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Trailer: MLB’s Shin-Soo Choo and Ryu Hyun-Jin Appear in Korean Baseball Film
Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Choo Shin-soo of the Cincinnati Reds both make cameo performances in Kim Yong-hwa’s film soon-to-be-released “Mr. Go.”
The two came to appear in the movie as they are acquainted with the director. The movie will hit local theaters in July.
/Courtesy of Showbox Mediaplex
“Mr. Go,” based on the work of famous cartoonist Hur Young-man, tells the story of a gorilla with a special skillset who joins a professional baseball team in Korea and becomes a superstar.
Ryu, Choo and real-life players from the Doosan Bears in Korea’s professional league appear as teammates who are amazed by the talented primate’s batting skills.
“Ryu and Choo’s acting abilities are on par with their excellent baseball skills, and they both seemed excited about their first appearance on the silver screen,” said Showbox, the film’s distributor.
Outtakes Online: Sundance loves ‘Linsanity’
“Linsanity,” the documentary about NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, has impressed reviewers during its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Jeremy Lin in action on the basketball court earlier this season. (Associated Press)
“The Hollywood Reporter” called “Linsanity,” which was co-produced by “Hawaii Five-0” regular Brian Yang and narrated by “Five-0” star Daniel Dae Kim, “a sports doc with abundant heart.” It premiered Sunday, the first of four screenings.
It was just a year ago that Lin exploded onto the national consciousness while playing for the New York Knicks. He had been told his whole life he wasn’t good enough to play professional basketball, but when he got a chance, he led the Knicks on a seven-game streak that electrified fans.
In his review in The Hollywood Reporter, Justin Lowe wrote: “Recapturing the joy Lin experiences while excelling on the court in that incomparable season — as fans at first discovered, then promoted and finally celebrated his accomplishments — Linsanity reaffirms that the best sports stories originate with dimensional, relatable subjects who earn respect and admiration through their personal struggles and triumphs.”
Steve Zeitchik of The L.A. Times called it “one of the most crowd-pleasing documentaries to play the festival this year.”
Video: ‘Linsanity’ documentary premieres at Sundance to standing ovation | ksl.com
SALT LAKE CITY — “Linsanity” is a documentary following the sensation of one NBA player’s introduction to the league, but it’s also about a man of faith who has had his shares of challenges.
The weather nearly caused disappointment for an audience tonight at the final screening of The Sundance Film Festival of the documentary “Linsanity,” that follows the life of NBA star Jeremy Lin. The Houston Rockets were grounded for hours in Grand Junction, Colo. before finally making it to the film’s screening.
Lin arrived late to watch the documentary about the international phenomenon and media sensation he’s become.
The life of Lin is layer after layer of highs and lows, and independent filmmaker, Evan Jackson Leong wanted to tell this story. But it didn’t go so well at first.
“He’s like ‘I’m not Kim Kardashian, I’m reality, I don’t want that kind of attention. I’m just a ball player,’ ” Leong said of Lin’s reaction to the proposed film. “For me, you’re a ball player that has an awesome story, so, let’s try something.”
Tonight Lin joined the director and producers onstage. A devoted Christian, he often expresses his gratitude to God. That is what finally convinced him to do the film.
“The more that I went through my journey, the more I realized what a big part of it God was, and I just felt like I had to share it and I had to share it with the world,” Lin told KSL.
Lin has also suffered racial slurs and prejudice. Overcoming challenges is a message of the film, he said.
The film received a standing ovation at Sundance. Simply the best reaction, the director said.
“It’s incredible. And you can’t ask for anything more as an independent filmmaker,” Leong said. This is the biggest stage to premiere something and to watch it with 600 people the first day, oh, it was amazing, I’ll never forget it.”
Video:
via 'Linsanity' documentary premieres at Sundance to standing ovation | ksl.com.
Jeremy Lin to attend Sundance Film Festival
“Linsanity” is officially coming to the Sundance Film Festival.
Houston Rockets basketball star Jeremy Lin, the subject of the documentary Linsanity, will appear in person on Jan. 27, the festival’s final day.
“I’m excited for Jeremy that he will be able to experience his Sundance premiere after all,” says director Evan Jackson Leong. “I’m thrilled I’ll be able to watch the finished film with my film’s subject.”
Linsanity focuses on the worldwide effect the 6-foot-3 Asian-American point guard had when he came off the bench for the New York Knicks in February, 2012 and led the once-losing team on a 9-3 streak with prolific scoring and game-winning shots. His performance created a frenzy known as “Linsanity” that spread worldwide, given that he was the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.
At the end of that season, Lin, then 23 years old, left the Knicks to join the Rockets.
Leong has filmed Lin since he was a stand-out guard at Harvard University and during a period where the undrafted player struggled to find a role in the NBA. The documentary cameras were rolling behind the scenes during Lin’s quick rise to international basketball hero.
