wanted to tell the audience about the tone of my film that I added SPL to it.”
(From left) Tony Jaa, Louis Koo and Wu Yue in Paradox.
I tell Yip that his resolve to name the fourth instalment SPL3 is going to cause a great deal of confusion for everyone involved. “Never mind, we’ll deal with it when it’s here. That’s fate,” he says with a chuckle, before adding: “Or maybe we should call that SPL4 instead? It’s just a name.”

Paradox opens on August 25

SPL3: Paradox (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70354-Sha-Po-Lang-3-Paradox) + Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) & Ip Man 4 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69747-Ip-Man-4)

GeneChing

08-30-2017, 09:29 AM

Shoulda seen this one coming...

Chinese Box Office Smash Hit ‘Wolf Warriors’ Set To Become TV Show (http://chinafilminsider.com/chinese-box-office-smash-hit-wolf-warriors-set-become-tv-show/)
BY FERGUS RYAN AUG 30, 2017

The jingoistic action thriller that has taken China by storm is now heading for the small screen.

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Official still of ‘Wolf Warriors 2’

‘Wolf Warriors II’ (战狼II) rode a wave of patriotic fervor to become the second film in history to reach $800 million in a single territory over the weekend, and now it’s heading for the small screen.

The 2006 military novel that inspired the Chinese box office hit will be adapted into a new TV series, the film’s executive producer Han Hao confirmed this week.

“A deal was made last year for the IP of the novel, so the show is a certainty,” Han said in an interview with the Yangtse Evening Post on Monday.

‘Dan Hen’ (弹痕), which translates as “Bullet Hole”, is a hit online novel by writer Dong Qun which he wrote under the pseudonym Fen Wu Yao Ji. Originally published on literature site Qidian Chinese, the novel has garnered a cult following since it was first published in 2006. Dong Fun later became the main scriptwriter for Wolf Warriors II, which is based on his work.

Wolf Warriors II, the second installment of the Wolf Warriors series, became the second film in history to reach US$800 million in box office in a single territory. It is the only non-English film to make it to the top 100 across the globe.

The film tells the story of a Chinese special forces operative who takes on missions around the world and finds himself in the midst of an African coup against vicious foreign mercenaries.

Han told the Yangtse Evening Post that the TV show will need to distinguish itself from simlalir shows that are already flooding the Chinese entertainment market. “It will need to be different,” he said.

Filming for the show is set to kick off next year, but casting is already under way. Wu Jing, the lead actor, and director of the Wolf Warriors movies will not take part in the TV series.

The news comes as Wolf Warriors II has been crowned as China’s top grossing film in history, an achievement made within only a month of its debut on July 27. Second-tier Chinese cities have taken the lion’s share of the sales, according to online movie tickets platform Maoyan.

Despite the outsized success of the film, reaction to the announcement it is being turned into a TV show was met with skepticism and derision online.

Many Weibo users scorned what they saw as a cynical ‘churning out’ of derivative products to capitalize on the Wolf Warriors fever – something they think will be counterproductive. “Stop the hype, people are going to lose their interest,” said one Weibo user. “Nothing can guarantee its success, the smash hit success of Wolf Warriors II can’t be copied so easily,” said another.

Additional reporting Amber Ziye Wang

GeneChing

09-01-2017, 09:00 AM

‘Wolf Warrior II’s’ Massive Success Forces Studios to Rethink China Approach (http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/china-wolf-warrior-ii-1202543266/)
Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/wolf-warrior-ii.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
COURTESY OF WEI HONG YUAN
AUGUST 31, 2017 | 10:00AM PT

As the Chinese box office sagged alarmingly for an entire year, from July 2016 to June 2017, filmmakers and studios in the Middle Kingdom began desperately searching for answers. Many concluded that bigger Chinese properties were the solution and banked on new, higher-quality franchises coming on stream in 2018.

No one was paying much attention to “Wolf Warrior II.” They are now.

Since its July 27 debut in China, the action thriller has confounded expectations to become a box office stunner. In less than two days, it surpassed the $88 million scored by the franchise’s first installment in 2015. Ten days later, it overtook last year’s sensation, “The Mermaid,” as China’s top-grossing film of all time. Now, its $810 million take after just five weekends has made “Wolf Warrior II” the second-highest-earning title in a single territory in history, behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in North America.

In the process, it has sparked rethinking in both China and Hollywood over how best to approach and exploit the Chinese movie market, which is on track to become the world’s largest in the next few years. “Wolf Warrior II” shows just what a well-crafted Chinese film — made with some foreign help — can do.

The movie features a muscular, adrenaline-fueled story whose unstoppable hero is a former member of a fictitious Chinese special ops unit called the Wolf Warriors. The action takes place in an unnamed African country where China has built hospitals and provided factory jobs for the locals; the bad guys are revolutionaries and Western mercenaries. (If the politics sound jarring, just swap the nationalities.)

Chinese audiences have responded strongly to the film’s patriotism and to the relentless action provided by former martial arts star Wu Jing as both director and protagonist.

“China has found its ‘Rambo.’ This is definitely an important event.”
RANCE POW, ARTISAN GATEWAY
“It is a feel-good story for the Chinese population. The hero is a military guy, and the message is that he treats everyone equally. It is very modern, there’s a touch of comedy, and some 30% is spoken in English,” says Jeff Yip, business development director at The H Collective, a new U.S.-Chinese production and distribution firm. The company owns the rights to “Wolf Warrior II” for North America, where the film has made more than $2.3 million. A gross of $1 million is considered a hit for a Chinese movie Stateside, but the unparalleled performance of “Wolf Warrior II” in China has piqued greater interest. An Imax conversion that bowed Aug. 25 was given a limited outing in the U.S.

The movie isn’t the product of one of China’s mega-studios, such as Huayi, Bona, Enlight or China Film Group, though Wanda owns a small piece. Rather, it was conceived and controlled by Beijing Century and by Wu, who started planning a sequel immediately after the first film, made for $5 million, hit pay dirt.

Hollywood talent has contributed significantly to the second film. Increasing the budget to $30 million allowed Wu to bring in Joe and Anthony Russo as consultants and to pay for better production values. With the Russos came stunt director Sam Hargrave (“Captain America: Civil War”), composer Joseph Trapanese (“Tron: Legacy”) and a largely foreign sound unit. American actor Frank Grillo stars alongside Wu.

