[2020.01.17] TERESA MO PRAISES DONNIE YEN'S ACTION RHYTHM

courtesy of on.cc

courtesy of singtao.com

Teresa Mo and Louis Cheung are both in ENTER THE FAT DRAGON but regrettably have no scene together

courtesy of mingpao.com

In the Lunar New Year film ENTER THE FAT DRAGON (FEI LUNG GOR GONG), Teresa Mo Shun Kwan played the owner of a hot pot shop in Japan but only worked in the Kabukicho set in Hong Kong. Sister Mo said that the set was extremely realistic as an entire street was built, and people could live in the houses. She had the most scenes with Wong Jing but everyone had a lot of spark. He was very funny. In the film Sister Mo only needed to speak a few lines of Japanese and did not have to fight, as she was purely comedic. Mo Mo also praised Yen Ch Tan's action for being rich in musical beauty and very rhythmic.

In ENTER THE FAT DRAGON, were Mo Mo and Wong Jing's scenes all relationship scenes? Mo Mo joked, "Our relationship scene isn't too heavy. In one scene when he almost died, I still asked him, 'Aren't you dead yet!' and looked a little tense. Haha, I was afraid that too many viewers would really laugh." Was a relationship impossible? Mo Mo joked, "It's pretty 'tight', but not worth the risk. As everyone knows, the audience has to be comfortable watching it."

Louis Cheung Kai Chung mentioned that he took part in the two major scenes in the beginning and the end, in particular in the end Yen Chi Tan fought on the Tokyo Tower while he took a helicopter to save him. He had little contact with action comedy, but he saw Lord Tan's fighting pace actually could not be a second more or less. Thus after one scene a rough cut would be edited and Lord Tan would take over music to coordinate. The result indeed was totally different and resembled a Hollywood movie. You could feel the very danger but also funny pace and atmosphere. He just watched from the sideline like a student. Would he start to learn to fight? Ah Chung joked, "I will start with stretching, study 40 years, be reincarnated in the next life before thinking about it again. Actually this requires a kung fu foundation from childhood."

Mo Mo was also curious and asked Ah Chung if he was younger would he learn to become an action actor? He pointed out that at the performing art academy he studied Beijing opera stances. If next time he would have a costume character and needed to fight of course he would train. However unlike Lord Tan who started when he was little, a stance would come out differently. Actors of course should try everything, but would understand what they would be lacking.

Speaking of action films, Mo Mo said, "When I was young I made LEGEND OF THE DRAGON, which had a lot of action. I went to study Wing Chun and trained as soon as I got on. I thought I was able to fight, fearless and wanted to try something new. One day I was working in Tai O, action director (Corey) Yuen Kwai asked me to kick for him as high as I could. After the kick he immediately asked someone to bring a fake leg. At the time I didn't understand so I kicked. After I lifted my leg, then the fake leg followed with a low kick. I finally got what was happening, and I felt very hurt inside right away."

Mo Mo also revealed that in another scene Stephen Chow Sing Chi asked him if she would hit the wooden man ten times. She asked if the hits could be separate. Sing Jai asked her, "Just ten!" She could only give it a try. "As soon as I tried it I wanted to die, after I hit I had to stop. Then I had to add another. Sing Jai immediately gave an arrogant look and asked if I needed to practice more. This immediately changed my mind about becoming a kung fu film star. I was no longer delusional. Fight scene isn't easy at all. You have to train when you are young like Sing Jai. He practiced Wing Chun until he had blisters on his hands."

Ah Chung and Mo Mo have already worked together on two films but did not share any scene together. Ah Chung wanted to work with Mo Mo "alone" because Mo Mo's comedic and dramatic acting were both entertaining. He kept making people laugh for a long time, but he really wanted to squeeze tears out of people so he wanted to work toward Mo Mo's direction. Mo Mo advised, "Actors are very passive, we are all waiting for a good script!" Ah Chung also said that right now he had to keep preparing himself.

Mo Mo has already worked with Chi Tan as early as PROTEGE DE LA ROSE NOIRE, but as the action director he gave her quite a surprise. "Once during break I thought who was playing the piano? The great piano player surprised me, actually it was Chi Tan. Thus Ah Chung suggested for him to use music to coordinate with the action. In this business he truly is a rare breed. His action is very special, has quite a sense of beauty." Despite working with Chi Tan, Mo Mo joked that Wong Jing would always get in the way. She felt that Chi Tan was very demanding about the drama, nervous and cared about each scene. He cared not just about his own part but overall. When he saw something he was uncomfortable with he would speak up. Mo Mo said, "Sometimes he would feel like someone had the same idea as he did, most of the uncomfortable spots had to do with the marks. So he would mention it and shoot i again. He would take the time but he would communicate so he would be able to do even better."

This time Cheung Kai Chung and Yen Chi Tan played cop buddies. Chi Tan was even the explosive cop with a strong sense of justice. Each time when he saved someone he would cause damage and get into trouble, the more he got demoted the lower his rank went. Ah Chung got the credit and became his superior, so he would encourage this brother by the sideline. Yet when in danger he would need to be saved and become very useless. Thus they had a lot of "up and down" performance, the feeling of switching back and forth was pretty fun. Did he have a lot fight scenes? Ah Chung said, "Of course I asked before taking the role, I don't need to fight. I just have some action scenes. On the set I am responsible for the comedy. When they fight I watch, but I really cherish this experience."

Ah Chung and Chi Tan worked together on IP MAN 3. How did he feel his comedic sense was? Ah Chung said, "Lord Tan of course has his own rhythm. Actors would have their own comedic pace and have to be able to coordinate with others. He is also very demanding in this area. He would discuss with the screenwriters how to shoot to be the funniest. If he wasn't satisfied he would do it a few times more."