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The Grandmasters Press Conference and Teaser Trailer

Director Wong Kar-wai and cast members of The Grandmasters appeared at a special press conference held in Beijing on December 28th.
The event was for the 60th anniversary of Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd, one of the film’s production companies.
Most of the attention went to the cast of The Grandmasters, including Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Benshan, Song Hye-kyo, Xiao Shenyang and Wang Qingxiang, who rushed from the Guangdong set. The team presented an oil painting poster to the company.
The event showed a promotional reel for The Grandmasters but it did not include any actual footage from the film. Host Zhang Guoli joked that this trailer was mysterious enough, after such a long shoot the trailer had no scenes at all.
Then actors Leung Chiu-wai, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Song Hye-Kyo, Zhao Benshan, Xiao Shenyang, Wang Qingxiang appeared on stage.

Speaking of the fight scenes, Tony Leung said that he was not worried as he practiced for a long time. He practiced so much that his arm was broken at the hands of his Wing Chun teacher. Zhang Guoli joked that the scene of Tony Leung’s arm being broken was not preserved, which truly was a regret for Chinese film because it was worth a lot of money. The fight scene in the rain he said was very difficult and took 30 days to shoot. Zhang Guoli joked that it only took 30 days, someone had to thank Wong Kar-wai as normally it might take 3 months.
Zhang Ziyi plays a martial art expert in the film, Zhang Guoli praised her eight diagram palm technique in the snow scene, saying it was very pretty. Zhang Ziyi said that this scene was shot last winter. At the time, the crew joked that this shoot would not be completed as they predicted whether or not they would have to shoot it again next year. Surprisingly they were right. She recalled the 30 degree below zero (Celsius) shooting environment as truly tough.

Chang Chen plays an eight diagram expert in the film. For the film, he trained for two years but the training benefited him a lot and his health improved.
Song Hye-kyo plays Yip Man’s (Tony Leung) wife in the film, but they did not stand together on the stage. She joked that they (she and Tony) were together everyday during filming so they didn’t have to stand together now. Zhang Guoli said that this was understandable to avoid suspicion from Tony Leung’s wife (Carina Lau). This was Song Hye-kyo’s first film shooting in China and she was truly pleased to be able to work with a group of such great actors. She thanked director Wong Kar-wai for his help, because at first she was not too used to his style of directing. Director Wong helped her a lot.
Wong Kar Wai appeared in the end to pose for a group photo with the cast.
Host Zhang Guoli asked Tony Leung to make a kung fu pose but Tony only had his hands in his pockets and played cool. He explained that he was dressed modernly so he posed with his hands in his pockets in front of the poster.
The actors finally sang a birthday song to celebrate Sil-Metropole’s 60th year, but they looked somewhat embarrassed.

Video: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/1pJ4zaNwui8/
http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-12-28/23443191325.shtml?from=nominated
http://ent.qq.com/a/20101229/000025.htm#p=7

After two days promoting The Grandmasters in Beijing, Tony Leung returned to Hong Kong. Reporters asked him about the filming schedule and he revealed that he will return to the Mainland later to continue the shoot. He has been shooting more than 10 hours a day, most likely with no time off during the new year. He thinks they will finish around the Lunar New Year (February).
Tony was in good spirits and full of smiles. He said, “Maybe it’s because of this Grandmaster hair cut.” His earlier injury has now basically healed, but during action scenes he would be even more cautious as he did not want to be injured again.
According to news in Hong Kong, initially the investors wanted ‘The Grandmasters’ to be released in the Lunar New Year period (early February), but now they are saying that the film will be in Chinese theaters during Easter.

http://news.sina.com.tw/article/20101230/4076088.html

Teaser Trailer:

Translation of the text in the trailer:
“Their valor is transmitted by men of chivalry, accurately recorded by the brushes of history that begin to flow into myriads of seas, and due to the dao, the fortunes of their affection are long, and the elements once a generation bear witness to the masters.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnlUQjUn-8o&feature=player_embedded

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The Grandmasters News Round-Up

New pic via ScreenDaily:

Fortissimo, Wong Kar Wai’s Jet Tone Expand Relationship

Fortissimo chairman Michael Werner will associate produce ‘Grandmaster,’ with the company also handling the Jet Tone library.

