Birth of the Dragon

[GeneChing]

Exclusive ezine extra from our NOV+DEC 2016. Read Philip Ng on Making it in Martial Arts Movies by Gene Ching.

[GeneChing]

It's like the Curse of the Little Dragon that so many have spread rumors about...so surreal

ALPS Served A Stranger In Bruce Lee Movie Suit, Co. Says
By Kat Sieniuc

Law360, New York (December 9, 2016, 9:17 PM EST) -- A Beijing-based film production company suing an entertainment lawyer over a soured deal for the rights to a Bruce Lee biopic fought back in Virginia federal court on Friday against a bid for default judgment by the lawyer’s insurer, saying BigLaw’s ALPS served the wrong person.

The Attorney Liability Protection Society asked the court to declare it wasn't liable for covering or defending attorney Bennett Fidlow related to claims brought by Chinese company Kylin Network Movie and Culture Media Company Ltd. over a rights deal gone bad for a movie about martial arts star Bruce Lee.

But Kylin says that an affidavit meant for its CEO “Pang Hong,” also known as “James Pang" was instead delivered to a “Mr. Leo Shi Young,” who is neither an employee of Kylin nor authorized to accept service. Since its CEO was never served, Kylin said, the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hand out the default judgment ALPS is looking for.

“When service of process is ineffective, a court does not acquire personal jurisdiction over a party, and a default judgment resulting from such defective service is void,” Kylin said in its motion, quoting another case.

The Chinese company added, “there is no evidence that the service on Mr. Young, an unrelated person and party, constitutes good service under California law.”

Counsel for ALPS did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday.

ALPS brought its lawsuit in May seeking to duck coverage for Kylin’s suit against Fidlow. According to ALPS’ request for a “no coverage” declaration, Fidlow had a falling out with its client Kylin going back to at least April 2015.

That was when Kylin notified the lawyer of its intention to sue him over an alleged conflict of interest and fraud in a deal he helped broker for the rights to produce “Birth of a Dragon,” according to the complaint.

The company alleges that Fidlow, formerly of Virginia firm Schroder Fidlow PLC, first notified ALPS of the likelihood of a lawsuit on July 28, 2015, less than two weeks after his one-year ALPS policy coverage period began.

But the company said Kylin had previously warned Fidlow that a malpractice suit was forthcoming. That previous notification precludes coverage for Kylin’s suit filed in September, according to the company.

Because the lawsuit “is outside the coverage afforded by the Schroder Fidlow policy, ALPS is entitled to a declaratory judgment in its favor … declaring that the Schroder Fidlow policy does not afford coverage for the underlying suit and ALPS has no duty to defend and/or indemnify Fidlow,” the filing said.

The underlying California state suit revolves around a 2014 deal struck between Bliss Media Ltd. and Kylin on the financing and production of the Bruce Lee movie, according to the original complaint.

After execution of a partnership agreement, Fidlow jointly represented Bliss and Kylin in their efforts to obtain the rights to the movie, the documents say. The partners and another entity, QED Pictures, also executed a financing deal in which Kylin paid QED $1 million for certain rights to the production, according to ALPS.

Kylin alleges that it was advised months later that QED never held any rights to the movie, and the actual holder was a separate entity called QED Holdings LLC. Kylin said it was able to retrieve funds from QED but was refused the return of a separate $1 million paid to Bliss.

ALPS is represented by Timothy Baird and Jeremy Williams of Kutak Rock LLP.

Kylin is represented by J. Chapman Petersen and Stephen P. Pierce of Surovell Isaacs Petersen & Levy PLC.

The case is ALPS Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Fidlow et al., case number 3:16-cv-00276, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

--Additional reporting by Andrew Strickler. Editing by Mark Lebetkin.

[ThatGuy]

But Kylin says that an affidavit meant for its CEO “Pang Hong,” also known as “James Pang" was instead delivered to a “Mr. Leo Shi Young,” who is neither an employee of Kylin nor authorized to accept service. Since its CEO was never served, Kylin said, the court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hand out the default judgment ALPS is looking for.

http://www.kylinpicturesus.com/about.html

The plot thickens..

[GeneChing]

I've been wondering what was up with this project.

