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Updated Re: Epilogue -- Quint interviews Gordon Liu about KILL BILL!
Hey folks, Harry here... When I saw the film at the 'critics screening' here in Austin, it was slightly different from the screening I had this Wednesday. Originally - after the "trunk" shot looking up at the Motorcycle Helmet Uma... the "Written & Directed By Quentin Tarantino" credit came up... a couple of other credits passed, then that shot of the Airplane flying and Uma and the notebook occured. These scenes are no longer after a few credits, but now play all the way through as a cohesive part of the film. I can only assume that after my review went up where I reported that some critics left immediately after seeing the "Written & Directed by QT" credit... that Miramax, Quentin, somebody decided to make sure this wouldn't happen again, as it is integral to the film and not the standard insignificant "easter egg". Don't worry - if you have seen KILL BILL VOL 1 - you saw all the stuff I saw originally... just not divided up a bit by credits.
Hey folks, Harry here... Quint had a chance to sit down and chat with Gordon Liu a bit about KILL BILL... I have to tell ya, I almost didn't recognize Gordon when I met Wednesday night. The last time I saw him, he was in full Pei Mei make up and looked very different. I got Gordon to autograph my Chinese copy of the Shooting Script for KILL BILL, just like I managed to get Sonny Chiba and Kenji Ohba to sign my Japanese copy of the Shooting Script! I guess the coolest thing I saw Gordon Liu do at the Austin premiere was when a fan in the audience asked Gordon what his favorite American films were, and he spoke to his translator for a bit, we were told that Gordon couldn't name them all because there were so many that he loved, but that there was one film in particular that touched him when he saw it and he'll never forget this film or the effect it had upon him. We were then told that Gordon would not be telling us the title of the film, rather... he would sing some of the music for us to know...
At this point, Gordon took the microphone from the translator, turned sideways and began to walk while whistling the iconic Morricone score from THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY! He then turned to the audience as we all applauded and said, "CLEEEEEEENT EASTWOOD!" Now, here's Quint...
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here presenting a chat with one of the coolest of the cool, the Master of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin himself, Gordon Liu (Chia Hui Liu)! Gordon has a couple prominent roles in Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL, which he’ll tell you about down below.
Liu was famous in the ‘70s for his work with the Shaw Bros studio, starring in such chop-socky classics as THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN and DIRTY HO.
The interview was conducted in person and let me tell you… the man is still in top form. He speaks very little English, so this interview was conducted with the aide of a translator, a really cool Chinese-American student at UT named Lizhi Chen (he’s the guy sitting next to Liu in some of the pics below).
Without further ado, here is the interview!
QUINT: YOU HAVE TWO ROLES IN "KILL BILL." CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BOTH ROLES? GORDON LIU: I play two characters in KILL BILL. One of the characters is a crazy master and he wears a mask in the film. He works under the character who Lucy Liu plays. The second part that I play is Pei Mei. In Chinese it means "White Eyebrow." He is the master of the character that Uma plays, The Bride. QUINT: HAD YOU EVER WORKED WITH MASTER YUEN WO-PING AND HIS TEAM BEFORE "KILL BILL?" GORDON LIU: Yeah, I have had collaboration with them. QUINT: WHAT’S IT LIKE WORKING WITH HIM AND HIS TEAM? GORDON LIU: It’s been a long time since I worked with Master… [Liu interrupts and clarifies] The martial arts that Master Yuen learned is Northern China martial arts. I grew up learning martial arts from Master Lau Kar-leung. It’s a kind of Southern China martial arts.