Fortissimo Films and Wong Kar Wai’s Jet Tone Films have expanded their relationship around the upcoming title The Grandmaster and Jet Tone’s library, Fortissimo chairman Michael Werner and Jet Tone’s Jacky Pang Yee Wah said at the American Film Market on Wednesday.
Werner will associate produce Grandmaster, the film starring Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Lust, Caution) and Chang Chen (Red Cliff), and Fortissimo will handle sales in select territories retained by Jet Tone Film including Japan, South Korea and India.
Werner will work closely with producer Pang to advise on the marketing and release strategy for the film around the world.
Fortissimo also will handle the Jet Tone Films library, including titles such as Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express, Fallen Angels and Ashes of Time Redux.
From the set of Block 2 Pictures and Sil Metropole Organization presentation last week, Werner observed Wong has built Grandmasters around “one of the most exciting sets and fighting sequences that I have ever seen.”
Fortissimo and Jet Tone have worked together more than 20 years and Pang said of Werner: “We have always seen Michael as a member of our team and we are very happy to have him physically on board Grandmaster utilizing his background and knowledge of Asian cinema and his expertise in international sales, marketing and distribution.”
Chan Ye Cheng and Song Dai are executive producers, while Philippe Le Sourd is shooting the film with action choreography from Yuen Wo Ping and production design by William Chang Suk Ping.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fortissimo-wong-kar-wais-jet-35435

French sales house Wild Bunch has picked up international rights to two of the biggest Chinese-language films of the year.
With the American Film Market starting tomorrow (3 Nov 2010) the company has picked up the upcoming martial arts film The Grandmasters (一代宗師), by Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai (王家衛). It has also secured Under The Hawthorn Tree (山楂樹之戀), the romantic drama by Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) that has been a hit on home turf in China and was set as the opening film at the Pusan and Hawaii film festivals.
The greater surprise is the pickup of Grandmasters. As is typical of Wong, the film has been carefully shrouded in secrecy. But this time, as the film was independently financed without recourse to a minimum guarantee from a sales company, or territory pre-sales, producers at Wong’s Jet Tone Films (澤東製作有限公司) have been able to keep buyers and audiences guessing. Many of Wong previous movies were represented by Hong Kong and Amsterdam-based Fortissimo Films.
A period piece, Wong’s film is the fourth in a recent string of pictures about Ip Man (葉問), the legendary martial artist who taught Bruce Lee (李小龍). It has been tentatively positioned for release at Chinese New Year in late-Jan or early-Feb 2011. However, other recent press reports suggest that shooting will continue in early 2011.
Wild Bunch, which has rights outside Asia, says it will provide buyers with a synopsis and screen a 2-minute promo reel at its booth. But the company did not confirm the delivery date.
Partial rights in much of South East Asia were previously picked up by Hong Kong-based film and pan-regional broadcast group Mei Ah Entertainment. In Hong Kong itself Mei Ah has TV and home entertainment rights, while one of the film’s investors SIL-Metropole will oversee theatrical.
Consecutive with the Wild Bunch pickup is a change in title, from The Grand Master to The Grandmasters, the announcement of tagline “in martial arts there is no right or wrong, only the last man standing” and the release of two poster images.
One, in near monochrome, highlights the powerful combination of Wong, Yuen Woo-ping (袁和平) as action choreographer and its stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai (梁朝偉) and Zhang Ziyi (章子怡).

http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/wongs-grandmasters-joins-wild-bunch

Tony Leung spotted jogging and Song Hye-kyo spotted playing badminton in between filming:

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-11-03/09213134461.shtml

A better look at Zhang Ziyi’s character in the film, fighting at the side of the railroad tracks. (Click to enlarge)

The film has been tentatively positioned for release at Chinese New Year in late-Jan or early-Feb 2011. However, other recent press reports suggest that shooting will continue in early 2011.

