Entertainment

Martial-arts master says it's not about the fighting

I have just given Jet Li two chances to hurt or kill me. First, by starting the interview with: "What if I were to tell you that my kung fu is stronger than yours?" In the vernacular of martial-arts flicks, he is now completely within his rights to leap over the table.

Second, by asking the superstar to demonstrate a move from his breathtaking new film, "Fearless." On me. (The last time I asked that, David Carradine abruptly grabbed my windpipe.)But Li is imperturbable. Serene, even.

"I never want to hurt people. That's not a true martial art," he says. That's also the message of "Fearless," which opened Friday, and which Li promises is his final martial-arts flick ever. Even though he's a relatively young 43, and no bloated Steven Seagal.

But with the simple (yet stupendously ass-kicking) morality tale, he's said all he has to say. Set in China circa 1900, it follows the life-journey of legendary Huo Yuanjia, an ambitious young master who becomes champion at a terrible cost, and later returns from self-imposed exile to form a sport federation run on principles of honor and restraint.

Dressed in black on a promotional stop in Seattle, the diminutive Li responds to questions with an enthusiasm that often outstrips his still-imperfect English. As for my kung fu being stronger than his: "Maybe," he says. "Kung fu doesn't mean wushu, doesn't mean martial art." It means a skill you spend time perfecting, whether it's writing, photography, whatever. My blabbering kung fu is no threat.

The real meaning of wushu, the Chinese term for martial arts, is to stop fighting, Li says. "But mostly we have lot of action films, people focus on the fighting.

Fighting, fighting, fighting, violence against violence." Real martial artists talk about the physical and mental aspects of wushu, and the philosophy behind them. So, Li says, "I put everything I believe or I like in this film, 'Fearless.' So after that, there's nothing to talk about. That's why I think it's the last one."

The perfect story

Li says Huo Yuanjia's story was the perfect one for him to tell because he feels his life and personality are close to the real-life master he plays.

Huo died at 42, loved and believed in martial arts, learned them through his life journey. Like Huo, Li started young. " Jet Li also was 8 years old [when he started]. I don't know why I'm learning martial arts, until 42 years old [when] I shot that movie." He has learned to see the universe through martial-arts philosophy.

Still, Huo Yuanjia's grandson in China filed suit against the producers, claiming the movie misrepresents and dishonors Huo. Li responds: "I totally understood why they're thinking this way, because when making this kind of film I keep the true guy - true master and true spirit is more important. But I cannot use a one-hour-30-minute film to talk about his whole life - 100 percent about his whole life.

Nobody even *knows* his 100 percent - you know, everyday daily work, daily life. So if somebody makes a documentary that's OK, but I could not make a film like 100 percent the truth."

Li's own life journey had taken him from his birthplace of Hebel, China, to Chinese wushu championships and dozens of action flicks there before American audiences discovered him in 1998's "Lethal Weapon 4" with Mel Gibson. Li got singled out as the best thing in that stale action franchise.

So the question is: Did Gibson seem crazy then? "No, he's veeery nice guy! You know, he's the leading actor in that movie, big superstar, but he treat me very nice.

After the movie we became very close friends. We produced television together." (2001's "Invincible.") Since then, Li has made some passable American action films, including 2000's "Romeo Must Die" and 2001's "The One" - as well as the superior "Kiss of the Dragon" (2001) and "Unleashed" (2005) for French producer Luc Besson and the Chinese epic, "Hero" (2002). Meanwhile, he famously turned down the two "Matrix" sequels.

"Yes. 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' also!" But rejecting the two increasingly silly "Matrix" sequels implies awesome prescience. The question is: Were you psychic?

After living in Los Angeles, Li has recently moved back to China with his family. "Because my two daughters [are growing] up, my wife really wanted to study both cultures, English and Chinese, maybe to go to school. So we go back to China, put them in American school so they can learn at same time both languages, both cultures." In L.A., Li got used to fans recognizing him and stopping him.

"I think they're very polite, you know. They want to take picture, want to shake hands, very polite. They treat me nice. But also you know for small kids, they always say the same thing: 'Oh, Jet Li, kick ass! Beat them, beat them!' That make me sometime feel guilty. Because they watch my movie, only get the message is kick ass, is beating somebody. That's why I want to make more movies [that] talk about philosophy part of martial arts."