QUINT: HOW MUCH PREPARATION DID YOU DO FOR THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES SEQUENCE IN "VOLUME ONE?" GORDON LIU: When Quentin first met me, he told me I’d play a crazy killer, but he didn’t tell me HOW I would play the killer. I ask him who would be the martial arts director and he told me it would be Master Yuen Wo-Ping and I know very well the kind of stuff that Master creates and does. So I was really worried. I asked Quentin if he wanted me to cooperate with Master Yuen Wo-Ping or should I use the skills that I displayed in THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN. The old sequences that Master Yuen Wo-Ping used to create are short sequences and very skillful. The skills that I showed in THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN are long sequences that are non-stop. So, Quentin told me that he wanted me to show what I used to do and what I did best. QUINT: WHAT MEMORY STANDS OUT THE MOST FROM THE SHOOTING OF THE FILM? GORDON LIU: It’s my first time in a U.S. production and it’s the system that struck me. QUINT: WHAT WAS MORE FUN FOR YOU TO PLAY, PEI MEI OR JOHNNY MO? GORDON LIU: I personally prefer Pei Mei. The reason I like the character of Pei Mei is because even though I was in the costume and make-up and many audiences won’t recognize me that way as the "bald one" but I like it because I have more communication with the character that Uma Thurman plays. It’s more than just martial arts. It’s more than just kung fu. There is a communication and acting going on. It’s a performance. QUINT: DID YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH QUENTIN? GORDON LIU: I enjoy working with Quentin because he knows what I did and he’s very open minded. He incorporated what I did and those elements that I had before into something new. QUINT: DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC TARANTINO MEMORY… BECAUSE I KNOW HIM A LITTLE BIT [FROM HIS AUSTIN QT FILM FESTIVALS] AND HE’S KINDA OF A NUTBALL. IS THERE ANYTHING HE DID ONSET THAT STANDS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY? GORDON LIU: (laughs) He is very kind. He never gets angry. Every time when I am in the scene, whatever I wear he wears that. (laughs) And after each scene he will play a little rock music for me. He is really wild and kind. It’s the first time that I’ve seen someone like him that’ll play a little rock music to relieve my stress. On one side I think he’s trying to relieve the pressure and on the other side I think he’s very music oriented as well. I think Quentin already has a music tempo in his head for each fight sequence. I remember there was this one scene when I was fighting with Uma Thurman and he played a little rock music and he told us to continue, but Uma had to stop because she said she couldn’t continue. (laughs)
QUINT: CULTURALLY, DO YOU THINK AMERICAN AUDIENCES WILL SEE "KILL BILL" IN THE SAME LIGHT AS ASIAN AUDIENCES WILL? GORDON LIU: I just watched KILL BILL last night at the New York premiere. I think it might attract the conservative audience. It might not attract some of the conservative audience in Asia, but I think KILL BILL is a movie for open-minded people. As for KILL BILL, for me I can say it’s a good film, but I think Quentin is very smart. He used the traditional Chinese martial arts sequence and he combined that with the Western kind of open-mind, open-idea… It’s something very new. So, this film is for modern audience. It’s for new audience, it’s not for the old audience and that’s why it’s creative and that’s why the film can move forward. QUINT: I’D LIKE TO BACK TRACK A LITTLE BIT. YOU WORKED ON QUITE A FEW SHAW BROS FILMS BACK IN THE ‘70s. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WORK IN THAT STUDIO AT THAT TIME? IT WAS A PRETTY LEGENDARY TIME. GORDON LIU: I started my first martial arts film in the year 1976. After Bruce Lee passed away, action film was going through a hard time for awhile. So, since 1976 I was acting in THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN and other martial arts films. The stuff we did during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s is very different from what we see in the late ‘90s because we didn’t have wires or any machine at that time, so we had to perform. QUINT: WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? GORDON LIU: After KILL BILL I will go back to Hong Kong and play in some other films and a couple of TV series as well, but they are not really martial arts related. QUINT: I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS GOING TO TRANSLATE VERY WELL, BUT I HAVE A STANDARD QUESTION THAT I ASK EVERYONE I INTERVIEW. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DIRTY JOKE? [Lizhi, the translator, cracks up… Liu ponders for a moment]
GORDON LIU: If you see some food appearing, go ahead and eat it, but don’t try to kill it. Don’t try to hurt other people.
All right, so I didn’t get the joke either. I asked him to clarify it later that night at the KILL BILL premiere at the Alamo Drafthouse. Basically it’s more of a life rule. Don’t worry through life. Be kind and good things will happen. He used a metaphor of wanting a good looking girl. Don’t be so over anxious that you scare her off. If you play it cool and don’t sweat it, then things will work out.
That’s the interview, folks, and I must say I had a blast conducting it. I am such a whore for Hong Kong cinema that I can’t help but be excited to talk to these guys. I interviewed Stephen Chow last year (read that interview here!!!) and had a similar "Holy shit… Am I really talking to the GOD OF COOKERY?" level of amazement.
