Enter the Clones of Bruce

[Drunk Monk]

Enter the Clones of Bruce  (documentary)

I'm headed to this tonight: 

FANTASTIC FEST PRESENTS

ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE W/LIVE Q&A
Rated NR •
 
Length 100 min •
 
Year 2024

SEE THE HARD-HITTING KUNG FU DOC WITH A REAL-LIFE BRUCE CLONE

After becoming an international martial arts sensation, the death of Bruce Lee left a dragon-sized hole in cinema that was impossible to fill – not that people didn’t try. Whether you prefer Bruce Li, Dragon Lee, or Bruce Liang, there’s a clone for you. ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE is a love letter to the original icon, the badass actors tasked with filling his shoes, and the cinematic awesomeness that is kung fu movies. Our friends at Fantastic Fest will be taking it on tour with one of the most prolific Bruce clones, Bruce Le, joining us along the way for live Q&As.
What is a Live Q&A?


Got a question for the director? Wanna meet the cast? At our special Live Q&A events, we follow the screening with an in-person discussion.


ABOUT

THE DEATH OF BRUCE LEE GAVE BIRTH TO A NEW FILM SUBGENRE: BRUCEPLOITATION

WHAAAAAA! WATAAAHHH! AAAAAYYYYYY!
You’d be hard-pressed to find another actor who could be identified based on just a few yelps, but somehow, immediately, you know the man I’m referring to here.
Although Bruce Lee’s best-known films – THE BIG BOSS, FIST OF FURY, and THE WAY OF THE DRAGON – weren’t produced for audiences outside of Hong Kong, his cool blend of rakish charm and unparalleled martial arts skill caught the attention of the global market and quickly established him as an international star. When he died in 1973, it left an indelible mark on a genre that was just beginning to establish itself, and film studios around the world jumped into the fray to capitalize on Lee’s incomparable presence, giving birth to a kung fu subgenre: Bruceploitation.
From spitting-image clones like Dragon Lee in South Korea and Bruce Le in Myanmar to spiritual successors like Blaxploitation icon Jim Kelly and the pioneering "Lady Kung Fu" Angela Mao, the ripple effect of the Dragon’s death lasted over a decade, spawning countless careers and hundreds of movies.
ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE tracks down producers, scholars, aficionados, and some of the movement’s biggest stars, all skilled martial artists in their own right, as they reminisce over a bygone era of gonzo plotlines, shoestring budgets, and questionable taste. (Lori Donnelly)

If ever there was a case for MercNRet, it has been this event. The publicity rep reached out to me on 4/4 asking me if I wanted to interview Bruce Le (of course I did) but then wasn't sure if she could get me into the screener. WTH? I have never heard of a screener where there wasn't a press section. That's the whole point of screeners. Anyway, we batted it back and forth over a dozen plus emails - we were working with the wrong date for a while, and also were looking into a viral interview and online screener, but I really wanted to see something at Alamo Drafthouse. I was only there once for the missed effort to see the screener for EEAAO and the house looks awesome. 

Things finally settled to me interviewing Le at his hotel (he's staying at the BEI SF downtown but you didn't hear that from me), then to just prior to the screener, and now, it'll be after the Q&A. 

There was also an issue getting the press pass. I asked for a +1 (which is industry standard except for rare cases) but offered to just take one pass. Nevertheless, my +1 was approved. Now my friend and regular accomplice Carlos might have to bail because our mutual friend (and his housemate) just had a death in the family this morning, her twin sister's fiancé. I was texting her last night as she was coping with it. She has a very complicated relationship with her sister. They are both Russian adoptees. 

Anyway, it's been crazy. MercNRet crazy. I'm going to head up early, hoping to avoid any more cosmic chaos.