Wushu the Movie

Missed this at Cannes. :(

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Hung, Chan and Dadi Century board "Wushu"
Written by Patrick Frater
Monday, 05 November 2007

Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and new Chinese shingle Dadi Century (Beijing) have boarded "Wushu," a coming-of-age martial arts drama to be helmed by Anthony Szeto.

Pic is one of three recently financed by Dadi and being launched at AFM by Hong Kong sales company Golden Network.

Others are "Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking," an HD doc that will have its world preem next week in Toronto, and Tibetan drama "Wild Horses From Shangri-La." Golden Network has world sales rights to "Wushu" and "Wild Horses" and Asia rights only to "Iris Chang."

Dadi was founded by veteran former D and B Films exec John Sham, who controls the outfit through his two Hong Kong-listed companies Sino-I Tech and Nan Hai Corp. Its biggest move into the entertainment space to date has been development of digital cinemas in China.

"Wushu" was previously unveiled by Golden Network at Cannes, where a display of martial arts skills by the film's young star Wang Wenjie impressed Hung. Chan will take an advisory and marketing role, while "Martial Law" star Hung plays father figure in the $4.5 million Hippopotamus Films production.

"Shangri-La," about a mountain boy's struggle to save his ailing sister, is the first-time helming effort by veteran Hong Kong cinematographer Gigo Lee. Delivery is skedded for February.

"Iris Chang" is a Real-to-Reel Production, helmed by Anne Pick and Bill Spahic, starring Olivia Cheng.

"China needs a balance of hardware and software. Making more films is not enough to make the Chinese industry grow. That's why I'm investing in filmmaking and cinemas," Sham said. "All our cinemas will be 2K and all will be DCI-compliant. Otherwise we won't be able to show Hollywood movies."

Company has 17 cinemas in second and third-tier cities, encouraged by Chinese government, which sees digital projection as way of reconnecting cinema with mass market, aims to have 500 sites within five to eight years.

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i heard about this film a while back(well it was two weeks ago really) but when i heard about it they said they were trying to get sammo involved so now i see he's signed on cool. sammo can't do much by way of film fighting anymore i think spl was the last time we are going to see him kick major ass(and even then he had to be doubled for some things not all thou)there was this other film that was based around wushu that was talked about a while ago it wasn;t this film, but now that this film is coming i'm sure that film is going to fade(i know the trailer for it is around soemwhere) hope this one is a gem. oh and gene i'm gonna have that invisible target review for you soon maybe tonight got some free time so gonna watch it and fatal contact.

We were offered to carry Fatal Contact but we passed on it. The plot was just too silly and not enough action. Good fights tho. It's a fast forwarder, IMO. I'll wait for your review thread. We plan to carry Invisible Target which is a much more exciting film.

just started watching invisible target, but i keep getting interupted by phone calls and text messages so gonna wait till tonight before i finish watching it, plus that'll give me the chance to shake of fatal contact.

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Sammo Hung Eagerly Awaits Grandchildren
11 October 2008
Emma Lam

Sammo Hung (洪金寶) was joined by the three young martial arts stars Xiaofei Wang (王菲), Wang Wenjie (王文傑) and Liu Fengchao (劉峰超) yesterday to promote his new film Wushu <武術之少年行>.

Tying in with the theme of the film, the three stars gave a demonstration of their martial arts skills and looked very much the part. Asked if they felt any pressure from working with a huge star like Sammo, Wenjie and Fengchao both said that they were a little scared at first, but they then found that Sammo is a very friendly person.

Sammo laughed that Xiaofei did not show him any respect and she replied by saying that Sammo is like a king - extremely lovable, gentle and dashing.

Sammo went on to say that there are very few true martial artists in Hong Kong's film industry at the moment, so he feels that the three stars of this film have a prosperous future ahead of them. He added that they are all very obedient and he is very pleased with them.

Asked why he did not promote his three sons into martial arts stars, Sammo said that the industry is very hard work, so he would prefer for them to be bankers, but if they insist on a showbiz career, then he does not mind. Sammo revealed that he has just finished shooting a cameo for a film directed by his son Jimmy Hung (洪天祥). Asked if he has received a fee for his appearance, he said that he did not and laughed that he had to pay out for the part.