The early signs weren’t promising. In May, a trailer launch was criticized for seemingly borrowing footage from “X-Men: First Class.” Even the film’s July 27 opening date seemed questionable, since it clashed directly with the government-backed propaganda movie “The Founding of an Army,” from director Andrew Lau. With the nationalistic plot of “Wolf Warrior II,” the two films seemed to appeal to the same constituency.

But “Wolf Warrior II” has left “The Founding of an Army” in the dust, showing that support from the Chinese government isn’t everything. “What really worked for ‘Wolf Warrior II’ was combining the best elements of action and international stars in service of something enjoyable to Chinese audiences,” says Yip.

The film was no doubt helped by being released during the summer blackout period, when major foreign movies are banned from domestic release. But that’s only part of the equation.

“The filmmakers worked really hard to make this a quality production,” says Jane Shao, co-founder of exhibition chain Lumiere Pavilions. “At base, this is a hero movie no different from a Western or a Jackie Chan or Jet Li martial arts movie of old.”

For Hollywood, the lesson is that its obsession with China’s quota on imported films, now the subject of a new round of talks by U.S. and Chinese negotiators, is potentially shortsighted. Instead, Hollywood studios looking to bolster their bottom lines might want to redouble efforts to back local filmmakers in China and invest in high-quality local content, not just in their own tentpoles.

“China has found its ‘Rambo.’ We expect more movies in this space,” says Rance Pow, founder/CEO of consultancy Artisan Gateway. “This is definitely an important event.”

Always trying to make films that work in both the U.S. and China might be a futile exercise. Many variations on the theme have been tried: overblown co-productions; Hollywood films that try to cater to Chinese tastes but still get it wrong; Chinese pictures that wrongly assume that the casting of a Western star will translate into overseas sales.

The astounding box office performance of “Wolf Warrior II” suggests that in a country of 1.3 billion people, succeeding on home turf alone can be more than enough.

At this point, is it wise to make assumptions about what China might assume?

WolfvWarrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) & [URL="http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising"Chollywood rising[/URL]

GeneChing

09-08-2017, 09:01 AM

Wu Jing on Wolf Warrior 2’s record-breaking run, his cinematic roots in Hong Kong and Wolf Warrior 3’s story direction (http://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2110314/wu-jing-wolf-warrior-2s-record-breaking-run-his-cinematic-roots-hong)
Actor-director pays tribute to cast and crew of his record-breaking film, and credits ‘friends and teachers’ in Hong Kong film industry, and says his happiest moment was when film broke even
PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 September, 2017, 5:00pm
UPDATED : Friday, 08 September, 2017, 9:10pm

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Edmund Lee
edmund.lee@scmp.com
http://twitter.com/thatEdmundLee

“What I want to do most is to have a good night’s sleep,” says the director, co-writer, co-producer and star of action epic Wolf Warrior 2 , which, with ticket sales of 5.6 billion yuan (US$860 million) and counting, is the runaway box office champion of Chinese language cinema. For perspective, the second-highest grossing Chinese film ever made is Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s The Mermaid , which took 3.39 billion yuan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMVozCJ62Fg

“It’s been one city per day, and 10 cinemas in every city. This tour – it’s torture; it’s unimaginable for you here,” says Wu, 43, in an interview before the film’s Hong Kong premiere on Wednesday. “But luckily today is the last stop for Wolf Warrior 2.”
Film review: Wolf Warrior 2 – Wu Jing cements Chinese action star status with record-breaking hit

While his film’s remarkable coup may leave many with mental pictures of him swimming in money, Wu is understandably keen to downplay his new fortune.

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In a way, Wolf Warrior 2 is my way of repaying these friends and teachers. It’s my homework assignment. Technically, these directors are a lot better than me.WU JING
“Every journalist I’ve encountered asked: Do I have a target box office figure in mind? Do I want to make it on so-and-so top-grossing charts? Do I want to break 6 billion yuan? Is that even possible? I have no idea at all,” he says. “From July 27, 8:01 am onwards [when the film opened in China], the life of Wolf Warrior 2 ceased to belong to me.
“But before that, it was priceless to me. It was something that 1,700 people had spent a huge amount of time working on. Twenty-two of us were bitten and partly paralysed by spiders in Africa. Someone got bitten on the hand by a lion. Another had a gun pointed at his head. We made so many sacrifices [for this film].”

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At 5.6 billion yuan and counting, takings for Wu Jing’s film Wolf Warrior 2 have smashed the box office record for a Chinese language film.
With hindsight, Wu pinpoints the moment Wolf Warrior 2’s gross passed 800 million yuan – when the production started to break even – as his happiest memory since its release.
“So many partners and friends had come and helped me out on this project – and then I completed my mission,” he says. “I didn’t owe anyone any more; I hate to be indebted to others. So at that moment I was relieved. And after that, the box office figure kept soaring.”
Wu says he picked Hong Kong as his road tour’s final stop because his “movie dream started here”.

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Then he reveals the list of people he’d like to thank, which reads like a who’s who of Hong Kong cinema.
They include Chang Hsin-yen, who gave him his first film role in 1996; Yuen Woo-ping; showbiz influencer “Uncle Ba” Chan Tat-chi, who brought him to Hong Kong; talent manager Paco Wong Pak-ko, who signed his first Hong Kong contract; and filmmakers Dennis Law Sau-yiu (“who took care of me a lot”), Wilson Yip Wai-shun (“I learned a lot chatting with him during the making of Magic to Win”), Benny Chan Muk-sing and Soi Cheang Pou-soi.

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“In a way, Wolf Warrior 2 is my way of repaying these friends and teachers. It’s my homework assignment. Technically, these directors are a lot better than me. But I just happened to have had better timing.”
The pressure is now huge for Wu to replicate the success in Wolf Warrior 3, a sequel promised in the current film’s closing credits. While he had prepared the scripts for a Wolf Warrior film trilogy as early as 10 years ago, he acknowledges the challenge of adjusting those ideas for today.
“What should I do with Wolf Warrior 3? I have no idea about how to shoot it yet,” says Wu. “I wasn’t stupid – I knew that I should develop a series for myself. But could it become successful? Few people thought it would be at the time of Wolf Warrior 1.

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“Now that we know, my story for the third film is already 10 years old. The world has changed, geopolitical situations have changed, [China] has changed, and some countries have even changed presidents several times already. The script doesn’t work any more. I need to reshuffle the deck.
“The main thing I want to show will still be family and national sentiments, and I owe the audience a resolution to the romance [between the two protagonists] in Wolf Warrior 1,” he adds.
Wolf Warrior 2 is in cinemas now

Paralyzed by spiders? Bitten by a lion? Held at gunpoint? WTH?