Bruce Lee-Wong Jack Man Brawler ‘Birth Of The Dragon’ To Land At BH Tilt & WWE Studios
by Mike Fleming Jr
February 1, 2017 9:42am



EXCLUSIVE: After the Sundance avalanche of movie sales, a splashy title that unveiled last fall at Toronto is securing a wide distribution deal. BH Tilt and WWE Studios are close to a pact for a wide North American theatrical release of Birth Of The Dragon, the George Nolfi-directed drama about the emergence of Bruce Lee as a martial arts icon. The film is set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, and was inspired by the epic true-life showdown between the brash newcomer Lee long before Enter The Dragon and the Shaolin kung fu master Wong Jack Man. Lee is played by Hong Kong action star Philip Ng, Wong by Chinese star Xia Yu.


BH Tilt
The outcome of the 1964 fight, held in private with few witnesses, has long been in dispute. Nolfi uses it as the jumping-off point for a coming-of-age story not only of Lee, but also a young Steve McQueen-inspired character who is the link between the two masters and makes possible the East meets West collision. The young man (played by Billy Magnussen) has his own subplot, a Romeo and Juliet romance with a young Chinese immigrant (JingJing Qu) under the control of the Chinese mob. He enlists the masters in his own conflict, in a mashup of fact and fable that captures the spirit of Lee’s ’70s martial arts films. The cut I saw before the film unveiled in Toronto has been finalized. They’ll set a release date after closing the deal.



BH Tilt is part of Blumhouse, the genre film company which just scored a monster hit with the James McAvoy-starrer Split. The distribution company first teamed with WWE on the upcoming pic Sleight. Good Universe is handling foreign sales on Dragon to kick off at the Berlin Film Festival.

The picture is a co-production with Groundswell, Kylin Pictures, and Anomaly Entertainment. Michael London, Janice Williams, James Hong Pang and Leo Shi Young are the producers. The script was written by Stephen J. Rivele & Christopher Wilkinson, who with Eric Roth and Michael Mann scripted the story of another iconic brawler, Ali. They based Birth Of The Dragon on the Michael Dorgan article “Bruce Lee’s Toughest Fight.” WME Global is brokering the deal.

[GeneChing]

This is so confusing.

ALPS Escapes Bid For Coverage Of Bruce Lee Movie Suit
By Rick Archer

Law360, Los Angeles (February 22, 2017, 6:57 PM EST) -- A Virginia federal judge on Wednesday ruled BigLaw malpractice insurer ALPS can duck out of covering an entertainment lawyer in a lawsuit over a rights deal gone bad for a movie about martial arts star Bruce Lee.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson granted ALPS Property & Casualty Insurance Co.'s motion for summary judgment, finding the organization does not have to cover attorney Bennett Fidlow of Entertainment Law Inc. against the suit by Beijing-based Kylin Network Movie and Culture Media Company Ltd.

The order notes the defendants did not oppose the motion, and that ALPS had agreed to drop its demand for defense costs.

The dispute centers around a California state suit against Fidlow regarding a 2014 deal between Bliss Media Ltd. and Kylin on the financing and production of a movie called “Birth of a Dragon.”

After execution of a partnership agreement, Fidlow represented both Bliss and Kylin while the pair attempted to obtain the rights to the movie. The partners and another entity, QED Pictures, also executed a financing deal in which Kylin paid QED $1 million for certain rights to the production, according to ALPS.

Kylin alleged in its suit against Fidlow that it was advised months later that QED never held any rights to the movie, and the actual holder was a separate entity called QED Holdings LLC. Kylin said it was able to retrieve funds from QED but was refused the return of a separate $1 million paid to Bliss.

The media company sued in September 2015, bringing claims of malpractice, fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty against Fidlow and his firm at the time, Schroder Fidlow PLC.

ALPS brought its own lawsuit in May seeking to duck coverage for Kylin’s suit against Fidlow. The insurer alleged that Fidlow first notified ALPS of the likelihood of a lawsuit on July 28, 2015 — less than two weeks after his one-year ALPS policy coverage period for ELI began — despite knowing of a potential lawsuit as far back as April.

ALPS said all of the actions that took place leading up to Kylin’s suit did not take place during the ELI coverage period, meaning the policy did not cover the claim. ALPS also said the malpractice allegations could not be covered under Schroder Fidlow’s policy running from July 7, 2014, to July 7, 2015, because Fidlow filed his notice of claim outside the coverage policy.

In a statement Schroder Davis said its current partners were not involved in the underlying suit, but there had been "confusion" over whether it is a sucessor to Schroder Fidlow.

"Schroder Davis is not a successor, and ALPS has acknowledged as much since filing the declaratory judgment action. This has been an unfortunate situation and we are glad that Schroder Davis is no longer entangled in this litigation," the statement said.

