https://www.scmp.com/rss/502945/feed Donnie Yen is a Hong Kong martial arts actor who has starred in the Ip Man kung fu franchise. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Richard James Havis Richard James Havis Chen Zhen, a fictional character first played by Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury, became a cultural phenomenon in Hong Kong because of the way he stood up to the Japanese in Shanghai in the early 1900s. A scene in which Chen makes students at a Japanese karate school eat the paper on which they had written “China is the sick man of Asia” was especially popular, as was the scene in which Chen smashes a sign outside a Shanghai public park reading “No dogs or Chinese”. Here, we look at two... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3337793/how-stephen-chow-and-donnie-yen-reinvented-bruce-lees-classic-chen-zhen-their-own-ways?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3337793/how-stephen-chow-and-donnie-yen-reinvented-bruce-lees-classic-chen-zhen-their-own-ways?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 09:15:07 +0000 Kylie Knott Kylie Knott Among the Post’s top film stories that resonated with readers in 2025 were several in a series profiling Hong Kong’s pop culture icons, in particular Deanie Ip, Faye Wong and Chow Yun-fat. Other stories that proved very popular covered the early films of Donnie Yen, high-profile wuxia films – a genre focusing on sword-wielding, chivalrous martial arts heroes in ancient China – and a 1988 British drama on Hong Kong immigrants. Here, we revisit seven top-performing stories of 2025. 1. A spotlight... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3337427/7-film-stories-2025-readers-loved-including-chow-yun-fat-deanie-ip-profiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3337427/7-film-stories-2025-readers-loved-including-chow-yun-fat-deanie-ip-profiles?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan China’s Xin Zhilei, the winner of the best actress award at the recent Venice Film Festival, has come a long way from her humble beginnings as a restaurant waitress. Since Xin won the prestigious prize on September 6, her life story has trended on mainland social media, with internet users celebrating her hard work and grit through the years. Xin, 39, was born in Heigang, an underdeveloped city in northeastern Heilongjiang province, both her parents were manual workers. She has a younger brother... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3325005/xin-zhilei-venice-film-festival-best-actress-poverty-discovery-donnie-yen-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3325005/xin-zhilei-venice-film-festival-best-actress-poverty-discovery-donnie-yen-team?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:00:14 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong The Hong Kong Ballet will launch a new performance inspired by local kung fu legend Bruce Lee and present it on the global stage, the leading dance company has revealed, as part of the city’s efforts to share “authentic” cultural stories with the world. Septime Webre, artistic director of the Hong Kong Ballet, highlighted the plan during a panel discussion on Monday at the Redefining Hong Kong conference on Culture, Sports and Tourism, hosted by the South China Morning Post. “This is the kind of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3323889/ballet-inspired-hong-kong-kung-fu-legend-bruce-lee-set-global-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3323889/ballet-inspired-hong-kong-kung-fu-legend-bruce-lee-set-global-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 06:58:32 +0000 Oscar Liu Oscar Liu With leaps and falls on screen, Hong Kong actor Andrew Clifford Pong King-fung is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of martial artists and stunt professionals through his studio to honour the rich heritage of the city’s action and kung fu films. Established in 2022, the New Era Martial Club in Quarry Bay offers the public a place to try seemingly dangerous movie stunts in a safe setting and allows Pong to share his know-how with aspiring action performers. “Our primary mission is to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3310719/kung-fu-hustle-hong-kong-action-film-actor-turns-mentor-stunt-performers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3310719/kung-fu-hustle-hong-kong-action-film-actor-turns-mentor-stunt-performers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 May 2025 01:00:20 +0000 Harvey Kong Harvey Kong Hong Kong residents can once again enjoy films at theatres for HK$30 (US$3.90) with the return of the annual Cinema Day event on May 10. The government announced the city’s third consecutive Cinema Day with the release of a 30-second advertisement starring martial artist Donnie Yen Ji-dan, who tells viewers: “You won’t miss it, right?” The event was first introduced in 2023 as part of the “Happy Hong Kong” campaign, a government drive designed to bring some cheer to the city amid the coronavirus... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3306617/hong-kongs-cinema-day-returns-may-10-tickets-priced-hk30?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3306617/hong-kongs-cinema-day-returns-may-10-tickets-priced-hk30?