Donnie Yen recently reprised his title role in "Ip Man 3" opposite Mike Tyson as Frank. The Hong Kong martial artist and actor was so excited about the premiere of the movie in the United States on Jan. 20 at the Pacific Theaters at the Grove that he overshared with fans.
Yen reportedly posted to his Facebook page an invitation to the "Ip Man 3" premiere in Los Angeles with the time, location and other details, including Psy's "Hangover" collaborator Snoop Dogg and "The Divergent Series: Allegiant" actress Zoe Kravitz on the list, but there was no information about the RSVP. The post has since been deleted but thousands of fans appeared during the premiere.
"Within minutes, it had tens of thousands of likes," a source told Page Six. "His fans turned up in droves. Security had their hands full."
During the "Ip Man 3" premiere in Los Angeles, Yen talked about being an actor and a martial artist. He pointed out that in acting, the most important aspect is "just playing the character."
"I think there's an advantage of being a martial arts actor because not only do you have to craft your acting skills," Variety quoted Yen as saying. "But you've also got to know enough of martial arts."
"Ip Man 3" made its premiere in Hong Kong on Dec. 16, 2015. It was then screened in Malaysia on Dec. 19, 2015, in Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore on Dec. 24, 2015,and in Thailand on Jan. 14 before it was shown in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the U.S.
Written by Leung Lai-Yin, Chan Tai-Li and Edmond Wong, the story of "Ip Man 3" revolves around Yen's character, the real-life Wing Chun Kung Fu master who mentored the late Bruce Lee, played by Kwok-Kwan Chan. Tyson plays the villain, the leader of a band of gangsters trying to take over the city.
"Ip Man" is directed by Wilson Yip. Among Yen, Tyson and Chan's co-stars are Lynn Hung, Jin Zhang, Patrick Tam, Karena Ng, Kent Cheng, Ka-Yan Leung, Kai-Chung Cheung, Tats Lau and Ka-Yan Leung, among others. Watch the trailer here:
