FILM 1176: IP MAN

TRIVIA: Although not mentioned in the film Grandmaster Yip Man was actually employed as a police officer during the Japanese invasion.

Although it's the first film centering around Yip Man, the idea of doing a Yip Man biopic have been conceived for as long as 30 years. Donnie Yen was actually slated to play Yip Man in the supposed first biopic that was about to go into production in 1997. The film would've also featured Stephen Chow playing an adult Bruce Lee. However, only one day of shooting took place before the project was canceled.

On This Day…

Jet Li born on this day in 1963.

Li Lianjie born 26 April 1963, better known by his English stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and wushu champion who was born in Beijing. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen.

Trivia: Won Chinese national championship in the acrobatic martial art wushu when he was 11; his prize was a trip to Washington D.C. to meet President Richard Nixon.

Injured his foot while escaping the tsunami that followed a 9.0 earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Li and his four year old daughter were on vacation in the Maldives on December 26th, 2004. The two were in the lobby of their hotel when the wave came ashore. Scooping up his daughter and running for higher ground, a piece of furniture hit his foot, causing the injury.

Worked with Chinese Director Tsui Hark on 5 films. This was: The Master (1989), Once Upon a Time in China, Once Upon a Time in China 2, Once Upon a Time in China 3, Black Mask.

Has played both an attempted assassin of the First Emperor of China (in "Ying Xiong"), and the First Emperor of China. (In Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor).