Monkey King actor to bring classic to big screen
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 16, 2015
Legendary Monkey King actor Zhang Jinlai will reprise his role in "Journey to the West" in a 3D Chinese-American co-produced movie, it was announced on Wednesday in Beijing.
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Legendary Monkey King actor Zhang Jinlai performs Monkey-style kung fu on stage at a press conference for the new "Journey to the West" 3D movie in Beijing on April 15, 2015. [Photo/China.org.cn] |
Zhang, known by his stage name Liu Xiao Ling Tong (literally "Little Six Year Old Child"), is a household name in China famous for his role as the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) in the hugely popular 1986 television series "Journey to the West." The series has been replayed almost 3,000 times on various Chinese TV channels and has received 6 billion views in the nearly two decades since it aired.
Zhang is starring in a new 3D fantasy film project "Journey to the West" (the title of the project in Chinese is "Dare Ask Where Is the Way," the title of the theme song from the original TV series). Beijing-based Ruyi Xinxin Film Investment Company, Huaxia Film Company, Shanghai Jiabo Culture Development Company and the American studio Paramount Pictures will co-produce the film. Many of the original cast members from the TV series were also invited to join in the new film, including actors Ma Dehua, Chi Chongrui and Liu Dagang.
Zhang, who just celebrated his 56th birthday on April 12, said at the press conference that "Journey to the West" is a Chinese national treasure and a classic, and revealed that he hated the movie adaptations of the story produced in recent years, including wildly successful blockbusters "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" by Stephen Chow and "Monkey King" by Cheang Pou-Soi.
The original classic novel tells the story of how the monkey Sun Wukong learned to be immortal, rebelled against the Jade Emperor of Heaven and then accompanied the monk Xuanzang on a journey to collect the Buddhist sutras from India during the Tang Dynasty. It is an inspiring story of redemption, but some wild adaptations have had the Monkey King and monk fall in love with a demon or female exorcist, which never happened in the original tale. Zhang said those adaptations are harmful and will mislead children who should find the true meaning and essence of the classic.
"Our generation only has the obligation to inherit, pass on and develop the classic," he said. "We don't have right to mock the classic or make spoofs or harmful adaptations of it. The higher the box office gross for those horrible adaptations, the bigger harm they will cause to the classic and to Chinese culture."
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