If any of you publicists out there have any need to push your Hong Kong star and are having a tough time booking interviews with the "legitimate" press, my email address is below. Please contact me, I’d be more than happy to expose some of these amazing people.
I better get going. I still have that huge R. Lee Ermey interview to transcribe. It’s a good one, but good god does that man talk! Keep an eye out for that one, squirts. Special thanks to my buddy Kraken for taking the pictures. I’ll be back soon, squirts. ‘Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
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frest
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I CAN SEE HARRY IN PIC HE IS FATTY Q. WHO IS THE FATTY? HARRY = A
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In future interviews, I think you should challenge martial arts legend you interview to a fight to the death. That would be pretty exciting.
Thanks for breaking the language barriers and interviewing these cinema legends. -
Eleventyfirst!
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Just saw Liu Sifu on Hong Kong TV in some shitty-ass syrupy family comedy reruns (he found a career in TV family comedy after making countless just-as-shitty-straight-to-video in Southeast Asia)...Now he's in the a kickass QT movie. Well done, Liu Sifu.
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Oct 10, 2003 11:44:27 PM CDT
WOW. More living proof of the wonders of martial arts & healthy
by wesley snipes
First Jim Kelly and now Gordon Liu. Maybe it's just because they were photographed beside pale, hardcore film geeks, but both of them looked insanely healthy for men their age. Hell, they looked healthy for twenty year olds! Time to get off my ass a bit more often.
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Oct 11, 2003 1:06:25 AM CDT
Or MAYBE, and go with me on this one Harry, just MAYBE someone e
by ribbons
I know it's fun to spin your own wheels and all, but unless you're holding something back, that statement's a bit of a stretch.
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I want it.
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I may be wrong, PooBumBum, but wasn't the black and white for aesthetic purposes, not just for the critic's sake?
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The black and white was definitely a representation of Uma being in the zone. It turned off when she blinked, cuz she was done with the lot of them.
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Great interview Quint. I need to sleep and let this movie digest. It was awesome. Seeing a movie like this really makes me want to be a filmaker. Man I love movies.
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...I read the script a year ago and it specifically said the fight turns to black and white. Now, maybe Quentin assumed he could get away with more gore if it was black and white, but it was in the script from the beginning...not some afterthought because the MPAA objected to red blood. That being said, the black and white scenes were originally filmed in color and then changed, so you might be right about the color Japanese version. (I know about the color to black and white change because some of the black and white scenes were in color in the previews.)
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It's weird when HK stars you've idolised for years suddenly 'Americanise' their names. I STILL can't bring myself to call Chow Sing Chi 'Stephen Chow'.
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It's weird when HK stars you've idolised for years suddenly 'Americanise' their names. I STILL can't bring myself to call Chow Sing Chi 'Stephen Chow'.
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come on people. keep demanding that we get it.
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The version I saw on general release in London still had the credits gap between the final shot and the epilogue. I don't suppose attaching the epilogue to the film proper will make much of a difference but it was fun watching all the people who'd dashed for the exits stampede back to their seats to catch an extra dollop of Kill Bill goodness.
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Oct 11, 2003 9:07:58 AM CDT
It's true, Harry Knowles is the sorided love child of Carrot Top
by mbaker
And David Carradine needs to be smacked upside the head for appearing in an episode of "Lizzie McGuire"!! What self respecting actor would make a guest appearance on such a retarded show?!?
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David Carridine's son (the guy from revenge of the nerds) is in LIZZY MAGUIRE. He did it so he could work with his son. It was more motivated out of personal interests than professional ones. The fact that you SAW carridine on Lizzy makes you more guilty I think. I have Disney channel blocked from my programming rotation.
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THE GOOD, THE BAD & AND THE UGLY is NOT an American Movie, Holy Shit ! Is one of the best Movies ever made in Italy ! Nobody in the US gave a shit about Clint in that Days .. Truly italian Genius !
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..but i thought the b&w sequence went on far too long.i really hope we get the japanese cut released here on dvd.
