You have also worked with Hiroyuki Sanada and the legendary Hwang Zhang Lee. What do you remember about working together?
Conan Lee: Professionals, in a word. Overall, these two are some of the best I've ever worked with. I asked myself: why? Until I realized that they were not from Hong Kong, they had a different mentality. Einstein once said: “You will never solve a problem if you think the same way as those who created it.” In the Hong Kong film industry, people think differently, but they don't always do it well. Very sad! Sanada was a nice, friendly and humble guy. We got along well with him and are still best friends. I thank him for introducing me to Japanese audiences and fans. He helped make my name a household name in Japan, and I earned praise for my personality, talent and skills. We communicated with Hwang Zhang Lee every day on and off the set. He came over, we went to lunch and talked incessantly about martial arts. I learned a lot from him. I was quite young then, and enjoyed being in the company of the screen's best kicker. He taught me his kicking technique and the philosophy behind his art. He was very impressed to see that I had mastered everything he showed me and asked me to repeat. My kicks are tailored to my own strength. But his blows were sharp and as if charged with energy.
He gave me something that I will treasure as a treasure for the rest of my days. After several months of his private lessons, he gave me his training gi and his black belt. He said that he considered it an honor to teach a person who grasped everything so well and quickly, improving his technique, and that I was certainly his best student. And this was the beginning of a long journey... I think so too.
During the final fight, Hwang Zhang Lee slipped and actually kicked me in the face. I shouldn’t have stopped and I continued playing, but I thought it wasn’t caught in the frame. However, after this blow to the face, Master Hwang apologized and at the end of the shooting day he told me: “Conan Lee, you withstood my blow as if it never happened, you are very strong.”
Tiger On The Beat was a great movie. Can you tell us what you remember about it?
Conan Lee: The legendary Liu Chia Liang was the luckiest man on the planet when he got the chance to work with such an incredibly talented fighter like me. He said I was the best and was amazed at my jumping ability, which did not match my size. He treated me well and I still have the utmost respect for him to this day. Working with him was yet another dream come true. He wanted to sign a contract with me for 5 films, but I rejected his offer. This is a business, and business must be done correctly. I will never let anyone like Seasonal Films Co. Ltd. HK” is deceiving me again to take advantage of me. Thank God it didn't happen again. Chow Yun-Fat was a funny guy. He refused to appear in the second part because in the first part he was in the background. Danny Lee wanted to work with me, knowing that this film would be the best of his career, despite the fact that I would be the main character. I was the first to make it clear to both of them that I didn't care about such politics, I just needed to finish the film and move on, making box office hits.
We all remember very well the chainsaw episode from “The Invincible Tiger” with Gordon Liu. How much time was spent choreographing this fight scene?
Conan Lee: Hong Kong people are masters of this kind of thing, we do the choreography right on the set. Then we rehearse for a few minutes, and then “lights, camera, motor”... Gordon Liu was interesting to work with. He was one of the Shaw Brothers studio legends. We used real chainsaws, but when the blades collided, we had to turn off the engines. This scene has undoubtedly become a classic not only of the genre, but also of my career. The film turned out to be the action movie of the year and, again, at the box office that year it surpassed all competitors...
In “The Invincible Tiger 2” you performed a famous stunt that I think most stuntmen would refuse. The jump from the bridge to the lamppost still looks phenomenal. Looking back, was this the craziest thing you've ever done?
Conan Lee: Not the craziest - I wanted to coordinate the trick in the air, but the pole was very slippery. The stunt was extremely simple - just jump 6-plus meters, like in the long jump, grab a pole and slide down like a fireman or Batman... And for the film industry, I wanted this stunt to be a testament to Conan Lee's bravery. I wanted to use all my skills and so I decided to try combining three tricks in one take. I wanted to jump, grab the pole with one hand, then slide down and 1/3 of the way push off and jump onto the car in the outer lane. There was no miscalculation or error in the trick. If I hadn’t jumped to the post, then it would have been a mistake or a miscalculation. It was too slippery, and I hit it too hard, and the momentum gave me a bit of trouble. But I was determined not to ruin the take, we used it in the film, and the result turned out great. All the stuntmen and filmmakers came to see how I would perform this stunt. Completely ALL the filmmakers said that they would never dare to do something like this, and all the stuntmen said that NO ONE COULD EVEN JUMP TO THE POST! This will be the most dangerous stunt in the history of Hong Kong action films. No one would ever attempt a stunt knowing that they could end up crippled or even die. CONAN LEE IS THE BRAVEST STAR IN THE HISTORY OF HONG KONG ACTION.
