Li Unleashed

[Scarecrow11B]

I love Jet Li and I am highly anticipating his new movie Unleashed.

In Zhang Yimou's Hero, Hong Kong action star Jet Li played a steely warrior hired to assassinate a king. For Unleashed, known at one point as Danny the Dog, Li takes on an even more dramatic and challenging role as a young man named Danny, raised like a dog by a brutal UK gangster, played by Bob Hoskins, to take down his enemies with the simple unleashing of his collar. When Danny has a chance to escape, he meets up with a kindly blind piano tuner played by Morgan Freeman, and his daughter Victoria. The two of them teach him about family and life to the point where he wants to give up the violent life of fighting

Jet Li talked to ComingSoon.net about why he wanted to do this very different film and take a role that might finally change perceptions of what is a "typical Jet Li" movie. (Note: English is Li's second language, so some of this interview has been edited for grammatical purposes in order to make it easier to read.)

CS!: Were you happy to show that you had some depth that maybe you haven't been given credit for in the past?
Jet Li: Yeah, that's why I make this film. A few years ago, I talked to Luc [Besson], and he gave me some idea about making another action film, because it had worked before. I didn't like all the ideas, because I said that they sounded familiar. I wanted to do something I never had a chance to play. I had one idea: a message that said "violence is not the only solution." Then two days later he gave me the idea, and said to me "How about you play a dog who is saved by music?" Then we start working on writing this movie and I liked it very much.

CS!: This being your second movie with Luc Besson, did you have more input on the script or were you able to collaborate more on it?
Li: We're like brothers when we work together. I say that he's my personal computer, because every button I push, he comes up with a lot of ideas. Whatever idea I put, he receives. I hope I can work with him again. When I started working on this movie, I already said that next step is a family movie for children, a light comedy. I saw the script. It's finished and pretty good.

CS!: Can you talk about Danny's non-fight movements, and how you choreographed that when he wasn't fighting?
Li: First of all, I found a wonderful acting coach from London. She's a professor who flew over here and worked with me two months before the shooting. We needed to study to forget who Jet Li is, because Danny is only mentally around 8 or 10 years old, so we need to forget a lot of information in order to find empathy. We spent a few weeks to find that empathy and try many ways to put the mask on yourself. Then we did research and watched a lot of different kinds of dogs to start building up Danny's world. We watched different kinds of dogs. When the collar was on, we tried to find puppies and what was their reaction, or the collar off, like a really wild dog. Then we told Wu-Ping what kind of person Danny is and asked what kind of martial arts we can use to help him, because different personalities use different kinds of martial arts. When I play a bad guy, I have a bad guy style, and cop has a tough cop style. Usually, I have a Jet Li style with signature moves, but this time we tried to do just like a dog in the beginning. Dogs, they don't talk a lot; they only use their eyes to show emotion, so when they fight it's very concentrated and simple. Punch! Punch! Punch! And then go to the second one. That's how the martial arts were designed for this person.

CS!: How was it different filming these violent action scenes compared to those for Hero, which were more artistic?
Li: We needed to find a different choreographer that had the special ability. We have three good guys--Yuen Wu-Ping, Corey Yuen and Tony who did Hero--so when we did this film, we called Wu-Ping and convinced him to do it. The martial arts you use in the film is the best way to help the story and the character. In the beginning, Danny just fights like an animal but once he grows up and understands a little bit of life through Morgan's character, he can control his body slightly. By the end of the movie, he's totally in control. He knows he doesn't want to hurt people. He wants to stop the fights.

CS!: In the martial arts movies of the '60s and 70's, it focused on different fighting styles, but in contemporary movies, it's more about an actor's style. Why do you think that is?
Li: A lot of people ask if Jet Li creates some new movements in new films, but to tell you the truth, every human being has two legs and two arms. I can't create more than this. A lot of movements we already did, but the new thing for an action film is the drama, the story, and the character. If you like the character and the story, you think that the same punch is different. Like a love story. You make a thousand love stories with man and girl, so it's how to make it touch your heart, that's the power of the story. I think with martial arts, the best way to use it in the film is the material, how to help the character and help the story.