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Jesus fucking Christ! It didn't ruin the movie at all. The B&W scenes actually looked pretty goddamn good. This movies takes "Style of Substance" to a whole new level. While you're watching it.... youre getting your ass kicked about how cool it is. Though when you leave the theater... you realize just how fucking empty the whole movie is.
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Oct 11, 2003 11:30:23 AM CDT
Liked the BW in the opening shot, didn't like it at the end.
by minderbinder
If you're going to have that many people hacking at each other with swords, what's the point if you're going to make it hard to see what's going on? And am I the only one that thought many of the Crazy 88 were just completely incompitent? They just stood there and let themselves be stabbed, I could do that. Did it take you until leaving the theatre to realize that it was empty and shallow? I thought it was obvious most of the way through.
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Oct 11, 2003 12:05:58 PM CDT
Harry's hair looks really good in that light. I think he's been
by porky
Nice glow, Harry. If I didn't know any better, I would swear you were pregnant.
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They should never have cut it in half, but I have to say it was everything I wanted and more.
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The run time for Volume 1 was like 1hour and 52 minutes. Assuming Volume 2 is just as long(probably be longer) then the movie would have been like 3hours and 45 minutes if it had been released together hence the cutting into 2.
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It's officially listed at 110 minutes. Double that, you've got 220, which is 3:40. The credits are 13 minutes, since you only show them once, you're down to 3:27. You could easily chop 15 minutes (probably more, outside of the fight scenes, the movie is very slow paced) and the movie would be much better for it. There's no good reason for this to be two movies.
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I saw KILL BILL Vol. 1 last night (which i fucking loved!).... but i kept hearing after the credits there was an epilogue. So i stayed after the credits until it was over and i didnt see anything. Is the Epilogue SUPPOSED to be the end showing everyone left on the FEATH LIST FIVE and Sofie and Bill and Bill's last line of dialogue? Or did I get screwed?!
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ha, FEATH LIST FIVE.
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No, my knowlege dose not make me guilty! I'm well aware of the fact that Carridine's son is on that show, and as a "Nerds" fan, i am shamed by it! (I use IMDB, you know!) I don't even watch Di$ney Channel! When they start airing "DuckTales", "Darkwing Duck", or "Gargoyles" episodes UNCUT, and get rid of all the crap they currently have, then I'll tune in to that sorry excuse for a network, BROTHER!
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Revenge of the Nerds,who was that Robert Carradine?That's his brother isn't it?I thought there were at least 3 sons of John:David,Keith,and Robert.
Huh what who? -
"Kill Bill" is on pace to gross more in its opening weekend than Tarantino's first three films COMBINED. Miramax will be more than happy with the opening and final numbers.
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Are guys friggin nuts?? Ya know, I love this site, I really do. But some of you MOVIE SNOBS really need to lighten up. Damn, is there anything that you like? -Lino-
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What I said was that the opening weekend will be more than all the previous opening weekends combined. And yes, I think Vol. I and Vol. II combined will easily surpass $200 mil. If it comes in a little below whatever abstract expectations are out there, Miramax will be fine because they know Tarantino is a talent worth indulging for their own benefit.
It's also worth noting that this is probably his least accesible film with the most narrow guaranteed audience and it could still gross the most. I'm a little surprised that critics are receiving it as well as they are. But I think it is fantastic. -
Go see how many Miramax movies have opened at $50 million and get back to me. When all is said and done, Kill Bill will most certainly be a HUGE financial success...as well as a kick-ass flick.
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Those animated corner toons are a COMPLIMENT. Slow down on those new Quizno's Steak and Cheeses. I know they look good, but you're approaching critical mass...by the way, your eyes are fucking scary, man lol.. I've never seen eyes that blue. They look like the eyes of the zombie girl in the fake Dawn of the Dead poster... 0wnage.
As for the movie...it was great. For the most part. Some things were too cheesy for my taste and have gotten me nothing but people nipping at my balls saying I don't "get it". Whatever. If the movies this was based on were like this too, then I'd still be annoyed in bits of it. People making it seem like you have to be part of an exclusive club to watch a movie is bullshit. Period.
