Ip Man 2

[RAYNYSC]

As director Wilson Yip’s kung fu sequel IP MAN 2, starring Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung, draws closer to its Asian and Australian premiere, we have gotten our hands on a host of newly released images including a new teaser poster and pics depicting stunt actor Darren Shahlavi as Yip Man’s boxing opponent, more shots of Donnie Yen vs. Sammo Hung, and our first glimpse of child actor Jiang Daiyan as a young Bruce Lee. These images reveal much more of the film than we’ve yet seen from either the teaser trailer or previously released images.

In IP MAN 2, Wing Chun master Yip Man (Yen) leaves mainland China to begin teaching the art in Hong Kong where he comes into conflict with a local Hung Fist master (Sammo Hung) and foreign aggressors.

IP MAN 2 is scheduled for release in Asia and Australia on April 29, 2010.

The Oz release is courtesy of Dream Movie, a distributor committed to bringing first-run Chinese films to Australia on the same day they’re released in Asia. They’re currently showing the new Hong Kong Lunar New Year movie, 72 TENANTS OF PROSPERITY. For details on all Dream Movie’s current and future Oz releases visit http://dreammovieaustralia.blogspot.com.

[GeneChing]

I don't know Huang at all. Anyone?

Huang Xiaoming in Upcoming Kung-Fu Biopic
2010-03-01 09:03:42 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Xie Tingting
Huang Xiaoming, an actor whose name is not usually associated with action movies, will be the biggest surprise in the upcoming martial-arts film "Ip Man 2", director Wilson Yip has said.

Now introducing the next king of kung-fu - Huang Xiaoming.

Huang, an actor whose name is not usually associated with action movies, will be the biggest surprise in the upcoming martial-arts film "Ip Man 2", director Wilson Yip has told Sina.com.cn.

The new film is a sequel to the 2008 blockbuster "Ip Man", a biopic of Bruce Lee's mentor, Yip Man.

In the sequel, Huang plays Yip Man's sullen yet outstanding student Huang Jin, a key character in the development of the film's story.

Wanting to expand into kung-fu movies, Huang Xiaoming has been diligently practicing Wing Chun martial art both on and off the "Ip Man 2" set, according to Sina.com.cn. His efforts have won praise from action star Donnie Yen, who told Sina that he could envision Huang becoming "the next king of kung-fu." Donnie Yen plays Yip Man in the film.

"Ip Man 2" is slated to hit theaters this summer. The film also stars Lynn Hung and Sammo Hung.

Huang Xiaoming's notable screen characters include a Japanese spy chief in the 2009 film "The Message", and Xu Wenqiang in the 2006 TV remake of "Shanghai Bund".

[Jimbo]

It's nice to see that good KF movies haven't completely died in HK. It should be very good.

With all the movies out about Ip Man, I'd like to see a movie about Chan Heung. It's amazing that as popular as CLF is, it's been featured relatively little in KF movies. As adaptable as Donnie Yen is to different M.A. styles, I'll bet he could portray a role like that onscreen very well.

[GeneChing]

Opening April 29, 2010 in Asia & Oz.

Ip Man 2 葉問2 (2010) - Shooting Diary 1: COMING TO AUSTRALIAN CINEMAS 29 APRIL 2010

Ip Man 2 葉問2 (2010) - Shooting Diary 2: COMING TO AUSTRALIAN CINEMAS 29 APRIL 2010

Donnie vs. Sammo again like in SPL. I'm all in.

[GeneChing]

Didn't know there was a Madame Tussauds in HK.

Donnie Yen's wax figure to display at Madame Tussauds in HK
English.news.cn 2010-03-11 20:47:19

HONG KONG, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen will have his wax figure displayed at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong next month, announced the wax museum on Thursday.

The wax figure, mimicking Yen's role in the Chinese martial arts movie Ip Man, portrays Yen in traditional black Chinese clothes. The movie, which has been proved a success after its release at the end of 2008, is about the legendary story of Ip Man, the father of Chinese martial art Wing Chun.

Yen's sitting was conducted in Shanghai in September last year, when he was filming Ip Man 2. Sculptors from Madame Tussauds took hundreds of photographs of Yen and detailed measurements from every angle to perfect the wax figure, said the museum.

