What would a a mondern Bruce Lee Film be like?

[GoldenFist]

I was sitting in class today drawing my idol, then thought to myself " I wounder what a Bruce Lee Movie would be like today. Would it still have that hero kinda plot or maybe Bruce would try on a more serious role? I always pictured Bruce in some kinda of spy kinda movie. What do you think?


- Goldenfist

[The Dragon]

Actually, he wanted to go into comedy.

[The Dragon]

You see,what happened to Jackie Chan?The same thing could be with Lee.

I doubt that. Lee was a very egotistcal man of tremendous pride and principle. All one need do is observe his Hollywood roles and how he really didn't play the typical "Hollywood" Asian role, for his time. His characters always reflected some sort of dignity and pride no matter how small the part. JC has TOTALLY sold out.

P.S. his humor was more dirty and sexual, and even-witted... Not so much of a slapstick nature; for instance, in WOTD, when Wong Ing Sik said, "who can do Karate better than Japanese?", and Chuck Norris wiped the floor with him, just before delivering the finishing blow, The Boss stops him and says,"...Now that we've decided!" or when his character kicked Bob Wall in the balls, the drumbeat punchlines in the soundtracks, or the going to the toilet references, Asian audiences roared with laughter and approval. He understood this type of playing to the audience. Again, being his directorial debut, it was not yet refined, however, he very well may have developed this angle, remember-he was a child star and knew what the HK audience craved. It didn't go over so well with American audiences, but it wasn't for them anyway.

[bolofan]

I reckon that eventually he would have moved away from martial arts films altogether.
I think had Game Of Death been finished that he would have been at the very top of the film industry and that he would have no trouble getting any future films funded.
Eventually I could see him moving away for the restrictions of kung fu flicks and maybe directing action comedies or something along those lines.

[jiujitsu77]

ok im waiting for people to harp on me for this one.....

he would probably incorporate more grappling in his choreography

[shaolin drunkard]

If Bruce had lived I think eventually he would have made in hollywood long line of average b-movies and his fame would not be nowhere like it`s now.

[lillippa328]

^Quite possibly...


im trying to think of a Bruce film that the fight choreography was done by Woo Ping...Bruce had different type of fights in his movies....entertaining yes, but not like others

[Monk Sante]

IMO, Bruce would have been today what Arnold is to Bodybuilding and acting. There's no doubt in my mind if Bruce was around today he would be running his own film company, directing films, hold martial arts contest (similar to Arnold's Bodybuilding classic), write more books on the subject, bring new talented martial artist to the film industry and so on. Unlike Jackie Chan, Bruce was very intelligent across the board. Whether it was martial arts, physical fitness, putting together a good fight scene, etc.....Bruce had the whole package. It's too bad he didn't get to realize his dream. Bruce will always be numero uno in my book! :l

[Kwok Choi]

I have often thought about this a couple of times.I think he would have done the kind of roles Jet Li gets today but he would have done them a lot earlier in his career and in my opinion a lot better than Jet Li (constructive debate welcome).
I believe 100% that he could have been featured in a memorable role in a James Bond movie.
Off the record I don't think he could have done a Snake In The Eagle's Shadow or a 7 Grand Masters but he could have worked with Liu Chia Liang possibly being the main lead in Heroes Of The East as a co-production with Concord Pictures.
Finally and also a little off topic,he could have done some Wuxia films with Chu Yuan either at Shaws or independently.Regarding Wuxia in modern terms who else would have played Li Mu Bai despite the age,going head to head with Jade Fox despite the age?
Unfair match? You decide.

[bolofan]

I believe 100% that he could have been featured in a memorable role in a James Bond movie.
Chinese super villain?
Would have been amazing.

[odioustrident]

If Bruce was alive today, there is only a small chance that Jackie Chan (really the 7 Fortunes) would have dominated the HK action scene of the 80s and 90s. I have a feeling that martial arts movies, without Lee's death, could have become more of an international affair, with US/HK collaborations being standard. Peking Opera acrobatics, which is definitely big on Chinese identity, was a huge part of Jackie's (Sammo's etc..) late 70s success. I think the 7 Fortunes helped make martial arts an international thing, but they also kept the film styles distinctly Chinese (at least for a while). Bruce would probably have had a long career in Hollywood by the late 90s (?), and a lot of Chinese actors might have followed him..

Sure Jackie Chan is the international star, but Bruce was the original; anything could have happened. He could have ended up doing comedy, drama whatever...but we would have seen SO MANY badass martial arts films before that.