Which is the theme of "Fearless": mercy. We've come full circle. "You kill or you hurt enemies, easy," Li says. "You turn your enemy become your friend, it's very difficult. That the highest a martial artist should do."

(Seattle Times)

Sean Penn in politician role

The politically passionate Sean Penn has no interest in running for office, yet he's a potent demagogue on the big screen.

In a new adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel, All the King's Men, Penn stars as Willie Stark, a firebrand inspired by Depression-era populist Huey Long, the slain Louisiana governor and U.S. senator.

With a wild bush of hair, an at times indecipherable Southern drawl and the flailing arms and bellow of a fire-and-brimstone preacher, Penn imbues Stark with fearsome energy that's surprising in an actor better known as a follower of the Robert De Niro school of quiet menace.

"At first, the most intimidating part of it was probably the size of the character, not just physically, but in other ways ... vocally," Penn said, in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "All the King's Men" premiered in advance of its theatrical debut today.

Penn, 46, studied footage of Long. He travelled Louisiana to take in the bridges, roads and other public works Long built. He talked with people, who still recall Long as a Robin Hood taking back from the rich and redistributing to the poor. He observed evangelical clergy in Long's old haunts to duplicate their cadence.

And he sampled the cuisine.

"Eating a lot of Louisiana food, bit by bit, getting some of the physical size to it," Penn said. "Somewhere about the day before we started shooting, I felt ready to go. It's pretty much like that for me. Terrified until then."

Though Penn has bitterly criticized President Bush, toured Iraq to observe the war there and helped rescue workers with door-to-door searches for survivors after Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans, he said he would not become one of those actors who goes into politics himself.

"You know what the honest truth is? I don't want to," Penn said. "It's hard enough to go out there and party at a film festival and shake so many hands and smile, you know? I mean, forget it."

"All the King's Men" which co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson and Mark Ruffalo follows the rise of an idealist from local rabble-rouser against the political establishment to governor who's hero to the downtrodden to Machiavellian power broker who uses dubious methods in his quest for the common good.

When "All the King's Men" writer-director Steve Zaillian finished the script, he said Penn was the first person he thought about for the role.

"Because he's the best, I think. As simple as that," Zaillian said. "I think he's the best actor out there."

"Sean's talent, his gravitas, his joie de vivre. It's all of that. That's what that part requires," said co-star Clarkson, a Louisiana native who plays Stark's press secretary and mistress. "It requires someone large and delicate all at once, and Sean has all of it."

Broderick Crawford won the best-actor Academy Award as Stark in the 1949 adaptation of *All the King's Men.* (The film also won the best-picture Oscar.) Penn probably will not mind that the early buzz this time is that his "All the King's Men" performance may be too over-the-top to grab awards attention.

Penn won the best-actor Oscar for Clint Eastwood's 2003 drama "Mystic River," and no longer has to endure questions about being one of the great actors of his generation who has yet to win a trophy.

(BBC News)

'Anatomy' gets off to a healthy start

ABC suddenly has a strong pulse on Thursday thanks to the medical team at Grey's Anatomy. TV's top buzz show, transplanted from Sunday to Thursday, attracted 25.4 million viewers, beating last year's No. 1 scripted series, CSI (22.6 million), which was down 6.4 million viewers from last season's premiere. Grey's, up 6.4 million, attracted its third-largest audience ever and easily won the battle for young adults (ages 18 to 49).

"I'm extremely grateful that the fans followed us," Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes says. Grey's victory helped propel ABC from longtime Thursday also-ran to a major player with its strongest entertainment-program performance there in more than six years.

ABC scheduling chief Jeff Bader thought Grey's would perform well, especially with young adults, but was surprised by the size of its audience.

"The fact that it outperformed CSI in young adults, households and viewers was not something we were expecting."

CBS' Thursday prime time, the leader in recent years on TV's most lucrative advertising night, was down more than 15% from the same night last year but remained No. 1 in viewers (18.3 million). ABC wasn't far behind (17.4 million), and it finished on top among young adults, its first win in that category in at least 15 years.

Grey's helped itself with a solid lead-in, a clip show from earlier Grey's episodes (13.7 million). Ugly Betty premieres in that time slot next week. Survivor (17.4 million) won the hour, holding on to 97% of last week's season premiere audience, despite tougher competition.

"You have to give credit to ABC for coming out in a big way," CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl says.

