In my life...

A round up of people and places...

I'm back up at our great studio in Nanhai, shooting the opening scenes for Red Dawn Rising (AKA Blood Bond 2). We spent so much time up here on the first film, it really starts to feel like home. If only someone would build a Nanhai Starbucks, it would be perfect! I'll write more about the RDR (BB2) experience later. Here are some other updates from Beyworld:

Firstly, my son Ryan graduated from primary school, making him officially the most well-educated family member. I was especially proud that he won an acting prize for his performance as Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Go, Ryan! (as far away as possible...)

Just kidding, son...

The boys and I went to Mong Kok for the afternoon (Kowloonside! what were we thinking?) and decided to visit the mo kwoon(martial arts school) of my old teacher, Sifu Cheung Yee-keung. Though I no longer train in Hung Kuen under Cheung Sifu (who is a senior figure in the Chan Hon-chung lineage of the art), I still have huge respect for his skills. He's a master of tit da bone setting, and I send all my friends to him for treatment (including the long-suffering Phoenix Chou, on whom more later).

Cheung Sifu never seems to get any older (wish I could say the same). There's a photo of me on the wall of the kwoon. It doesn't age, but I do! My eldest twin, Calvin, started posing with some 'Chiu Chi-ling' (guy from 'Kung Fu Hustle') style leather wrist bands, so of course Sifu gave them to him as a present!

We had coffee with another good friend of mine, the lovely Rain Li, DP to the stars. She is sooo talented, and also lovely to look at. The boys took pictures of her:

And she took pictures of Calvin and Kyle.

I also want to give a big shout out to my girl Phoenix Chou. Phoenix was the female lead in the first B&E Production, 'The Blood Bond'. We all learned a huge amount from that experience, me especially! Luckily, the finished result was sufficiently well-received to warrant  a spin-off 'Deva' movie, focussing on Chou's character, and Phoe flew back to Hong Kong to start work on Red Dawn Rising, and also to get her bad girl on for Beach Spike!, our sports action comedy, which starts mid-August. She's definitely an MVP for all of us!

I was delighted when one of my oldest 'kung fu' buddies, Wing Chun maestro David Peterson, came for a long overdue visit to Hong Kong, with his lovely bride-to-be in tow. I first 'met' David, by pen and phone, back when I was editing 'Combat', which puts around 25 years ago. A quarter century!

We're both thriving with our Fatshan fists, him with Wing Chun, me with the Hung Kuen.

We had a great dinner for family, friends and David's kung fu brothers at a restaurant in Soho.

A new fiend I met only recently, though we'd heard each others names many times!, is the lovely Bernice Liu. Its not for nothing that her name is an anagram for 'be nicer', because she is. She kicked some %$#& in Dennis Law's 'Bad Blood' and in the recent 'Ip Man: The Legend is Born' where we met at the premiere). Hope we can work together sometime soon!

Finally, not the least bit least but mentioned last, the lovely Elizabeth, my partner in crime, without whom none of the above would matter much!

Next: Re-bonding the blood : Red Dawn rises in Nanhai.