Jaime Chung Back To Her Roots in The Man With The Iron Fist

The Hangover Part II’s Jamie Chung plays Lady Silk in ‘The Man With Iron Fists’.  Producer Marc Abraham explains Lady Silk’s role in the action-adventure: “To buy the freedom of his beloved prostitute, the Blacksmith does what he has to do and builds weapons for bad guys.  He’s not proud of it, but he’s justified it.  In the end, he decides to free himself from all this and to do the right thing: to destroy those weapons and the people who have forced him to make them, and to hopefully free the woman he loves.  Ultimately, Jamie’s character is in love with him, but not so much that she would sacrifice her freedom.  She wants wealth, power and to get out.  She’s used him to some degree, but he’s touched her.” 

Photo courtesy of UIP

What did you think of the script when you first read it?

To be honest, when I first read the script, I didn’t quite get it.  Then I met with RZA and I was totally sold on it once I saw his vision.

What was it about RZA that convinced you to be in THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS?

His enthusiasm. This is something he has wanted to do for his entire life. When he finally got the chance to do it, he partnered up with all of his buddies. You couldn’t say no to something like this.

Who is Lady Silk?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

She is kind of the driving force for RZA’s character, the Blacksmith, because he needs a reason to make all these weapons and save all this money. In a way, she gets the torch passed on from Madame Blossom, Lucy Liu’s character, and is the next one inline as part of Madame Blossom’s sort of female society, known as the Black Widows.

What do you like about your character?

I like that she is seductive, but at the same time very selective. She is only with the Blacksmith.

Were you a fan of martial arts movies before getting involved in THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS?

I grew up watching films like Bruce Lee’s ENTER THE DRAGON. To be honest, I wasn’t very familiar with many of the vintage kung fu movies that RZA put me up to, but I’m glad he did!

What do you believe RZA’s vision has added to the martial arts genre?

We have recently seen beautiful ballet-style martial arts films like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON but they are nothing like this movie. THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS has resurrected a new style of cinema.

Quentin Tarantino has been involved in this project. How would you compare THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS to his previous work?

People can compare it to Quentin’s previous work, but THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS is kind of its own thing. Everything about this movie is just so cool!

And what can you say of Eli Roth’s role as a screenwriter and a producer?

Eli is lovely. He is quite the character and was really important to have on set. I believe Eli, being an experienced director, was able to help RZA stay on track. He knew what shots he needed and how to handle the logistics.

Speaking of the logistics, were you impressed with the sets in China?

They were beautiful, representing old-school China. For instance, the set decorators took an abandoned building and turned it into Madame Blossom’s House of Ladies.

So, what was the experience of being in Shanghai like?

Shanghai is an amazing port city and it’s quite eclectic. Everyone speaks English and there are lots of cultures. We stayed in a little town west of Shanghai where no one spoke English, so we spent a lot of time together, even though we tried to sneak into the city whenever we could.

Hong Kong director and legend Corey Yuen designed the fight sequences.  How was it to work with Corey?

I have done stunt work before. There were so many professional fighters on this movie so it was easy to catch on.  I was really impressed with Lucy Liu because she barely had any time to rehearse her stunts and she killed it!

What can you say about Lucy Liu?

She is so beautiful, talented and such a true artist. I aspire to be like her.

And how was Russell Crowe?

I barely got to work with him, but that was perfect because his character is quite intimidating, though very charming.

RZA wrote, shot and starred in THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS as the Blacksmith. Do you think that was a lot to tackle on his directorial debut?

You’re talking about a gentleman. RZA is absolutely lovely! And it’s interesting because he is so confident and outgoing on screen, but then very Zen and shy in real life. He has so much going on in his head that you have to trust him because there is a reason for everything he does.

What was the energy like on set then?

Yes, there was a lot of joking around. Every day was an adventure!

And what did you think of the film when you saw it finished?

I thought, “RZA, if I ever questioned you, please forgive me because this is everything thing you said it would be and cooler!”

Did you enjoy the music?

I think it’s fantastic! RZA has some incredible people collaborating in the soundtrack. He has worked with so many great artists in the past, that to finally ask for that favor back for his own film was pretty amazing.

What have you taken back from this whole experience?

I am just in awe with how well it all came together!

The Man With The Iron Fist movie review

Here's my impressions about RZA's movie debut. I never thought that this movie will get to cast good actors including Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, and a lot of Hong Kong martial arts actors. Here are some points.

