HONG KONG (March 12, 2010) Martial artist and Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen delighted the crowd at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong today as he announced the coming of his wax figure as Master Ip from the popular Chinese martial arts movie Ip Man at the attraction next month.
Bret Pidgeon, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Hong Kong and Shanghai said, “Hong Kong is a city of mixed cultures, but Chinese culture has always been the core essence of our society. We are very excited that we’ll soon be bringing to our guests the father of Wing Chun, Master Ip Man, a character that has been brought alive by Donnie Yen who portrays him in the highly successful Chinese martial arts movie Ip Man, with the second installment coming in April.”
Madame Tussauds Hong Kong also created a wax-hand which was presented to Donnie as a souvenir at the announcement event today.
Donnie’s sitting was conducted in September in Shanghai while he was filming Ip Man 2. The sitting was conducted by sculptors from Madame Tussauds’ London studio, taking hundreds of photographs and detailed measurements from every angle and making sure his hair, teeth and eye colour matched to perfection.
Donnie was fascinated by the variety of sample hair, eye balls, teeth and tools that the sculptors used and was also amazed by the precision and detail of the measurements taken. He said, “Creating a wax figure is a state-of-the-art procedure. The craftsmanship and skills of these sculptors have to be to near perfection in order to create a wax likeness which would be able to reflect the charisma and character of the particular person.”
The movie Ip Man 2, directed by Wilson Yip, the second installment of the Ip Man movie, follows on with Master Ip’s life after arriving in Hong Kong in 1949 and how Wing Chun became famous in the territory. The movie is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong cinemas on April 29, 2010.
Donnie’s figure as Master Ip will wear a traditional Cheong Sam outfit as seen in the movie and will be unveiled in late April closer to the launch of Ip Man 2.
About Mandarin Films Limited
Mandarin Films Limited was founded in 1991 and had produced more than 100 films until today. In 2001, the Group took a great leap by listing its shares in the Hong Kong Stock Market and since then committed itself in entering and exploring the PRC and international markets. It’s projects include Tsui Hark's "Seven Swords", “Missing”, Wilson Yip's "Dragon Tiger Gate", "Flash Point", "Ip Man" and “Ip Man 2”.