Birth of the Dragon Movie (2016) Interesting Facts
Birth of the Dragon Movie Story Summary
Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for. It takes its inspiration from the epic and still controversial showdown between an up-and-coming Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man - a battle that gave birth to a legend.
Birth of the Dragon Movie Stars
Billy Magnussen, Yu Xia, Philip Ng
Birth of the Dragon Movie Storyline
Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for. It takes its inspiration from the epic and still controversial showdown between an up-and-coming Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man - a battle that gave birth to a legend.
Birth of the Dragon Movie Interesting Facts
- The original cut of the movie was so poorly received by audiences that the film had to be extensively re-edited in a desperate attempt to please fans by removing many scenes of Billy Magnussen as Steve McKee, and focusing more on Philip Ng as Bruce Lee.
- The character of Steve McKee was based on actor Steve McQueen who studied with Bruce Lee in the late 1960s.
- Martial artist, actor, and stuntman Mike Moh campaigned for the role of Bruce Lee in the film. He would later play Lee in Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019).
- Besides Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, every character in the movie is fictional.
- Linda Lee Cadwell, who was a witness to the actual fight, described it as happening like thus:
"There was not bowing. There was not all that kind of thing. They just faced-off and went at it. Bruce threw the first punch, and did hit Wong Jack Man around his eye. Bruce started to use a series of straight punches and Wong could not retaliate. Wong turned, and he started to run. And Bruce was just after him. Wong went down on the ground, and Bruce was instantly over him with a fist raised and said, in Chinese, "Do you give up?" And he said, "Yes." And that was the end."
- None of the seven people said to have witnessed the real life fight are depicted in the film. On Bruce's side was his wife Linda (who was 8 months pregnant with their son Brandon) and his colleague James Lee. On Wong Jack Man's side were five men he didn't know well, who just came to see the fight, named David Chin, Chan "Bald Head" Keung, Ronald "Ya Ya" Wu, Martin Wong, and Raymond Fong.
- The ship Jeremiah O'Brien was depicted to be the ship that brought Wong Jack Man to San Francisco when Steve met him at the pier. The Jeremiah O'Brien is an actual restored "liberty ship" from WWII, one of the few remaining in the world, and is a popular "sailing museum" that's docked in San Francisco. In WWII, as a merchant marine vessel, it made numerous Atlantic crossings, and participated in the D-Day invasion at Normandy.
- Despite re-editing the film to minimize the screen time for Billy Magnussen and give more focus on Philip Ng, the film is still centered on Magnussen's character Steve McKee.
- Despite being a witness to the real life fight, Bruce's wife Linda Lee Cadwell is never seen in the film, only spoken of.
- Philip Ng shot to fame after starring in Kung Fu TVB drama "A Fist Within Four Walls" with his role as Lung Sing Fu.
- Priyom Haider auditioned and was considered for the lead role of Lee because of his very similarly built physique and acting talent, however, he wasn't Asian looking enough and not close in height requirement.
