Birth of the Dragon — Promo Trailer

source:   deadline.com

added: Thu, Sep 15th '16

The legendary 1965 no-holds-barred fight between Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man is the subject of a new action drama, called "Birth of the Dragon." And the makers of the film have gone ahead and released a promotional trailer, while the movie is currently screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Starring Hong Kong action star and action choreographer Philip Ng as Bruce Lee, "Birth of the Dragon" takes place in the early 1960s in San Francisco's Chinatown -- a few years before Lee would become an international and cultural superstar. The film focuses on Lee's early years as a rising young martial artist who taught kung fu to a mostly American and Caucasian crowd.

Chinese actor Xia Yu (Mojin: The Lost Legend, The Painted Veil) plays Wong Jack Man, a Shaolin master who was sent from China to stop Lee from teaching his so-called Americanized style of kung fu, which ultimately concluded with a well-known but private showdown.

Billy Magnussen, who recently portrayed Kato Kaelin in the hit FX mini-series "The People v. O.J. Simpson," plays a fictional, Steve McQueen-type character, named Steve McKee, in the upcoming film, which is mostly told from his point-of-view as he serves as the unlikely conduit between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man.

Directed by "The Adjustment Bureau" director and "Ocean's Twelve" screenwriter George Nolfi, from a script by the screenwriting duo Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen Rivele (Nixon, Ali), "Birth of the Dragon" does not have a release date as it's currently seeking a distributor.