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Apr 2025 09:47:43 +0000 Today, Donnie Yen Ji-dan is unquestionably one of the most famous Hong Kong film actors in the world. Yen’s superlative martial arts skills should have turned him into a star when he made his film debut in 1984, but it somehow took him almost 25 years to reap the acclaim he deserved, coming with the Ip Man films in the 2000s. “In the 1990s, Yen seemed fated to play bad guys in big films and good guys in small films,” critic Grady Hendrix said in 2012. “Producers just wouldn’t take the risk on... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3305071/early-donnie-yen-movies-ip-man-revisited-drunken-tai-chi-cheetah-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3305071/early-donnie-yen-movies-ip-man-revisited-drunken-tai-chi-cheetah-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2025 05:15:08 +0000 Vivian Au Vivian Au Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park is liaising with law enforcement agencies and looking into a report that ticket touts helped visitors enter the main stadium for Saturday’s star-studded opening ceremony for a fee of about HK$1,000 (US$128) per person. The new park, the city’s largest sports venue, said on Monday that it was “deeply concerned” about the incident and would handle it seriously. Touts reportedly offered to escort visitors to a back entrance of Kai Tak Stadium for Saturday evening’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3300876/hong-kongs-kai-tak-sports-park-probes-claim-touts-helped-fans-opening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3300876/hong-kongs-kai-tak-sports-park-probes-claim-touts-helped-fans-opening?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Mar 2025 12:09:42 +0000 Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park was off to a glittering, glamorous start on Saturday evening with a star-studded opening ceremony as the city’s leader hailed the project as a bridgehead for a mega-event economy and a state-of-the-art venue for sports, entertainment, tourism and exhibition extravaganzas. “Tonight is a grand occasion, the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park – the largest sports, entertainment and mega-event complex in Hong Kong’s history, spanning over 28 hectares,” Chief Executive... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3300695/hong-kongs-kai-tak-sports-park-new-stage-mega-events-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3300695/hong-kongs-kai-tak-sports-park-new-stage-mega-events-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Mar 2025 15:23:29 +0000 Harvey Kong Harvey Kong Hong Kong police have arrested three people for attempted fraud after they allegedly touted tickets to the opening ceremony of Kai Tak Sports Park, originally worth HK$10, for up to HK$2,000 (US$257). Superintendent Wong Yick-lung, of the force’s Kowloon East regional headquarters, said on Tuesday two of the arrestees did not have the required electronic vouchers to claim the tickets. Further investigation was needed to determine whether it was possible to claim tickets using those held by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3300098/trio-arrested-hong-kong-cracks-down-kai-tak-sports-park-ticket-touts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3300098/trio-arrested-hong-kong-cracks-down-kai-tak-sports-park-ticket-touts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:46:29 +0000 Sammy Heung Sammy Heung Residents have snapped up 8,500 tickets for the opening ceremony of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park in just 30 minutes. More than 20,000 residents queuing when online sales began at 10am on Friday were told they had to wait for up to two hours, according to ticketing platform Urbtix. But after 15 minutes, only about 300 tickets were left, a Post reporter found. As of 10.22am, the reporter could not buy a ticket and at around 10.35am, the platform said all tickets were sold out. The event’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3299546/8500-tickets-opening-ceremony-hong-kongs-new-sports-park-gone-30-minutes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3299546/8500-tickets-opening-ceremony-hong-kongs-new-sports-park-gone-30-minutes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2025 02:55:08 +0000 Cannix Yau,Jeffie Lam Cannix Yau,Jeffie Lam The opening ceremony of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park on March 1 will boast a star-studded line-up that includes martial artist Donnie Yen Ji-dan, Cantopop diva Joey Yung Cho-yee and singer Michael “MC” Cheung Tin-fu, with tickets priced at HK$10 (US$1.29) each. But Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said on Thursday that the 1½-hour event at Kai Tak Stadium would only be aired later in the evening on four television channels rather than being broadcast live from... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3299458/actor-donnie-yen-among-star-line-hong-kongs-kai-tak-stadium-launch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3299458/actor-donnie-yen-among-star-line-hong-kongs-kai-tak-stadium-launch?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:33:00 +0000 The Chinese literary classic Journey to the West, written by Ming dynasty author Wu Cheng’en, may be known for its battle scenes and action, but it is religious in nature. One of the ideas behind the novel, which tells of a journey to the “Eastern Heaven” of India to find some Buddhist sutras, is to show that Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism can work together as a religious system. Portions of the book have been adapted for television, film, comic books and even video games many times,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3293177/donnie-yen-wukong-notable-monkey-king-adaptations-contemporary-hong-kong-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3293177/donnie-yen-wukong-notable-monkey-king-adaptations-contemporary-hong-kong-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jan 2025 10:15:08 +0000 As 2024 crawls to a close, we look back at some of the stories from the entertainment world that resonated with Post readers during the year. A profile on an actress who went from soft-porn to mainstream fame struck a chord, as did a feature that delved into Chinese martial arts in film. 1. Actress Shu Qi went from soft-porn to mainstream cinema star Shu Qi is the rarest of all exceptions in a conservative Chinese society: she was a soft-porn model who switched to film and established herself as... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3292158/entertainment-stories-you-read-most-2024-about-adult-film-stars-ip-man-movies-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3292158/entertainment-stories-you-read-most-2024-about-adult-film-stars-ip-man-movies-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Dec 2024 07:15:08 +0000 3/5 stars Donnie Yen Ji-dan tries his hand at a legal drama with The Prosecutor, playing a police inspector so aggrieved by court system injustice that he quits the force to become a lawyer for the prosecution – only to keep investigating cases and doing everything a policeman does anyway. Arriving at a time when the Hong Kong audience is showing a keen appetite for court dramas with nuanced views on the city’s law enforcement environment (see The Sparring Partner and A Guilty Conscience), The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3291360/prosecutor-donnie-yen-literally-fights-justice-action-packed-court-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3291360/prosecutor-donnie-yen-literally-fights-justice-action-packed-court-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Dec 2024 10:15:16 +0000 Every new policy address gets debated, supported or pondered by various stakeholders across the broad spectrum of Hong Kong. This could range from the “what’s in it for me” perspective to deep considerations of the impact and influence of the unveiled plans on large companies, institutions and policy bodies and how they operate. Externally, it could get picked over by friend and foe alike for clues as to future policy directions and implications for trade, commerce, financial operations,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3284181/why-arent-we-pushing-hong-kong-harder-hub-kung-fu-fans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3284181/why-arent-we-pushing-hong-kong-harder-hub-kung-fu-fans?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2024 01:30:08 +0000 This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. For at least the second time in two weeks, a fictitious article with the appearance of a South China Morning Post news story has circulated on social media, aiming to promote an online financial trading tool. The fake article, hosted on a website not associated with the Post, features excerpts of a fictitious interview with renowned Hong Kong filmmaker and... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3262519/fake-news-hoax-post-article-claims-reveal-stephen-chows-moneymaking-secret-second-mimic-incident-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3262519/fake-news-hoax-post-article-claims-reveal-stephen-chows-moneymaking-secret-second-mimic-incident-two?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2024 13:30:09 +0000 Scammers have published a fictitious article with the appearance of a South China Morning Post story and a reporter’s byline to promote two online financial trading tools. The fake article, hosted on a non-existent website and circulated on social media, featured fictitious excerpts of an interview with Hong Kong movie star Donnie Yen by the US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. In the fake interview, reference was made to the online trading apps, which purportedly have addresses in Singapore. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3261052/scam-alert-fake-post-article-featuring-hong-kong-movie-star-donnie-yen-promotes-online-trading-tools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3261052/scam-alert-fake-post-article-featuring-hong-kong-movie-star-donnie-yen-promotes-online-trading-tools?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2024 07:44:14 +0000 There was a time when Sammo Hung Kam-bo, one of the world’s great martial arts film stars, and, for a long time the only overweight one, was slender enough to play Sun Wukong, the fabled character also known as Monkey King. But that was when he was around 12 years old. Hung was training under Peking opera master Yu Jim-yuen at the time, and his itineraries often saw him shuttling between film sets – where he would work as a child actor or an extra – and the Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park (or Lai... