The actor who portrays Bruce Lee in Once Upon
a Time in Hollywood has broken his silence
about the recent backlash.
If you still haven't seen Quentin Tarantino's
latest film, be warned: There are some major
spoilers ahead!
Shortly after the July 26th world premiere
of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bruce Lee's
daughter Shannon sharply criticized the film's
portrayal of her late, legendary father.
Shannon felt the movie made a "mockery" out
of the martial arts master, telling TheWrap
that
"[Quentin Tarantino made him look like] an
arrogant a------ who was full of hot air."
The controversial scene in question involves
a fight between Bruce Lee and Brad Pitt's
character, stuntman Cliff Booth - a scuffle
that eventually finds Booth shoving Lee against
the side of a car.
"Anybody kills anybody in a fight they go
to jail.
It's called manslaughter."
In an interview with Birth.Movies.Death, Mike
Moh - the actor who portrays Bruce Lee - revealed
he had some major issues with the first version
of the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood script.
"I'm not going to tell you what the original
script had exactly, but when I read it, I
was so conflicted because he's my hero - Bruce
in my mind was literally a god.
He wasn't a person to me, he was a superhero.
And I think that's how most people view Bruce."
But Moh firmly believes Tarantino has a lot
of respect for Bruce Lee.
The actor points out that Lee didn't actually
lose the fight: it was technically a tie.
If you've seen the film, you'll remember that
Lee wins the first round and loses the second.
The battle is broken up before the winner
can be determined in a third round.
Moh also makes a point to say:
"The thing about it is, number one, it's a
Tarantino film.
He's not going to do the thing that everybody
expects anybody else to do.
You've got to expect the unexpected.
And number two, I knew from the jump, Tarantino
loves Bruce Lee; he reveres him."
To Moh, the fight scene wasn't about disrespecting
the beloved Hong Kong-American actor.
It was about establishing Cliff Booth as a
force to be reckoned with:
"It's a hugely important scene - what better
way to show how dangerous Cliff is than for
him to show up and even match him for a little
bit with Bruce?
[…] At that moment when I get slammed, that's
when Bruce realizes, oh s---, this guy is
not just a stunt guy.'
Because Bruce didn't always have the most
affection for stuntmen; he didn't respect
all of them, because he was better than all
the stunt guys.
So after I got slammed, I get serious."
Moh also admitted,
"I can see how people might think Bruce got
beat because of the impact with the car, but
you give me five more seconds and Bruce would
have won."
And what if the fight had really happened
on the set of The Green Hornet, the real-life
television series starring Lee as the Green
Hornet's masked driver Kato?
Moh thinks it would've motivated Lee to continue
improving his martial arts skills.
"I know people are going to be up in arms
about [the scene], but when I went into my
deep dive of studying Bruce, he more than
anybody wanted people to know he's human.
And I think I respect him more knowing that
he had these challenges, these obstacles,
just like everybody [else].
I don't know any actor out there that doesn't
have some sense of wanting to be more - and
I think that's the sign of somebody that wants
greatness, and will achieve greatness, always
wanting more."
Nevertheless, some viewers are going to have
a tough time with Tarantino's creative choices
here.
As Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Polly told
TheWrap:
"[Tarantino] could have achieved the same
effect - using Bruce to make Brad Pitt's character
look tough - without the mockery."
Tarantino, for his part, remained silent on
the situation.
Ha, just kidding, you think he would sit this
one out?
During a film premiere press conference in
Moscow, the director reminded everyone that
his movies are make-believe.
“Could Cliff beat up Bruce Lee?
Brad would not be able to beat up Bruce Lee,
but Cliff maybe could,[,,,] If you ask me
the question, ‘Who would win in a fight:
Bruce Lee or Dracula?’
It’s the same question.
It’s a fictional character.
He’s a fictional character so he could beat
Bruce Lee up.
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