What up guys and gals– fanboys and gamers– welcome one and all to the OFFICIAL BLOG for STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI! Your new pal Aaron here, comin’ to ya live from location in Bangkok, Thailand where all the action (and believe me we’ve had plenty of it) has been goin’ down on a daily basis. Excuse the mess, we’re still under construction on the site, so bare with us por favor…

We’re one week in and that means it’s time for our First Official Set Report. Before I begin, let me fill you all in on how this is gonna play out. Basically, about once a week I’ll be coming to ya with exclusive scoops, stories, cast & crew interviews, artwork, set photos, and a ton of other Street Fighter kickbacks that you’ll find nowhere else on the planet. This first blog is gonna run a bit long, but hey, its an origin story, don’t they always? Ok. Lets do this…

I’m gonna start with a quick rundown of our uber-cool cast for those not already in the know (c’mon you two, get with the program):

 

	CHUN LI   Kristin Kreuk
	BISON   Neal McDonough
	NASH   Chris Klein
	BALROG   Michael Clarke Duncan
	MAYA   Moon Bloodgood
	HUANG  Edmund Chen
	CANTANA  Josie Ho
	VEGA  Taboo
	ZHILAN   Pei Pei Cheng

The man with the task of directing this unruly pack is Andrzej Bartkowiak, a guy who’s not exactly a stranger to the action genre (Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave). He’s gone ahead and hired a man by the name of Dion Lam (who in turn went ahead and brought his bad-ass Hong Kong Martial Arts team) to choreograph our abundance of action, stunts and insane martial arts work. Who is this mysterious Mr. Lam you ask? He’s choreographed one or two battles in his day, most recently on a couple little obscure trilogies called The Matrix and Spiderman. So yeah, rest assured Street Fighter fans, you’re in good hands. Rounding out our talented crew are Production Designer Michael Hanan (Blow, The Punisher, Ronin) creatin’ some crazy-cool sets, Cinematographer Geoff Boyle (Mutant Chronicles, The Dark Country) with some badass visuals, and cuttin’ up the action will be editor Derek Brechin (Stargate, Breakdown, The Bourne Ultimatum)… Not bad, eh?

So by now you’re all clamoring to know, “Where’s the damn set report?!?” Stop salivating, here it comes…

So far in week one, Michael Clarke Duncan has been doing what he does best— smashing sh*t up and having a blast doing it. It’s also worth mentioning that this man does ALL HIS OWN STUNTS. And its not cuz there’s a shortage of 6 foot 6 inch, 275+ pound African-Americans in Thailand! After watching the man in action these past few days, I can say with complete confidence that this was truly the role he was born to play. Meanwhile, Chun Li, Cantana and 400 Thai extras have gotten a little…’too close for comfort’ in a scene that’s sure to capture the um…affections of all you male Kristin Kreuk and Josie Ho fans out there. And Nash and Maya are hot on the trail– busy chasing leads and getting’ along like gangbusters. Literally.

Now those with a watchful eye might notice there’s one character I haven’t even discussed. One that’s not mentioned in the cast breakdown but one who’s surely an integral part of the film. And so now, for your first exclusive scoop, allow me to present you faithful readers with some brand spankin’ new casting you’re surely not aware of. The integral role of GEN will be played by none other than……tune in next week to find out! Sorry to go all ‘American Idol’ on your asses, but trust me, it’s worth the wait (and its NOT who you think). I’ve attached some badass storyboards from artist Ted Boonthanakit to whet your appetites…click it!

 

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Thanks for tuning in loyal SF fans. Stay tuned and check in soon…I’ll be back.

– Aaron Horwitz