Tong, Stanley

Early years

Tong Qui-Lai was born and raised in Hong Kong . He began to practice with various kung fu masters at the age of 12, studying taijiquan , kickboxing , wing chun and qigong . The biggest influence on him was Bruce Lee , whose work Stanley encountered in early childhood ^[1] . In 2002, in the movie “The Art of Combat,” Tong gave an interview in which he said:

In an interview, Stanley said that Bruce Lee’s film “ Big Boss ” is his first memory of Hong Kong films and the most vivid childhood impression ^[3] . Tong also studied techniques for handling weapons - with a sword, spear and pole. He was engaged in acrobatics, and devoted a rather long time to ski jumping and gymnastics. In 1984, Tong won the Octagon martial arts championship ^[1] . At 17, he moved to Canada , where he taught martial arts ^[4] , while studying at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg ^[5] , while also showing interest in fast cars and driving skills ^[4] .

Hong Kong career

In 1979, Tong returned to Hong Kong and the next year, with the support of his brother-in-law, the old actor Luo Lich, he got into show business as a stuntman at Shaw Brothers ^[4] . This work was offered to him by director Liu Jialian. Over the next three years, he performed hundreds of tricks, dubbing actors such as Leslie Chun , Maggie Chun , Michelle Yeo , Brandon Lee , Chow Yun-Fat , Derek Yee, Ti Lung and Cheri Chung ^[1] . This work had negative health consequences for Tonga. He received many injuries and injuries, including a broken shoulder, cracks in several ribs and skulls, a broken leg, knee damage, and various back injuries. He decided to continue his career in cinema, being behind the camera ^[4] .

In 1983, Tong became an assistant director to study all aspects of film production. The stunt past helped him move up the career ladder. In the role of assistant director, he participated in the creation of six films. Tong diversified in the field of film production management, script writing, and then returned to shooting. In 1987, Stanley starred in the movie The Fire Brothers . Ultimately, he got the post of stunt director, and then the post of co-director on the set of the popular action movies Angel 2 and Angel 3 , in which the main role was played by action movie guru Moon Li ^[4] .

But Tong still wanted to become a director ^[3] . He staged tricks in four more scenes before he founded his company Golden Gate ^[4] . And in 1991, he made his debut as a director, executive producer, screenwriter, and stunt director with the movie Stone Age Warriors . This low-budget ($ 1 million was spent on production) action movie was touted as the first commercial movie to feature the still-wild “bounty hunters” from New Guinea . The Tong comedic about two city girls contained dangerous tricks, a large number of impressive battle scenes, where Tong controlled more than a thousand Aboriginal people, and all the other components of the action movie. In one scene, 15 dresser dragons chased two girls in the jungle, and in the other two heroines fell from a waterfall ^[1] . The film almost broke the rookie, but attracted the attention of Golden Harvest and producer Leonard Ho. He was impressed that Tong performed in several cinematic roles at once, which in material and technical terms were comparable to those in Jackie Chan's “ Armor of God, ” shot for $ 15 million ^[4] . Here is what the creator himself said about the film "Stone Age Warriors":

Since at that time people got used to films about gangsters / policemen, as well as to some crazy comedy / kung fu films that had their own movie star, I, as a young director without experience and money, tried to do something new, such what other directors will not undertake. I took a chance, hoping to show the audience something fresh. I always loved adventure action movies.

Original text

Because at that time, people were into gangster movie / police story and some outrageous comedy / Kung Fu films, which all had their movie star. As a young director without experience and investment, I tried to do something new, something that other directors won't want to experience. I wanted to take the risk, hoping to bring something different to the audience. I'm always in love with action adventure.

- Interview for Far East Film

Working with Jackie Chan and Breaking Hollywood

Tong managed to make another film on his own, “ The Legend of the Swordsman ”, after which Golden Harvest Studio appointed him the director of the film “ Police Story 3: Super Police ” (1992). The tape united on the screen the real characters of the action movies Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeo. The picture became in many ways unusual: this was Jackie's first film, where he only played the main role, while not acting either as a director or as a stunt director; it was also Jackie’s first film, in the production of which synchronous sound was used, and not subsequent dubbing. For this picture, Jackie was first awarded as the best actor, and at once at two festivals: the Hong Kong Academy Film Awards and the Golden Horse Award in Taipei. Also, the tape received a prize for the best editing, and Tong himself was nominated as the best director of battles and stunts at HKAFA. In addition, "Police Story 3" was on the first line in the list of the most profitable films in Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand , which provided the picture with the title of the most profitable film of the year in Asia ^[1] .

