14 -10- 09 : The Blood Bond Saga (part 9)

Our Greatest Fan!

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I first knew of actor Louis Fan (AKA Fan Siu-wong) when he starred in the cult classic ‘Riki-Oh’ (AKA ‘Story of Riki’). This Golden Harvest-produced manga-inspired splatterfest was greeted with horror when first released in Hong Kong,  but has since attracted a rabid worldwide following.

Fan had arrived fully realized as a muscular, high-kicking action hero. Sadly, the negative response to what was intended to be a star-making vehicle for him meant that it took him a while to find his way as a leading man. Initially, he was relegated to supporting roles. Director Stanley Tong, who had cast Louis in his debut, the little-seen ‘Stone Age Warriors’, used him to good effect alongside Michelle Yeoh in ‘Project S’, his sequel to Jackie Chan’s ‘Police Story 3 : Supercop’. He was well cast in a number of TV series, especially ‘Fist Of Power’ and ‘Fong Sai-yuk’.

I have been a long-time supporter of his, and, the industry being as small as it is, would occasionally run into Louis and his father, the prolific Shaw Bros character actor Fan Mui-san. (He inherited the ‘drunken master’ role in Yuen Woo-ping’s ‘The Magnificent Butcher’). Despite his talents, though, Fan seemed to be stuck making B pictures and TV series.

(On a side note, I remember, years ago, Donnie Yen telling me he’d be interested in managing a couple of artistes, and suggested Fan Siu-wong. I think, at the time, Donnie was unwilling to promote another martial arts action star, though, years later, they would work together very well.)

A couple of years back, my good friend, producer Godfrey Ho, showed me a film called ‘Kung Fu Fighter’ that had been choreographed by Louis, who also played a supporting role in the film. I could immediately see that Fan had the chops to be a great action director. A couple of years later, he did similarly sterling work on the Sammo Hung vehicle ‘Kung Fu Chefs’ (directed by our own Ken Yip).

It was based on seeing these films, which (let’s face it!) very few people had, that I decided to approach Louis to direct the action scenes for ‘The Blood Bond’. We had an initial conversation, and he indicated that he was very interested in pursuing parallel careers as an actor and choreographer

Then Louis was cast in the great ‘Ip Man’, and his stock as an action star was suddenly back on the rise. I thought he did a terrific job on that film, and, as his friend, I was very proud for his success. However, it did mean, I imagined, that he would now be too busy to choreograph my movie.

We ran into each other at the Hong Kong Film Awards, where ‘Ip Man’ had been nominated in many different categories. (It would win for Best Film and Best Choreography.) I suggested to him that he might have too many commitments not to work with us, and he replied that, as he had promised me he would action direct ‘Blood Bond’, he would honour that commitment.

If only all actors were so graceful when they finally hit the big time!

We set up another meeting, and I explained to Louis and his partner, Ken Yip, what my vision was for the martial arts action scenes for the film. I explained that our female protagonist was the protector of a spiritual leader, and would seek to apply only the amount of force needed to deal with any threat.

I wanted her style to Tai Chi-based, and told them that the actress then cast as Deva  was training with a Chen Tai Chi master (Ocean Hou). I explained that I really wanted to see ‘grounded’ action, no extravagant wire stunts. (This was something director Michael Biehn was also adamant about.)

Louis set out to devise a suitable style. I did throw a slight curveball at him, just prior to pre-production, when I turned up with a completely different actress (Phoenix Chou) cast as Deva! Louis took it in his stride.  He and his team took over the building housing the dubbing facility, at the far end of the studio, and set out to make Phoenix combat ready for ‘The Blood Bond’.

Louis has had to travel back and forward between our studio, and another one where he is starring in another film. I really appreciate the tireless efforts that he and Ken have made on our behalf, and I’m positive they’ll pay off in the finished film.

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