http://www.impactonline.co/features/978-iron-fists-introducing-rza-ensemble
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOCVE9ykh9Y
Next month sees the release of the highly anticipated
, the official directorial debut of actor, composer, rapper, producer
RZA (Robert Diggs/Bobby Digital et all from the
Wu Tang Clan). I was given the opportunity to work on the film as Casting Director, handling the majority of the casting from Hong Kong which includes a good number of
artists in major roles.Now the promos may proclaim '
Quentin Tarantino presentsThe Man With the Iron Fists
', but the film, due for release in November, is very much the brainchild of the
Wu Tang Clan
’s
RZA
, a lifelong fan of Kung Fu cinema who makes his official directorial debut with the project.
The film reflects RZA's love for classic Hong Kongt martial arts cinema and was developed from
RZA
’s original idea with a script by
RZA
and Eli Roth (who serves as a producer and consultant on the film),
tells an epic tale of heroes and villains,
warriors and kings, good and bad assassins, monks and martial artists
all of whom are thrown together in what
RZA
has hinted at will be the first of a series of movies set in his take on the Wu Xia world.
RZA has countless credits as an accomplished musician as a performer, a writer and producer but he’s shown his acting ability in a variety of projects, both comedic and dramatic including , , , , and will be seen as the in next year.A lifelong fan of Hong Kong & Kung Fu cinema in general, RZA has an encyclopedic knowledge of Asian cinema and before anyone decries his martial arts background, I would like to confirm he is a genuine martial artist and a long-term student of former Shaolin disciple Shi Yan-ming. The Man with the Iron Fists
is
RZA’s thank you to the genre that he feels made him the man he is
today,The film serves as both a homage to and companion piece to the
best of martial arts cinema. Principal photography began in China in
December 2010 and had wrapped by late March 2011. Filming locations
included the city of Shanghai, Imagemaker Studios and Hengdian World
Studios.
Lets take a look at the various characters and performers we're going to encounter on this martial arts journey...The Blacksmith:
"When you forge a weapon, you need
three things: the right metal, temperatures over four million
degrees... and someone who wants to kill. Here in this village, we got
all three..."
Since his arrival in China’s Jungle Village, the town’s blacksmith (
RZA
)
has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of
destruction. When the clans’ brewing war boils over, the stranger
channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As
he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man
must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people.For the film
RZA has assembled a stellar international castJack Knife:For me, this business is the pleasure.Russell
Crowe plays the deadliest man in the world, the mysterious
, an
opium addicted soldier of fortune named after his signature weapon...
But is
he hero or villain, good or bad?
Crowe joined the film based upon his
friendship with
RZA, having worked together previously on
Madame Blossom; [
]
Power belongs to no one, until it is seized through sex or violence.
Lucy Liu plays
, the original Dragon lady. Her character runs a brothel in the village servicing the needs and desires of the men
they encounter, but from the looks of things has her own hidden agenda
and her girls are just as beautiful as they are deadly...
Korean American actor Rick Yune from
Fast & Furious
&
Die Another Day
gets to play the mysterious
e, a warrior drawn into the action
when his family is betrayed. Yune has previously let rip with his
martial arts skills to good effect in
Ninja Assassin
and Jesse Johnson’s
The 5th Commandment
.When asked about his character in a recent interview, Yune said; ‘
My
character is the son of a warlord that’s away in the mountain’s
romancing his future wife. While away from his village he finds that his
father has been assassinated so he leaves his woman and goes home to
investigate the death of his father and avenge the murder. The fact that
the character is not all right and wrong is what attracted me to the
part.’SILVER LION
Playing the memorable
is Byron Mann, his credits include everything from
Crying Freeman, Streetfighter
with Jean-Claude Van Damme,
The Corrupter
with Chow Yun-fat and he’s soon to be seen in
Arrow
,
playing the mentor to the title character.
is a man
manipulating the clans for his own nefarious needs, his loyalty is
matched only by his treachery, his character is not only a deadly killer
but as seen in the trailer a man amused by the suffering he brings to
others.
Bronze Lion:Attack!
Continuing his assault on the big screen is
and
Champion Cung Le, who racks up another solid
credit playing the pugilistic warrior known as
, Cung has
already racked a range of credits in the East and West including
True Legend, Bodyguards & Assassins, Pandorum, Tekken
&
Dragon Eyes
with Jean-Claude Van Damme
.
. He’ll next be seen in Wong Kar-wai’s
The Grandmaster
and fights Rich Franklin in the
UFC
in Macau in November, in what many believe will be his final fight.