Jackie Chan became partly famous in Hollywood thanks to Stanley Tong. This happened after the release in the United States of a duplicated and slightly shortened version of the film " Disassembly in the Bronx " (released in Asia in 1995). Chan had tried to succeed in the United States before, but it was Tong who demonstrated acrobatic performances, martial arts skills, and the charm of a comedic star. American viewers enthusiastically accepted this slightly silly story about a Chinese policeman who arrives in the Bronx for his uncle's wedding, and as a result begins to fight against the local gang and other criminal figures. Tong was both a director, battle director and screenwriter of this picture. The film was shot for a fairly modest amount - $ 6 million. Another one and a half million were put into the promotion of the film. The film, shot for the Asian market, received positive reviews from American critics and viewers and raised over $ 32 million in movie theaters, becoming one of the most financially successful films of 1996. This is even more remarkable because it was only the third directorial work of Tong ^[4] . The Bronx Showdown brought Tong the award for best stunt director at the Hong Kong Academy Film Awards. Besides the fact that the tape became the most profitable movie in China and Hong Kong, “Disassembly in the Bronx” became the first Hong Kong tape to start in the USA immediately in 2000 movie theaters ^[1] .

The duplicated and reprinted Super Police Officer (1996) proved the justification for choosing this movie for Jackie Chan's second major release in the United States. Critics praised the film, but the box office was more modest than the "Showdown in the Bronx" ^[4] . The success of Super Police led to another great action adventure, Super Police 2 , which again brought together Stanley Tong and Michelle Yeo. Jackie Chan himself volunteered for a small role, having specially arrived on the set to devote two days to this scene ^[1] .

The next joint project of Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong “ First strike ” (1997) was also successful. Tong won an award for him as the best director at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei; in the same contest, “First Hit” was also nominated for the best film and best director. In three films, where Tong was a director and Jackie Chan was an actor, Stanley was also always a backup to Jackie ^[1] .

As you can see, Jackie began to play more involuntarily heroes than aggressive characters. Militants are shot with humor, fun and with a minimum amount of violence, so that the film can be watched by as many viewers as possible. We have a rating of PG-13 ^[6] , while most American militants receive a rating of R ^[7] . Traditional Hollywood action scenes, such as car chases / helicopters / shooting / boat chases / explosions, plus Chinese martial arts and acrobatic stunts that make fighting more spectacular - when all of these components come together, something new is created for both Western and for the Chinese viewer.

Original text

You can see Jackie's characters became more of a reluctant hero than an aggressive one. Big action sequences with humor and fun and less violence, so that it can reach a bigger audience pool. We are PG 13, whereas most American action movies are rated R. The usual Hollywood convention action sequence that have ingredients like car chasing sequence / helicopter / gun shooting / speed boat / explosions, plus the Chinese martial arts and acrobatic stunts make the physical fighting more artistic. When all these ingredients are put together it became something new and fresh to the Western and the Chinese audience.

- Stanley Tong about Hollywood Breakthrough

Hollywood noticed Tong's talent for producing commercially successful films. Disney hired a director to shoot the film “ Mr. Magu ” (1997), where Leslie Nielsen played the short-sighted millionaire, with whom various accidents often occur ^[4] . But the film failed at the box office, not even recouping the cost of production ^[8] and received devastating reviews from both viewers and critics.

After Tong began work on the television series " Chinese City " for CBS , where the leading role was played by a veteran of Hong Kong paintings Sammo Hung . He acted as a responsible producer and directed the first series. Tong really hoped, coming to Hollywood, to introduce more Asian actors and filmmakers into it. According to Tong, by creating this series, he wanted to instill in the audience some family values, as well as dispel many myths about Asian culture. Unfortunately, the series did not last long - starting in 1998, it ceased to exist in the fall of 2000 ^[1] .

In my Hollywood experience, it was both good and bad. The good side is that when working for large companies such as Disney, you get the opportunity to find out their point of view: how to get the green light for the project, how to engage in marketing the film, the strategy for its promotion on the markets. But I don’t understand how they can waste so much money “behind the screen”. Too much money was spent over the plan, and little was left for production.

Original text

My Hollywood experience was good and bad. The good side is working for big companies like Disney, which has to go through a lot of Hollywood procedures, learning about their point of view, how to green light a project, how to market a movie, and promotion strategy. But I don't understand how they can waste so much money behind the screen. Too much money has been spent above the line, and left the production with not much money.

- Stanley Tong about his Hollywood experience

Recent work

The new film that Tong shot again in Hong Kong is The Shanghai Connection , starring Aaron Kwok, Ruby Lin and Japanese Norika Fujiwara. Tape in the world film distribution does not pay for production, but at the same time becomes the champion at the box office in 2000 in Hong Kong , Singapore and Malaysia ^[9] .

The latest directorial work for Stanley Tong at the moment was the 2005 high-budget ($ 15 million) picture Myth , which tells the story of how an archaeologist who excavates in ancient cities and burials is immersed in antiquity and mystically transforms into a warrior on whom the fate of a whole nation depended many centuries ago. This picture was already the fifth joint picture of Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong. In the USA, the picture never reached the big screens, but it was released on DVD in 2007, but in Russia the premiere took place on February 23, 2006, and then it was also released on DVD ^[10] .

