Shaolin Soccer
Synopsis
Golden Leg Fung (Man Tat Ng),a once great soccer player, decides to renew his soccer dream and coach a soccer team and win the championship. He recruits Mighty Steel Leg Sing (Stephen Chow), a Shaolin Kung Fu master who is trying to display the usefulness of Kung Fu, to help him find a team. Steel Leg recruits his fellow Kung Fu artists and they form a team. As they reignite their Kung Fu powers, the team works to defeat Team Evil and win the championship.
Stephen Chow
Unlike most directors of his time, Chow did not graduate from the Beijing Film Academy. He started his career in children's television, eventually making his way up to more serious roles in television. He made the jump to acting in films, eventually making his own films. Spielberg is his favorite director. He creates mostly comedic films and combines the unexpected, like Shaolin Kung Fu and Soccer in "Shaolin Soccer", this style of directing, though unconventional, displays the versatility of Kung Fu in everyday life. He learned the Wing Chun style by watching television and teaching himself. He is a big fan of Bruce Lee, and even used Kwok-Kwan Chan to represent Bruce Lee and his style in Shaolin Soccer. He usually acts in the films he directs, playing the underdog of the story. He combines his western influences with cultural jokes about Hong Kong making his movies appealing to a wide range of audiences.
For more information about Stephen Chow, visit his main page.
Actors/Actresses
Man Tat Ng as Golden Leg Fung
Also known as Uncle Tat, he was born on the 2nd of January 1952. He started his career in television, until he was starred in a Stephen Chow film "All for the winner", since then he has starred in many on Chow's films as a main character. Won best supporting actor at the Hong Kong film awards in 1991 for "A moment of romance".
Wei Zhao as Mui
Also known as Vicky Zhao, she was born 12th of March, 1976 and she is married with one child. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. She is also a pop singer and has released five albums, the first four of which sold about 3.4 million copies. She has won 13 awards for best actress or best supporting actress during her career. On her ugly image in Shaolin Soccer she said, "I like the bald alien look best, what about you?"
Yin Tse as Team Evil Coach Hung
Also known as Patrick Tse he was born on August 9th, 1936 in Guangdong, China. He started acting in the 1950's and acted until 2003, taking a short break in the 90's. He has acted in over a hundred films. He married and divorced twice and currently lives in Canada.
Kai Man Tin as Iron Shirt Tin
Born 6th of June 1961. He began acting in 1985 in a movie called "Mr. Vampire". He is still active in the acting community.
Chi Chung Lam as Light Weight
Born 16th of August 1976. He started acting in 1988 and is still active in the acting community.
Kwok-Kwan Chan as Lightning Hands
Also known as Danny Chan he was born August 1st 1975 in Hong Kong. He can speak Cantonese and Mandarin. He started acting in 1995 and is still active in the acting community. He is known for resembling Bruce Lee and even portrayed Bruce Lee in the 2008 television series "The legend of Bruce Lee". He also practices a martial art created by Bruce Lee called Jeet Kune Do.
Mei Lin Mo as Hooking Leg
Started acting in 2001 with Shaolin Soccer as his first film. His most recent film was Treasure Inn in 2011.
Yat-fei Wong as Iron Head
Started acting in 1978, and has appeared in over 100 films. His latest film was Rhapsody of Marriage, which was released in 2012.
Cool facts
- A sequel was produced by Stephen Chow in 2008 called "Shaolin Girl", Chow did not appear in the movie, but a few of the original "Shaolin Soccer" cast appeared for this Japanese sequel.
- The movie was banned in China because it did not wait for the proper certifications from the Chinese government before its release in Hong Kong.
- Made 4.7 million in the Hong Kong box office, making it the most well received movie produced in Hong Kong.
- Shows that Kung Fu and martial arts in general can be used for more than fighting.
Media
- 'Bruce Lee' in Shaolin Soccer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJzJEb-Pz68 [1]
- Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfuTz2pT7tQ [2]
- More clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtBebT-rKeM [3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI-F18nRHBQ [4]
Awards and nominations
- 2001 Won a Golden Horse Award for Best Action Choreography and Best Visual Effects
- 2002 Won a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor(Stephen Chow), Best Director, Best Picture, Best Sound Design, Best Supporting Actor (Yat-fei Wong), and Best Visual Effects
- Nominated for Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography, Best Cinematography, Best Costume & Make Up Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song, Best Screenplay
- 2002 Won a Golden Bauhinia for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actor (Yat-Fei Wong)
- 2002 Won a Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Film
- 2003 Won a Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Language Film