Ronny Yu on Jet Li

Jet is the only actor I know who can truly do it all; he has an authentic martial arts background, he performs all of his own stunts, and, above all, he can really act. So I told Bill that if I were to make a Chinese film again after all these years, I would only do it with Jet Li. As soon as he heard this, Bill showed me a script that he had been developing with Jet about Chinese martial arts champion Huo Yuanjia. At first, I couldnt see a reason for making this film. Yes, there would be lots of great fight scenes; yes, Huo is a fascinating historical character; but the story still needed something that spoke to contemporary audiencesit needed a soul.

That inspiration came when I met Jet Li. He told me that each year in China, more than 280,000 people commit suicide. This weighs heavily on him, and he told me how he felt that young people today have forgotten how to believe in themselves. I was deeply affected by what he said, and all of a sudden I began to see potential in Huos story. Huo is a patriotic icon in Chinese history because he united all of the different schools of martial arts under one roof, and introduced China to the virtue of sportsmanship. He gave hope to his people at a time when Chinas national morale was at an all-time low.

I realized that, with the troubling number of disaffected youth in China today, and with the run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, now was a good time to examine what this man practiced. But I was also adamant that Jet Lis Fearless should speak to everybody, and so the story should not be about Huo Yuanjia the hero, but rather Huo Yuanjia the man. Here was an ordinary fighter, one whose pride and arrogance nearly destroyed him, and also one who found redemption when he learned that martial arts is a spiritual challenge and not a physical one. The Chinese character for martial arts is made up of two parts characters meaning stop and war. Martial arts is a discipline that promotes peace, not violence, and that became the very heart of our story. Hopefully, young people will come out of our film feeling empowered.

Behind the Scenes

Jet Li is the worlds most accomplished martial arts star, and has honed his acting talent in addition to his skills as a fighter. He has indicated that Jet Lis Fearless is his final martial arts epic, capping a body of work in the genre that includes such classics as "Once Upon a Time in China," "Fong Sai Yuk," and "Fist of Legend," among others.

Li has long wanted to play Huo Yuanjia, and worked for over a decade on development of a movie about him. Producer Bill Kong, who had made the international blockbuster "Hero" with Li, and also produced the Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (each of which was set in periods of Asian history), joined forces with the actor to get the movie made at last.

The filmmakers knew that a screen version of Huos story had to convey more than just the expected action. Jet Lis Fearless director Ronny Yu comments, In the beginning, Huo thought that being number one the champion martial artist was what life was all about. Ours is not an ordinary action film; it is a martial arts film and one about the futility of violence. Its actually about making peace; the better martial artist you are, the better peacemaker you are.

In 1997, Li had considered retirement. He remembers, My Tibetan master said, You cant retire; you have some responsibilities in the future. I asked, Can you tell me what these are He said, No one can tell you; you need to figure out yourself. With the completion of Jet Lis Fearless, Li has answered his own questions.

As the script took shape from screenwriters Chris Chow and Christine To, the planned screen incarnation of the icon became imbued with many of the actors own experiences. Li confirms, This character is quite close to me. I put a lot of my life experiences into Jet Lis Fearless; I put my heart in it, all my beliefs, the physical part, the mental part all Ive been learning in martial arts since I was 8 years old.

When you watch this film, youll really know Jet Li--my philosophy, everything, through martial arts. I express all that martial arts means in my life through this character; why Im learning martial arts, what martial arts is to me.

Blurring the Line

Once filming began, with the actor getting into character, the line began to blur a little further. Further, with Li coiffed and costumed to play a hero from an earlier period in Chinese history, those on the shoot were instantly reminded of his vibrant portrayals of Huang Fei Hung [/Wong Fei Hung] and Fong Shi Yu [/Fong Sai Yuk]. As Yu remarks, This generation has seen Jet Li advance martial arts, and so he is in many ways a modern-day Huo Yuanjia.

To which Li responds, Well, if I am like Huo, then Ronny is like Moon (the blind girl Sun Li portrays in Jet Lis Fearless), inspiring me to push my work to a new level and helping me see martial arts in a whole new light.

Also helping Li finally bring Huo Yuanjia to the screen is a close personal friend and longtime colleague, action choreographer extraordinaire Yuen Wo Ping. The duo had just recently managed a reteaming on the hit Unleashed, and Li was not about to make this highly personal project without Wo Ping. The actor explains, Working together or separately, weve always relied on martial arts to help the character and the story. But who knows when we will have the chance to work together again So, for this movie, we approached it as though it would be the last time we would be making a film together. People ask, How do you make fights different Well, humans only have two arms and two legs, so its very hard to come up with something totally new. What we could do this time was to have a great story in which to utilize the action.

