Crouching tiger, dunking dragon

By Yasmin Lee G Arpon

Feb 8, Asia News Network

Move over Jackie Chan and Jet Li. There's a new contender to the throne as Asia's martial arts star and his name is Jay Chou.

To prove his worth as a serious contender, Chou--more known for his singing--physically suffered during the shoot of his latest movie, Kung Fu Dunk, suffering 16 bruises on his first day on the set.

In his fourth film, Chou plays an orphan who ends up playing basketball using his Shaolin skills. The US$10-million film brings together stars from Taiwan and Hong Kong including Eric Tsang, Bo-lin Chen and Charlene Choi. The film is directed by Kevin Chu Yen-ping.

It took years before the movie could see the light as the producer had to wait two years until Chou was available. Aside from singing and acting, Chou recently went into directing with Secret released last year and is in an ongoing concert tour that will soon play in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, among other stops.

Kung Fu Dunk is entirely different from Chou's previous three (Initial D, Curse of the Golden Flower and Secret) because this was more physically exhausting.

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