Photo courtesy of UIP.

RZA's character, The Blacksmith, also narrates. The only problem with the narration is the choice of words. He speaks not of that time period. He's using black slang. But he is an interesting skill and background. Russell Crowe's character, Jack Knife, really caught my attention. He has a weapon similar to Final Fantasy's gun blade. His speaking lines also have a religious slur in one of his scenes that may be seen as offensive so don't be surprised if you happen to hear it.

As for Lucy Liu, I can't differentiate her character, Madame Blossom, from Kill Bill Vol. 1's O-Ren Ishii but she is just as interesting. It is also Dave Bautista's first cinematic debut. The half-Pinoy pro-wrestler already appeared in several home videos.

There are a number of Asian actors which is essential for this movie. Story wise, even if you can't understand the story, it doesn't matter. The martial arts stunts will speak for itself. The blood in this movie flowed like rain. I think this movie deserves a video game. There are many characters and they make good fighting game characters. Most of the fight scenes are graphic. The Man With The Iron Fist is locally released by Solar Entertainment and distributed by United International Pictures.

Russell Crowe stars as Jack Knife in “The Man With The Iron Fists”

Academy Award^® winner RUSSELL CROWE is considered one of the finest actors of his generation.  Originally from New Zealand, he started making waves in the Australian film industry with his performance in the controversial film Romper Stomper—for which he became critically acclaimed around the world.  He has received three consecutive Academy Award^® Best Actor nominations for his performances in The Insider (1999), Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001)—taking home the Oscar^® for his performance in Gladiator.  

Photo courtesy of UIP

Cast as Jack Knife in the action-adventure in Universal Pictures ‘The Man With Iron Fist’, who has been friends with director RZA since they met on the set of the 2008 blockbuster American Gangster.  During his time on set, he discussed the path to playing a roguish mercenary who has his own interests at heart: “Bobby and I did pretty much every working day together on American Gangster and got to know each other well.  We connected mainly through song lyrics, and he’s talked about this project since I met him.  It’s one of those things where you have mates that have their dream gig—the thing that they’ve been thinking about for a long time.  You learn about it, but it’s not often that they end up doing it.  When it was looking more and more real, Bobby and I were coincidentally on set of another movie, called The Next Three Days.  He calls me his big brother, and he said I really needed to be there, so I’m here.”

Crowe’s character shares a name with his unique weapon.  He tells a bit about the mystery man: “Jack Knife has come to China as a soldier, and he’s become enraptured by the country.  Part of that is due to the fact that he’s addicted to opium.”  As the performer dug deeper into the period of the 19^th century that RZA and Roth were using for the film’s backdrop, he became more disturbed by the events of the day.  “I was quite frankly disgusted with what I found.  I’d no idea that the British Empire flooded China with opium in order to control the populace and get a better trade balance.  That was a bit of a shock, and I brought that to his attention.”

Proud to see his friend excelling in a new role as a filmmaker, Crowe reflects: “Bobby’s understood it more himself as he went on, day to day.  You see him dealing with the cultural differences and language differences.  He’s been cool, calm and collected.  He still has the respect of everybody.”

RZA returns the compliment with a story that describes his level of respect for Crowe.  He says: “One of the people we used for the character study of Jack Knife was Ol’ Dirty Bastard—so Russell Jones/Russell Crowe.”  Of infusing one of Wu-Tang Clan’s founding members’ attitude and mind-set into the movie, RZA reflects: “My cousin’s not here anymore, but I wanted his spirit in the film.  Russell and I talked about it, and he loved the idea.”

“The Man With The Iron Fists” is released and distributed by

United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp.

Showing on January 30.

Sneak Peek: The Man With The Iron Fist

Presented by Quentin Tarantino, the action-adventure is inspired by kung-fu classics as interpreted by his longtime collaborators RZA and Eli Roth. Making his debut as a big-screen director and leading man, RZA-alongside a stellar international cast led by Russell Crowe ,Lucy Liu and Wrestler Superstar Dave Bautista- tells the epic story of warriors, assassins and a lone outsider hero in nineteenth-century China who must unite to destroy the clan traitor who would destroy them all. 

Photo courtesy of UIP

Since his arrival in China's Jungle Village, the town's blacksmith has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans' brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people.

‘The Man with The Iron Fist’ is released and distributed by United Intl. Pictures through Solar Entertainment . Corp.