Philip Ng
Following the master
White Dragon and Philip Ng follow
in Jackie Chan’s footsteps, trying
to break into the movie business
With Jackie Chan coming to town Tuesday to open his first restaurant in the U.S., as well as to attend a private screening of his latest movie, "Around the World in 80 Days," fans can get an advance look of the superstar in an interesting documentary airing tomorrow night.
"Made in Hong Kong" follows three aspiring actors who travel to the Asian movie capital in hopes of breaking into the business. While Ji Ling, the only woman, later moves to Los Angeles in hopes of developing as an actress, White Dragon (the filmmakers curiously don't bother giving his Chinese name) and Philip Ng are following the footsteps of their idol Chan.
"Made in Hong Kong"
7 and 10 p.m. tomorrow on the American Movie Classics cable channel, with Jackie Chan's "Rumble in the Bronx" airing at 8 p.m. between the two telecasts
Both young men are accomplished martial arts practitioners: White Dragon is a prize student at the Shao Lin school in Beijing and Ng went to his father's kung fu school back in his home Chicago. (Li Jing is herself a respected wu shu champion from mainland China.)
Of the two, Ng is more groomed for the big screen. The unsophisticated White Dragon, however, is very much out of his element, a naive country boy adrift in the busy, urban movie capital.
But, luckily for him (and convenient for the purposes of the documentary), he realizes his lifelong dream by meeting Chan in the flesh, who viewers have only seen in teasing movie clips.
It's a rather perfunctory meeting, but White Dragon, even though he doesn't break into the biz as a stuntman, goes back to his village a hero, with snapshots, an autograph and mementos from Chan.
The bicultural and bilingual Ng, on the other hand, represents a new generation of actors that are the new hope for the industry. In fact, he's the only one who gets to work on a Jackie Chan project, albeit a minor role in his "New Police Story."
Due to an entrenched sexist attitude in the industry, Li Jing is impelled to leave Hong Kong -- during a casting call all three actors attend, she's the only one whose asked if she's married.
The other producer at the call is Bey Logan, a U.K. transplant and H.K. movie enthusiast (check out his fine reference book "Hong Kong Action Cinema"), who screenwrote Chan's "The Medallion." Logan is one of the interviewees in "Made in Hong Kong," along with cinematographer and Hawaii International Film Festival favorite Christopher Doyle.
Even though the documentary makes for a diverting hour's worth of TV, unfortunately there's not much of a sense of discovery in it. It's evident that the filmmakers went into the project with a set agenda, and it's too orchestrated. "Made in Hong Kong" could've been much better.
Click for online
calendars and events.
