Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Wilson Yip

Wilson Yip Wai-Shun is a actor, film director and screenwriter. His films include ''Bio Zombie'', '''', '''' and ''Dragon Tiger Gate''.

Early career


A film buff at an early age, Yip went to the whenever he could and often wrote reviews on the backs of ticket stubs. He entered the movie business in the 1980s, starting out as a "gofer" and working his way up to assistant director.

His directorial debut was ''01.00 AM'', a three-segment horror compendium. He directed two of three parts, one with Veronica Yip as a nurse who sees dead pop stars, and Anita Yuen interviewing a demon.

His next effort, ''Daze Reaper'', was a exploitation film, based on a true-crime story about a prison guard to turns to crime. Next was ''Mongkok Story'', an exploitive story in the vein of ''Young and Dangerous'', and another horror trilogy, ''Midnight Zone'', about urban myths. He also turned to comedy with ''Teaching Sucks'', about two Hong Kong teachers played by Anthony Wong and Jan Lam.

In 1998 Wilson co-wrote and directed his biggest cult hit at the time, ''Bio Zombie'', which was influenced by '''' and takes place in a shopping mall, where a small group of misfits bands together in order to survive.

Turning point


Yip next directed the 1999 - ''Bullets Over Summer'', starring Francis Ng and Louis Koo as two detectives hunting a gang of deadly criminals who have to use a demented elderly woman's apartment for surveillance. The biggest-budget film of his career up to then, he considers ''Bullets Over Summer'' his "turning point". He shared a best-screenplay award at the 2000 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for the film.

In 2000 he was picked by Golden Harvest to direct ''Skyline Cruisers'', a big-budget action film. Yip didn't get along with the cast and clashed with the studio's management over creative differences.

Other films include the sci-fi-action story ''2002'' and the romantic comedies, ''Dry Wood, Fierce Fire'' with Miriam Yeung and Louis Koo, and a ''Leaving Me, Loving You'' with Leon Lai and Faye Wong and ''The White Dragon''.

Yip also acts, mostly doing small roles. They include a pimp in ''The Runaway Pistol'' and a exorcist in the ' ''''.

Films with Donnie Yen


In 2005, Yip directed his most critically acclaimed film, ''''. A gritty return to the 1980s style of Hong Kong action cinema, ''SPL'' starred Simon Yam and Donnie Yen as trying to pin a crime on an unstoppable gangster, portrayed by Sammo Hung.

In 2006, Yip re-teamed with Yen for an adaptation of a Hong Kong manga, ''Dragon Tiger Gate''. In 2007, '''', another martial-arts crime drama, in the same vein as ''SPL'' was shot in Macau in September 2006, with Donnie Yen and Louis Koo.

Yen and Yip's next collaboration as actor and director, '''' will be a semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the of Wing Chun openly. The film is set for a December 2008 release, and will feature fight choreography by Sammo Hung.

Filmography


Director


* ''''01:00 A.M.''
* ''Daze Raper''
* ''Mongkok Story''
* ''Teaching Sucks''
* ''Midnight Zone''
* ''Bio Zombie''
* ''Bullets Over Summer''
* ''Skyline Cruisers''
* ''Juliet in Love''
* ''Dry Wood, Fierce Fire''
* ''''
* ''The Mummy, Aged 19''
* ''Leaving Me, Loving You'' (2004
* ''''
* ''''
* ''Dragon Tiger Gate''
* ''''
* ''''

Screenwriter


* ''Bio Zombie''
* ''Baau lit ying ging''
* ''Jue lai yip yue leung saan ang''
* ''Gon chaai lit feng''
* ''Dai sing siu si''
* ''The White Dragon''
* ''''

Actor


* ''Wong gok fung wan''
* ''Hui zhuan shou shi''
* ''Huo xing gui ji''
* ''Sui jeuk fun ji''
* ''You Shoot, I Shoot''
* ''Zouhou qiang''
* ''Fung lau ga chuk''
* ''Love Undercover''
* ''''
* ''Chuet sai hiu B''
* ''Obake yashiki''
* ''Tai yang wu zhi''

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