Jackie Chan’s newest movie is called Rob-B-Hood. After the success of the 2 Rush Hour movies, Jackie’s other made-for-America films just didn’t seem that popular. Who actually saw The Medallion or The Tuxedo? As a result, he went back to his roots and recently starred in two movies with more international appeal. The Myth and New Police Story were quite successful in Asia but have yet to make officially make it to North American audiences. Now, before going back to finish of the trilogy in Rush Hour 3, Jackie has made this new movie called Rob-B-Hood where he plays a ‘villain’ of sorts, stealing a baby for ransom money. Nonetheless, the character he plays is still the main character and actually turns out to be a good guy. Jackie would never play a bad guy!
Below is the Hong Kong trailer for the film. It will be released in September for Asia.
ZeroGravity is without a doubt the best online group of amateur action film makers and choreographers. They are a small group based in the California Bay Area who make low budget action films. They specialize in fight choreography and filming. They haven't made it to the big leagues yet, but they are well recognized in the martial arts choreography community. Given the budget and resources they have to work with, the action sequences they produce are comparable to professional Hong Kong choreography quality. Be sure to check out their films.
Unfortunately, ZeroGravity has pretty much been defunct over the past couple of years. A lot of their films were in the middle of production but were sadly never completed. Surprisingly, there seems to be hints of a comeback of sorts on the ZeroGravity forum. From the looks of it, they are looking over some storyboards. I'll definitely keep you posted as more concrete details come in.
Below is one of their demo videos from a while back.
With Chinese actions stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li more or less successfully establishing a foothold in Hollywood, why has Donnie Yen not done the same? Even newcomer Tony Jaa from Thailand has started to gain some publicity in North America. Donnie's only big screen North American release is Iron Monkey, a previously released film. He has yet to do a film specifically targeted for the North American market. Nonetheless, he has appeared in Hollywood movies such as Shanghai Knights and Blade 2. But he has yet to star in any Hollywood films. He will be playing a part alongside George Clooney in the remake of the Japanse classic, The Seven Samurai. But George will probably still be the main lead in that movie.
Perhaps he prefers to work behind the scenes as an action director. Stormbreaker, an upcoming Summer Hollywood blockbuster, has action scenes designed by Donnie. He was also the action director for Blade 2.
If you are thirsty for some Donnie Yen action, be sure to check out SPL, an action packed police thriller in which Donnie directs and kicks butt. Dragon Tiger Gate is Donnie's newest upcoming film to be released this Summer in Asia. The trailers definitely look good!
With the caliber of films Donnie is starring in these days, why doesn't he consider Hollywood more seriously?
