Man of Tai Chi with Keanu Reeves

[doug maverick]

im loving all the martial punk!!

[GeneChing]

As long as there's no martial emo, I'm cool with it.

I certainly hope these films open up some doors. I've always felt that the martial genre is painfully unimaginative. Why is in martial arts filmmakers keep regurgitating Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury? Although I must say I've been enjoying this new wave of Fant-Asia coming out of China lately. That's a bit of a retread too, but at least the special effects are better now.

[doug maverick]

I just can't wait to see another modern day actioner. Like sha po lang. Wuxia was amazing. But it was history of violance, mixed with csi/law and order. And it would have been perfect if only they didn't shoot the end to that last fight scene. That killed it for me. It was a kingdom of the crystal skulls moment.

[Jimbo]

As long as there's no martial emo, I'm cool with it.

I certainly hope these films open up some doors. I've always felt that the martial genre is painfully unimaginative. Why is in martial arts filmmakers keep regurgitating Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury? Although I must say I've been enjoying this new wave of Fant-Asia coming out of China lately. That's a bit of a retread too, but at least the special effects are better now.

The American MA films are always tournament-related (MMA, underground fights, etc., etc.). In (most) of the recent Chinese MA films, it's Chinese against everyone else. That got old decades ago. I guess there's been a Bruce Lee fad in China, pretty late for it; I think it was the same in China with the Beatles not long ago, too.

I'm still waiting for Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa to just get on with it. Tony seems to have run out of steam, but I'm sure that's what many want to see. Maybe a story similar to Secret Rivals, but instead of southern style vs. northern style, it'll be Donnie and Tony's respective styles. Then cast someone like Kim Won-Jin as the mutual villain, so that Donnie and Tony can fight, but neither has to 'lose' to the other. In the end fight, they have to double-team against the villain. And set it in modern times (Tony is way better in modern settings). That's a simplistic outline of a basic idea. I know that's not an original MA movie story idea, but compared to a lot of today's MA films, it would be refreshingly different.

Oh, and have Sammo Hung as the main choreographer, with input from each camp. That might lessen any issues of ego. Boom, problem solved. **Well, maybe...

[GeneChing]

Is Keanu the Carradine of this generation?

Keanu Reeves' Directorial Debut 'Man of Tai Chi' Gets Greenlight
3:12 PM PST 12/14/2011 by Pamela McClintock

Village Roadshow Asia, China Film Group, Wanda Media and Universal Pictures are co-financing the martial arts pic, which will shoot in China.

Universal Pictures is boarding Keanu Reeves' directorial debut Man of Tai Chi, which will be shot in China and co-financed by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, China Film Group, Wanda Media and Universal.

Reeves, who also will co-star in the martial arts pic, has been in talks with Village Roadshow Asia and China Film Group for months regarding the project. Village Roadshow Asia's affiliates will distribute Man of Tai Chi in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, by China Film Group and Wanda Media Group in China and by Universal in the rest of the world.

Man of Tai Chi reteams Reeves and Village Roadshow, which co-produced and co-financed The Matrix franchise with Warner Bros.

Set in contemporary Beijing, Man of Tai Chi headlines Tiger Chen, who was part of the kung fu team in The Matrix. In Man of Tai Chi, Chen stars as a young martial artist whose fighting skills brings him to a realm of vast opportunities, and painful choices.

Reeves, who is currently in China, will shoot the film in Mandarin and English, and is slated to start production in February.

"We are pleased to announce Man of Tai Chi under the Village Roadshow Pictures Asia label and to extend our long-standing relationship with Keanu," Village Roadshow Entertainment Group CEO Glen Basser said.

Universal International president David Kosse said the opportunity to become further involved in the Chinese market, as well as to bring Chinese films to audiences around the world, is a priority for the studio. "Man of Tai Chi has an amazing pedigree of filmmakers and we're thrilled to be a part of Keanu's directorial debut," he said.

[ShaolinDan]

Carradine could act at least.

[doug maverick]

well considering he is literally at the top of the A list and carradine never was..im gonna go with no...but yes carradine could act his ass off.

[GeneChing]

Gotta write something to make that 10 character minimum for posts.

