BOLO YEUNG-The Unofficial Website-INTERVIEWS

Stephen,you are a Director on two "Tiger Claws"movies and Associate Producer on the feature films "Tiger
Claws","TC 2000" , "Expect No Mercy",and "Operation Golden Phoenix".How did your career start?

Stephen Maunder: Black Pearls aka Fearless Tiger was the first feature film which I had the opportunity to
exercise my creative skills.

You have 20 years experience in Kung Fu.When did you start training in martial arts?

Stephen Maunder: Early 80's in Toronto's Chinatown.  It was a small club with approximately 90%
Chinese people.  I learned as much about Kung-Fu as I did about the role it plays in the community.
The people there are justifiably proud and protective of "their" art, so you have to earn their respect.

You worked with the legendary Bolo Yeung in several movies.Tell us some of the experiences you've had
with him on the set.

Stephen Maunder: Bolo is an icon in the martial arts world and it's always a thrill to work with him.What a
lot of people don't know is that he has a great sense of humor.  He used to crack me up with impressions
of Brando or his singing.   I recall choreographing a fight scene on Tiger Claws between Bolo and Sifu Mo
Chow.  The scene called for a standing fight and Bolo said, "Anyone can punch and kick, make it different
and the audience will remember it." He then suggested the fight scene happen while sitting on the floor. It
worked.

For Bolo the breakthrough role of his career was "Bloodsport".What you think about this movie?

Stephen Maunder: Bloodsport is the single most important martial arts movie since "Enter the Dragon".
It revitalized a martial arts movie industry that had long since grown stale.  Prior to it, Chuck Norris had
ruledfor a decade with his karate action, but it was frequently being incorporated into a military context
with films like the Missing in Action series or Delta Force.They were good films but didn't have the Chinese
mystique that Bloodsport had.
Bloodsport made no apologies for being a martial arts movie and gave the audience exactly what they
wanted.

Bolo stars in "Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter".Can you tell about your work in this action movie?

Stephen Maunder: Not much really, I was hired to write some additional dialogue scenes after the principal
action had already been completed. Sorry.

Do you still have contact with Bolo?

Stephen Maunder: Yes. Bolo and I maintain a good friendship and we hope to be working together again
soon.

Do you feel the advent of the special effects has diminished the real action in films?

Stephen Maunder: Yes and No. When I see Tom Cruise caught in a missile blast and thrown sideways into
the windows of a parked car, I say yes it diminishes the experience because it was to extreme in the context
of reality.  On the other hand, without digital SFX we wouldn't have been able to enjoy the classic battles
in The Matrix, Crouching Tiger or the great work Stephen Chow did with Kung-Fu Hustle.

What is your new movie project?

Stephen Maunder: "Shadows in Paradise" is an action film set in the middle-east starring Mark Dacascos,
Armand Assante, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo and others.  Principal photography is complete and I m very
excited about what I've seen so far.Thanks for the interview. I wish you continued success with the Bolo
website.

Thank you so much.