Donnie Yen threatens to sue producers for ‘unfair’ criticism
HONG KONG: Martial arts actor Donnie Yen has threatened the producers of Iceman: The Time Traveller for criticising his alleged unprofessional conduct during the filming of the flick.
Donnie, 55, was also taken to task for refusing to cooperate in promotional campaigns for the movie.
In response to the diatribe singling him out for scorn, an agitated Donnie has issued a fiery 20-point statement.
Donnie has countered that the producers have been criticising him only because the movie had flopped at the box office.
Although the criticisms online against him have since been deleted, Donnie is pursuing legal action for what he characterised as “slander”.
In his online retaliation,
I’m very angry...Since the industry is cold and the economy is not good, the publicity fee for each movie is meagre. The producers attempt to maliciously discredit the actors to create buzz for the film.
Donnie wrote: “I’m very angry. I thought about it for the whole night.
Since the industry is cold and the economy is not good, the publicity fee for each movie is meagre. The producers attempt to maliciously discredit the actors to create buzz for the film.”
The movie, the second instalment of the Iceman trilogy, was released on Nov 2 and took in 16 million yuan ( RM9.8 million) over two days.
Online reviews were also disappointing, with a 5.3 score on Weibo movie rating and a failed score on Taopiaopiao and Maoyan.
The producers, apart from criticising Donnie, also apologised to director Raymond Yip and scriptwriter Manfred Wong, saying that they are not to blame for the box office flop.
Among the complaints directed at Donnie were that he would change his lines on the set and would refuse to do a retake of his scenes.
Moreover, Donnie was accused of making spontaneous edits to historical details.
Although the movie was set in the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Tianqi, Donnie spoke out- of-period lines such as, “The Ming Dynasty would meet its end in 10 years!”
Donnie had also allegedly refused to wear his wig, with the excuse that it would affect his performance.
In his retort, Donnie also wrote: “A sequel that was filmed five years ago is only being released now. As to the reasons why, it should be very clear.”
An irate Donnie also sneered: “Deliberately slandering an actor’s reputation will boost the film’s fortune? Or improve the box office takings?”
Donnie Yen, martial arts actor