Hey folks, Harry here... Quentin had told me that he was hoping to get Yuen Woo-Ping and Sonny Chiba on board KILL BILL and folks... Looks like that dream is coming true! Here's what Reuters had to say:
``I've written this character for Uma (Thurman), and they (Yuen and Chiba) are going to put her through training, where she will have to learn the kung fu animal styles,'' Tarantino said. ``And I'll also have Yuen and Sonny play parts in it.''
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First up, Sonny Chiba will be playing the badass known as Hattori Hanzo. Hanzo is legendary in the KILL BILL universe for his skill and craftmanship with Samurai Swords. A Hanzo sword is amongst the most prized weapons in the entire world, and each is custom created for the hands and performance and skill of the owner. Hanzo also trains that owner to handle his blades.
This Real Mean Bastard has been kicking ass and ripping the testicles and intestines from his opponents since the early sixties. Sonny Chiba is quite frankly one of the coolest personas ever to grace the screen. His pure intensity... the fury that he commands in combat, the anger and rage demonstrated with every fiber of his being... INTENSE! In addition to playing Hanzo, Chiba will also be put in charge of choreographing the Samurai Sword battles... of which there are a few... hehehehehe!!!! For more on Sonny Chiba Click Here!!!
Then there is Yuen Woo-Ping, who is playing the mysterious 140 some-odd-year old Pei Mei, who could still whup the ass of any being on this planet or any other. He trains Uma Thurman's THE BRIDE in what could very well be one of the most cruel training sequences ever committed to paper... though, she does learn well. Currently, Yuen Woo-Ping is the most celebrated action choreographer in the world. However, before that... He was the sole property of us geeks that buy Imported Hong Kong Videos... That discovered his genius in SNAKE IN EAGLE'S SHADOW, TAI CHI MASTER, WING CHUN, IRON MONKEY and FIST OF LEGEND. THE MATRIX brought him to the attention of mainstream America, then CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON cemented that placement... HOWEVER, for the hardcore fans, we continue to argue about which of his pre-American films was his best. My favorite is SNAKE IN EAGLE'S SHADOW, but that's just because I have a particular fondness for animal styles of Kung Fu...
