Donnie Yen and Jet Li are "two generations of kung fu superstars". This statement is everywhere in the streets. People have already acquiesced in people's minds that Jet Li will become the successor of kung fu earlier than Donnie Yen, and this illusion is just that the time difference between the two of them becoming famous is more than ten years. Life is only a few autumns, and a person's life has several decades to wait.
In 1963, Donnie Yen and Jet Li were born. Donnie Yen was only three months younger than Jet Li, but in the future, the distance between Donnie Yen and Jet Li was far beyond this range.
The family backgrounds of Donnie Yen and Jet Li are very different. Donnie Yen was born in a martial arts family. His mother, Mai Baochan, is a famous martial artist, and his father is the editor of a daily newspaper. He has had enough food and clothing since he was a child, and he has also practiced martial arts. Unique conditions. Jet Li's parents are both ordinary workers. His father died early, and his life was tight.
Having a high starting point does not mean running fast, at least Donnie Yen should have a deep understanding of this sentence. 11-year-old Donnie Yen immigrated to Boston with his family. Donnie Yen, who followed his mother in martial arts since childhood, was particularly arrogant in Chinatown and often provoked others.
Influenced by Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen especially liked free fighting, but his mother didn't know how to do it, so he had no choice but to send him to the Shichahai Martial Arts Team in Beijing and become a disciple of Wu Bin.
The 15-year-old Donnie Yen and the 15-year-old Jet Li met for the first time in their lives. At that time, Donnie Yen should have been called Brother Jet Li. After all, Jet Li had started practicing martial arts with Wu Bin at the age of 8.
If time cannot make Donnie Yen obey, then Jet Li won the all-around championship in the National Games before he was 15 years old and was received by Premier Zhou. When Jet Li was 16 years old, he won 5 gold medals in the National Games. Donnie Yen could only practice basic skills day after day, leading to the same experience Jet Li had when he was very young.
In 1980, Jet Li was spotted by director Zhang Xinyan and was cast as the protagonist "Jueyuan" in "Shaolin Temple". It goes without saying what kind of status "Shaolin Temple" brought Jet Li to. At that time, the ticket price was only 10 cents, but the box office of "Shaolin Temple" reached 100 million yuan, which shows its popularity in the mainland.
After "Shaolin Temple" was broadcast in Hong Kong and overseas, it became even more famous and set off a martial arts craze around the world. Jet Li is regarded as the most promising new kung fu star. Seeing that his senior brother had achieved such great success and was already a hot star, Donnie Yen felt a little uncomfortable, so he returned to the United States in 1982.
Donnie Yen's departure was not without success. He won the American martial arts championship and was noticed by the media and magazines, which made him somewhat famous. But compared to Jet Li, Donnie Yen is still far behind. Jet Li is a good example: I can lose at the starting line, but I will definitely start before you and run faster.
Jet Li further established his reputation with "Shaolin Kid" and "North and South Shaolin". Later, he was discovered by director Luo Wei, and his development platform became wider. Donnie Yen got acquainted with Yuen Woo-Ping through his mother's recommendation, but his roles in "Laughing Tai Chi" and "Rivals" did not receive much response. It was a failure at the beginning.
Donnie Yen was introduced by his mother to follow Zhao Changjun’s traditional martial arts routines, which laid a solid foundation for his future, and he returned to the film industry. Within 4 years, Donnie Yen was like a sidekick, with films being filmed but not popular. Looking at the famous Jet Li, Donnie Yen must have felt very uncomfortable.
In 1992, Jet Li and Donnie Yen met on the set of "Once Upon a Time 2". It has been 10 years since the Beijing Shichahai Martial Arts Team parted ways. Jet Li is a first-line kung fu star, and Donnie Yen is barely an actor. He must have been muttering in his heart: Senior brother, you are well.
This drama put Jet Li's career on hold. Due to the turmoil over the contract with Golden Harvest, Jet Li finally reorganized his company. However, Donnie Yen ushered in the first springboard of his life, and later starred in "New Dragon Inn". This "young man" has a formidable future.
However, Donnie Yen's luck is really bad. His career has just started to show some signs of success, but he has caught up with the sunset of Hong Kong martial arts movies. The movies he starred in did not do well at the box office, including "Su Qier". No one in the industry has said it openly, but in their hearts they feel that Donnie Yen is a bit of a "box office poison" and does not have Jet Li's box office appeal.
Donnie Yen's film career has entered a cold period, and out of desperation, he started filming "TV series". There is an unwritten rule in the film industry that "those who make movies look down on those who make TV series." Donnie Yen also acted with the intention of accidentally inserting himself into the film, but he did not expect that "The Official" and "Fist of Fury" were both sensational. It's really a bit It means "there is a bright future in another village".
Donnie Yen's fame reached a small climax, but he did not stay steady. Instead, he chose to shoot the movie "The Legend of Wolf Warriors", which was almost a bad decision and a complete failure.
Jet Li, who was a hit in the Hong Kong film industry, began to enter Hollywood and got off to a good start with acclaimed and popular films such as "Kiss of the Dragon". Donnie Yen also began to move to Hollywood, but he could only serve as an action director. This year was 2000. Another ten years have passed, but Donnie Yen has been thrown out of the limelight by Jet Li.
When will Donnie Yen catch up with Jet Li? All this depends on the great director Zhang Yimou.
After Zhang Yimou watched "Once Upon a Time 2", he was deeply impressed by the fight scene between Jet Li and Donnie Yen, so he wanted to invite the two to star in his movie "Hero". Jet Li and Donnie Yen met again on the set.
"Hero" has a box office of 250 million in the mainland, which has also allowed Donnie Yen to maintain his reputation. Other directors' stereotypes about Donnie Yen also disappeared. I think Donnie Yen can still be used, but if it doesn't work, give it a try.
Tsu Hark was the first to try something new, and "Seven Swords" was not as bad as expected. Director Wilson Yip cast Donnie Yen to star in "Slay the Wolf" and "Dragon Tiger Gate". "Slay the Wolf" completely made Donnie Yen recognized by movie fans.
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot, so Wilson Yip wanted to bring the great master Ye Men to the silver screen, and Donnie Yen was naturally the perfect choice. The success of the "Ip Man" series has consolidated Donnie Yen's status in the entertainment industry and made him a recognized "kung fu superstar".
Looking back, Jet Li reached his peak as early as 1982 when he starred in "Shaolin Temple". "Once Upon a Time" in 1992 was just a new high in his life. In other words, Donnie Yen was 13 years behind Jet Li thanks to his popularity with "Fist of Fury" in 1995. He was a late bloomer thanks to "Ip Man" in 2007, and was 15 years behind Jet Li.
What is the concept of 15 years? Thinking about one question makes it very clear. In 2005, how many popular stars in the film and television industry could be remembered? In the film and television industry, 10 years is a watershed, because it has always been that the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and the waves behind the waves come more quickly and quickly.
Donnie Yen once said: "I have always thought that martial arts stars do not need good acting skills." This belief led Donnie Yen to take too many detours. Fortunately, he took the road back again. , it just took a while.
Donnie Yen and Jet Li are from the same generation, but they became popular at the same time as "two generations". Fortunately, Donnie Yen is still famous all over the world and has completely taken over the banner of "martial arts and kung fu". But within a few years, Donnie Yen met his junior brother Wu Jing, and he couldn't help but sigh, "Life is not easy," so just do it and cherish it.