21 Jan – Award-winning Hong Kong actor, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, and acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai will arrive in Singapore this Wednesday, 23 January, to promote the long-anticipated "The Grandmaster". The duo, who are regular collaborators, will be walking down the red carpet at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands before attending the gala premier of "The Grandmaster" at the Grand Theatre. While Singapore will be releasing the movie on 31 January, "The Grandmaster" might not be seen in Malaysia.
A couple of Malaysian distributors had expressed interest in the film but later backed out due to consideration that art films hold a limited appeal in the country. This decision is also supported by the surprising fact that Tony Leung's films perform averagely in Malaysia compared with other Hong Kong stars such as Andy Lau. "The Grandmaster" is based loosely on the life of Ip Man, previously played to fame by Donnie Yen. The martial arts master who reputedly trained Bruce Lee will be played by Tony Leung in this version, which took over a decade to complete. The film also stars Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen and Korean actress Song Hye Gyo.