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The Grandmasters Plot Synopsis Revealed

The Grandmasters press release via the American Film Market:

Cast：Tony, Chiu-wai LEUNG, Zi-yi ZHANG, Chen CHANG, Hye-kyo SONG, Ben-shan ZHAO, Xing-chang WANG

Director：Kar-wai WONG
Producers：Kar-wai WONG, Jacky PANG

Synopsis:

With martial arts getting more popular in the Thirties, more people seek to learn them via the professionals at Foshan in Southern China. Some of the experienced masters like to challenge their counterparts and undergoing battles. To have their whole concentration, it is their practice to lock up the venues and no one is allowed to leave during battles. No food and no rest before reaching any results.
Ip Man is a young rich man extremely talented in martial arts, but he chooses to keep a low profile. Yet this doesn’t keep him out of these troubles ahead. One day he is trapped in this battleground so he has to use every means in order to get out of there. The masters are amazed by his abilities. Master Kung and his daughter Kung Yi are amongst, and the latter is attracted to this newcomer.
A high warlord is assassinated by his own guard Yi Xian Tian. All masters in Foshan vow to take Tian down no matter what….

http://www.thefilmcatalogue.com/catalog/FilmDetail.php?id=10435
http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/11/02/casting-news-first-images-and-a-plot-synopsis-for-wong-kar-wai%E2%80%99s-the-grandmasters/
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grandmasters/
If this synopsis is accurate then it sounds like the plot is fictitious rather than based on fact.

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The Grandmasters Sales Art

Movielicious has sales artwork for Wong Kar-wai‘s biopic of Yip Man, now titled The Grandmasters.
The posters appeared at the American Film Market (AFM) in Los Angeles.

http://www.chongweikk.com/2010/11/two-official-promo-images-for-wong-kar.html
http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/10/official-sales-art-for-wong-kar-waies-the-grandmasters.php
Hi-res pics: http://slide.ent.sina.com.cn/slide_4_704_15257.html

UPDATED:

Wong Kar-wai’s first kung fu film The Grandmasters (Yut Doi Jung Si) is still in production. The film company has kept cast costumes and content confidential. The first two film posters were unveiled at Los Angeles’ American Film Market on November 1. The costumes of Tony Leung Chiu-wai who played Wing Chun master Yip Man in the film and lead actress Zhang Ziyi appeared for the first time and immediately became the focus of the foreign media.
In it Tony Leung wears a white straw hat and long black coat in the night rain. The foreign media were very interested in his look and even described it as the birth of a Chinese Dark Knight (Batman). In another promo image, Zhang Ziyi is in the midst of using Ba Gua Zhang (the eight diagram palm technique) – her eyes were full of self confidence. Foreign media pointed out that in a white straw hat, Yip Man was completely different from the image of Yip Man that has appeared in films before. Everyone was the most surprised that without any kung fu background Tony Leung actually had unspeakable kung fu power.
Wong Kar Wai fans could not wait to put the poster online and received a lot of responses. Some online even compared Tony Leung’s Yip Man look and Zhang Ziyi’s heroine feel with classic American comic book super heroes, saying that the U.S. had Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Catwoman, Yip Man in the poster definitely was China’s super hero. Some even suggested making Yip Man’s English name into “Yeah Man” in order to be a part of this group of super heroes.
Since the film started production, everyone has been the most curious about Tony Leung abilities. After a year of training, his figure could be seen on the poster for the first time. Even foreign media described him as looking radiant. The film’s action director Yuen Woo-ping even described Tony’s current condition as “the peak”. He said that he never worried about his agility because Tony had a high ability to comprehend and absorb quickly. Although he and Donnie Yen played the same character but they each had their own style. He greatly praised Tony’s current status for the film’s action scenes. “I never worried about him,” he says, “Talking about body figures, Tony looks better than Donnie Yen. It is unbelievable that there is strength in Tony’s kicks. He does have the potential to film action films.”
Tony Leung in the past year suffered a lot too. Responsible for instructing, Wing Chun Grand Master Yip Man’s disciple Duncan Leung Siu Hung admired Tony’s spirit to overcome hardship. He pointed out that Tony’s progress was slower than the average student, half a year more than expected. During the period he stopped training for awhile due to his arm injury. However he recovered and returned to form very quickly. Unlike Donnie Yen who had a kung fu background, Tony Leung had an advantage that Donnie Yen did not have. He was able to start from zero like a blank piece of paper. Tony gradually and clearly absorbed the spirit of Wing Chun kung fu completely. Every one of his moves now is very naturally convincing, whether punching or with a staff he was able to perform the Wing Chun school feel. He also pointed out that director Wong Kar-wai at first asked Tony to truly spend time to train and made him understand that slow and steady wins the race.