GeneChing

09-27-2017, 09:58 AM

Wolf Warrior 2's Celina Jade: 'I don’t think it was in anybody’s expectations it would do that well' (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/celina-jade-wolf-warrior-2-wu-jing-legendary-assassin-arrow-china-rambo-a7957986.html)
The Chinese-American daughter of the US kung fu star Roy Horan, who worked with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, stars in China's super successful box-office hit 'Wolf Warrior 2' with Wu Jing
Geoffrey Macnab @TheIndyFilm 6 days ago

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Celina Jade as UN doctor Rachel in 'Wolf Warrior 2'

If you add up the numbers for her latest film, Chinese-American movie actress Celina Jade can justifiably claim that she is currently one of the biggest movie stars in the world. You may not have seen Wolf Warrior 2 but more than a hundred million other people have. An action movie in the Rambo vein, directed by and starring Wu Jing and with the tag line “Whoever offends the Chinese will be wiped out no matter how far away,” it has grossed over $800m (£590m) in China alone. This is, by a distance, the country’s biggest grossing film ever.

Wolf Warrior 2 is an explosive yarn about a Chinese Special Forces agent Leng Feng (Wu Jing) caught in the middle of an African revolution. As if the guns weren’t enough, there’s a disease killing the locals too. Jade plays the courageous UN doctor, Rachel, desperately trying to find an antidote for the deadly virus as the Chinese soldiers take on the evil western mercenaries. Leng Feng and Rachel decide to risk their lives for the people and fight their war – naturally, she also becomes Wu Jing's character's love interest. After the film’s release Jade was signed up by US talent agency CAA and described in the trade press as “one of the most visible new faces in China.”

“I don’t think it was in anybody’s expectations it would do that well,” Jade reflects on the seismic impact of the film on the Chinese box office.

Wolf Warrior 2 came out in China on 27 July at 8.01pm precisely to celebrate the founding of the People’s Liberation Army in the summer of 1927. She and Wu Jing went on a road tour to promote Wolf Warrior, visiting between eight and 11 cinemas a day. As she travelled cross-country, the 32-year-old actress knew Wolf Warrior was doing well but she had no idea quite what a phenomenon it had become. That’s why she was so startled when she went back to Hong Kong (where she lives) on a two day break to relax and do her laundry. The movie hadn’t yet been released in Hong Kong and she was looking forward to rest and relaxation in blissful anonymity.

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Jade and Wu Jing in 'Wolf Warrior 2' has grossed around $800m in China alone

Jade went to get a coffee in her flip flops, short and t-shirt when all of a sudden, she heard people calling, using her Chinese name. “I thought that’s weird because people in Hong Kong call me Celina.” She turned around to be confronted by some visitors from mainland China who’d seen the film. They asked for autographs and photos. That was unsettling enough but when she rejoined the promotional tour, there was a mob waiting for her at Beijing airport.

“People would come upon with their phones and they would shoot you without asking.” Jade remembers. She told them that she wasn’t an animal in the zoo. All they needed to do was ask politely and she would happily pose with them. They were happy with that response but the crowd around her grew and grew. “I literally went into the toilet and hid,” she says “I don’t want to say ‘no’ to photos but I needed to catch my flight and it was overwhelming. I was travelling alone.” That was the moment Jade realised that, in China at least, she was a very big star indeed. When wemet her in Venice in late August, she calculated that 140 million people had seen Wolf Warrior. That’s one in 10 of the entire Chinese population of just under 1.4 billion.

Petite and elegant, Jade nonetheless knows how to kick ass. She is the daughter of the US kung fu star Roy Horan, the so-called “lord of the super-kickers” who worked with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan among others, and she has studied martial arts from her earliest youth.

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The Chinese-American star studied at the London School of Economics before acting full-time (Lauren Engel)

Jade also excelled academically. “I had a total tiger mum. She was the mum who put me in guitar classes, dancing classes, painting, mathematics and tutoring from a very early age.” She remembers her mother once getting cross because Jade only managed 98 per cent in an exam. “Where did the other two marks go?” the mother asked.

Ironically, when Jade later found her mother’s own report cards from high school, she discovered that they were “very average”.

Jade’s father is known as a martial artist but he later became a neuroscience expert and Arctic explorer. “He basically studied the effects of meditation on the brain but also on a person’s creativity.”

Growing up in Hong Kong, she recalls being traumatised by watching her father’s films. She didn’t like seeing him being killed on screen.

At school, Jade was bullied… but not for long. She and her sister were teased because they were mixed race.

“Back in those days, we weren’t called ‘mixed.’ We were called ‘******* kids.’”

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Jade as Hiu Wor with Wu Jing as Bo Tong Lam in 'Legendary Assassin' (2008)

When they came home crying, their mother would recommend going to see the Principal but the father’a advice was altogether more practical. “Kick them in the stomach,’ was his suggestion for the best way to deal with their tormentors. “There will be no bruising and they will never touch you again.”

Jade would also use her father’s BB gun to shoot coca cola cans which were being drunk by the bullies. Unsurprisingly, the bullying didn’t last.

When Jade was 14, she went to live with her aunt in New Jersey. “I found it extremely boring. I was in a place called Lawrenceville. There was just cows and grass. I was a very rebellious young teenager."

She didn’t take drugs herself but saw the effect they had on those around her. To alleviate the boredom, she began to study even harder.

Jade’s original ambition was to become a singer-songwriter. She studied management at the London School of Economics, where she got a first class degree. “That might not seem very logical,” she says of the decision to attend the LSE. However, having released her first album as a 15 year old, she realised quickly that music was a “business.”

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Jade as Shado and Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in the US TV series 'Arrow' (The CW)

“If you want to have control over your career, it’s important to have an education and understand the structure of the business and how things work,” Jade explains. That’s why she ended up living in halls in Southwark (“just across from Tate Modern”), then in a flat in Marble Arch next to the Odeon (“I remember wearing my PJs and going to watch movies”), then in Southampton Row and then Covent Garden and finally Chelsea.

After graduating from LSE, Jade went back to Hong Kong. She was talent spotted by Wu Jing, who persuaded her to take a stab at acting in Legendary Assassin. Now, a decade later, she has achieved numbers that it would take Hollywood stars an entire career to match.

She still has one foot in the East and one in the West. While Chinese audiences now know her for Wolf Warrior, she is recognised more in the US for her role in TV superhero series Arrow.