Universal boards Reeves' Man of Tai Chi
By Patrick Frater
Thu, 15 December 2011, 10:04 AM (HKT)

Hollywood studio Universal Pictures Inc has come on board as international distributor and co-financier of the Chinese language film Man of Tai Chi that will mark the directorial debut of Keanu REEVES.

The film is being co-produced by Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia, China Film Group Corporation 中國電影集團公司 and Wanda Media.

It is expected to shoot from February in Beijing, with production travelling from the mainland to Hong Kong and Macau.

Village Roadshow and its related companies will release the film in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. China will be handled by CFG and Wanda, while Universal handles distribution in the rest of the world.

"The opportunity to get further involved in the Chinese market and to bring Chinese films to audiences around the world is important to Universal," said David KOSSE, president of Universal International, in a statement.

Reeves will also appear in front of the camera, though the star will be Tiger CHEN 陳虎, a martial artist who previously worked on The Matrix with both Reeves and Village Roadshow.

The contemporary, Beijing-set story is the "spiritual journey of a young martial artist (Tiger Chen), whose fighting skills brings him to a realm opportunities and painful choices."

Reeves recently completed filming in the UK of 47 Ronin, an English-language, Japanese film that Universal will also handle.

[GeneChing]

Karen Mok Is Keanu Reeves' Tai Chi Girl
2011-12-19 13:01:29 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Xie Tingting
Karen Mok has been announced as the female lead of Keanu Reeves' directorial debut "Man of Tai Chi".

Singer-actress Karen Mok has been announced as the female lead of Keanu Reeves' directorial debut "Man of Tai Chi", according to Mtime.com.

Mok will play a police officer in the movie.

The casting progress has lasted for a few months in China. A number of top Chinese actresses were rumored to be joining the movie including Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Liu Yifei and Huang Shengyi.

Previous reports have indicated that Chen Hu, the kung fu coach for Reeves, will play the lead role. Reeves will play opposite him as a villain.

"Man of Tai Chi" is a modern kung fu flick with a tai chi twist. China Film Group, Village Roadshow Asia, Wanda Media and Universal Pictures will co-produce the movie. Universal Pictures will be in charge of its release in North America.

The movie is expected to start shooting in February in Beijing.

By Chen Nan

I've never been much of a fan of Karen Mok. She looks a little too much like someone I used to know and that freaks me out.

Karen Mok's official website

[GeneChing]

Keanu is positioning himself for the Chinese market. Does anyone know if he speaks Chinese?

Posted: Tue., Feb. 21, 2012, 5:26am PT
Keanu Reeves to deliver masterclass in Hong Kong
Filmart attracts 640 exhibitors from 30 countries
By Clifford Coonan

BEIJING -- Organizers are gearing up for a record number of exhibitors at Filmart, the Hong Kong Film and Television Market, while Keanu Reeves will give a master class on digital film at the Hong Kong Film Festival, which runs concurrently.

The March 19 to 22 event is likely to attract considerable interest after mainland China, which is strongly linked with the Hong Kong biz, agreed to increase market access for U.S. movies earlier this week. This resolves an outstanding trade dispute, prompting hopes of a boom in Hollywood-China relations.

Filmart will feature some 640 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

The U.S.' Independent Film and TV Alliance will present a variety of companies in the U.S. pavilion.

For the first time there will be pavilions for exhibitors from Turkey and Mexico, while other pavilions will house Gaul's Unifrance and Ile de France; Film Export U.K.; South Korea's Kofic and Kocca; Japan's promo org Unijapan, the Okinawa Film Office, Hokkaido Contents Distribution and Jetro.

Filmart will also host pavilions for Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Filmart is Asia's premier film industry event and one of the world's top three film markets in terms of exhibitor numbers. Together with other events under the expo, we look forward to showcasing the biggest annual entertainment event to the world," said Hong Kong Trade Development Council assistant executive director Raymond Yip.

There will also be seminars and conferences looking at new media and online distribution, screenwriting for the global market, and others.

Reeves will be guest of honor at the Jockey Club Cine Academy Master Class on March 18, presenting "Side by Side," a documentary produced by and featuring Reeves interviewing filmmakers including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron about the development of digital cinema technology.

"A talent of his international stature at the Master Class is a real encouragement to our young people to develop their interest in film and film culture," said fest exec Roger Garcia.

The event will be moderated by filmmaker and art connoisseur Yonfan, who is involved in digital restoration of his own films.

The events come under the umbrella of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, which will feature nine events covering film, TV, digital entertainment and music.

Also included are the Asian Film Awards, the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum, the Hong Kong Asian Pop Music Festival, the IFPI Hong Kong Sales Music Award, the Incubator for Film & Visual Media in Asia and the Digital Visual Effects Summit.

[doug maverick]

Keanu is positioning himself for the Chinese market. Does anyone know if he speaks Chinese?

no he doesnt...he barely speaks american.

[GeneChing]

Here we go....

Tai Chi starts its stretch
By Patrick Frater
Wed, 29 February 2012, 18:00 PM (HKT)


Production began yesterday (28 Feb) in Beijing on Man Of Tai Chi, the Chinese-language film that marks the directorial debut of US star Keanu Reeves.

Filming will take place over some six months in China and Hong Kong on the RMB200 million ($32 million) contemporary Kung Fu and Tai Chi action film.

The cast is headed by Tiger Chen Hu, Reeves and Karen Mok, with celebrated action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping overseeing the martial arts.

The film is a venture involving China Film Group, Village Roadshow Asia, Wanda Media and Universal Pictures as co-producers. Universal will handle distribution in most international territories.

Reeves is pictured (right) with China Film Group head, Han Sanping (left).

[doug maverick]

this was a pretty cool proof of concept video and article.

http://twitchfilm.com/news/2012/06/k...of-tai-chi.php


enjoy

[GeneChing]

These days, Keanu Reeves is redefining the very CONCEPT of Kung Fu
06.26.12 Written by Vince Mancini

Keanu Reeves has already begun production on his directorial debut, a kung fu picture called Man of Tai Chi, and not only does he famously know kung fu (thanks, Larry Fishburne, sorry about your daughter), he’s trying to come up with a new way to film it. There’s a proof of concept video on YouTube for the special rig he’ll be using, which is called Bot & Dolly.

Keanu says “the ambition for me was trying to get what I’ve seen done before with CGI and putting the camera in places where you couldn’t get and have the flesh and blood elements there.”

t looks like the reverse of wire fu, sort of an “in Soviet Russia, camera flies you” kind of situation. The possibilities of it aren’t exactly blowing my mind just yet, but it would allow you to make that little frame with your fingers and gesticulate wildly a lot on the set, which I bet really makes you feel like a big-time director. Also, I was able to get this exclusive photo of Keanu Reeves on the day he discovered the rig:

"You guys! You guys! Come quick!"

Here's the vid: Keanu Reeves - Kungfu Proof of Concept It's a cool rig, worth a peek.

Keanu Reeves Secures Funding and Distribution for Directorial Debut MAN OF TAI CHI
by Brendan Bettinger Postedecember 14th, 2011 at 8:31 pm



It was first announced in April that Keanu Reeves planned on making his directorial debut with the martial arts movie Man of Tai Chi. Ever since, Reeves has been in talks with Village Roadshow Asia and China Film Group to make it happen. Reeves has finally made the deal, teaming with Universal and Wanda Media in addition to Village Roadshow and China Film Group to make and distribute Man of Tai Chi. Tiger Chen, who was part of the Matrix stunt team, stars as “as a young martial artist whose fighting skills brings him to a realm of vast opportunities, and painful choices.” Reeves will also co-star as the villain.

Man of Tai Chi is scheduled to start shooting in February in China. Reeves will shoot in both Mandarin and English for the film, set in contemporary Beijing. Hit the jump for quotes from Reeves on his approach to the task at hand.

Back in April, Reeves promised he would not skimp on the kung fu:



“There’s 18 fights. We’ve timed it out. It’s about 40 minutes of fighting. I want to make a good, solid kung fu movie. Good story, good plot—but let’s get some good kung fu going!”

Reeves also noted the inherent difficulties with the truly international production, which must be daunting for the first time filmmaker:

“We want to do it in Chinese and English, do it as kind of a co-production with CFG perhaps, which is a Chinese film group, kind of a studio. It’s tricky.”

I honestly don’t know if Reeves can pull this off, but I am happy he will get the opportunity to try.

Amazingly, Man of Tai Chi is still a close second in Upcoming Martial Arts Movies from Unexpected Sources to The Man of the Iron Fist, a kung fu movie written and directed by RZA, starring Russell Crowe.

