Double casting crisis hits 'Master' movie before filming starts

Before filming even starts on Wong Kar-wai's new film The Grand Master, which is his version of kung fu teacher Ip Man's story, lead actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai (pictured) has already sustained a project-related injury. During practising sessions on some wing chun moves with five martial-arts trainers on Monday, Leung, 47, broke his left forearm when one of the trainers' kicks connected.

At the hospital, Leung persuaded doctors not to put a plastic cast on his arm, because he was afraid of losing the muscle tone he had worked nine months to develop.

However, he was warned not to move his left arm for at least five or six weeks.

While you might admire his dedication to his craft, it seems Leung was a bit less conscientious as a husband. When cornered by reporters leaving the hospital, Leung admitted he had yet to tell his wife, Carina Lau Ka-ling, who was on the mainland filming Tsui Hark's film Detective Dee, of his accident. 'It happened all of a sudden and I was sent to the hospital immediately, so I didn't have the time to tell her,' Leung explained. Production is scheduled to start in September. It will be interesting to see whether the delayed project will be further slowed by Leung's injury.

With Donnie Yen Ji-dan's rival Ip Man movie set to begin its sequel shortly, one wonders if director Wilson Yip Wai-shun will be able to finish two Ip Man films in the time it takes Wong Kar-wai to make one.