Jackie Chan heads all-star ‘Shaolin’ epic

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by Mark Pollard | October 23, 2009

Jackie Chan and Shaolin Temple

Martial arts movie action is heating up in China and Hong Kong again in a big way. It has been announced that superstar actors Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse will headline the massive $30 million martial arts epic SHAOLIN which is to be shot on the actual grounds of the real Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China. This will be the first time a movie has been shot there since 1982 when a young wushu champion named Jet Li made his big screen debut in the movie SHAOLIN TEMPLE.

Production will begin at the end of the year under the direction of NEW POLICE STORY helmer Benny Chan with action choreographed by Corey Yuen. Release is set for 2010.

Other stars attached include wushu actor Wu Jing, Yu Shaoqun and Fan Bingbing. They will all be backed up by thousands of real Shaolin students.

SHAOLIN is set in the early 20th century when China was at war. Nicholas Tse will play a wealthy young man who finds refuge in the temple after a tragic incident in his family. He meets his kung fu master, played by Jackie Chan, in the temple as well as future enemies.

Jackie Chan as a Shaolin monk? I’m not sure what to make of that but I like seeing him finally being cast in a martial arts movie in an elder role.

Nicholas Tse has been working hard to build up his screen fighting skills in recent years and although he has lacked visible power I have no doubts that he’ll be able to play a competent action lead.

My hope is that his chief enemy ends up being played by Wu Jing but we’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the casting shakes out.

Regardless, the near future is looking extremely bright for martial arts movie fans. After a lull, it looks like Chinese filmmakers are finally beginning to find their next generation of screen fighting talent while finding the right place for veterans to support them. If nothing else, this completely makes up for having to see that horrible trailer for Jackie Chan’s THE SPY NEXT DOOR. Now I wonder if Chan will shave his head for this new role.

Source: Screen Daily

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  • hung_kuen
    Hope Xing yu gets cast in this, It would be great to see him and Wu jing fight again.
  • vahagn
    I was hoping that Chan wouldnt play in the movie when i first saw the topic. He is getting old, i love and respect him and his work(Dragon Fist, Armour of God,...) but all his new movies suck. Jet li is more serious but is getting old too. So, i'd like to see new,strong and real Kungfu(Shaolin) fighters in the coming martial arts movies. Because wire-fu is fake. Thats my opinion. Thanks and respect !!!
  • disaster
    its all well and good saying someone has work ethic and puts time and effort but compared to people who come from a full time martial arts background then this is just a joke, but this is where hk cinema has been going downhill. nicholas is no real martial artist, nor does he have acting skills i don't see why he should be cast as a lead martial art role, a bit part role ok, but not main lead martial artist, how some people can come on here and defend him and yet claim they love this genre are shameless!!!
  • disaster
    stdthagreat, what are you on?? nicholas tse and give a solid performance, listen i don't think you are getting the point, he's no professional martial artist, yes he puts in effort but then so can any tom, dick or harry, doesn't mean he makes the grade!!! for goodness sake, are you telling me he can perform MA to the same level as Tony Jaa?? in hk film industry which in the past has been reknown for making great kung fu movies cos they use real kung fu ppl, why are you supporting this trend of using mere singers to play LEAD MARTIAL ART roles?!?!?! him jay chou, stephen fung that whole gen x cops generation should not be in the martial art industry it's a bloody joke!!
  • stdthagreat
    Becuase he seems to be sticking with the MA genre and puts effort into improving himself. It's not like every KF movie he's been in he's regressed. Like I said he can give a solid performance if he's under the right management.

    Besides would you rather have Jaay Chou in the lead role?!
  • RogerRoger
    Benny Chan, really?
    This director is so pathetic, he has no feeling for drama, always goes over the top! But on the other hand..., he is quite a good technician.
    Missing something here..., where are the martial artists? They may use Jackie as an instructor or abbot? But who's gonna deliver the action?!
    Well, I can understand pretty good why they want Corey Yuen for the action choreography, since he has a LOT of experience with crappy or non martial artists.
  • I agree there could be better representation of next-gen martial arts stars. Hopefully, more of the young fighting cast from BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS will end up in this film. It's possible the film could be used to propel some lesser-known wushu talents to the fore given the involvement of Shaolin Temple.
  • stdthagreat
    Nicholas Tse is not bad under good management and direction. Mr. Chan and Mr. Yuen will not allow the film with this much potential to not live up to its hype.
    Besides Nicholas seems to have a really hard working ethic to improve hos martial arts This film should be very good..
  • disaster
    Disaster, absolute joke!!! Another Hong Kong flick with a non martial artist (singer) as a lead martial art role... what market are they aiming towards?!?!? so do these idiots think Nicholas Tse will match Tony Jaa now?!?!? another waste of money!!!!
  • disaster
    lookiloo you make so sense
  • LookiLOO
    You, my friend, are a Dumbass
  • Name
    i dunno if the movie will be a joke but with the action choreography of corey yuen, i'm pretty sure the fights would be good. Also, nicholas for the past couple of years has been training in wing chun gung fu so i'm pretty sure he'll do some decent screen fighting.
  • I've been critical of Tse previously but unlike many of his pop idol peers he has actually put in the time and effort to train up his skills and keep developing them. Under Corey Yuen's direction I think he'll do alright.
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