There was a LOT to talk about, so feel free to look around!
New Trailer for the Grandmasters
Andy On Speaks About Special Identity
Fight of the Week: The Messenger
More Berandal Cast Members Revealed
32nd HK Film Award Nominations
Shaine and Nick Podcast Now Up!
Police Story 2013 Finishes Filming
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Review
Images of Donnie Yen from Iceman Cometh 3D
When people hear about Special Identity, some may cringe while others get excited. To be honest, the movie had a rough start, but has more than made up for it in the end. Andy On is one of the cast members that joined after Vincent Zhao left the project, but things have been going rather smoothly.
In a recent interview with Movies with Butter, On talked about his experiences on the set and a 10-minute long fight scene with Yen.
Check out some of the questions and answers below:
How did you get involved in “Special Identity”?
One day I got a call from Donnie and he wanted me to help him out. I was very excited and said “hell yes” without knowing what it was about.
There’s been conflicting stories about your role, as to whether you’ll replace Zhao’s character or a new character will be created for you. What’s your role in the film? Can you comment on what’s going to happen to what Zhao had already shot?
Since the departure of Mr. Zhao, the production had to make some major adjustments. The role I play is a gangster named Sunny, a new character that was added to the script. I’m not sure what they’re gonna do about Mr. Zhao’s shots.
Because of the circumstances surrounding how you became involved in the film, did you get any time to prepare for your role?
Not really. Just packed and went up to Shenzhen. Did the fitting a couple days before shooting.
You’ve worked with both Vincent Zhao and Donnie Yen before. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your take on Zhao’s departure? Have you talked to both of them regarding it?
I think some misunderstandings couldn’t be settled and that’s why Mr. Zhao left. Of course, I was nosey enough to ask Donnie about what happened, but he said it was a shame they couldn’t work together. I haven’t spoke to Mr. Zhao since the promotion of “True Legend.”
I’ve read that there’ll be a 10 minute fight scene between you and Yen. What could we, as fans, expect?
It’s gonna be a raw and dirty street fight. Donnie and his crew put a lot of effort in the final fight scene. We both took a lot of punches, kicks, knees, elbows from each other. Literally.
Personally, I think that this might top the Flash Point ending. Who knows? I’m really excited and can’t wait to learn more about the movie. Hopefully a teaser will pop up soon.
It looks like Special Identity is wrapping up, and some new images have been released. Twitch has posted this awesome picture that is sure to get everyone riled up:
Yeah, this image just looks so awesome to me. Maybe it’s the posture of Donnie or the action in the photo, but it sure looks like they are trying to capture the essence of Flash Point here. Anyways, a little more digging led me to some behind the scenes images and other photos from the film. You may have already seen some of them, but I figured I would share them all in case others haven’t yet.
Even though Special Identity got a lot of bad press, I think it may have made it a better movie in the end. Think about it, do you think they would have pushed as hard to do good action and get rid of the negativity of the film if Vincent Zhao said nothing? I’m not taking sides, but it’s very possible that this movie went from “decent” to “amazing” because of the extra push.
I’ll wait for a trailer to make a real judgement on the film, but these images make the wait that much harder.
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about Special Identity, and that’s probably a good thing. Accusations have started to drop off and the flames have been fanned out. Shu Qui even started up her blog once again, which is always a good sign of things. Hopefully, this means that we’ve passed that “drama” stage and the next time we hear about this movie, it will be with footage and images to back it up.
There have been some images circulating the internet lately, and I wanted to share them with you guys. While Vincent Zhao is no longer attached to the film, we have some images of what we could have expected from him and his role.
It’s still sad to know that these guys won’t be trading blows anytime soon, but at least we know that Andy On, Collin Chou, and Donnie Yen will do their best to bring quality work to their audience. These images do look cool, so hopefully we’ll get some other pictures with the new cast soon for comparison purposes.
Okay, I know last week’s video was long, but this one’s not as bad.
I’ll have the Raid review up on Friday, so be sure to give it at read and feel free to sound off on whatever you desire.
Collin Chou Joins Cast of The Special Identity
New HK Film Archive Exhibition Pays Homage to Wong Fei-Hong
Tai Chi 0 Combines Steampunk with Tai Chi (Updated)
Behind the Scenes Video for Undisputed 3
New Details on Ip Man 3, Grandmasters, and Images for Tai Chi 0
No, this isn’t an April Fools joke (if it is, I’m gonna be bummed I fell for it.) Mtime has reported that Collin Chou was initially asked to co-star in the Special Identity, but had to turn it down due to scheduling issues. It’s not clear if he would have played Zhao’s role, or if it was a separate character entirely. His character is currently being negotiated and will be announced soon. Either way, it’s great news to hear that he’s on board with the project.
Special Identity is trying really hard to recover from all of the negative press it’s received lately. After getting Andy On to play Vincent’s role, it’s even been confirmed that there will be a 10 minute fight sequence between him and Donnie. While it’s hard to judge how the movie will be until we see some actual footage, the sparks really flew the last time Donnie and Chou exchanged blows, so I think we can expect good things.
Anyone remember this little fight?
I’m glad that Special Identity is still in the works and is avoiding all of the drama that is being attached to the name. While the stars may not have let things go yet, at least some people know there’s still a movie to film.
There are numerous sources on this article, but I mainly used the Actionist (Eric Jacobus’ blog) for my info. So you can blame him if it’s some kind of crazy joke…or just visit his site since it’s a great place to get info as well.
You can also see the google-translated Mtime article here.
The battle heats up as certain stars have started to vocalize who’s side they are one. For Donnie Yen, actresses Shu Qui and Kara Hui have shown their support while Chapman To and Wong Jing also stand by Donnie. Shu Qui, who worked with Yen on Legend of the Fist, said this about Yen on her microblog:
“Donnie Yen is very serious in whatever he does and thinks of ways to make sure every single frame is perfect…Even when the weather is cold and he is shivering, cramping up, when he hears ‘Action’, Donnie Yen will immediately perform without a single word of complaint,”
Kara Hui, who worked with Yen on Wu Xia, also showed her support on her microblog, stating:
“Donnie, I have known you since you were young, I know you are passionate about film and have high expectations of yourself…I hope you won’t be affected by all these controversies. Keep going!”
On Vincent Zhao’s side, veteran actor Yuen Wah and actress Xu Jiao showed their support. Xu Jiao has gone on to say:
“I worked with Vincent Chiu on ‘Wu Dang’ and feel that he is very enthusiastic about his work, personable … I believe Instructor Chiu, strongly support him!
Vincent has said that he isn’t afraid of taking legal action.
“Even if I stop working, I won’t have any difficulty getting by…This issue affects my reputation. I must get justice, because they have insulted my professionalism.”
Wow, things are really getting pretty bad between the two. Now, none of the supporters have said negative things about the opposing side, but simply stood up for the side they are on. It’s really a shame that things have gotten this bad, and I’m sure things will get worse before they get better.
I’m sure we will continue to hear about this for weeks to come, and it’s truly a shame that Donnie and Vincent couldn’t settle their differences in some other manner.
Source: channelnewasia.com
UPDATE
So, it looks like fans have chosen to attack Shu Qui’s microblog for her stance supporting Donnie. Many of them have resorted to criticizing her past career choices, eventually leading to her cancelling her microblog altogether. While I get that people are entitled to their opinion, it’s a shame that things got so nasty she had to take her blog down. I really hope this issue gets resolved sooner than later so nobody else is affected.
This week was rather tame, but still worth a watch. Hope you like it!
The Expendables becomes rated R
Donnie Yen takes legal action against Vincent Zhao