As for recent suggestions that his son Timmy Hung (洪天明) is due to marry girlfriend Janet Chow (周家蔚), Sammo said that if this was true, it will be great news because he is eager to have a grandchild. He said that he has met Janet and although the magazine reports about them are not to be believed, he was full of praise for his son's girlfriend. Asked if his son's relationship was at a stable state, Sammo smiled that he hopes it is.

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Click this one below for vid

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Jackie Chan promotes new generation
WATCH VIDEO
Source: CCTV.com
10-12-2008 15:14

Produced by Chinese martial arts legend Jackie Chan, “Wushu” is a film about five children training to be martial art masters.

The film was shot at a real martial art school, and it showcases the combat skills of award winning competitors.

Three of these young martial artists, Liu Feng-Chao, Wang Wen-Jie and Wang Fei - were in Hong Kong on Friday to promote the film along with lead actor Samo Hung.

To give everyone a taste of the action in the movie - this new generation of Kung Fu stars showed off their Wushu skills, including their double-swords, whips and sticks.

Wang Fei, Actress, said, "I have practiced martial art for more than ten years. I am a professional, and I like to act, so I was happy to do it even though it was exhausting. I am delighted to do my work."

Set in a remote part of China, Samo Hung, who started his action film career along with Jackie Chan, plays the Kung Fu master.

Both Hung and Chan are now watching the younger generation show off the skills which made them famous decades ago.

Samo Hung, Actor, said, "Opportunity is crucial. Because an action film is not mainstream, there's a bigger opportunity for a star to be born out of an action film. If the script, director's method and everything is set for the right person, then they are more likely to succeed."

In the movie, a girl trained in Wushu catches the eye of teenage boy, who decides to become a champion to win her affection.

“Wushu” first premiered at this year's Cannes film festival.

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...but it's been a really small opening. I heard it was under a dozen screens in HK.

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Wushu 武術

The title and promotional literature scream “Hong Kong action flick” but this one is a little out of the ordinary and rates a wider audience. Described as a coming of age drama in martial clothing, Wushu charts friendships among students who eventually use their fighting skills and sense of righteousness to tackle a sinister organization targeting children. Stars the incomparable Sammo Hung (洪金寶) as the father of brothers who get in the thick of the action, as well as several young, real-life martial arts champions. Directed by one-time Australian stuntman and wushu practitioner Antony Szeto and executive produced by Jackie Chan (成龍).

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so is this a modern version of "Painted Faces?"
Speaking of which, anyone know where I could find a copy of it? I saw it once, and it was very inspiring.

I just checked out the movie "Wushu" this weekend starring Sammo Hung and several up and coming young martial actors. Not an awful film, but not a real good film either. The movie centers around several kids that grow up in a wushu school where Sammo Hung's character teaches and as young adults become among the best in the school and the province. There's some tournament type competition scenes of both taolu and movie san da.

There are too many characters that the film tries to develop along the way which detracts from the movie some. There are several sub-sub-plots, to try to help the story and character development, a few of which need not be in the film at all. There is the youths' quests to reach their respective goals in competition, a little of the inter-relationships among the group, Sammo's relationship with an old female classmate, and the relationship with Sammo and his sons who are among the stars of the film, as well as the normal goodguy-badguy situations and confrontations involving a group of child kidnappers. There is literally no flow to the film.

Nonetheless, it is worth a view. Sammo has a short but well choreographed fight scene near the end, and if anyone is a fan of taolu type performances, there are several in the movie. The movie can also be reminiscent for anyone who has or at one time developed a close knit relationship with classmates in their current or formet shcool. It's not a must see, but if you've seen just about everything else out there, which some of you have, and you have not seen this one, cop a copy and check it out. Expect it to be fairly bad, and you may ironically enjoy it.

Enter to win Jackie Chan presents Wushu on DVD. Contest ends 12:00 a.m. PST on 02/18/2010. Good luck everyone!

I bought it last week and thought the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the movie was pretty awful...esp. the first 3rd of it. Brothernumber9's review pretty much sums it up.
There was enough redeemable about it that for me, it's not a 'get-rid-of' DVD; it's just not up there with the really good ones.

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