By Fred Fernando
Marvel Studios’ recent offering Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings had some remarkable action scenes that paid homage to martial arts cinema throughout the ages. One scene in particular stood out and was utilised heavily in the film’s promotional materials; the infamous bus fight sequence.
For the most part, the credit of that scene goes to the stunts team along with its stunt coordinator, Andy Cheng who was on Junkyard Theory recently. Andy shared insights into how they pulled off that sequence and also his journey in the action industry.
Origins
Andy revealed that he started from TV, working at a channel in Hong Kong called TVB. With a background in Taekwondo, Andy has represented Hong Kong at the Asian Games and the World Games. Having worked for six years at TVB, he got the opportunity to work with action movie legend Jackie Chan in Mr. Nice Guy (1997).
Andy was flown into Australia to double Jackie who had sustained a neck injury. He revealed that he got along so well with Jackie that he was asked to join him on his subsequent movies and moved to the US. Andy eventually joined Jackie Chan’s stunt team and credits the experience during his time as a member which contributed to his growth as a stunt person, actor and also stunt coordinator.
‘Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings’
When questioned about his involvement on Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, Andy revealed that the project was a bigger scale than most other films he had worked on, therefore they had a bigger budget and more time to prep. Destin Daniel Cretton, the director, spoke to Andy about the character Shang-Chi and how to create a unique style for the martial arts master. Going down to the character’s storyline, they used Hung Ga for the fight scenes with the Mandarin and the softer Tai Chi movements for Shang’s mother. They borrowed inspiration from Jackie Chan and also Bruce Lee, on whom the character was initially based on.
The bus fight sequence was prepped a year in advance, Andy revealed. Based on the script’s requirements, they went back and forth with multiple preview sequences altering as the director wanted and even while they were shooting, they would still make changes on set. Andy added that the sequence was shot in different locations; the exteriors in San Francisco, the interiors on a soundstage many miles away in Australia and that too on two separate rigs.
With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the production, the sequence took nearly a year to film albeit in different segments. Andy attributes the success of that scene to everybody who worked tirelessly on creating it.
East and West
Having worked in Hong Kong and then subsequently in Hollywood, Andy is one of the rare people with feet in both worlds which are technically and literally worlds apart. He described working on Hong Kong films as very spontaneous with very little prep time. “If Jackie asks ‘Can we do this?’, we do it.” No one says no. The spontaneity of Hong Kong sets constantly keeps you on your toes as opposed to Hollywood where people prep quite a lot more and things happen in a more systematic manner. Andy admitted that working in Hollywood was easier due to less pressure since you go onto set knowing very well what to expect. But having worked in Hong Kong, he credits being able to quickly come up with changes on any film set – he compared it to a fight where you don’t really have time to think about whether you’re going to throw a punch or a roundhouse kick, you act on the spur of the moment.
Andy admitted that both Hollywood and Hong Kong styles have their pros and cons but that he still prefers the Hong Kong style due to the excitement and spontaneity.
Martial arts and transferable skills
Andy talked about how martial arts contributed to his filmmaking, he credits the discipline gained from the sport as a primary skill that has been a part of his life since day one. And by amalgamating martial arts to film, he has made a living whereas by simply competing it was more for the glory. He added that there is something more tangible in making movies as opposed to simply getting an award.
However, he also revealed that he was the first recipient of the Bruce Lee Award which was presented to him in October by Shannon Lee. Andy admits that there is a long road ahead despite having come so far from humble beginnings and that he aims to direct more films down the line.
The full interview is now available on the Junkyard Theory YouTube channel. Scan the code below to watch it now.
Junkyard Theory is Sri Lanka’s first and only film education platform that brings on veteran filmmakers from Hollywood as guest speakers. Their webinars, hosted by Akash Sunethkumara, have been recognised on industry sites such as “No Film School”, and the team now runs film courses for upcoming filmmakers in the country.