Counsel for ALPS declined to comment. Counsel for Fidlow did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Fidlow and ELI are represented by Steven S. Biss.

Schroder Davis is represented by Edward E. Bagnell Jr. and John M. Erbach of Spotts Fain PC.

ALPS is represented by Timothy Baird and Jeremy Williams of Kutak Rock LLP.

The case is ALPS Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Fidlow et al., case number 3:16-cv-00276, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

This story has been updated to include comments from Schroder Davis.

--Additional reporting by Andrew Strickler and Matthew Guarnaccia. Editing by Breda Lund.

[GeneChing]

There was a screener shown to the Wong Jack Man school a few weeks ago. Some of them will be judging for us at KFTC25 AF. They liked it and accepted it as a 'fable'.

Bruce Lee Origins Pic ‘Birth Of The Dragon’ Punches August Release Date
by Anthony D'Alessandro
May 12, 2017 12:15pm

I
BH Tilt

George Nolfi’s Birth of the Dragon, which follows the rise of a young Bruce Lee, will open wide on August 25 via OTL Releasing and BH Tilt/WWE Studios.

At a time when the 1960s counterculture was in full swing in San Francisco, Lee (Philip Ng) was a rebel of his own, teaching his own type of martial arts to non-Chinese despite his community frowning upon it. A young actor named Steven McKee (Billy Magnussen) becomes a pupil of Lee’s, who in turn is fascinated by his new student’s line of work. However, kung fu master Wong Jack Man (Yu Xia) is sent from China to stop Lee’s heretical ways, soon giving birth to a legend. Jin Xing, Jingjing Qu and Simon Yin also star.

On August 25, Birth of the Dragon will be programmed against Weinstein/Dimension’s horror title Polaroid, TWC’s Tulip Fever, Sony’s drama All Saints and IFC’s African-American drama Crown Heights.

Birth of the Dragon premiered at Toronto last year. Steven J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson wrote the script and produce with Michael London and Janice Williams for Groundswell Productions along with James Hong Pang and Leo Shi Young for Kylin Pictures.

[GeneChing]

Birth of the Dragon finally opens Aug 25, 2017. Our NOV+DEC 2016 issue was premature.

[GeneChing]

It'll be amusing to watch how this release plays out, given the back story. I just hope it reflects well on Philip Ng in the end. He's delivered some great work and I wish him all the continued success he deserves.

Enter a New (Little) Dragon: Philip Ng…
18 Jul 2017/Mike Leeder



George Nolfi’s Birth of the Dragon is being released theatrically in North America in August… but might it yet defy the early nay-sayers the trailer created and prove to be a hit?

Philip Ng (Once Upon a Time in Shanghai) plays Bruce Lee while Xiao Yu, from Dragon Squad, plays rival martial arts master Wong Jack-man. The film is inspired by the real challenge match between Lee and Wong, a match that varies from a friendly challenge to a vicious battle to the near-death depending on whose account you listen to…

San Francisco, 1965: Bruce Lee has been making a name for himself in the martial arts world, but he courted controversy and criticism for his out-spoken attitude about real martial arts needing to evolve… and for his willingness to teach Chinese martial arts to anyone. A misunderstanding lead a Shaolin Master, Wong Jack-man, to seek out Lee, to test his martial arts skills at the highest level.

That’s the version the movie goes with… it’s not selling itself as the true autobiographical depiction of Lee’s life and times (unlike Rob Cohen’s entertaining if somewhat fanciful portrayal of Lee’s life in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and the sadly shockingly inaccurate – and at times almost insane – Legend of Bruce Lee series produced by CCTV with the full approval and support of the Bruce Lee Estate from ten years ago). Birth of the Dragon is inspired by true events, and real people but takes the idea of the challenge match and some events and people from Lee’s life and takes them in a new direction.

For some reason the film was accused, much like The Great Wall, of whitewashing (because as we all know that if ‘Giant Monsters’ had really been ravaging China, no foreign mercenaries in search of superior Chinese gunpowder would have ever worked with the Chinese forces to battle these monsters and learn anything about honour and discipline from them!). The claim is that Birth of the Dragon white-washes Lee’s life, citing that there’s a western character in there who has a relationship with a Chinese woman! (The question being, what’s wrong – Bruce Lee married a White woman…) Of course it was also not produced with the blessing or support of the Bruce Lee Estate, and there was quite a lot of press about that aspect.