http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/ent/film/sinacn/20101031/14121955496.html

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Song Hye-kyo Meeting with Wong Kar-Wai, Confirmed to Be Playing Yip Man’s Wife

Actress Song Hye-kyo met with director Wong Kar-wai on 19th October 2010 to discuss the progress of filming The Grand Master. Paparazzi managed to film the secret meeting and were able to capture exclusive images of reference photos shot for the film.
The first photo on the right is Song Hye-kyo with Zhang Ziyi (wearing a man’s suit).
The other one is Hye-kyo, Tony Leung (as Yip Man) and the actor playing their son. This pretty much confirms that Song Hye-kyo is playing Yip Man’s wife.
Wong Kar-wai began reshoots of the film starting in mid-September.

Credit: wloi @ Soompi.com

See the video shot by the paparazzi at the following link:
http://hk.sw.nextmedia.com/template/sw/art_main.php?iss_id=796&sec_id=1000863&art_id=14602421

UPDATE: Larger scans added (click to enlarge).

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Casting call for The Grand Master

As I suspected filming on “The Grand Master” continues.
Credit to: http://www.soompi.com/

Here’s a casting call for hiring supporting actors/actresses for the film:

*Auditions for a maid, to start filming end June / early July, accommodation will be provided.
Audition to be held on 9 June.
Age: either 13-18 or 25-30.

*4 replacements for Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen and Song Hye-kyo, as well as a number of actors for portraying students.
The audition is on 13 June.

http://www.gzucjob.com.cn/showjob.asp?id=1425
http://www.soompi.com/

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Lunar New Year release for The Grand Master?

Wong Kar-wai’s “The Grand Master” is said to have completed filming and is now entered the editing phase. Ultimately, Brigitte Lin did not make a comeback appearance. Zhang Ziyi’s role is said to be that of a female killer/assassin. Zhao Benshan and Song Hye-kyo also appear.
The film began shooting in Guangdong last November and has been shrouded in secrecy. A Lunar New Year opening is still anticipated despite some delays.

It will compete against four powerhouse films: Chen Kaige’s Zhao’s Orphan, Zhang Yimou’s Love Under the Hawthorne Tree, Jiang Wen’s Let the Bullets Fly and Feng Xiaogang’s You Are the One 2.

http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-06-22/10312994107.shtml

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The Grand Master filming break

Director Wong Kar-Wai has been busy working on his own movie about the legendary Wing Chun master Ip Man. They recently completed shooting in the Northeast region of China and will soon head South to Guangzhou. Before filming resumes for The Grand Master, his all-star cast gets a one-week break while the crew is moving the set.

Korean star Song Hye-Kyo will be one of the cast members participating in the Guangzhou filming. She was previously rumored to have gained weight, but the actress looked very slim when she was spotted in Hong Kong shopping for some DVD’s. According to the news, she has been working hard on her moves as well as her Chinese, and hopes to complete the film with her own voice.

On the other hand, “Ip Man” Tony Leung didn’t get much of a break as he had to film a commercial in the mainland. When asked about working with Song Hye-Kyo, he said they actually met each other back at the premiere of his film 2046. He was also asked if they share any intimate scenes, Tony Leung responded, “How would I know! There hasn’t been any in the script so far. (Will there be some later?) We’ll know when the time comes!”

Their co-star Chang Chen hasn’t been home for months since filming started, therefore he returned to Taiwan during the break to get some summer clothing. Meanwhile, actress Zhang Ziyi will also take part in the Guangzhou filming, but the production remained tight-lipped concerning what role she is playing.

http://news.sina.com.tw/article/20100525/3181954.html
http://www.nownews.com/2010/05/26/340-2607400.htm