[GoldenFist]

Its funny, but most of the stuff is true, Bruce was lucky to become famous, but maybe like Jet Li & Jackie..he would start making bad movies. I love Bruce Lee, he's my idol and don't get me wrong, but maybe if he was alive..maybe he'd done the opposite..become even more a success?

[MrsArtist]

i thought he was already famous before his death, to american audiences as well.

who knows what he would have done if he was still alive. it seems like he was the "curious" type though, so he may have ventured off into different genres, but you have to keep in mind that people crave new and exciting ideas all of the time, so being the smart man that he was, he would probably play into that idea.

[Chinatown Kid]

As age caught up to Bruce he would have definately moved behind the camera like directing, which he had already done for Way of the Dragon, and maybe into producing and writing films to portray his own personal philosophies. Bruce had a nagging back problem and along with the way your physical attributes diminish as we age leads me to believe this. Bruce was even quoted as saying "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

[Tosh]

I believe Bruce would of went Indy but he would of suffered after the decline of the Kung Fu boom like everyone else, but I think he would hold Jacky Chan's place in Hong Kong at the moment(a friend said you can't go anywhere in Hong Kong without seeing his face). I think he would of made an awesome villain in Hollywood for something like a Bond film or maybe he would of played someone like Tequila in the bullet ballads.

How old would BL be right now?

[SlothStyleKungFu]

Had he lived, I figured its pretty easy to imagine what he would do as the martial eras changed.

In the 80's Bruce probably would have gone to something like Canon films and made a bunch of shoot em' ups, maybe even some ninja flicks. He'd have been very successful in the video era.

In the late 80's early 90's, getting older, becoming more of a cliche, he'd probably try to stretch his action-acting a little where he doesnt fight as much, do a low rent detective-chases-serial-killer flick, a war film, as said try a villain role, something along those lines with middling success.

By the late 90's/2000's he'd end up like any other major action star of the past. He'd go more behind the camera, show up in DTV flicks or on a tv show (maybe back in HK?), make a comeback film or two like some over the hill pairings with guys like Norris or Jackie, and possibly something with Brandon :(

[The Dragon]

...How old would BL be right now?

68.

[Kwok Choi]

The man himself - please be patient it takes a little while to load.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Z0dKBemlk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXuyA4clR5E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0fjOxSkv0&feature=related

[bolofan]

He would be working behind the camera on the Ip man films, giving Sammo a hand with directing and choreography.

[JazzandZen]

I agree with what some others have said. I think Bruce would have either stopped making martial arts films and expanded himself to drama/thrillers and/or began directing films with new members of martial arts talent.

[Mark Pollard]

If Bruce had lived I think eventually he would have made in hollywood long line of average b-movies and his fame would not be nowhere like it`s now.

I agree with this. Lee died in his creative and physical prime, thus preserving his image for all time. Look at every other martial arts star and filmmaker. They have all fallen into lesser work that has diminished their initial fame and reputation. Chang Cheh, Lau Kar-leung, Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, you name it. Perhaps the only exception has been Yuen Woo-ping who has managed to beat the odds and stay on top despite occasional dips into mediocrity with the likes of HOUSE OF FURY. But then he is more of collaborator and is able to work with big egos.

Personally, I think Bruce Lee's ego would have sunk him eventually which is also what partly made him a success by demanding more of Hong Kong and Hollywood. Notice most of the people he liked to work with onscreen were also his students. I don't think he would have played well with other stars.

Then again, I'm just speculating about someone who died a year before I was even born. Anything could have been possible and the unfortunate thing is that we'll never really know what his career would have looked like.

[kungfusamurai]

I think he'd probably try to bring Hong Kong guys over to Hollywood a lot sooner than it happened. Maybe by the late 70s he'd have had both HK and Hollywood films either being directed by him, produced, and/or starring him. Once he realized he had already broken big, I think he would have taken a slower pace, not slower than Tarantino or Kubrick, though. :)

KFS

[Drunkenmasterbates]

i realize i made a typo in the first sentence, have lost all credibility and sound like an ass. so spare me any responses along those lines

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Huh.... are you off your meds dude?

[bolofan]

any questions that aren't retarded on this forum?
Yeah, a couple.
And Drunkenmasterbates, nice name lol.
A subtle little hint at how you pass time in the evenings? Bottle of vodka and a box of tissues?