Recently, the film "Smiling Proud Jianghu: Undefeated in the East" led by Wang Jing officially started filming, and this incident immediately aroused widespread social attention and heated discussions.
First of all, this work is based on Jin Yong's martial arts**, and several such works come out every year, and the old man has successfully supported many film and television production personnel by relying on his own efforts.
Another reason is Wang Jing's dominance, he has emerged in the big online market in recent years and has developed a strong interest in Jin Yong's martial arts**.
In the past, he collaborated with Jet Li and Zhang Min on the film "Heaven and Dragon Slayer: The Demon Sect Master", but due to poor box office performance, this sequel did not continue, leaving a deep impression on movie lovers.
In 2022, Wang Jing made the decision to fill in this memory, but because he couldn't find young Jet Li and Zhang Min and others, he didn't dare to continue filming a sequel.
We can only take this opportunity to remake "Heaven and Dragon Slayer" and divide it into two parts: "Jiuyang Divine Skill" and "Sacred Fire Heroic Wind".
Despite the criticism in terms of casting and word-of-mouth, from a business perspective, Wang Jing has indeed earned a decent income with her deep emotions.
In the second year, he collaborated with Donnie Yen again and co-created the work "The Legend of Qiao Feng".
With the intervention of Donnie Yen, although the casting process did not use plastic surgery, which led to a slight increase in word of mouth, this did not achieve the perfect effect expected by the audience.
Initially, the epilogue of "The Legend of Qiao Feng" seemed to hint at the existence of a sequel, but now there is no news about it.
The sequel to "The Legend of Qiao Feng" has not yet appeared, and Wang Jing once again locked the IP of "Smiling Proud Jianghu".
01, the relationship between Wang Jing and "Smiling Proud Jianghu".
Hu Jinquan and Tsui Hark's "Smiling Proud Jianghu" is like a majestic mountain, and this film is widely regarded as the originator of new martial arts films, bringing a new boom to Hong Kong martial arts films.
It occupies a place in history on a par with that year.
Hu Jinquan's "The Drunken Man" and Zhang Che's "One-Armed Knife".
Due to a variety of factors, the film starring Xu Guanjie, despite its unsatisfactory box office performance, won praise from the audience, which also provided Tsui Hark with the confidence to start filming the second part.
In the second work, Tsui Hark is in complete control of the plot, and despite Jin Yong's opposition, he boldly chooses Lin Qingxia to play the role of Dongfang Undefeated.
At that time, Taiwan Province was regarded as one of the major markets for Hong Kong films, and "Smiling Proud Jianghu 2: Undefeated in the East" was the first film to be released in Taiwan Province on January 24, 1992.
After the movie was released, it received a warm response, and Wang Jing hoped to see it with his own eyes first, so he decided to give Shi Nansheng a **.
In just ten minutes, Wang Jing praised the movie and called it "passionate".
It is for this reason that Wang Jing began to learn from Tsui Hark and began to prepare for filming Jin Yong's martial arts**. In the same year, the "Deer and Ding Ji" series was officially released, and Lin Qingxia was invited to join in its second work.
The Deer and Ding Ji series was a huge success, followed by "Heaven and Dragon Slayer: Demon Sect Master".
02, is the casting of Wang Jing's version really reliable?
Wang Jing only began to adapt Jin Yong's martial arts after he took Tsui Hark's work "Smiling Proud Jianghu 2: Undefeated in the East".
After decades of twists and turns, he once again recalled the experience of filming Xiaoao's Jianghu IP, but inevitably, he will be compared to Tsui Hark.
There are many successful elements in Tsui Hark's version, such as a profound adaptation of the original work, elevating the rarely depicted Dongfang Undefeated to the main character.
In addition, Cheng Xiaodong's action design is both beautiful and vibrant; Li Xuefei shuttles between the plots like a swift wind, and her every move shows superb martial arts. Lin Qingxia's elegant posture and acting skills that are difficult to distinguish between genders; In the passionate beat, the scene gradually changes drastically, and a mysterious night quietly descends. Gu Jiahui and Huang jointly created a ** soundtrack full of ambition and pride.
At present, Wang Jing's version is being filmed, as for the content of the story, we will not discuss it for the time being, what really causes controversy is the issue of casting.
First things to mention:
The name "Undefeated in the East" is ** in the name of "Star Girl".
