Bruce Lee's "Birth of the Dragon" biopic film is set to open in global theaters. It was initially released on Sept. 13, Tuesday, at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada and does not yet have a U.S. release date and in countries outside Canada.
"Trumbo" producer Michael London and "The Adjustment Bureau" director Georgy Nolfi said that the reason they believe in "Birth of the Dragon" will become a cross-cultural phenomenon because of the enduring popularity of Lee, Variety reported. Nolfi showed the heavily-fictionalized version of Lee's story.
According to Deadline, "Birth of the Dragon" uses a still-disputed private brawl between martial arts masters Lee (Philip Ng) and Wong Jack Man (Yu Xia) back in 1964. It revolves around Lee's emergence as a martial arts superstar and his epic showdown. It is the fuel for a San Francisco-set coming-of-age story.
"Birth of the Dragon" involves a rough and tumble young white man Steve McKee (Billy Magnussen). He matches the feuding fighting legends in the brawl. He was indeed an early student of Lee at the time. He becomes the central part of arranging the so-called private brawl.
McKee finds himself torn between admiration for the skills and philosophies of the two rival masters of martial arts in "Birth of the Dragon." He also pursues a Romeo and Juliet romance with a young Chinese immigrant Xiulan (JingJing Qu) under the control of the Chinese mob.
China-based Kylin Pictures is financing "Birth of the Dragon." Groundswell's Michael London and Janice Williams are the producers. Christopher Wilkinson and Steven J. Rivele wrote the script. Nolfi is the director. He previously wrote the scripts for "Ocean's Twelve" and "The Bourne Ultimatum," starring Mark Wahlberg.
To recall, Lee died in 1973 at the age of 32. He was under scrutiny from other Kung-Fu teachers during the time depicted in the upcoming movie "Birth of the Dragon." Both his colorful public persona and his willingness to teach Americans about Chinese martial arts are being questioned.
Master Wong agreed to fight Lee in private to settle the matter. He is a master of Tai chi, Xing Yi Quan, and Northern Shaolin styles. Lee won that fight.
Later on, Lee abandoned rigid fighting styles. He decided to develop his own signature Jeet Kune Do techniques and cited Master Wong's Wing Chun techniques as an early inspiration.
"Birth of the Dragon" is part of a high-profile U.S./China co-production. It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and has yet to land an official U.S. theatrical release date.
Watch the video of the official trailer for Bruce Lee's biopic movie "Birth of the Dragon":