Filming Begins for Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip's Biopic of YIP MAN, Bruce Lee's Master
Two promotional stills released to the press.
Shots from a press conference held yesterday in Shanghai. (Images: Mandarin Films, Shanghai Film Group, Corp., Tom.com,QQ.com.)
The biopic of Yip Man has been in production in Shanghai for several weeks. This is the fourth collaboration between
Donnie Yen and
Wilson Yip, after Sha Po Lang, Dragon Tiger Gate and Flash Point.
Sammo Hung, who played the main villain in Sha Po Lang is also on board as the action director.
The film, jointed-produced by Hong Kong studio Mandarin Films and Shanghai Film Group Corp., is based on the life story of late martial-art master Yip Man from the 1930s to the 1950s. He is known mostly as the teacher of teenage Bruce Lee, and a master of Wing Chun style.
The idea of making a movie about Yip Man began over a decade ago. Back then, Wong Kar-Wai, Jeff Lau and Corey Yuen tried to make a Yip Man story, and picked Donnie Yen to play Yip Man and Stephen Chow to play Bruce Lee. The project ended for reasons unknown. Then Wong Kar-Wai said many times that he would do the biopic and Leung Chiu-Wai would play the lead. Of cause, Wong is not a very productive director and his version of Yip Man story is no where near start.
The cast also includes
Simon Yam,
Fan Siu-Wong,
Lam Ka-Tung,
Xing Yu,
Wong You-Nam,
Chen Zhihui,
Xiong Dailin and
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi. The story has already been approved by Yip Man’s two sons, Yip and Yip, both are well over 80. The film is expected to be released theatrically in Hong Kong and the mainland China on December 19, 2008.
Quelle: monkeypeaches
