Vincent Zhao casted for Ip Man TV series

The TV series for Ip Man, helmed by director Fan Xiaotian, is rumoured to have casted Chinese actor Vincent Zhao as the show's male lead.

Addressing the press on Wednesday, Director Fan shared that conceptualization for the TV series started two years ago. He added that they have officially invited the 40-year-old Chinese actor to join the cast and there is a high chance that Vincent will take up the role offered.

The director let on that the series has yet to cast its female lead, adding that they might "choose a female idol star" for the role.

The movie version of Ip Man and its sequel featured Donnie Yen as the lead. Previously, Donnie fell out with Vincent on the set of action movie Special Identity and several celebrities, including Shu Qi who was forced to shut down her microblog by Vincent's fans after voicing her support for Donnie.

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Netizens regret supporting Vincent Zhao

Several celebrities had since become involved in kungfu superstars Donnie Yen and Vincent Zhao's dispute, which reportedly happened after the two fell out with each other on the set of their new movie Special Identity.

Following the incident, Vincent's fans and netizens had shown their support for the actor. However, they have now regretted their actions after discovering that Vincent's four-year-old daughter holds a US passport. Netizens exclaimed that they "wasted efforts" in supporting the actor.

Vincent married Chinese actress Zhang Danlu in 2006, and the couple have two children. Their four-year-old daughter Zhao Zi Yang has the same name as a former General Secretary of China's Communist Party, while his song Zhao Zi Long shares the same name with a famed general from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Vincent responded to the report, "The name Zi Yang was chosen by a fortune teller. We felt that the name was a little sensitive, but decided to go ahead with it, for the good of our daughter."

The actor also commented on netizens' anger which came after the discovery that his daughter is a US citizen. He explained that Zi Yang had gotten the citizenship because she was born there, while his son was born in Hong Kong. Vincent then emphasised that he is of Chinese nationality.

Recently, it was rumoured that Danlu had paid people to bombard actress Shu Qi on her microblog, causing her to shut the blog down entirely, but the actor insisted that he "did not hire anyone".

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Celebs take sides as Donnie Yen, Vincent Zhao feud escalates

The ongoing feud between Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen and Chinese martial arts actor Vincent Chiu has escalated recently, with Yen suing Chiu for making false claims about his conduct on the set of Yen's new action film "Special Identity".

As things heat up, celebrities in Hong Kong and China have also begun taking sides in the conflict.

Stars like Hong Kong actresses Shu Qi and Kara Hui expressed their support for Yen, while others like Hong Kong veteran action star Yuen Wah and Chinese actress Xu Jiao spoke out in support of Chiu, reported Hong Kong media.

"Donnie Yen is very serious in whatever he does and thinks of ways to make sure every single frame is perfect.

"Even when the weather is cold and he is shivering, cramping up, when he hears 'Action', Donnie Yen will immediately perform without a single word of complaint," said Shu Qi, who had worked with Yen in 2011's "Legend of the Fist", over her micro blog.

"Donnie, I have known you since you were young, I know you are passionate about film and have high expectations of yourself.

"I hope you won't be affected by all these controversies. Keep going!" said Hui, who had worked with Yen in 2011's "Wu Xia" in a micro blog post.

Hong Kong actor Chapman Toh and director Wong Jing have expressed their support for Yen as well, but Chiu too has his supporters.

"I worked with Vincent Chiu on 'Wu Dang' and feel that he is very enthusiastic about his work, personable … I believe Instructor Chiu, strongly support him!" said "CJ7" star, Chinese actress Xu Jiao.

Yuen Wah, who had appeared in countless Hong Kong action films, echoed Xu's sentiments and backed Chiu.

Chiu himself has since dug in his heels and declared that he is ready to fight it out with Yen in court, even if this spat causes irreparable damage to his acting career.

"All ten properties I bought at a low price in Beijing are now worth six times more.

"Even if I stop working, I won't have any difficulty getting by," Chiu told the media recently, in response to Yen's announcement that he would take Chiu to court.

"This issue affects my reputation. I must get justice, because they have insulted my professionalism."

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Vincent Zhao calls Donnie Yen "scene hog"

Vincent Zhao says that he originally signed on to make the Jackie Chan produced JUNG GIK MUK MA due to the fight scene with Donnie Yen. When the film fell through and turned into the Donnie Yen produced, Clarenece Ford directed DUT SHU SUN FUN the scene disappeared and he planned to turn it down. The production promised him that the scene would be added back in.

The Donnie Yen Chi Tan produced and action directed film DUT SHU SUN FUN (SPECIAL IDENTITY) has fallen into a dispute with one of the leads Vincent Zhao Wenzhou since its production start. Both sides recently kept issuing statements, which led to continuous outside speculations. Two days ago Zhao Wenzhou in a Mainland newspaper interview spoke for the first time about the real reason of leaving the production. He said that Yen Chi Tan without his permission changed the script, forcing him to leave. He called Yen a "scene hog" and urged Chinese film productions to strengthen script change specifications.

Zhao Wen Zhou said, "I want to say that the real arrogant one wasn't me but Yen Chi Tan. Because I could fight with Yen Chi Tan in the film, I was especially excited. This was also the point that drove me to agree to perform, I even included this scene in the contract. If the script was changed, it must have my permission." Yet the new script removed many scenes.

His part was moved from the main story to a secondary plot and his position went from lead to supporting role. "They violated the contract. On February 27th I asked for a meeting with the director, the production supervisor and Yen Chi Tan to discuss the script change directions. Because a Hong Kong newspaper claimed that I was upset, at the meeting I asked the production to issue a statement the next day.

Everyone on hand agreed, only Yen chi Tan did not say anything." The next day, Zhao Wenzhou received the production notice that the statement was scrapped due to Yen Chi Tan not giving permission. "On the 29th, the production terminated its contract with me."

DUT SHU SUN FUN on the 4th issued a statement through its microblog and criticized Zhao Wenzhou for a variety of arrogant behavior, his one day room and board called 50,000 yuan and he demanded the production to be responsible for his wife, two children, nanny, English instructor and other expenses.

Zhao Wenzhou said that this was only the production's smoke screen to cover it real conflict focus of script changes. "Earlier I heard people said that Yen Chi Tan was a 'scene hog', I now suspect he was in control of that report." As for the reason, he said that he had no idea.

Yen Chi Tan's spokesperson responded, "It isn't the truth, Chi Tan doesn't need to respond. At first Chi Tan highly recommended Zhao Wenzhou to the film company. After learning that he did not accept any work order, Chi Tan even took the initiative to investigate. If Zhao Wenzhou truly said that, Chi Tan felt extremely disappointed."

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