The Legend of Bruce Lee

[RAYNYSC]

Here's a cool look at The Legend of Bruce Lee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsPMMIE3E-Y

[sanjuro_ronin]

Holy crap, that might actually be worse than Dragon !

[doug maverick]

Boooooo thi **** is whack

[RAYNYSC]

It's going to be a 40 part television series that began shooting in April and is set to be aired sometime in 2008. The series has locations both in Hong Kong and the U.S. hopefully this series turns out better then“Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” as I wasn’t that impressed with that movie. Even though the series looks like it may exaggerate and fictionalize Bruce Lee’s life the way Dragon (The Bruce Lee Story) did. I just hope that the (The Legend of Bruce Lee) series is worth it

[sanjuro_ronin]

Unless they get a decent guy to choregraph it ( doesn't look like it) and don't change the details of his life and MA fighting/training that are well know ( doesn't look like it) then it will be ok ( doesn't look like it).

[jethro]

Nice to see Yu Cheng Hui, but otherwise this looks like complete crap.

[GeneChing]

There are 16 pics on the site.

Photo Album Warms Up "The Legend of Bruce Lee" (http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/01/08/1461@311781.htm)
2008-01-08 11:35:22

A set of photos from the television series "The Legend of Bruce Lee" were released on Monday as a warm up for the upcoming TV biopic on the life of the Kung fu superstar.

A news release on sina.com.cn reports that the TV series will be broadcast before the Beijing Olympics. Starting from the beginning of 2008 Bruce Lee fans from around the country will be invited by China Central Television (CCTV) to activities relating to the series.

Based on the life of Bruce Lee, "The Legend of Bruce Lee" will reveal many untold stories about the superstar for the first time.

Hong Kong actor Danny Chan Kwok Kwan plays Bruce Lee in the TV series. The actor, a Bruce Lee fan himself, is well known in Hong Kong for his roles in comedian Stephen Chow's films "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle."

I did a news story on this in our 2008 January/February issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=738). My teacher, Tony Chen (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=454), did some work with the production when they came to film in Oakland. A classmate may have made it in as one of the heavies.

[Mike Sheng]

I sure that most people might see it out of curiousity,just to have something to do.

[NJM]

I sure that most people might see it out of curiousity,just to have something to do.
If they were bored, they could always play Jenga.

People need to start playing Jenga more often. Instead of watching this movie, when it comes out. In the future.

[Lucas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsPMMIE3E-Y&feature=related

[VingDragon]

wow, Marc Dacascos, Garry Daniels, too :)

sounds and looks interesting

take a look here:

http://www.sinaimg.cn/ent/v/2007-08-13/U1735P28T3D1675029F326DT20070813194018.JPG

[Lucas]

awsome photo.

I am glad that it is the 'Legend' of bruce lee. Leaves room for imbelishment.

It also seems the film will spend a good deal of time with Lee's film roles.

[RAYNYSC]

So does anyone know the exact release date of this series?....

[GeneChing]

I was just wondering what was going on with this on the Three Kingdoms TV series thread. :cool:
(http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52095)
With flying kicks and whipping nunchucks, Bruce Lee to debut on Chinese TV (http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/sns-ap-as-china-bruce-lee,0,597112.story)
By MIN LEE | AP Entertainment Writer
8:34 AM EDT, October 7, 2008

BEIJING (AP) _ Bruce Lee is getting a belated hero's welcome in China, with the country's state broadcaster set to air a 50-part prime-time series on the late kung fu star.

Lee became a chest-thumping source of nationalistic pride to Chinese around the world with his characters who defended the Chinese against oppressors in a series of movies in the early 1970s. But his influence wasn't felt immediately in China, which was then a closed communist country.

Lee's films started surfacing in China on video in the 1980s — years after his death in 1973 from swelling of the brain.

China's official China Central Television hopes to fill the void with the exhaustive 50 million Chinese yuan (US$7.3 million) biography, "The Legend of Bruce Lee" — the country's first movie or TV series on the actor, according to producer Yu Shengli.

Shot in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the U.S., Italy and Thailand over nine months, the series, starting Sunday in prime-time, will air daily on the CCTV's flagship channel, with two episodes airing consecutively every night in a two-hour slot.

Unlike past films about Lee, "The Legend of Bruce Lee" is unusually detailed in tracing Lee's life, from his teenage years in Hong Kong to his move to the U.S., where he studied and taught martial arts, to his movie career and early death at 32, the Hong Kong actor who plays Lee told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

"We've only seen the glorious side of Bruce Lee — he comes out all guns blazing, his films are entertaining. But very few people know what injuries he suffered and what grievances he suffered," Danny Chan said, noting the series even reveals that Lee was afraid of ****roaches.