Yes, there is likely to be a Wolf Warrior 3. “Everything is up in the air. Wu Jing probably needs time to relax and feel inspired to move forward with that. It is going to be a lot of pressure for him. If it was me, I’d just say let’s end on a high point but knowing Wu Jing and his personality, he will probably go for it.”
continued next post

GeneChing

09-27-2017, 09:58 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=fkqGiPB2D8M

As for Jade herself, she is determined to use her “fame and recognition for a cause.”

“I think as a woman, I have a responsibility to play roles that have complexity and that can reflect the modern female,” Jade declares, making it very clear that she simply won’t accept the stereotypical roles that Hollywood tends to offer Asian actresses. “We don’t play decorative roles in society and so why should I play a decorative role in a movie. It is a time for me to challenge myself. I don’t want to be pigeonholed into being the martial arts actress … being able to fight is a skill set. Being able to sing and dance is also a skill set. I am not going to lessen the integrity of my role just to show people I can fight!”

She is soon to be seen in another 'ass-kicking role' in English language action movie Triple Threat and that she was cast in A Sweet Life, a Chinese drama. She also recently appeared in US indie drama April Flowers alongside Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Jade’s final words are advice for the US studios as they scramble to tap into the Chinese market in a year when North American box office is dipping. “Asian audiences don’t want to see stereotypical, cliched roles. Hollywood needs to wake up and say ‘look, if we want to tap into that market, we need just as good characters and material [as in US studio pictures].’”

'Wolf Warrior 2' is out now

Celina Jade has tremendous potential to play to both sides of the Pacific. She's poised and one to watch.

GeneChing

10-03-2017, 09:06 AM

3 Reasons China’s Box Office Soared This Summer While the US Flopped (http://www.thewrap.com/reasons-china-box-office-soared-this-summer-while-us-flopped/)
One hit movie and a fanbase with diverse tastes helped the Middle Kingdom get back on its double-digit growth track
Matt Pressberg | September 25, 2017 @ 5:35 PM

https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Wolf-Warrior-2-Character-1.jpg

This summer, a high-octane action movie captivated audiences in one of the world’s largest film markets, grossing nearly $1 billion and changing the trajectory of its box office forecast. And while that seems like welcome news for the slumping U.S. box office, it wasn’t: the movie was China’s “Wolf Warrior 2.”

“Wolf Warrior 2,” directed by and starring Wu Jing, made more than $800 million in China at the same time U.S. box office was struggling through its worst summer slump in more than a decade. (New Line’s record-setting “It” helped the domestic box office bounce back in September, but it remains down nearly 5 percent year-to-date.)

At the Future of Asia Conference put on by the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in Santa Monica earlier this month, Leeding Media CEO David U. Lee said the Chinese box office could finish up as much as 20 percent this year, a welcome performance after the world’s fastest-growing movie market flatlined last year following years of double-digit growth. Jonathan Papish, a box office analyst at China Film Insider, said that growth rate is possible if including online ticketing fees, but even adjusting for those, it should still finish up by a healthy mid-teens percent.

With all the doom and gloom in Hollywood, here’s how China held strong:

Sometimes it only takes one movie

“The difference between this year and last can mainly be attributed to the success of ‘Wolf Warrior 2,'” Papish told TheWrap. “In fact, removing its current gross (5.28 billion yuan) would actually place this year’s box office behind last year’s, excluding ticketing fees.”

“Wolf Warrior 2” passed Stephen Chow’s “The Mermaid,” which was released last February, to become China’s all-time highest-grossing movie. “The Mermaid” got 2016 off to a strong start, but a combination of reduced ticket subsidies and a weak local slate turned it into a major disappointment, as the Chinese box office grew just 4 percent last year, and actually declined in dollar terms, as the Chinese yuan weakened against the U.S. currency.

But “Wolf Warrior 2’s” record-setting performance, which came during the busier summer season, almost single-handedly gave 2017 a different ending.

China isn’t as reliant on one type of film as the U.S. has become

In 2015, it took “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to propel the domestic box office to a record high. Last year, five of the 10 highest-grossing films in North America were either “Star Wars” or superhero movies. And even this year, the industry is largely counting on “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” along with comic-book adaptations “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Justice League” to rescue a brutal 2017.

But despite China being a much less mature movie market, its audiences seem to have a diversity of tastes that make it less reliant on droids and Avengers than the U.S. is.

Hollywood continues to count heavily on caped crusaders and their ilk, with Warner Bros. “Wonder Woman,” Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” making up three of the top 5 domestic films thus far this year. But it’s a different story in China, where a mix of homegrown films and non-comic book based movies have been among its strongest performers.

“If ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ eventually surpasses ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ a Hollywood superhero film will fail to rank in the top 10 highest-grossing imports of the year for the first time since 2003,” Papish wrote earlier this month.

Hollywood hits disappointed at home, but imports soared in China

“Wolf Warrior 2” was easily the major story behind China’s box office turnaround, but imports also did their duty.

Hollywood’s superhero hits didn’t do the numbers in the Middle Kingdom they did at home, but domestic disappointments like “Transformers: The Last Knight” and “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” soared in China. And Indian film “Dangal,” which made just $12.4 million domestically, hauled in a whopping $193 million in China.

“2017 has been a stronger year for imported films,” Papish said. “Can’t [just] say Hollywood because ‘Dangal’ is currently the 3rd highest-grossing import of the year.”

China still needs Hollywood films to fill its ever-expanding supply of theaters. But the good news for its filmmakers — potentially bad news for Hollywood — is that its box office no longer lives and dies with them.

Chollywood rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising) due to WW2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2)

Transformers: The Last Knight (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?47070-Transformers&p=1298615#post1298615)
xXx: Return of Xander Cage (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1336)
Dangal (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70365-Dangal)

GeneChing

10-05-2017, 01:07 PM

We'll see how far this gets. I would be impressed if it makes it into the finalists.

Oscars: 92 Films Submitted in Foreign-Language Category (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-92-films-submitted-foreign-language-film-academy-award-1046070)
10:09 AM PDT 10/5/2017 by Gregg Kilday

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/02/oscar_statuettes_-_getty_-_h_2017.jpg
Tim Boyle/Getty

Nominations will be announced Jan. 23.

A record 92 countries have submitted films for consideration in the foreign-language film category for the 90th Academy Awards.

Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria have all submitted films for the first time.