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3258746/hong-kong-martial-arts-film-icon-sammo-hung-his-career-stars-including-donnie-yen-bruce-lee-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3258746/hong-kong-martial-arts-film-icon-sammo-hung-his-career-stars-including-donnie-yen-bruce-lee-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2024 23:45:16 +0000 The four Ip Man films directed by Wilson Yip Wai-shun and starring Donnie Yen Ji-dan form one of the all-time great Hong Kong film series. Below we take an in-depth look at the first two Ip Man films. Ip Man (2008) Kung fu films had not been popular in Hong Kong since the early 1990s when Wilson Yip’s Ip Man appeared in cinemas in 2008. Yip’s story about the eponymous martial artist who popularised the wing chun style of the martial art – which he also taught to Bruce Lee – was a smash hit. Ip... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3257181/how-wilson-yips-first-two-ip-man-films-made-donnie-yen-superstar-and-eponymous-martial-arts-legend?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3257181/how-wilson-yips-first-two-ip-man-films-made-donnie-yen-superstar-and-eponymous-martial-arts-legend?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Mar 2024 20:15:17 +0000 Like many young women who came of age in the past decade or so, Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter Jasmine Yen is a huge fan of Taylor Swift. “What gave me the confidence to do my first [large-scale] performance ... was singing ‘You Belong With Me’ for a school assembly,” Yen says. “And then, when I was nine, [I performed] in front of more than 2,000 people at my aunt’s wedding. Taylor Swift gave me the confidence.” Along with tens of thousands of other fans, the young rising star sang her heart... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3256922/meet-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-daughter-jasmine-yen-taylor-swift-fan-sealed-record-deal-sonys-rca?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3256922/meet-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-daughter-jasmine-yen-taylor-swift-fan-sealed-record-deal-sonys-rca?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2024 11:00:13 +0000 Le Bal des Débutantes is a night of glamour, beauty and celebration that brings together young women from around the world who make their formal debut into high society. The prestigious event is held annually in Paris, and is attended by the daughters and sons of aristocrats, politicians and tycoons. From the elegant haute couture gowns paired with exquisite high jewellery, to the choreographed father-daughter dance, Le Bal is a display of opulence and French tradition. But beyond the glitz and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3243781/meet-hong-kong-debs-paris-le-bal-des-debutantes-2023-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-daughter-jasmine-yen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3243781/meet-hong-kong-debs-paris-le-bal-des-debutantes-2023-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-daughter-jasmine-yen?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2023 02:00:16 +0000 No one seems more destined to become a star entertainer than Jasmine Yen, the daughter of Hong Kong power couple – action star Donnie Yen and former beauty queen Cissy Wang. Yen shared with Bandwagon Asia that she expressed a desire to perform from a young age – and has the talent to match. At the age of nine, she got one of her first rushes from performing when she sang for 2,000 guests at her aunt’s wedding. In the interview, she revealed that she realised she’s passionate about singing and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3237069/impeccable-style-hk-legend-donnie-yens-daughter-jasmine-19-year-old-pop-star-just-released-her-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3237069/impeccable-style-hk-legend-donnie-yens-daughter-jasmine-19-year-old-pop-star-just-released-her-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Oct 2023 10:00:14 +0000 In the Line of Duty 3 and In the Line of Duty 4 were intended as sequels to the hit films Yes, Madam! (1985) and Royal Warriors (1986). But as action stars Michelle Yeoh (then known as Michelle Khan) and Cynthia Rothrock were unavailable, the sequels featured the Hong Kong debut of Taiwan-born Cynthia Khan (real name Yeung Lai-ching, also spelled Yang Li-tsing). Khan, whose name is an amalgam of the names of the previous stars of the series, seamlessly filled Yeoh’s shoes. The two later films,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3229952/no-michelle-yeoh-no-problem-how-cynthia-khan-made-line-duty-3-and-4-her-own-her-sensational?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3229952/no-michelle-yeoh-no-problem-how-cynthia-khan-made-line-duty-3-and-4-her-own-her-sensational?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Aug 2023 20:15:10 +0000 Donnie Yen and Cissy Wang might be Hong Kong’s most stylish power couple. Or at least, among the top contenders. This was especially obvious when the duo posted pics of their extravagant vow renewal celebrations in Lake Como earlier this month, where they took resortwear to a whole new level. Long red corset gowns. Patterned sets. Head-to-toe white. Tuxedos – of course – for the ever-dapper Yen. Yen and Wang have proven to us time and time again that sartorial prowess comes naturally to them.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3229822/9-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-best-couple-looks-2023-their-glam-vow-renewals-lake-como-valentino?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3229822/9-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-best-couple-looks-2023-their-glam-vow-renewals-lake-como-valentino?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Aug 2023 04:56:08 +0000 July 27, 2023 marks the 60th birthday of Hong Kong kung fu actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan. He is best known for injecting mixed martial arts into Asian cinematography and popularising the self-defence fighting style of wing chun kung fu through his Ip Man movies (2008-2019). But Yen began acting in films and on television long before that. We look back at his early career, and dig up some less well known facts about the actor. It all started with Drunken Tai Chi Although the actor had his breakthrough... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3228994/donnie-yen-turns-60-look-some-ip-man-actors-early-roles-he-was-famous-and-how-many-times-hes-fought?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3228994/donnie-yen-turns-60-look-some-ip-man-actors-early-roles-he-was-famous-and-how-many-times-hes-fought?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2023 23:15:10 +0000 Action star Donnie Yen and former beauty queen Cissy Wang celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary at the stunning Villa Balbiano in Lake Como, Italy last week. One of Hong Kong’s favourite showbiz couples, they renewed their vows in a lavish ceremony attended by family and, of course, celebrity friends. A-list guests included director Wong Jing, actor Ray Lui and Wang Baoqiang, singer William So and more, reported The Straits Times. Yen, 59, and Wang, 42, have had a long-time romance that’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3228709/inside-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-lavish-vow-renewals-lake-como-italy-hong-kong-power-couple?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3228709/inside-donnie-yen-and-cissy-wangs-lavish-vow-renewals-lake-como-italy-hong-kong-power-couple?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jul 2023 07:41:26 +0000 Italy’s Udine Far East Film Festival (FEFF), the first international festival to focus wholly on commercial movies from Asia, has its 25th anniversary this year. Although the FEFF screens films from all over the region, it’s always had a special relationship with Hong Kong. Hong Kong stars and directors such as Stephen Chow Sing-chi, Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia and Johnnie To Kei-fung have all made the trip to the pretty northern Italian city to celebrate Asian moviemaking. We talk to the festival’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3217434/stephen-chows-quiet-visit-jackie-chans-panama-hats-spree-hong-kong-memories-udine-far-east-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3217434/stephen-chows-quiet-visit-jackie-chans-panama-hats-spree-hong-kong-memories-udine-far-east-film?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Apr 2023 20:15:14 +0000 A week before landing a role in John Wick: Chapter 4, Aimée Kwan had been contemplating giving up acting. “I was in a total crisis,” she recalls. “I was saying to my friend at the time, ‘I don’t know if I should quit. It’s just tiring. I love it, but I don’t know if I love it enough’.” Kwan never had the chance to succumb to her doubts, as she was flown to Paris a day after finding out she had been cast as the violin-playing Mia – a relative of the blind assassin Caine, portrayed by Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3214422/she-was-going-quit-acting-then-john-wick-4-called-aimee-kwan-parents-disapproval-donnie-yens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3214422/she-was-going-quit-acting-then-john-wick-4-called-aimee-kwan-parents-disapproval-donnie-yens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2023 20:15:12 +0000 3.5/5 stars Keanu Reeves’ seemingly indestructible killer John Wick is back for an epic fourth outing, as he continues his one-man scrap with the High Table, the all-powerful legion of assassins that excommunicated him. As outlandish as the previous three movies were, these were just entrées for this instalment, one that bounces between New York, Osaka, Berlin and finally Paris, which should get renamed the City of Fights after this. Director Chad Stahelski delivers an insanely outrageous action... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3214250/john-wick-chapter-4-movie-review-donnie-yen-stupendous-keanu-reeves-indestructible-epic-fight-movie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3214250/john-wick-chapter-4-movie-review-donnie-yen-stupendous-keanu-reeves-indestructible-epic-fight-movie?