No, the Lee Estate wasn’t involved and Shannon Lee said the film showed a “…lack a complete understanding of his philosophies and artistry. They haven’t captured the essence of his beliefs in martial arts or storytelling.” But Bruce Lee was a public figure and many of the accusations and backlash that spun off from the controversy seem to have been without seeing the film, and on the strength of a trailer that told the story as witnessed by one of Lee’s western students.

It would appear from new reports and audience reaction that there’s a counterpoint view that the film is not the white-washed tale some accused of it being. Indeed, I have a feeling that a lot of the early naysayers will soon be eating their words.

Either way, we at Impact look forward to seeing Philip Ng’s take on the Little Dragon, being portrayed at the time when the man was becoming a legend; when he was finding his way in the world and – yes – was, according to many who knew him at the time, a little cocky, and did sometimes literally banged heads with people over his beliefs… but we also want to see Shannon Lee’s upcoming Little Dragon movie which will focus on Lee’s early life and times, which will begin production this fall with Shekhar Kapur directing…

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

...it's that final graphic image that warrants a repost of this article here.

#BirthOfTheDragon
5 Things You Need To Know About Philip Ng, Who Plays Bruce Lee In Upcoming 'Birth Of The Dragon'
August 10, 2017 at 08:49AM


Philip Ng as Bruce Lee in 'Birth Of The Dragon' [Credit: Groundswell Productions] Philip Ng as Bruce Lee in 'Birth Of The Dragon' [Credit: Groundswell Productions]
By David Rodemerk, writer at CREATORS.CO

Watched HBO and Cinemax as a little kid before "binge-watching" was even a thing! Mom called me a TV Guide with diapers. Twitter @filmigos
David Rodemerk
When it comes to martial arts, the first name that pops into every person's head is probably Bruce Lee. His masterful fighting style and insightful teachings have influenced generations of film fans and martial arts students. In the new film Birth Of The Dragon, he's brilliantly portrayed by actor Philip Ng.


The story focuses on Bruce Lee challenging kung fu master Wong Jack Man (played by Xia Yu) to a private fight. People debate who won the fight in real life, but one outcome is not debated: this was the point when #BruceLee revamped his style of kung fu.

Philip Ng is the ideal choice for the role — he eats, sleeps and breathes martial arts. Here are some interesting facts that will prove Ng has the right moves for the role.

1. He Was Born in Hong Kong

When he was seven years old, his family emigrated to Chicago, Illinois, from Hong Kong. Eventually, Ng moved back to Hong Kong to study both acting and fight choreography.

2. He's Spent His Entire Life Studying Kung Fu

straightblast5
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straightblast5My Saturday night. 我的星期六晚 😎 #gainz #jumping #gym #deadlifts #legday #kungfumovies #HongKongActionCinema #GodisGood #payback

From a young age, Ng learned the styles of Hung Gar, Choy Lay Fut, Wing Chun Gung Fu and taekwondo thanks to his father and uncle, and later trained with Master Woon S. Shim and Sifu Wong Shun Leung. It was Sifu Wong who encouraged Ng to go back to America and teach students to become fellow practitioners and training partners. Making him even more perfect for the role, Philip Ng learned Wing Chun from Wong Shun Leung—just like Bruce Lee.

3. He Started His Own Wing Chun Association

Ng Family Chinese Martial Arts Association
about 7 years ago

Sifu Philip Ng teaching an IVTA class.

In 1997, Philip Ng initiated the Illini Ving Tsun Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sifu Philip Ng spent five years presiding over the association as both the head instructor and club president.

4. He's Already An Accomplished Martial Arts And Action Star



Philip Ng worked his butt off in the Hong Kong action movie scene. He started off as a stuntman and eventually became a featured actor. In 2014, all of his hard work paid off when he was chosen to be the lead in the martial arts film Once Upon a Time in Shanghai. He played Ma Yongzhen, a laborer who moves to Shanghai in the hope of becoming rich, but must use his kung fu skills to survive. But Ng has been acting for over a decade and a half, with an impressive filmography already under his belt, including

Enter the Phoenix (2004)
House of Fury (2005)
Treasure Inn (2011)
Mr. & Mrs. Gambler (2012)
Naked Soldier (2012)
The Man from Macau (2014)
Wild City (2015)
He'll also be starring in the upcoming King of Drug Dealers with Rogue One's Donnie Yen.