[GeneChing]

kids these days.... PAMPERED!

'Matrix' Fight Choreographer Talks Working With Keanu Reeves, Jackie Chan
6:19 PM PDT 6/28/2012 by Karen Chu


Yuen Woo-Ping is being honored at the Paris Cinema Film Festival and is currently working on Reeves' directorial debut.

HONG KONG – Yuen Woo-ping, the Hong Kong film industry’s premier martial arts film action choreographer and director, is being honored for his contribution to one of the territory’s best-known genres at the Hong Kong in Focus special program at the 10th Paris Cinema Film Festival. The program, organized in collaboration with the Hong Kong International Film Festival, is opening June 29, where over half a century’s worth of Hong Kong cinematic gems are showcased.

Yuen will be attending the festivities in Paris to introduce his kung-fu tour de force spanning three decades, and to give a master class on July 4. Featured in the program are his second directorial effort, the action-comedy Drunken Master (1978), which helped established Jackie Chan as a leading man after years of faceless but hardy stuntman work; Iron Monkey (1993), which reunited the helmer with his former martial arts protégé, Donnie Yen; and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), director Ang Lee’s kung-fu rhapsody starring Chow Yun-Fat that Yuen says established a “romanticized, aesthetically pleasing visual style of kung fu” that set the tone for onscreen martial arts fighting for the next decade in Chinese-language cinema.

“In the era of Drunken Master, all the fighting you see on screen were genuine fighting; the actors were hitting each other for real, and it really hurt,” Yuen tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And injuries sometimes did occur. But that was when most the action actors and stuntmen had authentic martial arts backgrounds. At the same time, as the director and action choreographer, that gave me the most freedom to design action sequences. I could just pull the actor aside if I had a new idea, we could work it out together whether he could pull it off physically or not, or give me his ideas."

"The choreography was more flexible and spontaneous,” adds the 67-year-old master who is known as “baat ye”, or “Grandfather Eight”. Yuen’s father Yuen Siu-tien, the first action choreographer in Chinese-language cinema, played the role of the original drunken master, Beggar So, in the film. Yuen followed his father’s lead from a young age, dedicating all his time to learning and training for martial arts and Peking opera combat.

Over the course of more than thirty years, Yuen has seen action in Hong Kong films evolves from a realistic form to a style that emphasizes the beauty of movements. “The action nowadays is all about romance,” says the award-winning action choreographer, “and the whole process is so much more careful and meticulous when putting together an action scene.”

Besides the change in taste in action cinema, Yuen has also seen the ups and downs of Hong Kong action filmmakers, from the stars to the stuntmen. “The reigning action leading men are not getting any younger, so are the stuntmen. It’s very difficult find the next Jackie Chan or Jet Li, and even Donnie Yen isn’t a young man anymore. He’s paid his dues, and finally got his break,” says Yuen. “The Hong Kong stunt crews are getting too old also, for the physical demand in action films. When the younger generations in Hong Kong are mostly so much more pampered than when I was a kid, who’s going to practice like we did? We basically learned our discipline by getting beat up by our sifu on a daily basis. So, the teams I’ve been working with nowadays are mostly from China,” he adds.

Yuen’s innovative choreography of movements and combat eventually earned him a stint in Hollywood, where he famously designed breathtaking action sequences, which combined physical movements and special effects, in the Wachowskis' The Matrix trilogy, and later for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Part 1 & 2.

“We are at a time where we can create the most impossible action sequences with the help of visual effects,” says Yuen, who is open to future opportunities in Hollywood, but is more inclined to work in Chinese-speaking regions because of the challenges presented by the language barrier. Nevertheless, the master, whose credits includes numerous tai chi-themed films including Drunken Tai Chi (1984), and Tai Chi Master (1993), is working as action director in Man of Tai Chi, the directorial debut of Keanu Reeves, who Yuen met on The Matrix and was impressed by his diligence. “We had to start from scratch training him from the basics, but he was very hardworking and put in a great deal of effort,” Yuen commented. For the tai chi-influenced action sequences in the new film, which Reeves also stars, Yuen says the actor-director has a lot of ideas, and final product would show a mix of different martial arts disciplines that has not be previously seen on film.

The 10th edition of Paris Cinema Film Festival will run from June 29 to July 10.