[2012.11.15] WONG KAR WAI DISCUSSES THE GRANDMASTERS

courtesy of on.cc

courtesy of mingpao.com

Wong Kar Wai, Bajiquan master Wang Shiquan, Frankie Chan (back),  Xingyiquan master Fu Yangquan
courtesy of takungpao.com

The Wong Kar Wai directed THE GRANDMASTERS (YUT DOI JUNG SI) trailer was released earlier. Yesterday the film company also released a film poster and a documentary called ROAD TO THE GRANDMASTERS for the audience to get an understanding of the production. In the newly released poster, lead actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai as Ip Man with his back to the camera faithfully worshipped and displayed a dutiful and traditional aura and spirit. Wong Kar Wai in the documentary talked about how this film started for the first time, when a video three days before Ip Man's passing deeply moved him and gave him the inspiration to make the movie.

Under the national wushu coach and Jet Li (Lee Nin Kit)'s master Wu Bin's introduction, Wong Kar Wai over three years visited Beijing, Tianjin, Xian, Hebei, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Taiwan, Guangdong, Hong Kong and other locations and over 100 folk kung fu masters of Wing Chun, Eight Diagram, Tai Chi, Xingyi, Tongbei in order to find the spirit and the philosophy behind kung fu. Wai Jai was even Wong Kar Wai's only choice to play Ip Man. He said, "I want to remove everything that Leung Chiu Wai had and shape him anew into another person." He invited Ip Man's final disciple Leung Siu Hung to teach Wai Jai Wing Chun's ways. Master Leung had high praise for Wai Jai. "To someone who has never studied martial art, Mr. Leung has a lot of potential. When you teach him a set, he understands what follows and kills three birds with one stone. He has this kind of potential and the material to learn kung fu."

Wai Jai's three years of training is also unveiled for the first time in the documentary. Wai Jai said, "The director and I hope through the training process to experience the personality of a true martial artist, from which to shape a master image that has both flesh and blood." With the upcoming film release, Wai Jai said that he was not nervous. He only hoped that viewers would not watch this film with just the idea of watching an Ip Man movie, because anyone who knew Wong Kar Wai knew that he definitely had his own way to innovate and open everyone's eyes.