By MIN LEE
FOSHAN, China (AP) — Bruce Lee is the master to many martial arts
fans, but less is known about his master, Ip Man, a pioneer in the
kung fu style that influenced Lee. Hong Kong filmmakers hope to
change that by bringing Ip's story to the big screen.
On Tuesday, action stars Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung from the U.S.
TV series "Martial Law" prepared to start shooting one of two planned
movies about Ip. They joined Ip's sons in paying tribute to their father
at his hometown in the southern city of Foshan, a four hours
northwest of Hong Kong.
Performers staged a traditional Chinese lion dance featuring four
bright orange lions on outdoor platform near a memorial hall that
honors Ip.
Yen posed next to a bust of Ip and performed a series of maneuvers
against a wooden mannequin — a common practice in kung fu's wing
chun style, which is known for its practical, no-frills style.
Yen, a veteran action star whose credits include "Blade II," "Hero" and
"Shanghai Knights," said his role as Ip would be his most challenging
ever.
"We all know that teacher Ip Man promoted Chinese kung fu around
the world. He's also the teacher of my idol Bruce Lee. So when I took
this role I put a lot of pressure on myself," he said.
Yen's reverence for Ip's legacy is testimony to his storied reputation.
Born in Foshan in 1893, Ip started training around 1903 in wing chun.
He arrived in Hong Kong in the 1940s to escape the Communist
takeover of the mainland. In Hong Kong, he started out teaching kung
fu to restaurant workers but broadened his reach to hundreds of
students, including Lee, before passing away in 1972.
Lee, who died in 1973 at age 32 from swelling of the brain, studied
under Ip for five years, according to his official biography on the
Bruce Lee Foundation Web site.
The movie starring Yen isn't the only production about Ip Man in the
works.
Famed Hong Kong art-house director Wong Kar-wai is also planning
a biopic starring Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai,
although the timetable for the project is unclear.
Wong's Jettone Films has not released any information about the
movie, but Leung said this week he planned to devote the second
half of this year to studying wing chun and hoped to start shooting at
the end of the year or the beginning of next year.
Yen's movie, a $5 million production directed by Wilson Yip, aims to
start shooting in March in Shanghai and to be released early next
year, Yip said Tuesday.
poses for photographers in front of
a statue of Ip Man after a press
conference on his new movie "Ip
Man" at the hometown of Bruce
Lee's master, the late Ip Man in the
southern Chinese city of Foshan,
northwest of Hong Kong Tuesday,
Feb. 26, 2008. Ip Man, a pioneer in
promoting the wing chun style of
kung fu that influenced Lee. (AP
Photo/Vincent Yu)
