KING CHARLES REMEMBERED: The passing of Salon’s chief marks the end of an era.
I first met Charles Wang about 20 years ago. I was still living in England, and trying to make some headway in the film industry. One of my friends, the writer Richard Laplante, had optioned his book Tegne...MORE ›
THREE NIGHTS IN BANGKOK: Chance encounters in Siam.
I’m in the Thai capital for the Bangkok Film Festival. It’s virtually impossible not to have fun in this city, but it has to be said that this event, as a whole, remains a work in progress. However,...MORE ›
ONE ARMED LEGACY : How Wang Yu single-handedly created an icon.
Though he made his name as a martial arts hero, Jimmy Wang Yu had only a cursory martial arts background. A former water polo player, the hot-headed Shanghai native was more familiar with rough house street...MORE ›
EASTERN THUNDER DOWN UNDER: Hong Kong cinema’s Aussie connection.
I’m enjoying a week’s vacation in Melbourne, catching up with the family I never get to see enough of. Though I was born and raised in England, my natural parents are Australian. I have the same mother...MORE ›
BEHIND THE 36th CHAMBER: Some notes on the creation of a martial arts masterpiece (part three)
36th Chamber Of Shaolin was Hong Kong’s fifth highest grossing film of 1978, with the year’s most successful release being the Michael Hui comedy The Contract. It made a bona fide kung fu movie superstar...MORE ›