The 33-year-old actor, whose best known work is Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Shaolin Soccer," makes up for his lack of star power with his uncanny resemblance to Lee with his thick eyebrows and slender body.

Lee's message of Chinese strength in movies like "The Chinese Connection" and "Return of the Dragon" also matches that of the Chinese government.

"Lee had strength, agility, pride, intelligence, not to mention charisma to burn, which coupled with the pro-Chinese rhetoric in his films have made him a potent symbol for the powerful new China that is now rising," said Michael Berry, a professor in contemporary Chinese cultural studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

"He wrote the word 'kung fu' into English dictionaries. He made people aware of China," CCTV official Zhang Xiaohai said at a news conference Tuesday.

Lee is shown bursting with Chinese pride in a trailer shown at the news conference, bellowing "I am Chinese" to spectators after defeating a foreign opponent.

In an apparent effort to boost racial pride, the series was originally scheduled to be aired before the Beijing Olympics in August, but was pushed back in keeping with the period of mourning for the deadly earthquake in China's central Sichuan province on May 12, which killed 70,000 people.

The series was authorized by the Lee family. Producer Yu said Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler, approved the script and is credited as an executive producer. It's unclear, however, how Lee himself, who spent his time in the U.S. and then-British colony Hong Kong, felt about the communist Chinese regime. The Lee family didn't respond to requests for comment from the AP sent through intermediaries.

Berry said China is also catching up on pop culture that it missed when it was a closed country, such as kung fu films, noting the emergence of martial arts epics in recent years. When Lee died in 1973, China was still in the middle of the ultra-leftist Cultural Revolution, when millions of people suspected of opposing the communist government were persecuted.

Top young director Jia Zhangke told the AP he was one of the Chinese youngsters that belatedly found out about Lee by watching his movies on tape in the early 1980s at "video-watching parlors," which he describes as "a room with 15 or 20 chairs."

"I really liked them. He fights with great style. Boys like violence. There is nationalism in his movies — he's always fighting foreigners. I was very happy watching the movies," he said.

[jethro]

Has anyone seen any fights from this show? Looks pretty good- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7gGmdIsbI

[sanjuro_ronin]

Has anyone seen any fights from this show? Looks pretty good- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7gGmdIsbI

Wow, no JKD whatsoever !
Great work !
:p

[jethro]

Yeah I think that actor is going to get ripped bigtime when the reviews come out for this show. he has the look, just not the skills. But I thought the fights look pretty good, just not that true to Bruce Lee.

[GeneChing]

... just a gentle reminder of what's happening on CCTV.
China state TV to air 50-part Bruce Lee biography (http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20081007/122338998000.html)
Tuesday October 7 7:33 AM ET

Bruce Lee is getting a belated hero's welcome in China, with the country's state broadcaster set to air a 50-part prime-time series on the late kung fu star.

Lee became a chest-thumping source of nationalistic pride to Chinese around the world with his characters who defended the Chinese against oppressors in a series of movies in the early 1970s. But his influence wasn't felt immediately in China, which was then a closed communist country.

Lee's films started surfacing in China on video in the 1980s years after his death in 1973 from swelling of the brain.

China's official China Central Television hopes to fill the void with the exhaustive 50 million Chinese yuan (US$7.3 million) biography, "The Legend of Bruce Lee" the country's first movie or TV series on the actor, according to producer Yu Shengli.

Shot in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the U.S., Italy and Thailand over nine months, the series, starting Sunday in prime-time, will air daily on the CCTV's flagship channel, with two episodes airing consecutively every night in a two-hour slot.

Unlike past films about Lee, "The Legend of Bruce Lee" is unusually detailed in tracing Lee's life, from his teenage years in Hong Kong to his move to the U.S., where he studied and taught martial arts, to his movie career and early death at 32, the Hong Kong actor who plays Lee told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

"We've only seen the glorious side of Bruce Lee he comes out all guns blazing, his films are entertaining. But very few people know what injuries he suffered and what grievances he suffered," Danny Chan said, noting the series even reveals that Lee was afraid of ****roaches.

The 33-year-old actor, whose best known work is Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Shaolin Soccer," makes up for his lack of star power with his uncanny resemblance to Lee with his thick eyebrows and slender body.

