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Lau Kar Leung an advisor on The Grand Master

Legendary director Lau Kar-leung, was given a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, long overdue in my opinion. Lau sifu is currently working with cult director Wong Kar-wai on his long-awaited kung fu film called “The Grand Master”.
Although director Wong’s Ip Man film was in development long before the Donnie Yen hit, both that movie and its sequel beat Wong Kar-wai into the cinema.
“The Grand Master”, which stars Tony Leung  as Ip Man, will detail the challenge matches between the different kung fu styles in 1960s Hong Kong. Wong reveals that he is using different masters to choreograph the arts of the different school, with Lau Kar-leung providing guidance on the Hung Gar style used in the film. No time frame given yet as to when the film will be scheduled for release.

http://asiancultcinema-drees5761.blogspot.com/2010/05/lau-kar-leung-lifetime-achievement.html

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Filming The Grand Master in Liaoyang War Museum – report 2

Filming continues on “The Grand Master” at Liaoyang museum.
Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi filmed scenes in the courtyard. Zhang Ziyi was reported as being thin and wearing big sunglasses that covered half her face.
Security aroung the museum is really tight.
Antiques from a local shop were rented as props for the film.

http://www.chinanews.com.cn/yl/yl-dyzx/news/2010/04-28/2252435.shtml
http://fun.china.com/zh_cn/movie/news/205/20100429/15915838.html

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Lau Kar-Leung working on The Grand Master?

According to Sammo Hung who worked on rival Yip Man film Ip Man 2, legendary martial arts choreographer Lau Kar-Leung (“Drunken Master 2”) is connected with “The Grand Master”, though it’s unclear in what capacity as Yuen Woo-Ping (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) and his stunt team are also working on the film.

Heard that you sought Liu Chia Liang’s counsel for this role, what suggestions did he give you?
Sammo Hung: He said, sorry, he was working on Wong Kar Wai’s The Great Master, and had to keep his own counsel, so, I had to do my own homework.

http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/814-Sammo-Hung-Interview-on-Ip-Man-2s-Martial-Arts-Sequences.html

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Filming The Grand Master in Liaoyang War Museum

Filming “The Grand Master” in Liaoyang War Museum Old Building and it’s hard to see any of the stars as the crew has not allowed others to stay in the hotels. The arrival of Wong Kar-wai, Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping caused quite a stir with many people arriving to see the stars. The crew have worked hard to secure areas of the museum, with “under constructuction” and “closed” signs hung outside the doors. “The Grand Master” crew have signed confidentiality agreements to prevent leaks, with the museum also signing an agreement.They filmed indoors until the early hours, with Wong Kar-wai wearing sunglasses at the midnight shooting. Security is extremely tight and impossible to see the cast. Zhang Ziyi was spotted and described as being very thin and pale and Tony Leung also lost weight.

http://news.lnd.com.cn/htm/2010-04/23/content_1172218.htm

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Tony Leung says The Grand Master will be action-packed

The 6th Hong Kong Entertainment Expo will take place on March 22 to April 18th. Tony Leung attended the press conference as the Entertainment Ambassador. When asked how his filming was going for “The Grand Master”? Tony replied saying he had filmed scenes in Kaiping earlier. The team is now in Shenyang filming. Originally he was not part of the filming in Shenyang, only Zhang Ziyi and Zhao Benshan were filming there. However, as director Wong Kar Wai felt the snow scenery was too beautiful, he decided to add Tony in as well. He will rejoin the crew after Chinese New Year’s. Because of that, he will not go skiing during New Years, as he doesn’t want to risk getting injured.

Zhang Ziyi was rumoured to have gotten ill filming in Northern China and apparently need to go to the hospital for treatment. Tony said, “It’s pretty common receiving IV fluids. The feeling is like eating chicken. When Ang Lee was filming “Red Cliff”, he had to go to the hospital after suffering from exhaustion. I hope everything will go smoothly for me.” As for the rumours that Zhang Ziyi’s screen time will be reduced? Tony says he hasn’t heard anything about it. However, it seems highly unlikely as Wong Kar Wai already has the script in place. He does not foresee any changes. Has Zhang Ziyi’s mood been affected by her negative press lately? He says he doesn’t know, as they haven’t filmed any scenes together yet. He only knows that Song Hye-kyo will be appearing in the movie. As for whether Gong Li will appear or who will play his wife? He expresses he doesn’t know either. However, Tony expresses he’s looking forward to working with Song Hye Kyo. He met her when he was in Korea promoting 2046 and felt that she was very special.

