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movieXplosion exlusive interview
17/01/04
Fighting Fish interview - Q & A with Bao Xian Fei
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Bao Xian Fei was born on October 4th 1983 in China - Nanjing, province of Jian Su. He moved to
The Netherlands at the age of 4. At this age his father Master Fei Yuliang introduced him to the world
of Wushu, better known as Kung fu for the non-martial artists amongst us. The little dragon earned lots of
respect and golden medals winning several martial arts championships including the Wushu World Champions in
China last November 2003. His next challenge is a break through on the big screen and it most definitely will
happen on Januari 29th. The day our first Dutch martial arts movie Fighting Fish will hit theatres in the
Low Lands! Wushu phenomenon Boa Xian Fei will play the role of the mysterious "Mr. Wong" in this flick and he
was kind enough to answer some questions for movieXplosion.com!:
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I think it's fantastic that your father also is your Si Fu. Did he teach you different styles of Wushu?
My father Fei Yu Liang is my coach! And he masters some 200 styles of Wushu. It's kind of a tradition that he teaches me different styles of Wushu as I'm the oldest son.
How many times and hours per week do you spend on training?
6 times per week, 3 hours a day and sometimes 2 times a day during upcoming matches.
Dou you still got time to do other things besides your training? Study or work?
I'm studying Business administration but I'm going to switch to Media and Culture in Amsterdam. I'm registered as "A" sportsman over at NOC*NSF (The Olympic Dutch Sports federation), that means my sport is my profession and will get paid for it by NOC*NSF.
I spend the rest of my spare time with family and friends. By the way, I also collect DVD's with a total of 487 movies!
Well, welcome to the DVD club! What actors/martial artists do you admire and what are your favorite (martial arts)movies?
Well, I do admire Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, you know, he's very convincing on screen doing the fights without any lifelong martial arts experience and training.
Martial arts films: Blade of director Tsui Hark, Fist of Legend with Jet Li, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Jackie Chan's first Drunken Master movie.
Films: Quentin Tarantino films, Usual Suspects, Fight Club, Adaptation, Good Will Hunting, Life of David Gale and many more...
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How did you get involved in Fighting Fish?
My manager read an article in a newspaper about the movie and contacted the filmmakers without my knowledge 'cause I was not in Holland due to some competitions at that time. So when I returned, got in contact with Kim Ho Kim (leading actor and writer) and found out that he was a student of my father, this kind of broke the ice and things went very smoothly and honest after that.
What kind of character do you play in Fighting Fish?
I'm playing the role of the mysterious "Mr. Wong" and have a fantastic fight with Chewing Lam, but I'm not gonna tell you more, you'll have to find out yourself. I've got a nice anecdote; they first offered me the role of some kind of "gang member who got beaten up." This part wasn't right for me and I asked Kim to call me when there was a more interesting part available. Fortunately that happened!
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Too bad you won't tell the readers more about "the mysterious ways of Mr. Wong..." What was your experience working with the rest of the cast; Chantal Janzen, Jennifer de Jong, Kim Ho Kim and Ron Smoorenburg?
Well, working with the whole crew was great, it was one big family! I kid you not, it sounds a bit corny but we worked as a team. Working together was a great experience.
Did you add something to the fight sequences, like the choreography etc.? Was it difficult to shoot the scenes?
Nah, it wasn't hard because of the preparation we've made. Chewing and me trained for the fight sequences for about 5 times and nailed the fights when we were on the set. The fight sequences has been put together with a lot of freedom. We've pushed the fights to a higher level thanks to the rehearsals with Chewing.
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What makes this movie special, different than our average martial flick? I've heard you didn't use "wires"?
We did all the stunts ourselves and didn't use any wires or special effects tricks at all.
What are your future plans? Maybe going to Hollywood or Hong Kong and work with great masters like Yuen Woo Ping, Corey Yuen or Donnie Yen?
Yeah of course, that's one of my dreams, Hollywood, Hong Kong or Beijing, doesn't matter to me! But I'd rather stay in Holland for a while. I want to have my break through in Holland first and after that in other countries. But I've got some connections in other countries so who knows what happens…??? My other goal is winning the Olympics in 2008 Beijing, that's a dream come true!!!
Thanks to Bao for taking the time to do this interview, I would also like to thank producer Wouter Smit for arranging
this interview! Wish you all best of luck with the movie and future projects.
Fighting Fish will hit Dutch cinemas on January 29th, you can find more info and watch the trailer right here.
Written by Reggy 17/01/04
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