Lin is able to attend the festival since the Rockets play the Utah Jazz on Jan. 28 and have the Sunday off for travel.
Winston Emano, a press representative for the film, says some of Lin’s Rocket teammates will join him for the screening, which takes place in Salt Lake City.
Linsanity premiered last week at a sold-out screening that drew fans from as far away as Hawaii.
Jeremy Lin’s Documentary in 2013 Sundance Film Festival
Jeremy Lin’s documentary Linsanity will be included with 29 other films that will make their premieres at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Directed by Evan Leong, one of Jeremy Lin’s close friends, the film project actually was in the works long before Lin became a household name with his amazing run with the New York Knicks last February.
Here’s the Sundance blurb about Linsanity:
Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway.
Linsanity will share the spotlight with other films about Steve Jobs, Jack Kerouac, and Dick Cheney. Sundance 2013 is held in Park City, Utah from Jan. 17-27. For more information, go to Sundance.org.
via Jeremy Lin’s Documentary in 2013 Sundance Film Festival |.
2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Premieres and Documentary Premieres. The Linsanity movie will premiere.
Linsanity / U.S.A. (Director: Evan Leong) — Jeremy Lin came from a humble background to make an unbelievable run in the NBA. State high school champion, all-Ivy League at Harvard, undrafted by the NBA and unwanted there: his story started long before he landed on Broadway.
INTERVIEW: Cung Le On ‘Iron Fists’ Movie Career & Rich Franklin Fight – Movieline
“I consider myself the Bo Jackson of entertainment.” Martial arts cinema and actual mixed martial arts collide in the form of pro fighter/actor Cung Le, who continues his rising Hollywood action career with a furious turn as Bronze Lion in RZA’s The Man With The Iron Fists. But his wild-maned, lethal work as the Lion clan henchman (who finds his toughest opponent in Lucy Liu’s Madam Blossom) is just Le’s “part time” job, of course; on November 10, a week after Iron Fists debuts in theaters, Le will face off against UFC fighter Rich Franklin in one of the biggest fights of his career.
The kickboxing and sanshou champion, now fighting in the UFC, built up his Hollywood resume in recent years with supporting appearances in Fighting, Pandorum, Bodyguards and Assassins, Tekken, and True Legend. He’s also increasingly in-demand as an actor who can ably, and believably, fight; while filming RZA’s Iron Fists on location in China, Le was simultaneously filming Wong Kar-Wai’s Yip Man biopic under the tutelage of legendary choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping and shooting Dragon Eyes with Jean-Claude Van Damme, which he also choreographed.
Le stopped by the Movieline/ENTV studio for a new recurring Movieline video series to discuss RZA’s martial arts epic, his childhood Bruce Lee obsession (and the unfortunate homemade nunchucks mishap that set him on the course to non-weapons based fighting), and his burgeoning second career as a martial arts action star and fight choreographer. As for his Franklin fight, broadcast by Fuel TV 6 on Nov. 10 from Macau, Le hints that his Iron Fists persona may make it into the octagon, and vice versa: “You will see a Bronze Lion with a Cung Le flair in action….
via INTERVIEW: Cung Le On ‘Iron Fists’ Movie Career & Rich Franklin Fight – Movieline.
UFC on Fuel 6 Fighter Cung Le Stars in ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’ will be in China to promote first UFC event there
Jamie Chung in “The Man With the Iron Fists”
UFC middleweight Cung Le will head to China this week to help begin the promotion surrounding the upcoming UFC on Fuel 6 card landing in Macao in November.
Le along with opponent Rich Franklin and several other UFC fighters on the card will meet and greet with the press in China as well as tour several other areas including Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Le returns to China after spending several weeks there in 2010 and early 2011 as part of the cast for the new Quentin Tarantino and RZA action flick ‘The Man with the Iron Fists” which opens on November 2 in theaters.
The entire film was shot on location in Shanghai, China and was done as an homage to the famous martial art films of the Shaw brothers.
Le has filmed several movies over the years, and in this film he stars alongside Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, Rick Yune and several other high profile actors and actresses in this high-paced martial arts movie.
“I think I’ve just been blessed with the opportunity and with the right focus and the right attitude to do things right. I don’t want to go in there and just be known as a guy who can do action, and do his own stunts, but can act and deliver,” Le told MMAWeekly Radio about his work on ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’.
The trailer for the movie was released over the summer and can be viewed below. Le and his fellow UFC fighters will spend the next several days in and around China as they look to begin the promotion surrounding the upcoming UFC on Fuel 6 show – the first ever UFC card to land in China.
via UFC on Fuel 6 Fighter Cung Le Stars in ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’ (Video) | MMAWeekly.com.
Lucy Liu in “The Man With the Iron Fists”
Cung Le as the Bronze Lion
Lyoto Machida & Anderson Silva Will Star In ‘Tapped’
While the UFC’s Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Anderson “The Spider” Silva won’t be fighting UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones any time soon, both will be in a film together called ‘Tapped.’