Wang Jing, played by Zhang Yuqi, is really suitable this time, and she thinks that Wang Jing's vision is quite good.
Zhang Yuqi has shown a domineering side in many roles, such as Ruolan in "The Mermaid"; Zhang Yushan has played many classic roles, such as "Big Nose", "Little Beauty", "Home Alone" and so on. While showing domineering, it can also show a charming and ** side, such as in "The Legend of the Demon Cat".
The perfect blend of heroism and ** may bring unexpected and unusual effects.
Before Lin Qingxia appeared, the role of Dongfang Undefeated was played by a man, but Lin Qingxia relied on her own strength to successfully change the gender attribute of this role."
In subsequent versions, Liu Xuehua, Zheng Xiuzhen and Mao Weitao were all portrayed as the undefeated female versions of the East, and in Chen Qiaoen's version, they were even given the title of "big heroine".
Until now, the popularity of Dongfang Undefeated is still very high, and when online literature began to flourish, Dongfang Undefeated even became one of the main characters of the widely loved fan**.
Next up. The role of Ling Hu Chong was played by Huang Xiyan.
Although he has debuted for many years, it is Jiang Wenhuan, the character in "Fengshen Part 1", who has really attracted the attention of the public.
He had served in the Fengshen training camp, and his appearance and acting skills were quite good, and he was very suitable for playing some cold roles, and he was not sure if he would be able to control the dashing and unrestrained Ling Hu Chong.
Mr. Jin Yong once mentioned this:
Personally, I think that among all the actors who play Ling Hu Chong, the one with the most image and temperament of Ling Hu Chong is undoubtedly Jet Li. ”
Then move on. Xuan Lu played the role of Ren Yingying, she started her acting career as early as 2008, her costume was both ** and sweet, and her body exuded a classical and beautiful atmosphere. She played the second female lead in "Star Wars", and she is a very cute and charming heroine. (The second** shows a Reuters picture of the movie).
As for Wu Yue's involvement, I don't know what role he played, but it is likely that it will be left to my own devices.
Indeed, Wu Yue also has the opportunity to challenge Yue Bu**.
Just by the name "Smiling Proud Jianghu: Undefeated in the East", we can judge the identity of the protagonist, but there is still a big gap if we want to face off with Tsui Hark.
From an objective point of view, Wang Jing is more reliable in casting this time, and no longer overly admires the previous Qiu Yinong and Yun Qianqian, but chooses actors who are more suitable for their roles.
However, there is no need to have high expectations for this online movie, as its investment is limited. In addition, Wang Jing's film evaluation in recent years has also been disappointing.
Will there be a new boom in martial arts movies?
Martial arts cinema is a unique genre in the Chinese film industry, and it has gone through several highs and lows, such as Hu Jinquan and Zhang Che in the sixties and seventies, Tsui Hark in the nineties, and Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in the new century.
After "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", there are very few martial arts movies that can really make people impressive.
Works include "Hero", "Rain of Swords" and "Embroidered Spring Knife".
Wait a minute. If "No One in My Eyes" starring Wei Junzi and Xie Miao is included in the category of online movies, they originally planned to put "No One in My Eyes 2" on the big screen, but due to a variety of factors, they finally chose to broadcast live online.
In the past two years, martial arts-themed TV dramas have gradually emerged, especially "Lotus Tower", which is very popular, which shows that people still have high expectations for martial arts movies.
2024 is undoubtedly the year of revival of martial arts films, and after many years, Tsui Hark decided to make Jin Yong's martial arts ** again, and his goal is to develop "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero" into a trilogy.
Although there are some differences in the casting of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, because the director is "Xu Lao Wei", other options can be disregarded.
Wu Jing has precisely positioned the field of military action movies in the past and established himself with "Wolf Warrior 2", and now he is also starting to think about making martial arts movies.
The latest work is titled "The Knife".
Although it has the same name as Tsui Hark's previous films, it is likely that there is no direct connection. Wu Jing is a young man who kills pigs in this movie, and he relies on a ** called "Pig Killing Knife" to establish connections with heroes and gangsters from all walks of life.
After several years of silence, the eighth master Yuan Heping also began to brew preparations for the movie.
Dartman: The Wind Rises in the Desert.
Ayuya as the heroine of the open audition.
Do you think the return of Tsui Hark, Yuan Heping, Wu Jing and others is likely to trigger a boom in martial arts movies?
Wang Jing