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Oct 12, 2003 1:08:14 AM CDT
Anyone who couldn't appreciate the coolness of KILL BILL has no
by mister pink
The Ironsides music when Uma was about to kill someone...fuck ALL the music was cool. This has one of the greatest fucking soundtracks I've ever heard....that cool ass slo-mo shot in the hospital when Uma is hiding behind the door waiting to cut that fucker, Buck...a goddamn hotass Japanese chick in a schoolgirl outfit swinging a mace...heads, arms and legs getting sliced off..."If you should encounter God on your journey, God will be cut"...Sonny fucking Chiba...a violent anime sequence...did I mention the cool-ass music? Jesus, this movie is a movie geek's wet fucking dream. What more could you ask? God I loved this fucking movie and I'm not even a martial arts fan.
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Lizhi the trampslator here. Just for the record, I am Chinese, not Chinese American, or not yet at least:) Master Liu just finished his publicity tour in the States and had left LA for Hong Kong yesterday. I will send the URL of this interview to him and his assistant. I am sure they would be glad to see it. Thanks Quint & Harry!
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Underworld was the last movie to open at $8M on its opening Friday. Once Upon a Time in Mexico opened at $9M on its opening Friday. Both are genre films marketed to the broader young/hip audience like Kill Bill. To date, Underworld has earned $46M, with $21M on opening weekend. OUATIM has earned $54M, with $23M on opening weekend.
I would expect Kill Bill to follow this same trend domestically, but will do much better overseas than either of these other two movies. If Kill Bill stays in the top twenty until Vol.2, then it shouldn't have any trouble hitting $80M. Vol.2 should be good for at least another $70M. Throw in the dvd money, and Kill Bill will generate in excess of $200M.
For a $50M movie with a $50M advertising budget for both volumes, and you end up with a cool $100M at a somewhat conservative estimate. It's a good deal for everybody involved, and could only get sweeter if this film breaks out here or overseas. -
Part one only needs to make 25 million to break even, which it will come close to opening weekend. And as for "what DO you like"? Just saw Intolerable Cruelty, and it was a hell of a lot better than Kill Bill. Laughed my ass off.
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That Oren Ishi-i's parents were murdered by Bill? Bill was the killer with the sword. The character who killed her parents had the same rings on his fingers, the same color in his hair, and the same sword (notice the dots on the handle). Perhaps this could explain why the bride was sad before she offed Oren's scalp near the movie's climax. Oren and the Bride have both lost everything to Bill. This could explain why Hanzo was sad about Bill when he wrote his name on the window (Hanzo trained Bill, Bill was in Japan, so he could have easily killed Oren's parents a while ago). The path to vengence is indeed a forest, one in which we could get lost in.
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WHEN TARANTINO ENVISIONED THIS AS ONE FILM THAT OPENING SCENE WITH BANG BANG PLAYING IS CLASSIC.I WONDER IF HES GONNA GO BACK AND CHANGE HOW VOL 2 BEGINS.THIS SHOULDVE BEEN ONE FILM.AS GOOD AS IT WAS I FELT CHEATED.THE ONLY WAY MIRAMAX CAN REDEEM THEMSELVES IS TO HAVE TARANTINO EDIT IT INTO ONE FILM UNCUT ON A SPECIAL DVD.
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Joe,
I think that you might be spot-on with your analysis. Bill is definitely connected to the murder of O-Ren's parents. The diagram on his and The Bride's sword is evident in the anime scene, and the assassin could very well have been a Westerner. If this is the case, then I think the decision to go with anime in this sequence makes even more sense.
Kill Bill is definitely on-track for $22M on opening weekend, and will definitely stay in the top ten for another two weeks or longer. Chainsaw Remake shouldn't knock off Vol. 1's legs, splitting it into two movies will hurt more than anything else. I'm sorry QT haters, but this is a guaranteed bread-maker. Just wait until he spends $85M on his war epic and then we'll see the Miramax suits sweat a little bit. -
Harry, if you have seen Kill Bill Vol. 2, you HAVE TO FUCKING TELL ME HOW IT ALL ENDS UP!! I'M TORTURED RIGHT NOW GODDAMMIT!! TORTURRED!!
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To read the complete script for Kill Bill vol. 2 including the ending go to http://nogmeermeuk.tripod.com/billkillscript/ part 2 is gonna kick ass.
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