Bill Kong, the producer behind Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is developing a new action film titled The Furious, which he is hoping will reset and change the martial arts genre.
The English-language action thriller will be directed by Japanese stunt director and action choreographer Tanigaki Kenji from a script written by Mak Tin Shu, and it’s being produced by XYZ Films.
In the story, “When his daughter is snatched off the street, simple tradesman Konggu ( Xie Miao) fights his way through a complex web of criminals in a frantic attempt to win her back by any means necessary.
“His only ally is tireless journalist Navin (Joe Taslim). The two men from utterly different backgrounds must learn to trust, collaborate and draw on combat skills from their own hidden pasts.”
While the story is simple, the action is apparently going to blow us away! Kong talked about it, saying: “I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry.”
He added, “I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world.”
Kong goes on to say he is setting the bar far higher than other martial arts movies, saying: “If we fail, ‘The Furious’ will only be as good as The Raid or Taken. We also want the characters to move people.”
He goes on to explain: “Through this film, I want us to discover the new Yuen Woo-ping, the new Sammo Hung and the new Donnie Yen.”
The director of the film, Tanigaki Kenji, talked about his vision for the film, saying, “I’m not interested in making actors who cannot move look as if they can. Our cast has real skills from different martial arts disciplines. Everything we are doing is going to be practical.”
The director took time to train and rehearse with the actor before heading to locations on the outskirts of the city to shoot the movie for the next two and a half months. The film started production in Bangkok, Thailand, earlier this week.
The cast is led by China’s Xie Miao, Indonesia’s Joe Taslim (The Raid: Redemption, Star Trek Beyond), Thailand’s Jeeja Yanin (Chocolate), Yang Enyu and Indonesia’s Yayan Ruhian (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, The Raid).
He added: “Take the films of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin or Fred Astaire. We are still watching those movies 50 years after they were made. They are classics, that are practical and real. I hope our movie will be able to live on like that.”
Kong then shared: “Now is the time to make a great Asian action film. We have the people and the motivation. Chad Stahelski follows every Asian action movie and I remember he once told me, ‘You [Asian filmmakers] don’t know your own strengths’.”
When talking about the director, Kong said: “Think what Chad Stahelski was before directing John Wick, of Deadpool’s David Leitch or Extraction’s Sam Hargraves. That’s what Tanagaki is in Asia right now.”
XYZ’s Todd Brown shared in a statement: “While people may not know who director Kenji Tanigaki is right now, they’re certainly going to. He’s the best there is, his work is incredibly kinetic while also being incredibly grounded and real.”
People know Bill Kong’s previous martial arts productions for being incredibly beautiful and emotional,” he added, “but this one? Tanigaki is going to punch the world in the face.”
Well, shit! I can’t wait to watch this movie!
Source: Variety