After Myth, Tong was involved in producing projects such as Dragon Sword (2005), Home, Sweet Home (2005), and Love in the City (2007) ^[11] .

In a May 2006 interview with Oriental Daily and The Sun, director Stanley Tong said he would stage an ambitious project called The Diary (literal translation) about the Nanjing ( Nanjing ) massacre at China International Media Group Corp. He said the Chinese studio has approved a $ 40 million project that will be invested by Germany , the United States , Japan and mainland China . The plot of the "Diary" was supposed to tell about a group of foreigners documenting the facts of the massacre. The alleged cast included Chow Yun-Fata , Maggie Chun , Andy Lau and Japanese actress Noriku Fujiwara. Tong wanted Maggie Chung to play the director of the Jinling Girls School, a place where hundreds of refugees took refuge during the massacre. Fujiwara was invited to play the role of a sister in the Japanese army. The director said that he had been preparing the project for five years and intended to release it by December 13, 2007, the 70th anniversary of the event, during which tens of thousands of Chinese were destroyed by Japanese troops ^[12] . But the film never came out.

In June 2006, it was reported that Stanley Tong would film a full-length version of the Mulan story. Most of the world knows the Chinese girl Mulan, thanks to the eponymous cartoon . Initially, it was assumed that Tong would start filming in October 2006 in the Chinese province of Yunnan ^[13] . Tong even chose actress Zhang Ziyi , who was supposed to play the main character. But the project developed slowly, and in 2008, Tonga was replaced by Jingle Ma in the director's chair. Why there was a change in the director of the film about Mulan is unknown ^[14] . It can only be noted that Jingle Ma was the director and cameraman in Stanley Tong’s latest production project, Love in the City, based on the eponymous series. It’s also interesting that Jingle Ma was supposed to be the director of the movie Myth before Stanley Tong. The film "Mulan" was released in 2009.

Stanley Tong was invited to the Beijing TV station as a jury and expert on the reality show The Disciple, which was shown from April 5 to June 7, 2008 in Continental China , and was produced by Jackie Chan. The goal of the program was to find a new star who has talents in acting and martial arts to become the "successor" to Jackie Chan. The champion was awarded the main role in the film ^[15] .

At a press conference held in April 2009, Jackie Chan announced his 100th project, tentatively named “Chinese Zodiac” (which can be translated as “Chinese Zodiac”, but in Russia this project has already been christened “Armor of God 3”) . Stanley Tong will be a producer on this project. The picture will be the sixth joint work of Chan and Tong ^[16] .

Some critics accused Tong of imitating Hollywood, in particular, American action movies. Jonathan Rosenbaum in the Chicago Reader wrote about the movie “Police Story 3: Super-Policeman”: “The biggest drawback of the film is that it is very American” ^[17] . It was also noted that Stanley Tong is a rather monotonous director who can only shoot an action movie with a predictable and unoriginal script, in which everything rests only on the tricks and charisma of the protagonist (most often, Jackie Chan); and when he tries to shoot something else, for example, the comedy “Mr. Magu” or the costumed historical film “Myth” - then nothing comes of it, the films get bad reviews from film critics and viewers and fail at the box office. Also, some critics believe that Tong was successful only thanks to Jackie Chan ^{[18] [19]} . On the other hand, none of the critics deny the fact that, in many ways, it was thanks to Stanley Tong that Jackie Chan was successful in Hollywood. It was from their joint work that Jackie's career in Hollywood went uphill ^{[1] [4]} . At the same time, for example, the dashing thriller Super Police 2, in which Chan starred in only a small episode, was not particularly popular in the United States. Obviously, it was teamwork that brought them success. And it is not surprising that Jackie in the documentary " Jackie Chan: My Life " called Stanley Tong his favorite director ^[20] . Here's what, in turn, in this film, Stanley Tong said about Jackie Chan and about working with him:

There were rumors that there were too much cruelty and violence in the Tong films, and this did not go well with the good-natured comedic image of Jackie Chan. Here's what Fred Topel wrote for About.com about Super Cop 2: Weak spin-off for the Police Story series. The fights are too fierce and lack the grace of Jackie Chan ” ^[18] . Almar Haflideyson of the BBC agrees with him ^[19] .

Some critics have argued that Tong's films lack any meaning. For example, Stephen Holden wrote on the pages of The New York Times about the film “Disassembly in the Bronx” the following: “An absolutely frivolous film that makes no sense at all, although it’s sometimes funny to watch the best moments that challenge death” ^[21] .

• Golden Horse Film Festival
  • 1996 - The best director of the action movie " First hit "
• Hong Kong Film Awards
  • 1996 - The best director of fights " Disassembly in the Bronx "
  • 1997 - The best director of fights "First strike"

• Cinema of Asia
• Jackie Chan