Wo Ping adds, On this film, there are no parlor tricks. We lay it all bare for the audience, so you can tell that the fight you are watching is the real thing.

Director of photography Poon Hang Sang remarks, Jets actions often cant be captured at normal film speeds. Accordingly, some sequences were filmed at six times normal speed, so that movements could be captured on camera and edited into the movie in slow motion.

Fighting in an Arena

Jet Lis Fearless marks the first time, out of nearly three dozen films in nearly thirty years, in which Jet Li will fight predominantly in an arena. This presented a challenge for choreographing the action, admits Wo Ping. We cant vary the audiences experience with different sets and locations, so this forced us to be more imaginative with the action and the movement.

World-class fighters

In line with the storys climactic match, the filmmakers convened an impressive international cast of world-class fighters. The roster grew to include seven-time World Kickboxing champion Jean Claude Leuyer (in the tournament sequence, as the English boxer); World Wrestling All-Stars hero and Australian bodybuilding champion Nathan Jones (in the wrestling-ring sequence); and acknowledged sword-fighting master Anthony De Longis (as the Spanish swordsman, in the tournament sequence). For Wo Ping, this made his work both easier and more difficult. He explains, Working with people who knew how to fight meant that we could push the action harder, and experiment more. There are things that these guys can do that ordinary actors could never do, and as I pushed them to the next level, so too did they demand more of me.

The unprecedented caliber of fighting talent on Jet Lis Fearless also meant that Ronny Yu could call action and get precisely that and in enviably long takes that showcase the fighters skill, since there were no novices to work around by way of fast cuts and close-ups.

Further, by introducing fighters to the world of Chinese Wushu, the action sequences were infused with fresh possibilities. Li enthuses, We could really unleash our imaginations like, how would a Chinese broad sword hit a Prussian blade And how would a Chinese martial artist fight an American wrestler twice his size The fighting sequences in this movie were exhaustive and exhilarating.

Shooting schedule

Out of a 90-day shooting schedule, 60 were spent filming action sequences. Yu adds, This is the most difficult picture Ive ever made. I didnt want to confine Jet; I wanted to give him room to play. With so much room, magic comes up; Jet would bring in his own ideas, which would make sequences better.

Wo Ping understands how to protect Jet and make him look good. Because theyve been working together for so many years, they dont have to second-guess each other.

Li adds, We examined every style of Wushu there is--different styles, different weapons, different fighters--and the result is a film for true martial artists.

Popular Chinese actor Dong Yong was brought on to play Huos stalwart childhood friend-turned-sponsor, Nong Jinsun. Acclaimed Japanese actor Nakamura Shidou (Be With You) learned to speak Chinese for his role as Japanese challenger Anno Tanaka. Yu admits, It would have been easier to dub Nakamuras lines, but he wanted to speak the words himself, to get into character. I have huge respect for his talent and integrity.

Historical accuracy

Striving for historical accuracy in addition to the martial arts accuracy, the crew built elaborate sets to capture the beauty and turbulence of turn-of-the-century China. Yu and several crew members traveled hundreds of miles throughout China to find the location that would be the ideal village setting for the sequences of Huos redemption. The director notes, When we came across this abandoned village in the remote Zhejiang Province, I knew it was the perfect spot. But it wasnt easy to film there, so we literally had to build a road so that we could access the village. It was worth it!

For the pivotal role of Moon in the village sequences, Yu met with hundreds of actresses, but none of them had the inherent quality of serenity that was so essential to the part. But once Yu saw a photo of Sun Li, I knew immediately that we had found our Moon.

While Moon was not the first role for Sun Li who is already a television star in China the young actress was a screen newcomer. Accordingly, she undertook extensive research and preparation to play the blind young woman who helps give Huos life new purpose; the actress volunteered at a school for blind children in her native Shanghai.

Sun Li says, The love that Moon shares with Huo comes from the heart. But, like Wushu itself, their love is about the spiritual experience rather than the physical one.

Yu comments, All the emotional and dramatic scenes that Jet plays in Jet Lis Fearless touched me, and I hope will touch audiences too. For Jet Li, martial arts have long been about more than fighting and violence. He notes, This movies philosophy is, you can use martial arts to help people, not just for violence. Thats another of my personal beliefs; violence is not the only solution. Wushu is not I fight you, you fight me; its to stop that. You can beat up someones body, but that doesnt change their heart.

By telling the story of a trailblazing martial artist, Jet Lis Fearless affords the actor a valedictory on the subject as he moves into new phases of his storied career. Its not enough to know how to fight, he states. You have to understand the spirit of martial arts. Its also not enough to have a strong body; you have to have a strong soul. Huo had both.