Oscar event salutes Wong Kar-Wai

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 24, 2013

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Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai and actress Zhang Ziyi attend the advance screening of "The Grandmaster" in Beverly Hills, on July 22, 2013. The film will hit U.S. theaters on Aug. 23. [China.org.cn]

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences saluted Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai on Monday, with an advance screening of his new film "The Grandmaster," his new film about the master who trained Bruce Lee.

Wong and his film star actress Zhang Ziyi, and Hawk Koch, the president of the Academy, and the filmmaker Matthew Weiner ("Mad Man") - the evening's host - attended the tribute at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

This event was part of the Oscar's summer-long celebration of kung fu. The Samuel Goldwn Theater also hosted its current exhibition "KICK ASS! Kung Fu Posters and the Stephen Chin Collection."

Wong Kar-Wai is known for his unique sense of style and emotionally resonant work, according to the Academy's website. He is the first Chinese director to win the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his film "Happy Together" in 1997. His other films also include "Chungking Express," "Fallen Angels," "In the Mood for Love," "2046," and his first English-language film "My Blueberry Nights" - Norah Jones' acting debut.

"The Grandmaster" tells the story of martial arts grandmaster Ip Man (Tony Leung), who trained Bruce Lee. As he seeks to perfect his practice of the fighting style Wing Chun, Ip Man collides with another determined kung fu master, Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), during the Japanese invasion of China in 1936 and the tumultuous years that follow. The cast also includes Wang Qingxiang, Chang Chen, Xiao Shengyang and Song Hye Kyo, as well as hundreds of Asia's top martial artists.

The film has already been released in China and will hit U.S. theaters on Aug. 23.

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