When asked if he was a good fighter? Tony joked and said, “You wouldn’t expect any less from the Grand Master right?” He expressed that while he hasn’t been seriously injured in training, he does have lots of body contact with his instructors so he often gets bruised up. He jokes and says, “I’m looking forward to counting all my injuries when the movie is complete.” Donnie Yen has said, ‘if you don’t fight, you won’t be injured’. Tony says, “This is an action movie. It’s the same as soccer, there will be physical contact. Injuries are to be expected.” He praises Yuen Woo-ping, saying his style is very good.

He admitted that when filming of “The Grand Master” started, the action was so fast-paced that he “almost couldn’t hang in there.” “This is a genuine kung fu movie,” Leung said, adding “there really will be many action scenes.”

http://ol.mingpao.com/cfm/star5.cfm?File=20100203/saa01/mba1.txt
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9724040
http://community.livejournal.com/aiyatheydidnt/273515.html

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Song Hye-Kyo on The Grand Master

On March 17, 2010, Song Hye-kyo sneaked to Hong Kong to meet with Tony Leung in preparation for “The Grand Master”. The two chatted for two hours and after the meeting, she walked out cheerfully. She is now in China.

http://ent.qq.com/a/20100318/000047.htm#p=1

Song Hye-kyo is currently in China working on her next role in “The Grand Master”, the martial arts movie directed by renowned Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, and will apparently be displaying some “real action” skills in the film.

“The Grand Master” stars Tony Leung as Wing Chun grandmaster Yip Man, and also features Chang Chen and Zhang Ziyi. Each of the actors has been outfitted with specialized protective gear that has been made especially for this film, to prevent injury while upping the realism of the fight scenes. The guards are made of silicone and fitted to each actor’s body to move with them and, as they are lightweight, remain undetected underneath clothing. As Song Hye-kyo is reportedly using these guards in filming, we can look forward to seeing her in action. (It’ll be an interesting sight, that’s for sure; Song has always been known for her femininity and beauty, so a martial arts action film will be a complete turnaround from her existing image.)
Song has been traveling back and forth between Korea and China since December, and has been diligently practicing her Chinese language and martial arts skills. “The Grand Master” recently began filming, and is planning for a release in the second half of next year.

http://news.donga.com/3//20100301/26533047/1

Whilst promoting the drama “Worlds Within” in Taiwan, actress Song Hye-kyo told reporters that she is a self-proclaimed fan of Kar Wai, and loves his films such as “As Tears Go By“, “ChungKing Express“, and “In the Mood For Love“. Being able to participate in his film for her first Chinese movie, “The Grand Master”, she is excited. Kar Wai is a director who keeps the script safe in his heart, so actors often don’t know what he’s thinking. However, she is not worried at all. She likes Wong Kar Wai’s style of movie direction, no scripts will give the director more freedom in shooting the movie. “Since I debuted, it’s the first time I’ve come across such an acting style, so I am very excited.”

http://showbiz.chinatimes.com/2009Cti/Channel/Showbiz/showbiz-news-cnt/0,5020,100105+112010041200010,00.htm

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Filming The Grand Master near Diaobingshan

“The Grand Master” has been secretly filming in Diaobingshan, Tieling City for the past two months. In order to prevent the plot from being leaked out, the crew has been extremely strict with reporters visiting the set. Even those delivering food had to sign confidentiality agreements.
On March 30th, reporters were finally able to uncover the latest progress from the movie. Actress Song Hye-kyo finished filming her scenes from the film yesterday. She flew back to South Korea from Shenyang earlier in the day.
Joining the crew after Chinese New Years, Tony Leung had a chance to meet with his idol Zhao Benshan in Diaobingshan. According to sources, Zhao Benshan will be making a guest appearance in “The Grand Master”. While his screen time has still not been confirmed yet, Wong Kar-wai will be keeping the workload light for his friend and will only arrange for him to film one scene in the movie.

http://big5.ce.cn/xwzx/shgj/gdxw/201003/31/t20100331_21210949.shtml

Chinese news report regarding the filming of “The Grand Master” near Diaobingshan, China.
Filming at the old station of South Manchuria Railway (before 1945) with a steam engine. Also some scenes of a big funeral, possibly for Yip Man’s relatives.

http://video.sina.com.cn/ent/m/c/2010-04-12/021668241.shtml