The 2017 submissions are:
Afghanistan, A Letter to the President, Roya Sadat, director;
Albania, Daybreak, Gentian Koçi, director;
Algeria, Road to Istanbul, Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, Zama, Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, Yeva, Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, The Space Between, Ruth Borgobello, director;
Austria, Happy End, Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, Pomegranate Orchard, Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, The Cage, Akram Khan, director;
Belgium, Racer and the Jailbird, Michaël R. Roskam, director;
Bolivia, Dark Skull, Kiro Russo, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Men Don’t Cry, Alen Drljević, director;
Brazil, Bingo – The King of the Mornings, Daniel Rezende, director;
Bulgaria, Glory, Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, First They Killed My Father, Angelina Jolie, director;
Canada, Hochelaga, Land of Souls, François Girard, director;
Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director;
China, Wolf Warrior 2, Wu Jing, director;
Colombia, Guilty Men, Iván D. Gaona, director;
Costa Rica, The Sound of Things, Ariel Escalante, director;
Croatia, Quit Staring at My Plate, Hana Jušić, director;
Czech Republic, Ice Mother, Bohdan Sláma, director;
Denmark, You Disappear, Peter Schønau Fog, director;
Dominican Republic, Wood******s, Jose Maria Cabral, director;
Ecuador, Alba, Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Egypt, Sheikh Jackson, Amr Salama, director;
Estonia, November, Rainer Sarnet, director;
Finland, Tom of Finland, Dome Karukoski, director;
France, BPM (Beats Per Minute), Robin Campillo, director;
Georgia, Scary Mother, Ana Urushadze, director;
Germany, In the Fade, Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, Amerika Square, Yannis Sakaridis, director;
Haiti, Ayiti Mon Amour, Guetty Felin, director;
Honduras, Morazán, Hispano Durón, director;
Hong Kong, Mad World, Wong Chun, director;
Hungary, On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iceland, Under the Tree, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director;
India, Newton, Amit V Masurkar, director;
Indonesia, Turah, Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director;
Iran, Breath, Narges Abyar, director;
Iraq, Reseba – The Dark Wind, Hussein Hassan, director;
Ireland, Song of Granite, Pat Collins, director;
Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director;
Italy, A Ciambra, Jonas Carpignano, director;
Japan, Her Love Boils Bathwater, Ryota Nakano, director;
Kazakhstan, The Road to Mother, Akhan Satayev, director;
Kenya, Kati Kati, Mbithi Masya, director;
Kosovo, Unwanted, Edon Rizvanolli, director;
Kyrgyzstan, Centaur, Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Dearest Sister, Mattie Do, director;
Latvia, The Chronicles of Melanie, Viestur Kairish, director;
Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, director;
Lithuania, Frost, Sharunas Bartas, director;
Luxembourg, Barrage, Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, Tempestad, Tatiana Huezo, director;
Mongolia, The Children of Genghis, Zolbayar Dorj, director;
Morocco, Razzia, Nabil Ayouch, director;
Mozambique, The Train of Salt and Sugar, Licinio Azevedo, director;
Nepal, White Sun, Deepak Rauniyar, director;
Netherlands, Layla M., Mijke de Jong, director;
New Zealand, One Thousand Ropes, Tusi Tamasese, director;
Norway, Thelma, Joachim Trier, director;
Pakistan, Saawan, Farhan Alam, director;
Palestine, Wajib, Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, Beyond Brotherhood, Arianne Benedetti, director;
Paraguay, Los Buscadores, Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors;
Peru, Rosa Chumbe, Jonatan Relayze, director;
Philippines, Birdshot, Mikhail Red, director;
Poland, Spoor, Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Portugal, Saint George, Marco Martins, director;
Romania, Fixeur, Adrian Sitaru, director;
Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director;
Serbia, Requiem for Mrs. J., Bojan Vuletic, director;
Singapore, Pop Aye, Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovakia, The Line, Peter Bebjak, director;
Slovenia, The Miner, Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director;
South Korea, A Taxi Driver, Jang Hoon, director;
Spain, Summer 1993, Carla Simón, director;
Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director;
Switzerland, The Divine Order, Petra Volpe, director;
Syria, Little Gandhi, Sam Kadi, director;
Taiwan, Small Talk, Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, By the Time It Gets Dark, Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;
Tunisia, The Last of Us, Ala Eddine Slim, director;
Turkey, Ayla: The Daughter of War, Can Ulkay, director;
Ukraine, Black Level, Valentyn Vasyanovych, director;
United Kingdom, My Pure Land, Sarmad Masud, director;
Uruguay, Another Story of the World, Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, El Inca, Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director;
Vietnam, Father and Son, Luong Dinh Dung, director.

Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC.

Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) & The-Academy Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?20798-The-Academy-Awards)

GeneChing

10-06-2017, 09:27 AM

Oscars: China Selects Blockbuster 'Wolf Warrior II' for Foreign-Language Category (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-china-selects-blockbuster-wolf-warrior-ii-foreign-language-category-1046408)
1:30 AM PDT 10/6/2017 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/08/232000183-h_2017.jpg
Courtesy of Well Go USA
'Wolf Warrior 2'

Written, directed by and starring Wu Jing, the film earned $852 million to become China's biggest box-office success ever.
China has selected mega-blockbuster Wolf Warrior II as its submission for the best foreign-language film category at the 2018 Oscars.

The film is easily the most financially successful movie ever to be submitted in the Academy Awards category. Written, directed by and starring Chinese martial artist and multi-hyphenate Wu Jing, Wolf Warrior II has earned an astonishing $851.6 million in the Middle Kingdom since its release on July 27. Only one film has ever earned more from a single market — J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens (2015) with $936.6 million in North America.

A crowd-pleasing patriotic action flick, Wolf Warrior II follows a former Chinese special-forces operative (Wu) as he battles bloodthirsty Western mercenaries to save Chinese civilians who have gotten caught up in an African civil war. American actor Frank Grillo (Captain America: Civil War, Warrior) plays the film's villain, while American-Hong Kong actress Celina Jade is the female heroine.

News of the film's selection was first carried locally by China's state-backed newspaper Global Times.

Wolf Warrior II was co-produced by emerging powerhouse studio Beijing Culture, China Film Group, Bona Films and others. While a distinctly Chinese success story, traces of Hollywood's influence can be detected on the final product.

Marvel mainstays Joe and Anthony Russo, co-directors of the Captain America franchise, consulted on the film via their Chinese studio venture Anthem & Song, which has strategic partnership with Beijing Culture. The Russos are understood to have introduced Grillo and some of their usual stunt team, led by veteran action coordinator Sam Hargrave (Captain America: Civil War, Atomic Blonde), to boost the production values of the film's fight scenes. Many attribute the film's local success to this seamless combination of Hollywood production polish and rousing, authentically Chinese storytelling.