But "CSI stood in there with 22.6 million viewers. Shark got off to a nice start. We still won the night overall."

(USA Today)

'Ugly Betty' - beautiful study in grace

My 10-year-old is not allowed to watch much prime-time broadcast TV.Fifth-graders are surrounded by important questions, and can do better than to look for answers in some frothy high school drama, forensic procedural or banal sitcom.

I'm making an exception for "Ugly Betty" (debuting at 8 p.m. Thursday, WTEN Ch. 10). My daughter can watch. In fact, I'm going to put considerable paternal weight behind it.

Based on a hugely successful Colombian telenovela, "Ugly Betty" is about a plain girl with no fashion sense who nonetheless dreams of making it in the magazine world.

She stumbles into the wondrously vain fashion industry by landing a job at a glossy mag, where she is immediately ridiculed for her looks. But Betty, as played by the revelatory and decidedly not ugly America Ferrera ("Real Women Have Curves"), is one of the most inspirational and multidimensional character to come to television in some years. She may not know fashion, but her sense of self will always be in style.

"Betty represents a lot of courage, and she's a hero who highlights beauty ... in a very different way," Ferrera said in an interview.

Fine. But why should I let my daughter watch?

"To teach a generation of young women to be comfortable with themselves (is something) I would hope ... any father would wish their daughter to learn: How to defend themselves and make it through life with who they are and what they have to offer."

This series comes from Executive Producer (and decidedly unhomely actor) Salma Hayek, who believes the Latin American sensation translates well.

"It's about, yes, the fish out of water, probably the person that is not conventional in the way they look or, you know, the way they talk," Hayek said. "But at the same time, she's not a victim. She has a sense of humor about herself."

Some will have trouble with the title. (The original ABC title was "Betty the Ugly."). You'll get past it once you see the show.

Ferrera said she actually undergoes a transformation making this show.

(timesunion.com)

Composer Arnold dies after illness

Malcolm Arnold, the composer who won an Oscar for the musical score to the film "The Bridge on the River Kwai", has died after a brief illness.

A spokeswoman for the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital said Arnold, who was 84, died there on Saturday afternoon. He had been suffering from a chest infection, the BBC said. Arnold was one of the best known British composers of the 20th century, best known for his film scores, of which he composed 132.

Arnold won his Oscar for "The Bridge on the River Kwai" in 1958, becoming the first British composer ever to win the award. Other film scores included for "Whistle Down the Wind" and "Hobson's Choice". He also composed nine symphonies, seven ballets, two operas, one musical, more than twenty concertos, two string quartets, and music for brass-band and wind-band.

Tributes poured in last Sunday. Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber described him as a "genius" who was never entirely appreciated. "I think he was a very, very great composer but uneven in his output. Because he had humour in his music he was never fully appreciated by the classical establishment," he told the BBC. Lord Richard Attenborough, the director and actor, said Arnold was a "totally outstanding composer".

Arnold was awarded a CBE in 1970 and a knighthood in the 1993 New Years Honours List for his services to music.

(BBC NEWS)

Lifetime award for Julie Andrews

Actress Dame Julie Andrews is to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Dame Julie, 70, came to international attention when she played the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original stage production of My Fair Lady. She won a best actress Oscar for her film debut, Mary Poppins, in 1964, but is perhaps best known as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music. The SAG Awards will be held in Los Angeles on 28 January, 2007.

Recent winners of the Guild's lifetime achievement award include Shirley Temple, Clint Eastwood and James Garner. Dame Julie, who is married to director Blake Edwards, has been one of the world's best-loved screen and stage stars for more than 40 years.

Born and raised in England, she moved to the US in the wake of the success of My Fair Lady. But she lost the lead role to Audrey Hepburn in the film version of the musical, and was given the part of Mary Poppins as a consolation.

That film and The Sound of Music helped to cement her in the minds of the public as a squeaky-clean leading lady. It was an image she was keen to shed, and later she appeared in the risque comedy 10 and even switched genders in the film and stage show Victor/Victoria.

For years, the actress feared she would no longer be able to sing professionally, and she settled a malpractice claim with two doctors at New York's Mount Sinai hospital over the operation. However, by 2004, her voice had recovered sufficiently to allow her to perform a musical number in the Disney film The Princess Diaries 2.

BBC NEWS