Lee's message of Chinese strength in movies like "The Chinese Connection" and "Return of the Dragon" also matches that of the Chinese government.

"Lee had strength, agility, pride, intelligence, not to mention charisma to burn, which coupled with the pro-Chinese rhetoric in his films have made him a potent symbol for the powerful new China that is now rising," said Michael Berry, a professor in contemporary Chinese cultural studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

"He wrote the word 'kung fu' into English dictionaries. He made people aware of China," CCTV official Zhang Xiaohai said at a news conference Tuesday.

Lee is shown bursting with Chinese pride in a trailer shown at the news conference, bellowing "I am Chinese" to spectators after defeating a foreign opponent.

In an apparent effort to boost racial pride, the series was originally scheduled to be aired before the Beijing Olympics in August, but was pushed back in keeping with the period of mourning for the deadly earthquake in China's central Sichuan province on May 12, which killed 70,000 people.

The series was authorized by the Lee family. Producer Yu said Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler, approved the script and is credited as an executive producer. It's unclear, however, how Lee himself, who spent his time in the U.S. and then-British colony Hong Kong, felt about the communist Chinese regime. The Lee family didn't respond to requests for comment from the AP sent through intermediaries.

Berry said China is also catching up on pop culture that it missed when it was a closed country, such as kung fu films, noting the emergence of martial arts epics in recent years. When Lee died in 1973, China was still in the middle of the ultra-leftist Cultural Revolution, when millions of people suspected of opposing the communist government were persecuted.

Top young director Jia Zhangke told the AP he was one of the Chinese youngsters that belatedly found out about Lee by watching his movies on tape in the early 1980s at "video-watching parlors," which he describes as "a room with 15 or 20 chairs."

"I really liked them. He fights with great style. Boys like violence. There is nationalism in his movies he's always fighting foreigners. I was very happy watching the movies," he said.

[Lucas]

It is interesting to note they turn in how people speak of Bruce Lee's death and life since that Unsettled Matters was released.

its no longer some big mystery.

[Lucas]

cool movie poster

http://www.kungfucinema.com/images/03-09-01.jpg

[GeneChing]

I also hear it's silly. Anyone know? Anyone watching it?
Living up to Bruce Lee's legend (http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/11/tvnradio/2470261&sec=tvnradio)
By MICHAEL CHEANG

Danny Chan Kwok Kuen rises to the challenge of playing Bruce Lee.

Make no mistake about it – Bruce Lee is a real legend. He was the dragon who entered the film industry in the 1970s and smashed box office records all over Asia. He was the big boss who paved the way for other martial artists like Jackie Chan and Jet Li to become stars in their own right. His were the fists of fury that founded the Jeet Kune Do style of fighting. His birth in 1940 was a study in the way of the dragon – he was born in the year and hour of the dragon; and in the end, it was while filming Game of Death that he met his own untimely death.

With a life as enigmatic and legendary as his, it is a wonder that there has only been one significant effort to tell his story – the rather insipid Hollywood production Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which starred Jason Scott Lee (no relation).

Thankfully, China’s state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has stepped up to the task of paying a proper tribute to Lee by producing The Legend of Bruce Lee – an epic 50-episode TV series based on Lee that fans hope will finally do justice to the life story of Asia’s most famous superstar.

And who better to play the legendary star than Danny Chan Kwok Kuen, 33, who is not only the spitting image of Lee, but catapulted to fame with an impressive showing as a Bruce Lee lookalike goalkeeper in Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer?

During a telephone interview, Chan admitted that landing the role to play the real deal was a dream come true for him. “I did feel some pressure at playing the role, but I was actually more excited than worried, to tell the truth,” he said.

After making his debut in Shaolin Soccer, Chan went on to feature in other movies such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Fighting to Survive, and Vampire Hunters. His other most prominent role was in Chow’s Kungfu Hustle, in which he ironically enough played down his resemblance to Lee to give Chow a chance to emulate the legend instead.

Besides Chan, the series also stars Michelle Lang as Lee’s wife, Linda Lee Cadwell; as well as guest appearances by Mark Dacascos, Ray Park, Gary Daniels, Ernest Miller and Michael Jai White, among others.

The script was approved by Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, who is also credited as an executive producer on the show.

The series was shot over nine month in various countries, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Italy and Thailand; and gives a detail account of Lee’s life – from his teenage years in Hong Kong and the US, his rise to prominence after returning to Hong Kong, and his death in 1973, at the age of 32.

While his resemblance to the adult Lee is irrefutable, Chan has been criticised for his portrayal of a high-school-aged Lee.

“Of course I look too old to be in high school, I’m over 30 after all,” he said. “But we couldn’t help it, because we could not find someone who could play Lee as a high school student, so I had to do it instead!”

In a past interview with CCTV.com, Chan also expressed confidence that the series would show viewers a different, seldom-seen side of Lee.

According to him, the television series will affect the way people think about Bruce Lee. “His movies are good to watch ... but you won’t understand what he went through, what injuries he sustained, how he faced difficulties and overcame them. This series will shed some light on all that.”

The Legend of Bruce Lee is now screening at 8.30pm daily from Monday to Friday on 8TV’s ‘Best of the East’ slot.

[GeneChing]

Here's a link to 50 episodes. (http://www.brucejkd.com/) I started watching, but then realized it would take a lot of time, so I'm hoping one of you watches it all and highlights the best episodes that we should watch.

[Lucas]

Here's a link to 50 episodes. (http://www.brucejkd.com/) I started watching, but then realized it would take a lot of time, so I'm hoping one of you watches it all and highlights the best episodes that we should watch.

ill start watching this tonight at home probably

[GeneChing]

I barely made it through the opening song. Some one has got to document those lyrics and post them here on this thread. They're almost as hilarious as the lyrics to Fist of Fury.

I couldn't make it through episode one. I only got halfway through. The cha cha championships was too much. It's like Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46431), which I didn't really care for except Lauren Holly - and this is spread out to 50 hours. In all fairness, that's my snap judgment based on watching half of episode one.

I have some friends that are supposed to be in it, but who knows where?

[Lucas]

might take me a while to get through all 50...but ill try.

[Lucas]

:mad:awww crap. i dont speak chinese....

[Lucas]

that sucks because i actually wanted to watch those

[GeneChing]

...but it's fairly translucent. Honestly, how much dialog do you need in a kung fu movie?

At least they translated the theme song. Oh wait, that's in English...sort of... :o

[Lucas]

lol true.

i may still sift through them.

[iron_silk]

I applaud anyone able to sing that song without gagging!

The computer Bruce Lee kicking the Episode number is pretty funny.

The first episode beginning looks like a highlight of the series.

I find it funny that they replicate the poses of bruce lee but not of who he did his action or of his actual art. I know it's just a tv series but frankly I bored and not impressed with the way HK and China been doing their wire-fu action for many years now.

All well.....

and I don't understand Mandarin.

[sanjuro_ronin]

The simple fact that the "legend of Bruce Lee" shows no JKD speaks volumes about the show.

[doug maverick]

its a movie a tv show, some times arts like jkd may not translate well on camera. so idk about speaking volumes. its just dumb entertainment anyway.

[sanjuro_ronin]

its a movie a tv show, some times arts like jkd may not translate well on camera. so idk about speaking volumes. its just dumb entertainment anyway.

Youtube Tommy Caruthers and see how JKD can translate well for the movies.

[GeneChing]

This is just awesome, and not only for the Chinglishy grammar. It's worth watching the beginning of the first episode just to hear this alone.
When life is a hard game
Don't you blame
It's your chance to arise your arm
Always fight to hold your name
No matter how bad or rough
You never surrender
All the warriors in this world
Join the passion of this master of soul
From the Chinese hills and shore
We still listen to Bruce Lee battle call
(repeat)

Like I said, almost as good as the Fist of Fury lyrics (see Kung Fu Wisdom in our 2006 September/October issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=671))

[Jimbo]

A bit off-topic, but according to Bruce, JKD was not supposed to be a style, but a concept; an individual's personal interpretation of what works for him/her in martial arts. In fact, Bruce seemed fervently anti-style. Yet JKD has become a 'style', with its own recognizable form and characteristics.

It's strange to think how much Bruce's ideas would have evolved and changed were he alive today. And it's probable his ideas about JKD would bear little resemblance to what it was in the early '70s. I read he was even considering scrapping the name of 'JKD' because people were turning it into a 'style'. I'd even speculate that had he lived, he might not be so anti-style/anti-system as he was back then. Sometimes striving toward non-traditionalism and freedom from conformity can itself become a trap when it becomes an overriding obsession.

[Lucas]

im guessing if bruce were alive, he would have some guys fighting in MMA

[GeneChing]

It's on our local Chinese station, Channel 26 KTSF (http://www.ktsf.com/cn/index.html) at 9:00PM.