China has been nominated in the best foreign-language film category twice — for Ju Dou (1990) and Hero (2002), both directed by Zhang Yimou — but the world's most populous country has yet to bag an Oscar.

Ah yes, we remember Hero (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=531).
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/images/mzine/Cov2004_5.jpg

Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) & The-Academy Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?20798-The-Academy-Awards)

GeneChing

10-09-2017, 08:38 AM

I'm copying this last portion of this article continued from the previous post on the Academy Awards thread (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?20798-The-Academy-Awards) on the Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) thread.

Wolf Warrior 2: China’s propaganda smash

While Taiwan and Hong Kong’s submissions are quiet independent films, Wolf Warrior 2 is an action blockbuster that projects Beijing’s idealized vision of China on the world stage, as well as the growing nationalist sentiment among its citizens.
The film tells the story of Leng Feng, a Rambo-esque former member of the Chinese Special Forces who leaves China for an unnamed African country after being discharged from the army. There, he winds up fighting to save overseas Chinese workers and locals stuck in a civil war. There’s also a subplot involving a fictitious disease known as “Lamanla,” and a romance between Leng and Rachel Smith, a dual US-Chinese citizen who worked with a team of Chinese doctors to develop the vaccine for the disease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkqGiPB2D8M

Of course, what appears as a generic action film on the surface is really a subversion of the white savior Hollywood trope, with Chinese characteristics. Its theatrical release came days before China opened its first-ever overseas military base in Djibouti, which also coincided with the 90th anniversary of the formation of the People’s Liberation Army.
The film’s overt politics will likely prevent it from receiving the nomination, but reviews suggest that there’s value in considering what a Hollywood-style action film would look like when the geopolitical context is flipped. Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times writes, “There’s something bracing about its patriotic fervor, which asserts that the Chinese will act in the best interests of the world’s downtrodden, while the rest of the world just exploits them. It’s instructive to recognize the presumptions we’re used to finding in American blockbusters, but with the heroes and villains reversed.”
Chinese moviegoers have flocked to Wolf Warrior 2. The film has raked in 5.6 billion yuan ($824 million) to date at China’s box office (link in Chinese), making it the highest-grossing film ever in the country. Explosions and car chases certainly help draw viewers, but there is also a palpable sense of increasing nationalism (paywall) among Chinese citizens themselves. In Africa and elsewhere, China has asserted itself more aggressively, at times championing itself as a bastion of globalization particularly at a time when America’s leadership role is in question. Meanwhile, many Chinese individuals, whether online or in real life, are standing up for China’s interests in the face of criticism from abroad. After years of watching white men save the world, Wolf Warrior 2 gives Chinese audiences a hero of its own.

GeneChing

10-30-2017, 11:29 AM

Headlines from China: ‘Wolf Warrior 2’ Finishes Theatrical Run in China with Over $856 M (http://chinafilminsider.com/headlines-from-china-wolf-warrior-2-finishes-theatrical-run-in-china/)
BY CHINAFILMINSIDEROCT 26, 2017

http://chinafilminsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/wolf-warrior-2.jpg
‘Wolf Warrior 2′ Finishes Theatrical Run in China with Over $856 M at Box Office

Opened on July 28, China’s highest grossing film ‘Wolf Warrior 2’ will complete its theatrical run on October 28. A specially designed poster was released this week to celebrate the completion of its theatrical release. As of October 26, the film has raked in 5.68 billion yuan ($856 million). Over the past three months, the film broke various records: exceeding 100 million yuan at box office after four hours in release, making 426 million yuan on a single day, becoming the first Chinese film that gets on the list of global box office top 100, and being viewed by the largest number of audiences (159 million viewers as of October 26) on a single territory. According to sources familiar with the matter, ‘Wolf Warrior 2’ will become available on Chinese streaming sites on November 3.

Wonder when it'll be available for U.S. streaming...

GeneChing

11-22-2017, 09:53 AM

CHINA'S ANSWER TO RAMBO
China’s box office is setting new records—with a bit of Hollywood help (https://qz.com/1134905/wolf-warrior-2-helped-chinas-box-office-to-new-records-in-2017/)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/ap_17222191467777-e1511284671704.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600
The number one movie in China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

WRITTEN BY Ashley Rodriguez
OBSESSION Glass
3 hours ago

China’s biggest movie of the year wasn’t a popular Western actioner like the Fast & Furious and Transformers films. It was Wolf Warrior 2, a homegrown action sequel about a Chinese special forces agent who comes out of retirement to fight Western mercenaries.
With $854 million at the Chinese box office, the movie is now the second highest-grossing of all-time in a single market. Only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which earned $937 million in North America in 2015, has done better.
It also helped China’s box office cross a new threshold. On Nov. 20, the box office surpassed 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) for the first time in a single year, said the state authority.
This comes a year after sagging growth had filmmakers and studios worried that China’s decade of average annual box-office growth of at least 35% was over. In 2016, the total box office grew 3.7% year over year, compared to 48% the prior year. But the world’s second-largest movie market appears to be getting back on track.
After a disappointing summer, the North American box office is down 4% from last year at $9.38 billion through Nov. 19. Tickets sold are also down 7% around 1.05 billion, Box Office Mojo estimated. That’s compared to a 15% increase to 1.4 billion admissions in China. There, movies that bombed with US audiences, like Transformers: The Last Knight, still prevailed.
And while Wolf Warrior 2 is pure hyper-nationalist China, it did have a bit of help from the Americans.
How Hollywood aided “Wolf Warrior 2”
Called China’s answer to Rambo, the patriotic movie had its fair share of Western influences. The sequel’s larger, $30 million budget afforded it input from Marvel directors Joe and Anthony Russo, from Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Variety reported. The brothers consulted on the film, US actor Frank Grillo played the villain, and it had an American stunt director and composer.
Hollywood has been collaborating more with China’s growing movie business. Hollywood studios have worked with Chinese partners to add subplots that appeal to local audiences and meet the government’s strict regulations for movies like Iron Man 3 and The Great Wall. And Chinese filmmakers are leaning on Hollywood to help them make movies with broad international appeal.
To aid its ailing box office last year, China’s government relaxed its quota on foreign films. It released 38 instead of 34 that year, the majority of which were from the US. The US and China—the biggest export market for Hollywood films—are due to re-negotiate the quota this year.
The country also imposes blackout periods during busy times like the summer months, when only local films can be screened. That propped up domestic releases like Wolf Warrior 2 and The Founding of an Army.
But the quotas and blackouts historically guaranteed that Chinese films, including co-productions with Hong Kong or American partners, accounted for 60% of the overall box office. And the government seems to be easing off that, too. So far in 2017, Chinese films made up about 52%, down from around 58% in 2016.

