Several reports came out on Tuesday today that a new Bruce Lee biopic is now in the works, backed by QED Internationaland Groundswell Productions, with a script to be penned by Nixon and Ali writers Christopher Wilkinson and Steven Rivele.
The film will be titled Birth Of The Dragon and will take place in 1965 San Francisco, with a plot that sets up a larger focus where Bruce Lee, a purveyor of Wing Chun at the time, and Wong Tak Man unite to take on the Triads, with the story to tie into their brutal one on one private match which later defined Lee’s career as a martial artist.
Deadline reports QED producer Bill Block had this to say about the upcoming production:
We’re excited to retell the fantastic origin story of the world’s most famous martial arts icon, which in the hands of Christopher and Stephen, lends itself to an action thriller we’re sure will enthrall movie fans around the world…
Lee’s life has been previously illustrated by filmmakers on several occasions, through documentaries, television, and biopics, notably including the Manfred Wong and Raymond Yip film, Young Bruce Lee with Malay-Arab-Asian actor, producer, model, singer-songwriter and co-star of Cold War, Aarif Rahman in the title role, and Rob Cohen’s 1993 smash hit, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, starring Jason Scott Lee (Timecop 2, Soldier), Lauren Holly, Michael Learned, Roger Corman, Aki Aleong, Luoyong Wang, Sven Ole Thorsen, Ong Soo Han and also starring the film’s fight choreographer, iconic Hong Kong cinema veteran John Cheung in the role of Wong Jack Man (portraying the character “Johnny Sun” instead).
The first fight: (view HERE if the embed doesn’t work)
The second fight: (view HERE if the embed doesn’t work)
As it stands, various first and secondhand accounts entail that the mysterious fight lasted anywhere from three to twenty-five minutes. So, on one hand, sounds like a heck of a way to re-ignite an old and unsettled rivalry…
…On the other hand, what better way to open up a museum and an exhibition? 🙂