CS!: Do you foresee a time when you do a film that doesn't have any martial arts or action at all?
Li: This is the kind of question [I've been asked] ever since the first day I started making action films. The reality is that whether the studios are in Asia or America, they are a business. They look at you and you've already proved you can do action films, so you do action films until one day you prove that you can do more than action, then they will give you a different role to play. Myself, I want to do a film without action, that's the dream. But if I'm the studio president who's in charge of the studio, I'd give drama to Tom Hanks and comedy I'd give to Jim Carrey…why take the risk? Until one day you need the proof. That's why I always try to prove myself. This movie didn't work in the States. When we sent it to the studios, nobody wanted to make it, so that's why I brought it to Europe to make this film. To try to find a little bit of opportunity to prove I can do more than just fighting.

[Scarecrow11B]

CS!: You've been talking more and more about producing your own films. Will you be producing more?
Li: If I want to say something from my heart. When I come here and I start making a lot of English films, the audience, especially the younger audience, they think "Jet Li kick ass!" At the beginning, I was very happy, but a few times later I consider that that's the only message I can give to young kids? So I hope that I can give more than just that. That's why I want to make this film, so that younger people see violence is not the only solution. Look at Danny. He's physically very strong — he can knock out 20 people in a few seconds — but he's an animal. He doesn't care about the others in the beginning. The animal is different from the human, because humans care about the others. That's the difference. Animals are selfish. They only think about themselves.

CS!: Morgan told us that he didn't really help you that much with the acting, but that you may say otherwise. Is this true?
Li: He told me I should say that! I never want to make a movie with him again! (laughter) He didn't tell me the details on how to act, but he made everybody on the set believe Danny's world. Usually, on a movie set, people are joking around about sports and politics, but when he comes in, it got quiet right away! It gave me the chance to concentrate that I'm not Jet Li, I'm Danny. There were just a few people there, and I think it helped a lot. He made me believe every day I saw him that he was my uncle or father. I wanted to hug him. I feel that's the way I can breathe and take some risks. Yeah, he showed me everything.

CS!: How about working with Kerry Condon, who played his daughter? Did working with her in the more touching family scenes help you find a different side of Jet Li?
Li: Yeah, she's very genuine. She just has the truth coming out from her heart, so I think that helped a lot. Everybody tried their best, except for Bob, who behaved very bad. (laughter)

CS!: It's a bit surprising that there wasn't more romance between you and her character.
Li: I had a lot more romance but they cut it! (laughs)



CS!: Have you seen Ong-Bak? I was wondering what you thought about new generation of martial artists like Tony Jaa.
Li: Luc [Besson] bought the rights, so he showed it to me two years ago. I think he did a wonderful job but it's not new! In 1980's, Sammo Hung started that kind of action films, just kicking people's heads and right away, you see the power. You feel sorry for all the stunt men, because they show the power. They show they try really really hard. In the 1980s, all the Hong Kong movies look like that, but in the 1990's, we don't want the stunt man to get hurt and then we grow up and do different kinds of styles. Because people in the past fifteen years didn't have the chance to see that kind of hardcore fight, suddenly this guy come in and show all the powers and all the genius move.

CS!: Do you see him as someone coming up who might be able to take over when you decide to stop doing martial arts?
Li: Honestly, I hope he's successful in the future. I like him, and he likes me too. He's very good, but I don't want the stunt men to get hurt or injured. We can use technology to help show the same power, and we don't want to really see the stunt men stand there while you kick them in the head and punch their nose. That's too hard for the stunt men. I do all those stunts and I know they get injured and get hurt.

CS!: Stuff like that was very common in the '80s?
Li: Yeah, if you find some old tapes of Sammo Hung. He shot a movie every day where the ambulances would be there taking people to the hospital every day. That's the Hong Kong action movie in the 1980s. All the actors want to show that they can do this—jumping from building to building and punching you with no cut until you hit the ground. That was the 1980s!

Unleashed opens everywhere on Friday. Check back later for an interview with director Louis Leterrier.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/topnews.php?id=9544

I am going to try and see this this weekend to review it, but I am not promising anything.

[bruinfan05]

I like Jet Li a lot too, and this movie looks pretty awesome. I'll probably go see it, and if not, I'll definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD.

[Buddy Knox]

i bet my left leg that this movie will be great.

[kewl]

Anybody actually go see it? I saw it a few weekends ago and two thumbs up. Jet Li plays the part of the caged up boy extremly well, and the action sequences and fights scenes are killer.

[Buddy Knox]

yeah i thought it was an awesome movie. i think it balanced the drama and the action scenes very well. an all around great movie, great performance by Jet, Morgan, and everyone else.

btw... how cool was that bathroom fight?

[kewl]

Yeah that was a sweet fight especially when they were in the little room for the toilet.