Top-grossing 2017 films in China, through Nov. 19 (https://www.theatlas.com/charts/BkjIkyGgM)
Wolf Warrior 2 $854 m
The Fate of the Furious 393
Never Say Die 332
Kung Fu Yoga 255
Journey West: The Demons Strike Back 240
Transformers: The Last Knight 229
Dangal 193
Pirates Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 172
Kong: Skull Island 168
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage 164

State regulators expect China’s box office to finish 2017 with 55 billion yuan, a 20% lift from last year. In the US, all eyes are on Star Wars: The Last Jedi to save 2017.

A good overview on Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) and the effect it's had on on Chollywood's rise (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising). We've discussed most of the Top Grossing films listed above, except Kong & Pirates I think.

GeneChing

12-08-2017, 08:54 AM

Enter to win KungFuMagazine.com's contest for Wolf Warrior 2 on Blu-Ray™ + DVD Combo Pack (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/sweepstakes-wolf-warrior-2.php)! Contest ends 5:30 p.m. PST on 12/21/2017.

GeneChing

12-15-2017, 09:36 AM

Oscars: Academy Unveils Foreign-Language Film Shortlist (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-academy-unveils-foreign-language-film-shortlist-1068109)
5:12 PM PST 12/14/2017 by Gregg Kilday

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/02/oscar_statuettes_-_getty_-_h_2017.jpg
Tim Boyle/Getty

The nine films include the Palme d'Or winner 'The Square,' but not Angelina Jolie's 'First They Killed My Father.'
The Academy on Thursday announced the nine films that will compete for a nomination for the best foreign-language film Oscar.

The shortlist includes a number of expected entries, like Ruben Ostlund's Swedish art-world satire The Square, which won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and the Russian drama Loveless, about a divorcing couple searching for their missing son and directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which won the Cannes Jury Prize.

But it also has some striking omissions: Angelina Jolie failed to earn a nomination for her film First They Killed My Father, which was submitted by Cambodia and also has earned a Golden Globe nomination. And the list also failed to find room for France's submission, Robin Campillo's BPM (Beats Per Minute), about AIDS activists, which won the Grand Prix prize at Cannes.

The shortlist of films was chosen from a record 92 titles that were submitted by their respective countries. The selected films will now screen for committees in New York, Los Angeles and London, which will cast the ballots for the film nominees in the category, to be announced Jan. 23.

The films on the shortlist, and their country of origin, are:

Chile, A Fantastic Woman, Sebastián Lelio, director
Germany, In the Fade, Fatih Akin, director
Hungary, On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, director
Israel, Foxtrot, Samuel Maoz, director
Lebanon, The Insult, Ziad Doueiri, director
Russia, Loveless, Andrey Zvyagintsev, director
Senegal, Félicité, Alain Gomis, director
South Africa, The Wound, John Trengove, director
Sweden, The Square, Ruben Östlund, director

The 90th Oscars will be held Sunday, March 4, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center and will be televised live on ABC. Nominations will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2) didn't make the Academy Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?20798-The-Academy-Awards)Foreign language cut. I had my doubts that it would.

Jimbo

01-29-2018, 11:04 AM

Second forum review (or forum opinions).

WW2 is a pretty good action film. Wu Jing has definitely grown as an action star, and seems to be taking over from Donnie Yen. Ever since Kill Zone and Fatal Contact, he has been upping his penchant for extreme intensity in many of his fight scenes, and IMO in Kill Zone 2, he outshines co-star Tony Jaa. Funny; I thought I remember reading a few years ago that Wu Jing was going to retire from action films, perhaps due to injuries(?).

I had totally forgotten that Celina Jade was the daughter of Roy Horan, until I reread some of this thread. Horan appeared in some KF films in the '70s to early '80s, such as Bruce Lee's Secret, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, The Snuff Bottle Connection, The Ring of Death, and Tower of Death (a.k.a., Game of Death II). At the time, Horan was working with Ng See-Yuen at Hong Kong's Seasonal Film Corp. In Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Horan gave what is possibly the goofiest, worst performance of a death scene ever shot in a professional movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELBtEnDkLtI&sns=em

Anyway, Celina did a fine job and has a great screen presence. Her MA training (not evident in WW2) in in TKD. If her father taught her, then that makes her a second-generation student of Hwang Jang-Lee, who is often considered the best kicker in MA movie history.

Frank Grillo is great as the arch-villain. It's nice to see a martial artist who is actually a legitimate actor being cast as the villain in a Chinese movie. Way back in the day, many of the white foreign villains cast in the Hong Kong/Taiwan (and China?) MA films were random guys with some MA background who were found in youth hostels. Some others were foreign students who were recruited from area MA schools, or spotted in foreigner talent contests. They were not actors, and it showed. Grillo plays the type of villain that someone can easily 'love to hate', which means he did an excellent job.

Many people have mentioned the pro-China hyper-nationalism of the movie, but if you think about it, American action movies have done the exact same thing, especially back in the '80s and '90s. Still, I found some of those scenes a bit cringe-worthy, but chose to overlook them in favor of the action.

As far as the action goes, there was some very good stuff, but also some so-so stuff. And WW2 suffers a bit from what I call The John Woo Syndrome. There is SO MUCH action/shooting/explosions/killing that it began to feel a bit over-saturated. When it becomes "Ho-hum, another head and arm blown off," then the action has reached a point of diminishing returns. And as for the CGI blood and exploding heads and limbs, the effect was more cartoonish than awe-inspiring. And people go flying about 20 to 30 feet from side kicks.

Back in 1995, my CLF sifu, along some classmates and I, got special tickets to see a performance held by China's then-national Wushu team on the UCSD campus. One of those performers was a young Wu Jing. After the program, there was a meet-and-greet with the team members, including Wu Jing. Unfortunately, we didn't stick around for that, as there were many audience members staying for that. Had I known at the time that that young standout performer would eventually go on to become The Next Big Thing in China's MA/action cinema, mentioned in the same breath as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Donnie Yen, I definitely would have stayed. Than I could have made the claim that I met him before he became an international star. Oh, well...

bawang

01-30-2018, 11:35 AM

I support the anti Hollywood political aims but I fell asleep at the tank sequence

GeneChing

02-13-2018, 08:29 AM

We'd do this here but we already have sitonmyfacebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kung-Fu-Tai-Chi-Magazine/135964689362), where we propaganize ourselves. We don't need no government regulated propaganda. :rolleyes:

China to Select 5,000 Cinemas to Show Propaganda Films (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-select-5000-cinemas-nationwide-show-propaganda-films-1084201)
2:43 AM PST 2/13/2018 by Associated Press

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2017/07/the_founding_of_an_army_still_2.jpg
Courtesy of Media Asia
Chinese propaganda film 'The Founding of an Army'

In a throwback to language used during the era of Mao Zedong, the country's film regulator said the policy is intended to promote propaganda films to create a "people's theater front."