5. He's A Stuntman And A Stunt Choreographer

straightblast5
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I admire and respect all fighting methods, but I find the rhythm inherent in traditional Chinese martial arts to fit very well with the type of fight-choreography that I prefer when I film or direct. ··········
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straightblast5I admire and respect all fighting methods, but I find the rhythm inherent in traditional Chinese martial arts to fit very well with the type of fight-choreography that I prefer when I film or direct. ··········
Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine - November+December 2016 http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazi...p?article=1316
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After leaving his regular job, Philip Ng pursued his dream of performing in martial arts films. While working gigs in Hong Kong, he was introduced to Chin Kar Lok, a director who was once a member Sammo Hung's stuntman team, looking for someone to help train actors. Ng became his assistant martial arts choreographer on a film. Looks like Ng put his education degree to work! Not only that, but he uses his extensive martial arts background when he's in front of the camera as much a when he's behind it. Ng does all of his own stunts, which is incredibly impressive when you check out his body of work.

And now, with Birth of a Dragon, a film inspired by a true event, he's about to become a star in the U.S. as well. There's no doubt that Philip Ng has the skills to bring Bruce Lee's infamous battle against Wong Jack Man to life.

Birth of the Dragon premieres in theaters on August 25, 2017.

[Taijiren]

I just got back from a special screening of "Birth of the Dragon" at the AMC Kabuki Theater in San Francisco. It was attended by the director (George Nolfi), the actor who played Bruce Lee (Philip Ng), and Wong Jack Man himself. I also caught sight of various students of Sifu Wong who've written articles for Kungfu Magazine in the past (Michael Dorgan, Rick Wing, Scott Jensen).

I'm making this post in the hopes that people will give this movie a chance. It's gotten a lot of bad press after last year's initial trailer and screening at the Toronto Film Festival, not to mention Shannon Lee's dismissal of the film. I think, however, that if you leave any preconceived notions on what a "Bruce Lee film" is supposed to be like at the door, you'll fine this film to be quite entertaining. As the guys on the "They Call Me Bruce" podcast first stated (and Nolfi mentioned tonight as well), you should think of this movie as kungfu 'fanfic'. It takes some well known real world people and puts them in an alternative history (and the end of the movie gets REALLY alternative).

That being said, Philip does a good job capturing many of Bruce's mannerisms. One gets the feeling that he watched the available footage of Bruce's interviews and demos (the ones that we've all seen many times) on an endless loop. Apparently, Philip also did some of the fight choreography along with Corey Yuen. I had some concerns about the fight choreography after watching the first trailer, but it turns out all of those scenes were from a home movie Bruce Lee was making to break into Hollywood and purposely made to look bad (in the film that section is done with choppy grainy film to emphasize the home movie quality). The rest of the fights are quite entertaining (especially when the film goes off the deep end into alternative history at the end).

At any rate, if you like kungfu movies (and who of us doesn't), give this movie a shot. Just remember it's not a biopic, it's fanfic, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Almost forgot to mention there are cameos by Yu Hai, Wang Xian, and Vanness Wu as well. Fun for those of us who know who they are.]

[GeneChing]

My bad. I should've followed up more on this. Last weekend, we just did some retrofitting on our office (sprinkler system repairs and new carpet) so we had to move everything out and back again and I'm just about done with my stuff. However, clearly I should've been in SF yesterday for this. It would've been great to see Philip again in the flesh.

There's news vid embedded in the article below.

Bruce Lee biopic director, actor present plaque to San Francisco hospital where star was born
Wednesday, August 16, 2017 06:27PM

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A new movie based on the legendary fight between Bruce Lee and Chinese kung fu master Wong Jack Man is also helping the San Francisco hospital where the martial artist and movie star was born.

The biopic, "Birth of the Dragon," is set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco.

On Wednesday, the film's director George Nolfi and star Philip Ng presented a commemorative plaque to Chinese Hospital, where Bruce Lee was born in 1940.

"I tried to capture the spirit of Bruce Lee. He was a superhero but he was also a human being," said Ng. He went on to say, "'Birth of the Dragon' was here, so having the press conference here and also, you know, brings that point to life and also we want to help the community and have people donate to this hospital so they can further help the community."

Nolfi added, "Bruce was born in 1964. In this film, he's young, not fully formed... trying to prove himself, recently married and dealing in a world where he's trying to become a movie star. He was thinking of racism and constraints that might keep him down. You can see that in the movie... why he's fighting and how it transformed him. He's like a movie star being born in this movie."

Wednesday night's premiere of "Birth of the Dragon" is a benefit for Chinese Hospital.

The film is set to be released in theaters nationwide on Aug. 25.