Fung's big jump forward, finally

Director Stephen Fung. Photo: IC
After being put on the backburner for almost a year and re-shot several times due to scandal, Jump from Actor-director Stephen Fung, is finally set to hit Chinese cinema screens Thursday. The production team met the press in Beijing recently to promote the film's long-awaited opening.

The movie – written three years ago by producer and comic star Stephen Chow, is about a country girl who goes to Shanghai to pursue her dream of hip-hop dancing. Originally Jump featured Edison Chen, however his much-publicized sex scandal early last year broke just as shooting wrapped and the whole production was shelved.

"We were totally shocked when the photo scandal broke," Fung said. "I guess such a thing had rarely been seen before and we were given two choices then: one was to replace the actor and re-shoot and the other was to bury the movie forever."

"The most difficult thing was that we didn't know how to react to the situation as nothing like that had ever happened before," Fung added. "One thing for me was sure, I was the father of the movie, how could I see it die?"

Fung said they then decided to cut all of Chen's scenes, recast and re-shoot.

Singaporean actor Leon Jay Williams was brought in to replace Chen but recreating some of the scenes was a huge challenge. "Some of the settings, like restaurants or a car park, had already closed down or been demolished. Shanghai is a fast changing city," Fung explained.

"The whole production team has gone through a lot and now that the movie is finally coming out, I am happy that I didn't let them down."

A scene from Jump. Photo: IC

Jump is Fung's third attempt at directing after Enter the Phoenix and House of Fury. He said that his latest film is about making dreams come true and self-realization, similar to the The Ugly Duckling.

Fung, 35, was born in Hong Kong and raised in the US. After graduation, he returned to Hong Kong and formed a band called Dry. In 1999, he released his solo album Not Enough Love.

Fung's good looks saw him land a cameo in Ann Hui's Summer Snow in 1994 and he gradually improved his skills through small parts in films such as He Comes From Planet K, First Love Unlimited and Gen-X Cops.

In order to break his stereotype of being cast simply for being handsome, Fung strove to find diversify in his roles. Over time, he developed his own acting style in films such as La Brassiere and Women From Mars.

In 2004, with the help of Jackie Chan, Fung made his directorial debut with a crime film about Hong Kong's underground gangs, Enter the Phoenix.

"I used to like kung fu movies when I was a kid. I would also do kung fu myself and use a little camera to take pictures of each move," Fung laughed. "I would put the pictures in different orders, which was so much fun for me," he said. "I think directing was a long-time interest since I was a kid. As for acting, I didn't make any plans."

Fung added that while he was relieved to finally have completed Jump, he hoped that some of Chen's footage would eventually see the light of day.

"We spent so much effort in filming Chen's part, I really hope that it will remain in the making-of section in the DVD release."

Source: Global Times