Word: kung
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Hero, Hong Kong actor/director Donnie Yen, the high-flying martial artist known for his rhythmic, graceful style, pits his gravity-defying leaps against Jet Li in a scene that will have kung fu fans roaring for more. Yen is fresh off success in the U.S. where Yuen Wo-ping's 1993 classic Iron Monkey, in which Yen plays a lead, was rereleased by Miramax and made $10 million at the box office. He spoke to TIME Asia entertainment correspondent Stephen Short. Edited excerpts...
...somber mood is out of place for a store that specializes in gag gifts and wind-up toys, like a furry, dancing “Kung Fu Hamster” and a plastic doll called “happy monk with cellular phone and espresso.” Several of their toys have even been featured in blockbuster movies...
...that doesn't mean he's not serious about being a monk. At his U.S.A. Shaolin Temple, housed in a funky third-story loft in lower Manhattan, Yan Ming instructs nearly 500 students in Buddhism and kung fu from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Eyes blazing, arms akimbo, voice roaring?picture Yul Brenner in The King and I?he exhorts his students to summon "more qi" and "train harder." "Occasionally" he admits, "I still forget that American students are different from Chinese. In China I could tell a kid to stand in the corner for two hours...
...make Yan Ming such a funky monk will also serve him well as an actor. "I love his contradictions," says Jarmusch, "he's so playful and yet he has the potential for incredible physical ferocity." The RZA, producer of and Yan Ming's co-star in the upcoming urban kung fu flick Z Chronicles, is also a fan. "When I looked at the dailies, he just exploded on the camera," he says. "I'd say, 'Damn shifu, you're a real live movie star.'" If he likes the kudos, Yan Ming remains circumspect. "It's just because...
...nothing new for Shaolin?the macho fighting monks were flouting dietary laws as early as the Ming dynasty, but abbot Yong Xin, anxious about Shaolin's newly pristine image, finds his prodigal brother's behavior poisonous. "The man openly eats meat and drinks," he gasps. Even in the U.S., kung fu aficionados?many of whom themselves know Shaolin only from the movies?believe Yan Ming is too much the joker. Martial arts websites abound with references to the "fake monk." But Yan Ming isn't fazed. "To be a monk you have to know how to be yourself," he says...