Donnie Yen Hopes Sister’s Film Career Takes Off in Hong Kong
Donnie Yen (甄子丹) and his younger sister, Chris Yen (甄子青) attended an event at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Racecourse. Donnie hoped to further develop Chris as an action star in Hong Kong, where female martial artistes in film are rare.
Donnie spoke about his experience filming the upcoming action blockbuster film, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. He noted the importance of training hard for a good physique, as all the other male leads such as Vin Diesel and Tony Jaa in the movie are brawny and muscular. On whether his muscles are currently toned, Donnie laughed and said, “I’m okay. My shirt feels pretty tight. My wife has actually always wanted me to have a bit of a belly, as she feels that it’s befitting of a man. I’ve always told her that it’s not okay to have a belly in my line of work.”
Revealing plans to develop a film career for Chris, Donnie said, “There are not many female action stars in Hong Kong, and there are even fewer with a background in martial arts. I specially persuaded Chris to come back to Hong Kong and sign with my company. I will look for suitable movie roles for her. Of course, I will not show any favoritism just because she’s my sister. She is also free to look for her own opportunities based on her abilities.” Chris expressed that she would definitely support the plans that Donnie has for her.
When asked for comment on the rumors that the box office records for Ip Man 3 <葉問3> have been falsified, Donnie responded that as an actor, he should just focus on playing his role well. He said, “Every movie will have different distribution and promotion strategies. As an actor, I should just focus on acting well. Actually, Ip Man 3 has broken many box office records and received many award nominations. To be honest, the talk about box office records is merely illusory. What’s most important is how the audience feels after watching the movie.”
Chris Yen’s background
Chris graduated from Boston University, with a double-major in psychology and business management. Chris began training in martial arts alongside her mother (who ran a martial arts school in the United States) since the age of four. The martial art styles that she is familiar with include long fist, Tai Chi and the Wudang sword style. She was placed in the top three positions in various international martial arts competitions, including Tai Chi competitions. Based in Boston, Chris last worked together with Donnie in Hong Kong in 2004, appearing in the movie, Black Rose Academy <見習黑玫瑰>. Chris subsequently returned to the United States and developed a career behind the scenes.
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Jingles for JayneStars.com.
This should’ve happened 10 years ago right when Donnie started becoming active on the scene.
Haven’t seen BLACK ROSE ACADEMY as a whole but her fight scenes were decent. She also had a supporting role in Yuen Woo Ping’s CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF VAMPIRE released in 1986, in which she had a good fight scene. Hope her career takes of, now that Donnie has established himself as the top Chinese action star as well as action director.
This should’ve happened 10 years ago when Donnie started becoming active on the scene.
Haven’t seen BLACK ROSE ACADEMY as a whole but her fight scenes were decent. She also had a supporting role in Yuen Woo Ping’s CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF VAMPIRE released in 1986, in which she had a good fight scene. Hope her career takes of, now that Donnie has established himself as the top Chinese action star as well as action director.
Wouldn’t it be too late to start an action star career?
She might be young at heart and fitter that other women her age, but, her body is still on the downhill slope.
@kidd Green/blue screen
@kidd Well, Donnie’s career took off when he reached the age of 42. And don’t forget that Max Zhang — who is being labeled as the next big Chinese action star — is turning 42 this year. Anything is possible if you go for it.
@kidd Age is just a number. LOL!!
Oops! I forgot that only applies to men when they hooking up with young stuffs.
“…Ip Man 3 has broken many box office records and received many award nominations. To be honest, the talk about box office records is merely illusory. What’s most important is how the audience feels after watching the movie.”
well after watching the movie, it has terrible storyline, same gag over and over, first thought icing on the cake mike tyson cast but in the end nothing to wow about, the story is akin to broken tune. it is easily worst than the previous two.
The story about ip man is already over and over juiced and has been very dry, should put a nail on it. Please no more.