China News Service, Nanning, March 6th: How did Chinese kung fu film and television works enter the mainstream market in the United States?
——Exclusive interview with Tang Jili, a well-known film and television producer, director and screenwriter
China News Service reporter Lin Hao Wei Jiaxiu
In 1995, the Chinese-language kung fu film "Red Zone" directed by Tang Jili was released in the United States and became the first Chinese-language film to be released in more than 2,000 theaters in North America, breaking the record for the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in the United States at that time.
Since then, Chinese kung fu movies such as "Dark Man", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Kung Fu" have also successfully entered Hollywood and won the favor of overseas audiences.
The American drama "The Dragon" directed by Tang Jili also broke precedent and introduced more than 300 Asian film and television production staff to the United States for development, which to a certain extent promoted the diversification of American action films.
How did Chinese kung fu film and television works such as "Red Zone" and "The Dragon Crossing the River" be accepted by the mainstream market in the United States?
What are the stories behind the shooting?
How can Chinese film and television works better “go global”?
China News Service's "East-West Question" recently conducted an exclusive interview with Tang Jili, a well-known film and television producer, director, and screenwriter.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: How did you get into filmmaking? What are the keys to success in making a great movie?
Tang Jili:
I came into contact with movies in 1979 and worked as a martial arts stunt double. I was often injured at that time. Although my mother did not approve of my continued work as a stunt double, after three years of training, I fell in love with the film industry and decided to stay. Up to now, almost every He has worked in every position and is a senior behind-the-scenes staff member.
In 1990, with the support of my family and friends, I filmed my first film "The Dragon". This film was shot on a small island in Indonesia. One of the biggest challenges during the filming was that there were man-eating creatures on the island. .
When the filming of this film started, there were 29 staff members in our team. Many people chose to leave because of fear, and in the end there were only 11 people left.
We lasted a month and insisted on finishing the film.
After the film was released, the box office performance was not satisfactory, but some film critics spoke highly of the action scenes.
After watching the film, the person in charge of Golden Harvest Entertainment Co., Ltd. handed me the script of "Police Story 3: Super Cop", which starred Jackie Chan as the male protagonist.
After reading the script, I thought about it for five days and re-watched all the movies starring Jackie Chan. Finally, I asked the producer if I could change the script.
Jackie Chan is willing to let me be the director?
After getting a positive reply, I revised 80% of the script.
Later, the producer asked me to meet with the filming team members and Jackie Chan.
In April 2023, Jackie Chan (right) and Tang Jili appeared on the red carpet at the opening of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival.
Photo by Jiang Qiming
In order to make a good film, we went to Malaysia and Thailand. The local transportation and other aspects allowed us to enjoy the treatment of shooting in Hollywood, and we also achieved Hollywood-like effects.
For one of the scenes, we chose to shoot the "prisoner robbery" scene in front of the local court. Although the court did not agree to provide an internal venue, the traffic there was handled by the traffic police. With their support, we were able to successfully complete the scene before 9 o'clock on a Sunday morning. Finish shooting.
In the end, "Police Story 3: Super Cop" was a success and topped the global box office of Chinese-language films in 1992.
I believe that to be a director or creator, you must have the courage to persevere and the determination to face difficulties.
If you just compromise when you encounter difficulties, then the whole movie will become a compromise movie.
Because of my persistence, after this film, Golden Harvest Company continued to ask me to film "Super Project".
In 2004, promotional posters for the movie "New Police Story" starring Jackie Chan were posted on the main streets of Bangkok, Thailand.
Photo by Zhang Yu
Reporter from China News Service: Could you please talk about the creative process and story of the movie "Red Zone"? Why was this Chinese-language kung fu movie accepted by the mainstream American film market?
Tang Jili:
While filming "Super Project", an American film distributor approached me through Golden Harvest and said that he liked my way of telling stories, and also liked Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, and asked me if I could write a Chinese story related to the United States. , and filmed in the United States.
I was very happy after hearing this. After filming "Super Project", I started writing the script of "Red Zone".
In the 1990s, there were many immigrants in the United States, so I chose to write immigration stories, which also included scenes I encountered while studying in Canada.
At first, Jackie Chan had concerns after reading the script, because at that time, the box office of Hong Kong movies in the mainland was much higher than that of Hollywood, and many Chinese-language movies shot before could not enter Hollywood.
But the spirit of my idol Bruce Lee supported me, and Mr. He Guanchang, one of the founders of Golden Harvest, also supported me. He convinced everyone to cooperate with me in filming.
Unlike Bruce Lee's heroic movie image, we shot "Red Zone" using an "action + comedy" method.
Ma Hanqiang, played by Jackie Chan, is a small character. In one plot, he was forced into an alley and bullied by young hooligans with glass bottles and revolvers.
If it were a traditional Chinese-language movie, it would be difficult for the bad guy to defeat the protagonist, but Westerners find this plot unreal, so I designed this plot to make everyone empathize.
In the movie, you can also see a lot of big scenes of car collisions. These cars are actually second-hand cars. We completed the movie under very tight budget.
In October 2007, Hong Kong stuntman Bruce Law staged the wonderful "Chariots of Fire" in Beijing.
The "Raptor Stunt Company" founded by Luo Lixian is the "royal" stunt company for famous film and television workers such as Jackie Chan and Tang Jili.