Gina Carano
Both now join a long list of MMA fighters who are starting to make a career in film during the twilight of their careers. Some of the most notable fighters to make a good living in acting have been: former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture with his roles in ‘The Expendables’ and ‘The Expendables 2′, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson portraying B.A. Baracus in the reboot of ‘The A-Team’, former women’s Strikeforce champion Gina Carano starred in David Lynch’s ‘Haywire’ and Sansho expert Cung Le performed in numerous films such as the kung fu film ‘Bodyguards And Assasins’ where he fought against Donnie Yen and in sleeper science fiction hit ‘Pandorum.’
via Lyoto Machida & Anderson Silva Will Star In ‘Tapped’ | Prefix.
video: New Extended Trailer and Poster for JCVD and Cung Le’s Dragon Eyes
Check out a new extended trailer (almost 4 minutes long) and poster for the Jean-Claude Van Damme/Cung Le actioner “Dragon Eyes”. The film is from John Hyams, whose resume includes the JCVD films “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” and the upcoming “Universal Soldier: A New Dimension”. The film has been snapped up as part of After Dark Action’s upcoming theatrical line-up, which will include four other titles on the slate. Along with those other four titles, “Dragon Eyes” will be released theatrically as a commercial film festival in markets nationwide and on VOD on May 11 by the same folks behind the annual After Dark horror festival.
video: New Extended Trailer and Poster for JCVD and Cung Le’s Dragon Eyes | BeyondHollywood.com.
Table tennis documentary featuring our phenoms needs your help
Hi Asian Athletes Team,
I am writing to ask for your support for a feature documentary called TOP SPIN. The film chronicles the inspirational journey of three young table tennis champions as they compete all around the world for a place in the 2012 London Olympics. We’ve almost finished filming with just one more shoot left, London. We’ll be following two of our stars, Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang, who qualified for their first Olympics at just 16-years-old!
Our goal is to release the film in early 2013, but we can only do this with your help! We have just launched a Kickstarter campaign. We only have until July 19 to raise $75K for post-production. Could you help us get the word out?
Check out our trailer here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1341817656/top-spin-a-ping-pong-documentary-post-production
-Kristy Zhen
Yi Jianlian, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Scottie Pippen to star in Chinese movie
Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Scottie Pippen and Yi Jianlian will star in Amazing, a Chinese science fiction movie premiering summer 2012 in China that’s been likened to Tron, according to the Shanghai Daily:
Amber Kuo
In addition to an all-star cast including Chinese actors Huang Xiaoming, Huang Yi, Charles Chen and Amber Kuo, “Amazing” is joined by American actor Eric Mabius and NBA stars Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Yi Jianlian and former star Scottie Pippen.
In the report, David Shoemaker, the CEO of NBA China said that the film is another example of the league’s effort to build its presence in China: “For the NBA, this partnership with industry leader Shanghai Film Group represents an important first step to engage our fans in entertainment all across China.”
Cung Le’s new movie Dragon Eyes comes out in theatres and VOD on May 11th
Cung Le, a Vietnamese American martial arts champion, who stars as yet another ex-con who can’t avoid trouble in Dragon Eyes, directed by John Hyams. For reasons that flashbacks gradually reveal, Le’s character infiltrates a drug ring run by a crooked cop, a role played with nasty precision by Peter Weller. The film features a number of impressive old-school beat-downs, but the sadness within Le’s character makes the movie oddly depressing. Still, who can resist the sight of Jean-Claude Van Damme, playing Le’s mentor and uttering such wisdom as: “If you get shot, it’s only because you didn’t understand the man who shot you. Don’t think about the gun. Think about the man.” Words to live by.
via Kicking and Screaming – Page 1 – Movies – New York – Village Voice.
Cung Le’s ‘Dragon Eyes’ movie trailer featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le, who’s slated to face off against Rich Franklin at UFC 148 on July 7 in Las Vegas, returns to home theaters for “Dragon Eyes” opposite B-movie legend and “Muscles from Brussels,” Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film boasts a bevy of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter cameos including Dan Henderson, Rich Clementi, Gilbert Melendez, Trevor Prangley and more. Even Mr. Robocop himself, Peter Weller, gets in on the action.
From the official release:
St. Jude Square is a neighborhood living in fear as dueling drug gangs and corrupt police terrorize the streets… until hope arrives in Hong (Le), a mysterious stranger who after release from prison decides to take a stand and fight back. Using his unparalleled martial arts skills and calling on the teachings of his ex-cell mate mentor Tiano (Van Damme) Hong begins his savage campaign for justice, taking on the brute force of the gangs and the notorious corrupt police chief Mr V (Weller).
“Dragon Eyes” hits DVD and Blu-Ray on April 9, 2012 and Le hits “Sin City” over the fourth of July weekend
via Video: Cung Le’s ‘Dragon Eyes’ movie trailer featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme – MMAmania.com.
