Jet Li’s manager Choi Chi-ming was gunned down in 1992, near his office in Hong Kong, in what police suspected was a contract killing. Choi was believed to have links to the 14K criminal gang.
Released during a year of slapstick costume comedies, martial arts films, violent horror and Category III (equivalent to NC-17 in the US and 18 in the UK) films, the refined melodrama C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri was a surprise hit in Hong Kong in the last months of 1993. Directed by industry veteran Derek Yee Tung-sing, the movie featured Lau.
Asian cinema is synonymous with the action genre, thanks to its rich legacy of kung fu, wuxia and samurai dramas. Recently, Asian martial arts have enjoyed a high profile in Hollywood, thanks to franchises including The Matrix and John Wick . At the same time, not much new martial arts talent has emerged. Nevertheless, markets like Thailand and Indonesia have.
As Post interviews with Donnie Yen Ji Dan spanning 25 years attest, he was hardly an overnight success as a martial arts actor. Having appeared in his first movie in 1984, Yen had his share of failures, disappointments and false starts before becoming a hit with Hong Kong cinema-goers in 2005 film SPL (released in the United States as Kill.