Dragon Tiger Gate, a Hong Kong kung fu movie starring Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse, will be released in Chinese in Asia on July 28 and in North America next March.

 

Based on and sharing the name of Hong Kong cartoonist Tony Wong's cartoon, the movie follows the story of three young Hong Kong kids who open a kung fu school and compete with foreign counterparts and even fight against an overseas criminal gang in the 1970s.

 

 

The shooting of the movie, directed by Wilson YIP Wai-Shun and also starring Shawn Yue, Dong Jie and Li Xiaoran, began in Shanghai last September and finished in February.

 

It was the second film in which Yen, who was also the choreographer for the movie, has cooperated with Wai-Shun, following Sha Po Lang.

 

Yen said the action design was a bit different from his previous works.

 

"It's a little surrealistic and has a sense of cartoon, but I promise each action of mine is real," he said.

 

The Weinstein Company, created by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded the Miramax Films Corp. in 1979, has been the film's distributor in all the English-speaking areas.

 

Bey Logan, The Weinstein Co.'s new rep in Asia, said in Beijing that he is proud of buying the film.

 

"There are a lot movies adapted from cartoons in America. I think this is the best one so far. Yen: great star, great action!" he added.

 

The US$10 million movie was invested by the Hong Kong-based Mandarin Films Distribution Co., Ltd, Beijing Polybona Film Distribution Co., Ltd and the Shanghai Film Group.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2006)