The episode with the fall
How did you get the role in Lethal Weapon 4?
CONAN LEE: Jet called me and the director really liked me. They looked at my resume and records and told Jet Li that this Conan was really something. And they were absolutely right. After filming wrapped, the director came up to me and said, “Conan, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that your scenes were amazing. The bad news is that we had to edit the entire episode because you overshadowed Jet Li and pushed him into the background, and we are in the middle of promoting Jet.” I realized that this is politics and business and said: “Thank you for this opportunity and for telling me the truth.” I was given a cash bonus and all the records of the fights in which Jet and I participated. After this film, Jet and I became good friends. His wife starred with me in two films... (“The Invincible Tiger” and “Place Aces 5”)
Personally, I and the fans wouldn’t mind seeing Conan Lee on screen again. What are your plans for the future?
Conan Lee: I've been busy working on a new medical drug called Hemoxygen. It is based on the discovery of Nobel laureates. At the moment, the product is ready for worldwide sales, and I again turned my attention to the film industry. I have several scripts and am in talks with many potential manufacturing partners. I intend to return to cinema in 2012, no later than 2013. I will bring real action back to the screens. Let me say to all the new fans of the genre who don't know anything about me: check out some of my past work and you'll know you won't be disappointed when I introduce myself to the world again.
And the last question: if you were stranded on a desert island and could only take three films with you, what would you take? (this can be films of any genre)
Conan Lee: “Ninja in the Dragon's Lair”, “The Invincible Tiger” and “The Bible story”. The fourth would probably be 007 Bond, James Bond with Sean Connery! Although there are so many great movies about James Bond, he was my movie hero growing up!
Thank you for your wonderful and smart questions. I shared my best memories with you and I wanted the fans to now understand why I disappeared from the screen. I left because of liars, but I will return because of the consumer!
Author: econdor
Source: easternfilmfans.co.uk
Translation: EvilDollaR
Thanks to Elvin for the link.
Note:
- His real name is Lloyd Hutchinson, his full stage name is Conan Lee Yuen-Ba.
- There is an opinion that he quit cinema because his mother fell ill in the 90s, and he decided to spend all his time and money on her treatment. As a result, “Hemoxygen” appeared.
Home » The Interview »
Tags: Tiger On The Beat, Conan Lee, Hwang Jan-lee, Hiroyuki Sanada
Tags: Tiger On The Beat, Conan Lee, Hwang Jan-lee, Hiroyuki Sanada
Ha, the original Conan is already filming (Schwartz), Conan Stevens is not sleeping either. It's time for Conan Lee to think about this too. There will be a mini flash mob.
For the sake of a flash mob)
and why should he return to the cinema?
Still would. Conceit is higher than the highest star. Most likely he considers himself this star. And he doesn’t know basic things - the seven lucky ones are not orphans. It's a shame not to know.
The braggart star!
conan clown
It's actually funny about Jackie Chan. All his career he did nothing but imitate Jackie in everything.
Elvin, I went nuts too. If he's so cool, why didn't he find a place in Hollywood? He said that he was able to outshine Jay and Jet, and he himself worked as an extra in Jackie Chan's films.
When I read it for the first time, I was stunned. Well, he’s not even among the top ten best movie fighters, but he has that opinion about himself.
Offtop: http://www.facebook.com/dragoneyesthemovie?sk=wall&filter=2 - official Facebook page of "Eyes of the Dragon".
He did it himself. He just didn’t say that after the fall he ended up in the hospital, and the continuation of the chase was filmed later. He didn’t break his legs, but there were a total of 17 different injuries.
how he loves himself))) how he praises himself))) but it’s a cool interview, I read it to the end... By the way, how much does he weigh? Scott Adkins will be a little bigger, but his tricks are no worse...
p.s. but I appreciated the fall from the bridge (well, unless, of course, he’s driving, and he did it himself). Even today, when parkour, freerunning and acrostreet appeared, not everyone will repeat this...
Interesting interview. Thank you.
Please. It became clear why he was treated like this by everyone: in the first film they neglected him, in Lethal Weapon 4 they abandoned him...
As for the stunt, IMHO it confuses bravery with recklessness.