While the news this week is full of talk about Tony Jaa cracking under the pressure of directing ONG BAK 2 and disappearing for a few months, another martial-artist-turned-director is taking a different route. While Jaa took on all the pressures of ONG BAK 2 himself, even having a falling out with the director who did his first two movies, Prachya Pinkaew, in the process, Wu Jing of SHA PO LANG fame is taking as much help as he can find for his directorial debut, LEGENDARY ASSASSIN.

When his manager, the dapper Paco Wong, said that he should direct a movie himself, Wu Jing figured, "Why not?" but he's co-directing it with Chung Chi- li, the action choreographer from INVISIBLE TARGET. Legendary Hong Kong producer, Ng See-yuen, is executive producing (he produced DRUNKEN MASTER and SNAKE IN EAGLE'S SHADOW with Jackie Chan a century ago, and he produced the first four ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA films). And the cast is full of veterans including Milkyway Image regulars Lam Suet and Shiu Hung-hui, as well as the incomparable Kara Hui (from a million fighting female movies throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's) and exploitation stalwart Mark Cheng (last seen in ELECTION 2). 

However, the film's female lead is a newcomer, Celina Jade. (At that link you can also hear what she claims is the theme song for LEGENDARY ASSASSIN). The movie itself sounds simple as swamp water: assassin and policewoman fall for each other. Complications ensue. But Wu Jing sounds like he's going all out on the action, talking especially about a "100 vs. 1" fight scene that he's working on for the film. Release date is expected to be October, 2008. I'm a bit down on Hong Kong action after all the recent FATAL MOVES and LETHAL CONTACTS and so on, but this one...I dunno. It sounds promising.

(Sales sheet and synopsis courtesy of Twitch)

(More info courtesy of Wu Jing.org)

(Thanks to the sharp-eyed reader who sent this in)