Donnie Yen’s “The Iceman Cometh 3D” Soars to $200 Million Production Costs
Directed by Law Wing Cheong <羅永昌>, Donnie Yen’s (甄子丹) The Iceman Cometh 3D < 3D冰封俠> is currently shooting in Hong Kong. Starring Donnie Yen, Wang Baoqiang (王宝强), Eva Huang (黄圣依), and Simon Yam (任達華), The Iceman Cometh 3D is a loose adaptation of Yuen Biao’s (元彪) 1989 film of the same name. The action-packed flick centers around two Ming Dynasty guards who time travel to modern day Hong Kong.
Because the film is shooting at a snail’s pace, the film’s production budget went up from $100 million HKD to $200 million HKD. Despite having to invest on absurdly expensive technology to complement the film’s 3D cameras, the film’s producers expressed that they would rather sacrifice time over quality.
The production companies also spent another $100 million HKD to cover the film crew’s insurance. The Vice Chairman of Zhongmeng Century Media stated, “Quality is important, but our actors and crew will always be number one in the list. The actors are very professional, and many of them do not require stunt doubles. That is why we decided to add more to their insurance so the actors can work more at ease.”
Starring cast member Donnie Yen, who also serves as the film’s action choreographer, admitted that The Iceman Cometh 3D has been one of his most stressful projects in recent years. However, the Ip Man star pointed out that it is not his hectic work schedule that is giving him sleepless nights. “I take quality very seriously. I hope to provide a perfect film for the audiences to enjoy. If I was just an actor, it would not be necessary for me to appear in every shoot. Because I am both an actor and an action director, I have to be on set every time to guide others. This film is shot in 3D and every minute detail cannot be overlooked.”
Donnie added that while he feels the pressure, he has been enjoying his work. “It has been a smooth collaboration. The crew is very professional, and we get along very well. The atmosphere is great.”
Starring alongside Donnie is mainland actor Wang Baoqiang, best known for box office success, Lost in Thailand <人再囧途之泰囧>.
“I am a huge fan of Donnie. I am so happy to have the chance to work with him. It’s a dream come true!” gushed Baoqiang.
Born in Nanhe County, Hebei, Baoqiang is well-known for his rags-to-riches story in the mainland film industry. Wanting to be a martial arts film star, Baoqiang traveled to a Shaolin monastery at a young age to learn kung fu. Baoqiang never had the chance to fully flaunt his martial arts skills until The Iceman Cometh 3D.
“Donnie has choreographed a special skill for me to perform in the film,” said Baoqiang. “I am working hard on it.”
Baoqiang is thankful for Donnie’s patience in teaching him the skill, and the two actors get along really well.
“In the past, I thought if you had a kung fu background, you would be able to film a kung fu movie. It was not until now when I realized that knowing kung fu does not mean you will film a good kung fu movie. Donnie is very serious when he choreographs. Every small movement is deliberately arranged. The choreography is fascinating and beautiful to look at. I have grown quite a bit since collaborating with him. I am very thankful.”
There is currently no news on whether or not the release for The Iceman Cometh 3D will be pushed back from its originally announced late 2013 release.
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
watch it bomb
agree this guy is not an actor
Donnie, I like you, but what the hell are you thinking?
Yea, I think it will bomb, but u never know, it seem the mainland viewers are not that picky o.0 don’t like Donnie either, I don’t think he’s a good actor in any sense, he can do martial art stuff, but emotional wise, he’s quite boring, seen 2 movies of him, where his facial expression and characters delivering we’re weak and the same in both
You should check out Wu Xia. He definitely showed great improvement there.
dude look at that emotion in the picture, this movie is gonna be a masterpiece. HK film award best actor. but yea he pretty much is useless besides martial arts and he sucked in wu xia too, it was all takeshi.
Your sarcasm isn’t impressive, sorry. Besides, this is the trademark stare (one that Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung all have) during an action scene (duh!) which I’m sure won’t be present for the rest of the movie.
If Donnie sucked in Wu Xia, please do elaborate more on why his performance was bad. Cause “he pretty much is useless besides martial arts” is just lazy stereotyping of someone disliked. As for Takeshi, you’re obviously d**kriding him lol.
I would rather take quality over time. But knowing that Hong Kong productions always go this way, I have faith in the film crew.
Don’t look like any worth watching. After all, Donnie is not in my must watch actor list.