Donnie Yen, who attended the press conference held by the museum Thursday, said it was not easy to be a wax figure model, and "it took me hours".

He was also fascinated by the variety of sample hair, eye balls, teeth and tools that the sculptors used.

The wax figure will be unveiled in late April.

Madame Tussauds HK, the first permanent Madame Tussauds in Asia, opened in August 2000, featuring over 100 local and international celebrity wax figures in six themed areas.

The other eight Madame Tussauds wax museums are located in London, New York, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Washington D.C., Berlin and Hollywood.

[GeneChing]

Ip Man 2 Trailer 2010 (葉問2)

I like this teaser - it's short but very provocative: Ip Man 2 葉問2 Teaser Trailer with English Subtitles COMING TO AUSTRALIAN CINEMAS 29 APRIL 2010!!

[RAYNYSC]

By Mark Pollard | Published March 10, 2010

Have you grown tired of all the Yip/Ip Man-related film projects yet? Donnie Yen, star of IP MAN and IP MAN 2 has. He has made it clear to Chinese media that after IP MAN 2, which now has an earlier Asian release date of April 29, Yen will have nothing more to do with films pertaining to the Wing Chun master.

“This will be my final film on the subject,” said Yen. “Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon. This is very frightening. Did you know how many IP MAN films are in production? Under such condition we would not progress. It’d only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter.”

In addition to IP MAN 2, directed by Wilson Yip, there are two other major Yip Man films coming out in 2010. One is Wong Kar-wai’s long in development biopic THE GRAND MASTER, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Herman Yau’s THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN, starring real-life Wing Chun practitioner Tu Yu-hang as a younger Yip Man.

As of last year, Taiwanese producer Yang Pei-pei (FLYING DAGGERS) has also been reportedly trying to get a 40-episode TV series on the life of Yip Man made as well.

In case your answer is no to my initial question of whether or not you’ve had enough of Yip Man – I certainly haven’t – here are two shooting diary clips from IP MAN 2. They reveal more action, including a brief glimpse of a fast-moving bout between Yen and Sammo Hung.

I really wish some of the shots in this behind-the-scenes footage end up in the movie. I’m talking about the wide angles and even the raw audio of Sammo’s kiai. The speed of Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung is impressive. This is what kung fu in the 21st century should look like. There is clearly a high degree of speed, precision, power, and intensity that exists on set, some of which can actually get lost or deemphasized by a director’s sometimes stifling vision. This is the kind of movie where the cameras should just pull back and let the screen fighters take charge.

[RAYNYSC]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XllDwaM6Sg

[GeneChing]

There's a few subsidiary articles in the wake of this THR one today on the web.

Donnie Yen set for 'Ip Man' sequel
Martial arts film to be released April 29 in Hong Kong, China
By Karen Chu

March 21, 2010, 07:50 PM ET
HONG KONG -- Donnie Yen fights Western powers in "Ip Man 2," the sequel to the 200 million yuan ($29.3 million) grossing 2008 Chinese hit, the films' producer Raymond Wong told The Hollywood Reporter.

Scheduled for release April 29 in Hong Kong and China, the $10 million sequel on the martial arts master will hold a press conference Monday at Filmart.

"Ip Man 2" marks the last film Wong will produce for Mandarin Films, the company he founded in 1991. He resigned from the position of chairman in 2009 and remains as a director and shareholder.

The next films he produces will be under Pegasus Motion Pictures, the production outfit he set up with son Edmond. Upcoming will be an untitled action drama starring Louis Koo, who has signed with Pegasus, a HK$60 million seven-picture deal including the recent comedy "All's Well Ends Well Too 2010," and a project with longtime collaborator Donnie Yen.

"Ip Man 2," helmed by the original's director Wilson Yip, written by Edmond Wong and featured action choreography by Sammo Hung, follows the story of the original blockbuster biopic and details the renowned Wing Chun expert's life after he relocated to Hong Kong from Southern China and his struggle to survive in the then-British colony by teaching martial arts.

"The film deals with how Hong Kong people were treated under British colonial rule, and Western attitudes concerning Chinese kung fu," Wong said. "In the first 'Ip Man,' Donnie Yen fought Japanese invaders; in this installment, he fights boxing Westerners with Wing Chun."

Wong intended for the premise to appeal to the audience in China, where nationalistic sentiments run high.

"The Chinese audience responded enthusiastically to the depiction of the traditional culture of martial arts in the original, and they appreciated the fact that the film was more than just a kung fu actioner, but also a drama with a nationalistic undertone, as in the portrayal of the Chinese resistance against Japanese invasion," Wong said. The title character also fights opposite Sammo Hung, who plays a grand master of Hung Kuen, a traditional discipline of martial arts.

But before the series turns into the "Rocky" of China, where the title character faced opponents of different nationalities in consecutive installments, producer Wong said they would give him a rest, especially in light of the competing Ip Man projects, such as Wong Kar-wai's "The Grand Master" under his own Jet Tone and China's Sil-Metropole, and the Herman Yau-directed prequel "Young Ip Man" for National Arts Entertainment.

[GeneChing]

Don't these people know that all of us fans will have seen the DVD long before early 2011?

Well Go Picks Up ‘Ip Man’
By : Chris Tribbey | Posted: 27 Apr 2010
ctribbey@questex.com

Well Go USA has picked up the North American rights to Ip Man and Ip Man 2, two Chinese martial arts films starring Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen.

Semi-autobiographical in nature, the films are based on the life of Ip Man, a martial arts master who was the first to teach the Wing Chun style openly. He was teacher and mentor to Bruce Lee.

“Ip Man is an amazing story, and the film has had such a phenomenal response overseas from critics and audiences alike that I am so proud to be able to bring it to the American audience,” said Doris Pfardrescher, Well Go president of home entertainment. “This acquisition is a big move forward for Well Go USA especially as the popularity of Asian cinema continues to grow in North America.”

The first film pulled in more than $21 million at the Asian box office and won Best Film honors at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Well Go will release it on DVD July 27.

The second film will see a limited theatrical release in the United States in early 2011.

“No one ever imagined that Ip Man would be such a huge sensation,” said producer Raymond Wong. “The box office success and public praise of Ip Man did not only create a public longing for the sequel, it also inspired the production team to work together again.”

[Dale Dugas]

Nope. They will think the opposite.

[Sardinkahnikov]

“This will be my final film on the subject,” said Yen. “Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon. This is very frightening. Did you know how many IP MAN films are in production? Under such condition we would not progress. It’d only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter.”

Righteous.

Saw Ip Man 2. The fight scene were really entertaining, but I didn't care much for the story tho. An all around good fu flick, I'd say.

[GeneChing]

Still behind Hollywood, but gaining.

UPDATED: May 5, 2010
Ip Man 2 Sold $15 Mln in First Week
Wilson Yip's martial-arts blockbuster Ip Man 2 has taken 100 million yuan in its first week of release at Chinese mainland cinemas

Wilson Yip's martial-arts blockbuster Ip Man 2 has taken 100 million yuan ($15 million) in its first week of release at Chinese mainland cinemas, M1905.com reports.

Over 300,000 people watched the film on its opening night on April 27, and ticket sales were close to 9 million yuan ($1.3 million). The distributor said the film also topped the box office over the 3-day May Day holiday.

However, industry observers said that with the releases of Iron Man 2 and How to Train Your Dragon in the Chinese mainland, Ip Man 2's goal of grossing 300 million yuan is far from guaranteed.

(CRIENGLISH.com May 4, 2010)

[Water-quan]

I thought it was racist.

[GeneChing]

Most of the people I know that have seen this feel it's a strong sequel, but not quite as good as the first. I think I concur with that, but feel I should see the first one again, just to be sure. It the very least, I'd say it's on par with the original. This is a sequel in the truest sense, picking up right where the first film left off. There's some enjoyable action for sure. You just can't beat Sammo and Donnie fights. That's always satisfying. Like True Legend, it has Caucasian baddies and ends in a showcase political ring match, but instead of wushu versus wrasslin, it's wing chun versus boxing. China is still trying to get over being occupied by the UK. Overall, it's pretty entertaining and I loved the ending, which totally set up Ip Man 3.

Donnie is talking about abandoning the role, which I think would be sad. It reminds me of Jet leaving Wong Fei Hung (OUATIC), but that ended on a bizarre note (and restarted on even a more bizarre note). What with The Grand Master & Herman Yau's The Legend is Born: Ip Man, Ip Man is in for a convoluted franchise.