Photo by Yang Kejia
"Red Zone" opened up foreign markets when it was released in early 1995, becoming the first Chinese-language film to be screened in more than 2,000 theaters in North America and becoming the top-grossing Chinese-language film in the United States at that time.
After I became successful, I paid back all the money I owed my family and friends for making movies. It was because they trusted and supported me that they gave me the opportunity to be a director.
After "Red Zone", films such as "Dark Man", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Kung Fu" successfully entered Hollywood, and Chinese-language films gradually gained recognition in the international market.
Reporter from China News Service: The American drama "The Dragon" directed by you has been at the top of the US TV ratings list for a long time. Why can the drama break the precedent and introduce Asian film and television production personnel to the United States for development?
Tang Jili:
In the early 1990s, there were actually very few action scenes in American TV dramas. However, in "The Dragon", the detective Long Shanhu played by Sammo Hung was agile and handled the case quickly. He did not use firearms during the fight and relied entirely on his fists and kicks.
These wonderful scenes have received very good responses from American audiences, and have even set off a craze for learning Chinese Kung Fu across the United States.
When "The Dragon" first started filming, I wanted to introduce Hong Kong martial arts instructors, but the local union in the United States refused because according to the policy, only talents not found in the local union can be imported from outside.
I did not give up and interviewed many people with local examiners, but none of them met the requirements to be a martial arts instructor.
In the end, the union agreed that I would bring martial arts instructors from Hong Kong to work in Hollywood. Many well-known martial arts instructors in Hollywood now came from that time. They contributed a lot to the development of Hollywood movies and promoted the development of American action movies to a certain extent.
In July 2021, the "Look at Hong Kong 60" exhibition focusing on 60 years of Hong Kong's popular culture will display movie posters of classic Hong Kong martial arts action films.
Photo by Zhang Wei
China News Service reporter: Why do you love the creation of action movies so much?
Tang Jili:
Chinese Kung Fu has a great influence in the world. The movies of my idol Bruce Lee have been popular all over the world. He relies not only on his ability to fight, but also on his chivalrous spirit and indomitable national integrity.
I met Bruce Lee when I was 11 years old. I started learning martial arts when I was 15 years old. I participated in the gymnastics team and track and field team training at school, which laid a good physical foundation for entering the film industry as a martial artist.
The main inspiration for action movies was the silent films of the black-and-white era. These films had no language and brought joy to the audience through humor and emotion.
Everyone in the global village speaks different languages, but the actions are basically the same, which is easy to be understood and recognized by the audience.
In addition, the filmmaking environment in Hong Kong at that time could not compete with Hollywood, and it was very difficult to shoot big scenes.
But we can't give up making good movies, so we focus on kung fu movies and martial arts movies, and make the shooting of boxing and kicking to the extreme.
In November 2023, Hong Kong, tourists posed for photos with the bronze statue of Bruce Lee.
Photo by Li Zhihua
Reporter from China News Service: How do you think Chinese-language films should actively "go out" and connect with overseas markets?
Tang Jili:
North American English-language films have a distribution advantage. Although production costs are high, the returns in the local and global markets are considerable.
Currently, most of the top 100 movies at the global box office are English-language movies.
Nowadays, China's domestic film market is good. Many film and television companies and directors can make profits by making films that Chinese people like to watch, and they do not necessarily consider overseas markets.
But I think that if China wants to become a strong film power, a very important indicator is its overseas market share. If creators don’t “go global”, it will be difficult for them to grow.
By entering overseas markets, creators can not only obtain more investment and share risks, but also communicate with people from different countries, learn new things, and enjoy new happiness.
If a director wants to "go global", he must know what the international market likes and what he can do.
We should open our arms to take advantage of global talents, technology and markets.
Now, China Film (Shanghai) International Culture Media Co., Ltd. has achieved globalization in employee recruitment and product sales. "Pioneer" has been sold to more than 120 countries and regions around the world, and a well-known American media and entertainment group has also purchased the IP of "Pioneer" U.S. drama.
In December 2019, Jackie Chan and the creative team of the movie "Vanguard" appeared in Guangzhou.
The movie "Vanguard" is an action film directed by Tang Jili and starring Jackie Chan, Yang Yang, Allen, Mu Qimiya, and Xu Ruohan.
Photo by Ji Dong
In the future, we hope to cultivate more international talents for the Chinese film industry, and we also hope that foreign friends will work with us on good cooperation projects and themes.
China News Service reporter: As the 2023 China-ASEAN Film Co-Creation Ambassador, what suggestions do you have for China-ASEAN to deepen film exchanges and cooperation?
Tang Jili:
I suggest setting up a China-ASEAN Cultural Film and Television Investment Fund to help creative filmmakers complete scripts and find creative staff.
Establish a cooperation mechanism in copyright transactions and other aspects to stimulate everyone's creative passion.
Expert
profile:
Tang Jili, a well-known film and television producer, director, screenwriter, and 2023 China-ASEAN Film Co-Creation Ambassador.
In 1979, Tang Jili entered the entertainment industry as a martial artist, and then shot his debut film "The Demonic Dragon", which attracted attention.
He once directed the action movie "Red Zone", which became the first Chinese-language film to be screened in more than 2,000 theaters in Hollywood, breaking the record of the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in the United States.
In 1998, he directed "The Dragon Crossing the River", which won the ratings championship in the American drama market.