Brass BodyAlso a well-known sportsman, former
WWE
champion Dave Bautista who has already racked up credits including
The Scorpion King 3
and
Chuck,
plays the man mountain that is , a phenomenally strong fighter -who can be seen in the trailer to have the power to transform his body.
Bautista has described the character as a "
...good guy who
made a lot of bad choices in his life. he doesn’t really understand the
difference between right and wrong."
Lady SilkThe lovely Jamie Chung last seen in
Premium Rush
and
Sucker Punch
, plays
, a courtesan who has
captured the heart of the Blacksmith, while she doesn't fight as such in the movie, RZA has praised her martial arts prowess after a recent photo shoot saying he wished he'd had her unleash her skills in the moviewhile
legend,
herself, Pam Grier makes a cameo appearance as the mother
of the Blacksmith, a slave who sacrifices her own freedom for her son’s
life.Look for another cameo appearance by
Way of the Dragon
’s Jon Benn as the owner of the plantation where RZA grew up.Silver DaggerA mysterious masked killing machine known as
is played by
Daniel Wu, his character lurks in the shadows manipulating the actions
of others for his own gain
while Terrence Yin also makes an appearance
as a corrupt Government official who may know more about the feuding
clans then he reveals.
A brother and sister team of assassins, the
and
are played respectively by Andrew Lin & Grace Huang. Lin made
a memorable Hong Kong debut as the cult-leader in
Black Sheep Affair
, and subsequent credits include
The Accident, 2000AD
and he continues to contribute SFX make up to various projects most recently Keanu Reeves'
Man of Tai Chi
.Gemini MaleGemini FemaleThe battling babe that is Grace Huang is the star of the acclaimed
Blood Traffik
short film, and she can be seen in
Cold War, Love in Space, Jasmine, Lost for Words
and
Strangers 6,
she will also be seen in the upcoming Jet Li supernatural
adventure.
Rapper turned actor MC Jin who was last seen playing Unicorn Chan in Bruce Lee My Brother , plays Chan, the comedic brother in arms to the X-Blade, while Osric Chau from 2012 - and currently appearing in Supernatural - plays the Blacksmith's assistant.Drawing upon his love for classic old school kung fu movies, RZA
also selected the great Gordon Liu (Liu Chai-hui) to play a familiar
role as
, while Andrew Ng plays the senior monk. Gold Lion & Hyena ChiefThe original
(Chen Kuan-tai) plays clan leader and aging warrior
who is drawn into battle against the
played by Beardy
himself, Leung Kar-yen. (
RZA
has also confirmed that his fighting style in the movie is based upon Leung kar-yen’s Iron Cross style used in
The Victim
)
Last but not least...
Kickboxer
’s Dennis Chan plays a
cameo role as the Dragon Inn Keeper while actress/singer Celina Jade
last seen battling away in the Kung Fu Vettell short film plays the
Dragon Inn singer whose choice of song is another of
RZA
’s
nod to his love for Hong Kong cinema.
s Darren E Scott
plays the wonderfully named
whose fate was revealed in one
of the first pictures released from the film.
The film's cinematographer is Chan Chi-ying whose credits include The Lost Bladesman, Detective Dee, Dead or Alive and Tokyo Raiders . The films fight choreography is by the great Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwai)whose credits of course include everything from Secret Rivals, Seven Grandmasters through No Retreat No Surrender, Yes Madam, Lethal Weapon 4, The Expendables
and so much more. As the trailer shows, we can expect some wild action
choreography that harkens back to the classic days of traditional kung
fu as well as the more recent wire assisted style.
A reported first cut of the movie clocked in at 4 hours and there was
talk of splitting the film into 2 parts, but eventually the film was cut
down to 96 minutes although we hope for the subsequent DVD/Blu-Ray
release we’ll get to see either a much longer cut or the deleted
scenes. Blending astonishing martial-arts sequences from some of the
masters of this world, it's set to hit the screen in November 2012. It
was a great pleasure to work on the project, and to see someone putting
so much of their own time and energy into a project that is paying
tribute to the genre of cinema that moulded his life, and all we’re
dying to see it,http://www.impactonline.co/news/908-rza-joins-tony-jaa-for-tom-yum-goonghttp://www.impactonline.co/news/766-wrapped-knuckles-rza-finishes-fistshttp://www.impactonline.co/news/711-iron-fists-rza-says-film-is-aokhttp://www.ironfists.com/