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:20:50 +0000 3.5/5 stars Hong Kong superstar Donnie Yen Ji-dan and his martial arts crew put their expertise in hard-hitting action to great use in this respectable adaptation of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a beloved 1960s wuxia novel by literary giant Louis Cha Leung-yung, also known as Jin Yong. Yen, who turns 60 this year, said at the screening this writer attended that he is at a stage of his career where he is now treating every action movie as if it is his last. His passion for this ambitious... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3206662/sakra-movie-review-donnie-yen-action-packed-adaptation-louis-chas-epic-wuxia-novel-demi-gods-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3206662/sakra-movie-review-donnie-yen-action-packed-adaptation-louis-chas-epic-wuxia-novel-demi-gods-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2023 03:15:08 +0000 Ip Man — the kungfu master that is now a household name, thanks to numerous movies about the legend. He may no longer be around, but his disciples are. We visited 75-year-old Sam Lau, one of his students keeping Ip Man’s legacy alive, to learn the very moves his master was famous for. https://www.scmp.com/culture/we-got-beaten-master-ip-mans-protege/article/3200723?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/we-got-beaten-master-ip-mans-protege/article/3200723?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Nov 2022 09:41:40 +0000 2.5/5 stars Hong Kong movie star Donnie Yen Ji-dan puts aside his martial arts hero image to play a father in distress in Come Back Home, a Chinese rescue drama that is considerably less memorable for the few action sequences it offers than for some of the infuriatingly illogical actions of its protagonists. The first film written and directed by Lo Chi-leung since his 2015 detective action-thriller sequel The Vanished Murderer, Come Back Home flopped at the box office when it opened in China... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3198290/come-back-home-movie-review-donnie-yen-plays-desperate-father-looking-his-missing-son-annoying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3198290/come-back-home-movie-review-donnie-yen-plays-desperate-father-looking-his-missing-son-annoying?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Nov 2022 09:20:43 +0000 Box office takings at Chinese cinemas this year will not make good reading for owners or filmmakers, judging by ticket sales on October 1. The first day of the seven-day National Day holiday is seen as a benchmark for annual box office performance, and takings this year were down by nearly 58 per cent compared to a year earlier. A record low seven new films were premiered during the holiday. Usually, competition for opening slots over the National Day holiday is fierce. Moreover, the number of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3194705/mixed-reception-home-coming-top-film-box-office-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3194705/mixed-reception-home-coming-top-film-box-office-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Oct 2022 11:29:07 +0000 As the daughter of renowned martial arts action star Donnie Yen and model Cissy Wang, it’s fair to say that Jasmine Yen is no stranger to the spotlight. Donnie is a huge name in Hong Kong, but has also made waves in Hollywood with his roles in Star Wars and Mulan, and is about to hit screens again in the hotly anticipated John Wick: Chapter 4. Wang, meanwhile, is a model who won the Miss Chinese Toronto Pageant in 2000. Daughter Jasmine appears to be a chip off the old block. She already has... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3187690/meet-hong-kong-icon-donnie-yens-talented-daughter-jasmine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3187690/meet-hong-kong-icon-donnie-yens-talented-daughter-jasmine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:10:17 +0000 The highly anticipated John Wick 4 just dropped its first trailer, giving fans a sneak peek into the franchise’s next action-packed bonanza. While mainstay Keanu Reeves will make his return as the undefeatable hitman, another beloved actor graced the screen with his powerful fighting skills – Hong Kong’s Donnie Yen. The martial arts superstar is already famous for introducing wing chun to the world through his successful film series, Ip Man. Today he is considered one of Asia’s highest-paid... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3187401/inside-donnie-yens-crazy-rich-life-hong-kong-martial-arts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3187401/inside-donnie-yens-crazy-rich-life-hong-kong-martial-arts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Aug 2022 06:32:14 +0000 On the cusp of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty, we look back at some of the films that particularly echoed public sentiment at the time of their release and left a lasting legacy on both Hong Kong cinema and the collective consciousness of the city. 1. Made in Hong Kong (1997) It is a quirk in the exceedingly commercial nature of Hong Kong cinema that some of its most historically influential films were made on a tiny budget. Famously shot on leftover film stock... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3183461/made-hong-kong-anita-12-classic-films-defined-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3183461/made-hong-kong-anita-12-classic-films-defined-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jun 2022 10:15:24 +0000 Asian cinema is synonymous with the action genre, thanks to its rich legacy of kung fu, wuxia and samurai dramas. Recently, Asian martial arts have enjoyed a high profile in Hollywood, thanks to franchises including The Matrix and John Wick. At the same time, not much new martial arts talent has emerged. Nevertheless, markets like Thailand and Indonesia have ensured the region remains a hotbed for innovative and exhilarating action. In the spirit of the genre’s fiercely competitive nature, we... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3172394/25-best-asian-martial-arts-movies-21st-century-ranked-ip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3172394/25-best-asian-martial-arts-movies-21st-century-ranked-ip?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Mar 2022 20:15:19 +0000 As Post interviews with Donnie Yen Ji-dan spanning 25 years attest, he was hardly an overnight success as a martial arts actor. Having appeared in his first movie in 1984, Yen had his share of failures, disappointments and false starts before becoming a hit with Hong Kong cinema-goers in 2005 film SPL (released in the United States as Kill Zone) and an international star with Ip Man in 2008. “While many people were wondering who would be the successor to Jackie Chan and Jet Li Lianjie, it never... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3168190/bruce-lee-ip-man-and-monkey-king-donnie-yen-martial-arts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3168190/bruce-lee-ip-man-and-monkey-king-donnie-yen-martial-arts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Feb 2022 21:15:22 +0000 Wuxia films didn’t disappear at the start of the 21st century – the genre simply became subsumed into the big-budget “Chinese blockbusters” (daipan) which were then often co-productions between Hong Kong and mainland China. As Stephen Teo points out in his book Chinese Martial Arts, although wuxia films were banned in China from 1933 to the 1980s – successive governments thought their traditionalist viewpoints sent the wrong message about modernisation – there was a change of tack in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3164189/john-woos-red-cliff-donnie-yen-14-blades-and-lost-bladesman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3164189/john-woos-red-cliff-donnie-yen-14-blades-and-lost-bladesman?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jan 2022 22:15:08 +0000 After a disappointing 2021, gamers are looking forward to a bumper 2022 with the promised release of several long-awaited titles across consoles. Chief among them is Stray, which was pushed back to an “early 2022” release before the Annapurna Interactive showcase last July. The game, previously with an October 2021 release, is going to be six years in the making by the time it arrives. Annapurna Interactive is a game publisher that works with game creators from around the world. Originally... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3163069/video-games-set-hong-kong-worlds-worst-cyberpunk-cat-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3163069/video-games-set-hong-kong-worlds-worst-cyberpunk-cat-game?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jan 2022 11:45:19 +0000 The classic martial arts film Once Upon a Time in China (1991), directed by Tsui Hark, made a star of China-born martial artist Jet Li Lianjie. Playing the role of real-life Cantonese hero Wong Fei-hung, Li’s performance earned him comparisons to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. But while audiences were impressed by the film’s lengthy finale, where Wong fights his nemesis in a warehouse on moving bamboo ladders, most would have been unaware that it’s not actually Li who did the fighting. Three body... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3152099/they-kept-bruce-lee-jackie-chan-and-jet-li-safe-kung-fu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3152099/they-kept-bruce-lee-jackie-chan-and-jet-li-safe-kung-fu?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Oct 2021 04:45:11 +0000 It’s rare that a sequel can match the original movie, but that’s true of Once Upon a Time in China II, the follow-up to Tsui Hark’s trendsetting 1991 martial arts hit. Part 1 made a star of Jet Li Lianjie and brought martial arts films back into the limelight. Part 2, produced in 1992, is a more ambitious and wide-ranging film which effortlessly picks up the storyline and expands the themes of industrial progress, Chinese nationalism, and the perceived conflict between Confucian values and those... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3148224/jet-li-vs-donnie-yen-pole-fight-once-upon-time-china-ii-how?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3148224/jet-li-vs-donnie-yen-pole-fight-once-upon-time-china-ii-how?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Sep 2021 20:15:09 +0000 She may not grace billboards like her older brother, Hong Kong superstar actor and martial artist Donnie Yen Ji-dan, but Chris Yen Zi-ching, a wushu master herself, is a poster girl for how to age well. The siblings learned martial arts from their mother, Mark Bow-sim, who was born in Guangzhou, southern China, and founded the Chinese Wushu Research Institute in Boston in 1976 after emigrating to Massachusetts from Hong Kong in 1975. She taught wushu at Boston University and Harvard... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3147316/how-age-well-donnie-yens-wushu-master-sister-chris-yen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3147316/how-age-well-donnie-yens-wushu-master-sister-chris-yen?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Sep 2021 23:45:09 +0000 3/5 stars “The world isn’t all black and white; it has a lot of grey areas too,” declares martial arts superstar Donnie Yen Ji-dan’s police officer character at an internal investigation hearing late in Raging Fire. The irony is that the course of justice may be perverted at every turn, but there isn’t an ounce of moral ambiguity to be found in the thrilling but clumsily scripted swansong of director Benny Chan Muk-sing (Call of Heroes). The revered director died of cancer in August 2020 while... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3144946/raging-fire-movie-review-donnie-yen-nicholas-tse-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3144946/raging-fire-movie-review-donnie-yen-nicholas-tse-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Aug 2021 02:45:16 +0000 The only Japanese member of the Hong Kong Stuntman Association, Kenji Tanigaki speaks Cantonese with a Japanese accent when he choreographs action scenes in Donnie Yen Ji-dan’s movies. Tanigaki first worked for Yen as a stuntman in the TV series Fist of Fury (1995) starring Yen and co-directed by the late director Benny Chan Muk-sing. Adapted from the eponymous Bruce Lee classic, the show portrays Chen Zhen, the fictional protégé of Qing dynasty martial arts maestro Huo Yuanjia. The success of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3140918/donnie-yens-action-choreographers-his-and-jackie-chans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3140918/donnie-yens-action-choreographers-his-and-jackie-chans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jul 2021 09:45:07 +0000 Simu Liu is poised to become the next big Asian martial arts star with the imminent release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, in which the China-born actor stars as Marvel’s first Asian superhero alongside Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Michelle Yeoh. Meanwhile, Henry Golding, the British-Malaysian heartthrob from Crazy Rich Asians, also pivots to action hero in July’s Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. Both of these films arrive hot on the heels of the James Wan-produced reboot of video game... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3138393/10-best-asian-action-movie-stars-working-today-john-wick-4s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3138393/10-best-asian-action-movie-stars-working-today-john-wick-4s?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jun 2021 20:15:14 +0000 Hong Kong martial arts actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan still remembers the whoosh of air when a punch from former professional boxer Mike Tyson whistled past his head and landed on a sandbag. Tyson played Yen’s opponent in Ip Man 3 (2015) and Yen says he was afraid of accidentally getting killed on set by the former boxing heavyweight champion. “I am a fan who watched his boxing matches until 4 or 5am on TV in Hong Kong when I was a child,” says Yen, adding he was thrilled to see him in person when... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3137299/donnie-yen-feared-ip-man-3-co-star-mike-tyson-might-kill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3137299/donnie-yen-feared-ip-man-3-co-star-mike-tyson-might-kill?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jun 2021 04:13:12 +0000 Over the last few decades, Hong Kong’s entertainment industry has produced many icons who will go down in history. TVB’s golden age in the 1980s propelled a generation of now timeless actors and singers to fame. Then there’s the Hong Kong film industry, the world’s third-largest film exporter for decades behind India and the US, rightfully recognised as the “Hollywood of the East”. Finally, many Hong Kong singers helped popularise Canto-pop across Asia and became some of the region’s most widely... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3131060/mainland-chinese-stars-who-made-it-big-hong-kong-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3131060/mainland-chinese-stars-who-made-it-big-hong-kong-action?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 05:36:45 +0000 Zhang Ziyi is surely the most important Chinese actress of her generation. At times, tabloid gossip has threatened to overshadow her achievements – more than once she has gone to court and won cases regarding false reports about her private life – but she remains one of the country’s best actresses and arguably the first to achieve significant recognition in the West. Other renowned Chinese actresses such as Gong Li and Shu Qi focus more on art house productions, while, despite an enviable... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3121024/chinese-actress-zhang-ziyis-5-best-performances-crouching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3121024/chinese-actress-zhang-ziyis-5-best-performances-crouching?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Feb 2021 02:00:17 +0000