Venomous Encounter

Hanging with Lo Mang

Given that I work in the movie industry, I've met my fair share of venomous insects (and some of them didn't even have law degrees...). Today, it was a genuine pleasure to meet a real, deal Venom in the heart of Hong Kong's Soho.

Kung fu legend Lo Mang achieved worldwide recognition for his role as 'Toad' in the Chang Cheh-directed Shaw Bros' classic 'Five Venoms'. The movie has been cited as a favourite by such luminaries as Quentin Tarantino and the Wu Tang Clan's RZA, and was one of the last titles I had a 'hands on' role in releasing on DVD in the US through the Dragon Dynasty DVD label.

Lo, a master of Southern Praying Mantis kung fu, was one of the last generation of Shaw Bros performers groomed for stardom by director Chang. Most of the 'Venoms Mob' hailed from Taiwan; Lo was one of the few indigenous Hong Kong fighters to star in these films. I remember first noticing him showing off his Mantis moves in the film Invincible Shaolin, which, like Five Venoms, was choreographed by my friend Leung Ting, a Wing Chun grandmaster. Another of Lo's Shaw Bros appearances was given an unlikely new lease of life when the Chemical Brothers edited clips from Two Champions of Shaolin to create an MTV for their track 'Get Yourself High'.

In the post-Shaws era, Lo was underused by Hong Kong cinema; his most memorable role saw him turn up as an assassin in John Woo's Hard Boiled. He enjoyed better luck on local TV, where his previously unrevealed comedic skills were put to use. In recent years, I'd noticed his stand out role as an executioner/ghosthunter in the Tsui Siu-ming directed oddity '49 Days'. It was also evident, from his brief fight scene in 'Ip Man 2' that Lo still had the old fire...

Our film 'Beach Spike!'calls for a kung fu master, Tao, to teach our girls to play Shaolin volleyball. After the usual toing and froing you get with the early casting process of a film, I went back to the script, and suddenly thought how ideal Lo Mang would be for the role.

Elizabeth and I arranged to meet him at Soho's Peak Cafe, and on a Saturday morning! Amazingly, despite my admiration for his work, and the fact that we both live in Hong Kong, Lo and I had never met. It was a great pleasure to sit and chat with him, about Beach Spike!, Shaw Bros and kung fu in general. I was happy to be able to give him some copies of the Dragon Dynasty DVD of 'Five Venoms' (which features my deathless commentary...).

Lo's obviously still in terrific shape, metally and physically, and it would be an honour to provide a movie role worthy of him.