Yuen Wah: The "Australia" Adventure

Last night I attended the premiere of Baz Luhrman's epic "Australia", starring Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman.  The main reason i was there was as a guest of one of the film's co-stars, actor and stuntman supreme Yuen Wah who plays the role of Sing Song the cook in the movie.I'd first heard about the "Australia" project when i was wrapping up Casting duties on "Rush Hour 3", and was asked to think of some possible candidates for a role in the upcoming Baz Lurhman project. They sent me a character breakdown and some reference material, and I put together some ideas of Hong Kong & China actors who i thought could play the part, with reference to their English language skills too. I was quite excited by the prospect as I am a big fan of Baz Luhrman's work especially, "Moulin Rouge" and his re-imaginging of "Romeo & Juliet".A few months passed, and i got the call to start the casting process, and had the opportunity to speak to Baz about the character, and we discussed what he was looking for, and I mentioned several actors who might not speak fluent English but that I thought had the potential to play the role. And Baz was very open to that suggestion, saying that he wanted to find the best actor for the role, and didnt want to let language issues limit that search.I'd long been a fan of Yuen Wah's, not just for his outstanding physical performences in such projects as Sammo Hung's "Eastern Condors", Dragons Forever", "Iceman Cometh", "Bury Me High" etc, but also for the fact he could deliver very strong dramatic turns such as in "Eastern Condors", when his charcater chanegs from this somewaht eccentric strange subdued General into a Tasmanian devil styled fighter, and Alfred Cheung's "On The Run" where he gave a very strong dramatic turn, and his comedic turns in such projects as "Legend of the Dragon", "Magnificent Scoundrels" and "Kung Fu hustle" opposite Stephen Chow Sing-chi.I called Yuen Wah up and he came into the office to talk with me and my partner Ean Tang about the project, and I think at first he was somewhat suprised that we were interested in him auditioning for not only an English language movie, but for a purely dramatic role where he would speak English dialogue, especially as he doesnt really speak much english in real life.  We discussed the character and he agreed to do a casting, and a few days later he came in and read for the role, where he really brought the character to life, we sent the reel over to Baz's office in Australia, and a few days later we got the call that the part was his.Now "Australia" was an epic production with a lengthy location shoot that lasted for Yuen Wah close to 6 months, and my partner Ean was lucky enough to be able to go over and work with Yuen Wah on the film as his translator and dialogue coach for the entire shoot, while they were in the deserts of Australia, i was off in the deserts of China working on "The Mummy" with Jet Li.Its Yuen Wah's first official English language movie, and he delivers a very funny turn and holds his own alongside Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and the rest of the very talented cast, especially considering that he doesnt really speak too much English in real life. As is the way of movie making, a lot of stuff that was shot with his character isnt featured in the film, and here's hoping to a full Directors Cut hitting DVD, early word suggested that Luhrman had delivered a 4 hour cut of the film at one point, and that we get the chance to see a lot more of Wah Gor's work in the film.

Its funny but Yuen Wah is a prime example of the talent that Hong Kong Cinema can produce, he gradutated from the same Peking Opera School as Jackie Chan & Sammo Hung, went onto become Bruce lee's gymnastic double for "Enter The Dragon", and can be seen in both "Way of the Dragon" & "Fist of Fury", then made a hell of a name for himself at Shaw Brothers as an in demand stuntman and performer, before Sammo hung gave him a chance to shine in such projects as "Eastern Condors" & "Dragons Forever", and he's continued to shine in more recent projects including "Kung Fu Hustle".

It was good to see him on the big screen last night, and to be sitting next to him in the Cinema watching the man himself watching himself was a great experience. So here's a quick list of some of Yuen Wah's must see cinematic outings....

EASTERN CONDORS Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and a veritable who's who of Hong Kong Action Cinema go to war in the movie that really amde a lot of people in the West take notice of just how talented a film-maker Sammo was. There's outstanding performences by Sammo & Yuen Biao, the action debut of Joyce Godenzi who soon became Mrs. Hung, and the electrifying performence by Yuen Wah that really re-introduced him to audiences around the world. The film is available on DVD pretty much everywhere, and you should also try and track down the Ms Asia Pagent from that year, which features a live "Peking Opera" styled performence of "Eastern Condors" where the cast prove just how physical they can be on stage.

Dragons Forever Jackie, Sammo & Yuen Biao as a dynamite trio for the sadly last time until now, its a classic slice of action comedy with the jokes flying just as fast as the fists, and Billy Chow, Benny Urquidez and Yuen Wah playing the villains, with Yuen wah in fine cigar chomping form.

Legend of The Dragon Danny Lee directs an early Stephen Chow project that could best be described as Bruce lee's "Way of the Dragon" with the addition of snooker and mo lei tua madness. Chow plays the son of the eccentric martial arts master & former Bruce Lee stuntdouble Yuen Wah(played by former Bruce Lee stuntdouble Yuen Wah!) who is taken to the big city where his snooker skills are exploitated by his uncle Leung Kar-yen, leading to a face off against English snooker legend Jimmy White.

Magnificent Scoundrels Stephen Chow at his maddest, Amy Yip in one hell of a bikini and Yuen Wah in mad form taking on Stephen Chow's Blind Swordsman at one point!

The Final Test Austin Wai headlines a rarity for Hong Kong Cinema, a sci-fi tinged actioner with Yuen Wah playing a mysterious figure who hides a deadly secret.

On The Run Director Alfred Cheung takes two of Hong kong's most physical performers Yuen Biao & Yuen Wah and barely lets them throw a punch in one of the nmost under-rated thrillers every produced in Hong Kong. Yuen Biao gives a solid dramatic turn, while Pat Ha gives the perfomence of her lifetime as a Vietnamese hitwoman.

Kung Fu Hustle Yuen Wah plays one half of a double act alongside former Peking Opera Classmate Yuen Qiu in the Stephen Chow claasic that launched a whole series of "Kung Fu Mahjong" movies featuring the two Yuen's.

Coward Bastard Yuen Wah in a leading role at Shaw Brothers....oh yes!