Crouching tiger, dunking dragon
Shouldering aside competition from Jet Li and Jackie Chan, a new kung-fu star shoots and scores
Published on February 7, 2008
Move over Jackie Chan and Jet Li. There's a new contender for the throne of Asia's martial-arts star, and his name is Jay Chou.
Chou, a Taiwanese singer and actor, was recently in town to promote his latest movie "Kung Fu Dunk", where he plays an orphan who ends up playing basketball using his Shaolin skills. The US$10-million (Bt330-million) film brings together stars from Taiwan and Hong Kong, including Eric Tsang, Bo-lin Chen and Charlene Choi.
It took years before "Kung Fu Dunk" saw the light. Its producer had to wait two years for Chou to be available. Aside from singing and acting, Chou recently went into directing with "Secret", released last year, and is on a concert tour that will soon play Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, among other stops.
The new movie is entirely different from Chou's previous three: "Initial D", "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Secret". This is more physically exhausting.
On his first shooting day, Chou suffered multiple bruises in a scene that has him suspended in a harness, and slamming repeatedly onto a board.
Of at least 100 takes that day, only three or four scenes were used in the film. On the second day, Chou could barely walk, but according to director Ching Siu-tung, Chou became better and better as filming progressed.
Ching was Chou's director in the big-budget Chinese epic "Curse of the Golden Flower".
When asked to compare his star's kung fu with that of Jet Li, Ching says Chou's is different because it mixes in music. The actor performs the movie's theme, "Zhou Da Xia", roughly translated as "Swordsman Chou".
In the movie, Chou sports a hairstyle that will remind many of Bruce Lee. He gets to show off his comedic talent, although he will be the first to admit he's not really funny in real life. "I personally think I'm not suited to comedy ... Initially, my director guided me to act and probe my comic side," he says. He adds he learned a lot from his fellow actors, noting that the most effective comic actors happen also to be funny in real life.
Although Chou plays basketball, he and the cast trained to prepare for the movie. Professional basketball players were included in the cast, and Chou often played with them to improve his skills.
Chou did all the stunts in the movie, except for a scene that requires his character to do a back flip on a bar.
Chou says there are a few drama series being filmed in Taiwan using basketball as a theme, so he thinks the time for a basketball movie is ripe. "The movie is about team spirit and working together.
"It's also in theme with the coming Olympics," he says.
"Kung Fu Dunk" has reportedly been selected as a film for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and has substantial support from China's Government Information Office, Industrial Development Bureau and other departments.
Speaking of the Olympics, Chou is submitting a song for the Games that he plans to debut at his Beijing concert in May.
"The music is ready and totally different from the 'Kung Fu Dunk' theme, which older people might not be able to accept," Chou says. His Olympic song is more of the "sing-along variety" with a simple melody everyone can relate to.
Chou, who first gained fame as a composer for Taiwanese pop stars, loves doing both movies and music. "I am interested in movies lately. It's a fresh thing for me at the moment. But after 'Kung Fu Dunk' I will concentrate on music for at least a year before going back to movies," Chou says.
So, does Chou pass muster as an action star? "You will get a shock from this movie because his kung fu is good," Ching promises, adding that with Jet Li and Jackie Chan concentrating on more artistic films, now is the time for a new martial-arts star to rise.
"Kung Fu Dunk" opens in Bangkok on February 21.
