Hot off the completion of post production for his latest martial arts film, MAN OF TAI CHI, Keanu Reeves made his directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival this week where he discussed the film, his inspirations for directing the film, and his hopes for the film’s success. Reeves also stars in the film as the main villain opposite actor and martial arts stunt performer Chen Hu (a.k.a. Tiger Chen) who stars in the film in his first-ever gig as the lead.
Reeves says “About four or five years ago I started to think about directing. My dictum was I would only direct if I had a story to tell and, having developed the script over this length of time, it became a story I wanted to tell and one I didn’t want anybody else to tell,” notes The Inquisitr via Total Film.
Take a look at some footage from the festival below.
The film marks Reeves’ latest endeavor with Chen and super-duper busy action directing legend Master Yuen Woo-Ping since their work on the Wachowski Brothers’ sci-fi blockbuster trilogy, THE MATRIX back between 1999 and 2003. July 5, 2013 is the scheduled China release date for the film, which also stars Karen Mok (So Close), Iko Uwais (The Raid: Redemption), Jeremy Marinas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Silvio Simac (D.O.A. Dead Or Alive), Steven Dasz (Iddaramayilatho) and Brahim Achabbakhe (Street Fighter: Legend Of Chun Li) and Ocean Hou (The Blood Bond). MAN OF TAI CHI is based on a screenplay by Michael G. Cooney and is a co-production from China Film Group, Wanda Group and Village Roadshow Pictures, with Universal Pictures distributing.
Martial Arts Movie Junkie has some new set photos available from the movie, courtesy of Film Smash, which you can view HERE. View the latest teaser footage below, and stay tuned for more info, and further trailer news.
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Lee B. Golden III
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