China plans to select 5,000 movie theaters across the country to screen propaganda films and will look to boost their box office with group sales, discounted tickets and other financial backing.

The number of theaters accounts for roughly 10 percent of China's total, with quotas issued for each major city, province and autonomous region.

A notice from the nation's film regulator said the policy is intended to promote specific movies at special times to create a "people's theater front," a throwback to language used during the era of Mao Zedong.

In keeping with the ruling Communist Party's latest initiatives, the policy intends to "guide thought and educate the people," said the statement, which was stamped Jan. 30. Copies of it were posted Tuesday to Chinese websites that cover the entertainment industry.

China, the world's second-biggest film market, saw movie ticket sales rise 13.5 percent last year to over $8.6 billion. Chinese-made movies accounted for 54 percent of ticket sales, with baldly nationalistic action thriller Wolf Warrior 2 topping the box office.

The ruling Communist Party is anxious to promote more productions with patriotic themes and exercises broad control over scripts and shooting permits.

It also routinely manipulates ticket sales and movie release dates, including limiting the number of foreign films that can be shown and banning them entirely for certain periods.

That helps pump up sales for domestic productions, although patriotic themes don't always win out. Recent successes have included films glorifying materialism and complex interpersonal relationships, such as the Tiny Times series.

As part of party leader and President Xi Jinping's ideological drive, the party has also sought to crack down on internet content deemed frivolous or immoral.

That includes online games such as the Japanese hit Travel Frog, although the denouncements appear to have done little to dampen public enthusiasm for them, and the authorities are eager to keep the internet open as a conduit for business.

Thread: Chollywood rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising)
Thread: Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2)

GeneChing

05-01-2019, 09:20 AM

China’s ‘Rambo’ and Jackie Chan co-star Wu Jing returns to filming after leg injury (https://www.scmp.com/sport/mixed-martial-arts/article/3003048/i-can-obtain-disability-certificate-says-wolf-warrior)
The 44-year-old Beijing-born actor and director of Wolf Warrior has been plagued by injuries since he was a boy
Jackie Chan’s co-star in Climbers has returned to the film set having spent two months in hospital
Unus Alladin
Published: 5:50pm, 24 Mar, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/17087020-4e1c-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_image_hires_203508.JPG?itok=kAItxtax
Wu Jing in Wolf Warrior 2. Photo: Handout

China’s top martial arts star Wu Jing went straight from his hospital bed to the set of his next movie Climbers, having spent two months overseas recovering from his latest injury.
Wu, whose Wolf Warrior franchise broke all-time box office records on the mainland, is co-starring with Hong Kong martial arts legend, Jackie Chan, in the mountain epic, Climbers, which tells the story of the first Chinese mountaineers to conquer Mount Everest in 1960.
The 44-year-old Beijing-born Wu, who starred with American martial arts hero, Scott Adkins, in the patriotic war movie, Wolf Warrior, has rejoined his film crew in China to continue shooting his latest venture after being seen by netizens in a wheelchair at the airport on the mainland recently. His public relations team said he had been seriously injured during filming of Climbers and had emergency treatment abroad but went “straight back to his film crew after returning home”.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/a3ca0e90-4e0a-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_1320x770_203508.jpg
American martial arts hero Scott Adkins co-starred with Wu Jing in Wolf Warrior. Photo: Handout

Wu began shooting Climbers in January, experiencing extreme cold as he climbed the 5,254-metre Gangshika snow peak in Qinghui, China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkqGiPB2D8M

It’s not known exactly how Wu had injured his leg but the martial arts star has been pictured in crutches or in a wheelchair more frequently over the years as he struggles with a series of injuries. He even appeared in crutches at his wedding to TV presenter Xie Nan in 2014.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/3f2deeac-4e0a-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_1320x770_203508.jpg
Wolf Warrior poster. Photo: Handout

Since he was six years old, he has been injured either while learning martial arts in Beijing or at the film set, a similar scenario to “his older brother” martial arts superstar Jet Li, who has also been plagued by injuries and is recovering from hyperthyroidism.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/6a036dd8-4e09-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_972x_203508.jpg
Wu Jing is wheeled by airport staff after having leg surgery. Photo: Sina Weibo

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/8c141a94-4e09-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_972x_203508.jpg
Wu Jing in crutches. Photo: Weibo

And recently he talked about his misfortunes in a TV interview aired on March 8, when he revealed to the host that he can obtain a “disability certificate” in China owing to his many injuries. He talked about going through pain and suffering over the years.
Jet Li photo with daughters paints contrasting picture to Jackie Chan’s turbulent family life
He has shown absolute dedication to his craft as an actor and director, rushing back to rejoin his film crew for Climbers.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/317f9324-4e09-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_972x_203508.jpg
Climbers poster. Photo: Handout

“I was very determined to succeed. I grew up learning about pain and experiencing a lot of pain. If you want to continue, you need to accept [the pain] and continue,” said Wu, who also starred in the Chinese sci-fi adventure The Wandering Earth which was released last month. He said it was only through such hardship could he succeed as an actor and film director.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/03/24/54fb64d6-4e09-11e9-8e02-95b31fc3f54a_1320x770_203508.jpg
Wu Jing on the set of Climbers. Photo: Sina Weibo

Chinese blockbuster The Wandering Earth may break new ground worldwide, but may not go far in Hong Kong
Nicknamed China’s Rambo by his fans, Wu’s Wolf Warrior 2 released in 2017, which he also directed, became China’s biggest-ever grossing film, earning US$850 million in China alone. Wu’s The Wandering Earth was also a smash hit, becoming the second biggest grossing movie of all time in China, grossing US$600 million. Climbers is set to be released on National Day in China this year.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China star Wu Jing back on set after injury

THREADS
Wu Jing (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71240-Wu-Jing)
Climbers (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71238-Climbers)
The Wandering Earth (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71046-The-Wandering-Earth)
Wolf Warrior 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70311-Wolf-Warrior-2)