| Bey Logan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 November 1961 Stamford, England |
| Occupation | Film producer, screenwriter, actor, author |
| Spouse | Ponnie Leung (divorced) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
| http://www.beylogan.com | |
Bey Logan (born 15 November 1961) is a respected expert on East Asian cinema, particularly Hong Kong action cinema. He is also notable as a screenwriter, film producer and as a martial artist (trained in Hung Gar) who has had (mostly minor) roles in a number of films, including the 2003 Dante Lam film The Twins Effect.
He has written two books - Hong Kong Action Cinema, an introduction to the subject, and a book about Jean-Claude Van Damme. Logan was a founder and editor of Impact magazine, and has provided audio commentaries for over 120 East Asian films released on DVD. He is also an international representative of the Wong Fei Hung Museum in Foshan, Guangdong.
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Logan began his career as a writer and editor on martial arts magazine Combat in 1987. In 1992, he launched his own action film magazine Impact and took the position of Director.[1][2] He later moved to Hong Kong, and wrote the screenplays for the films White Tiger (1996) and Ballistic Kiss (1998).[3]
In 1998, Logan joined Hong Kong production and distribution company Media Asia Group, where he wrote and co-produced the documentaries Jackie Chan: My Story and Jackie Chan: My Stunts. In 2001, he joined Emperor Multimedia Group and whilst there, wrote the script for the 2003 film The Medallion.[3]
In 2003, he founded the company Shankara Productions, in partnership with actress Maggie Q.[1] The company's first production was the 2005 film Dragon Squad, which starred Maggie Q, along with Sammo Hung and Michael Biehn (and in which Logan made an appearance).[4] He also represented the Sydney-based sales agency Arclight Films, overseeing the release of several Hong Kong films.
Throughout this period, from 1999 until 2005, Logan also worked for Medusa Communications, providing audio commentaries for the UK releases of Hong Kong films on their Hong Kong Legends label, and latterly on other East Asian films on Medusa's Premier Asia label.
In October 2005, shortly after Medusa Communications were bought out by Contender Entertainment Group, Logan left to become Vice President of Asian Acquisitions & Co-Productions at The Weinstein Company, where he oversaw the company's Dragon Dynasty brand, a distributor of East Asian titles. In this capacity he had a hand in acquiring both new and classic films for distribution in the US, some of which had never been released before on DVD. All of the Dragon Dynasty titles to date have contained extensive special features, including interviews, documentaries and audio commentaries. Many of these commentaries feature Logan as either sole commentator, or as host to guest commentators from the industry.
On 1 October 2009, Logan's contract with The Weinstein Company ended. He left in order to embark on a new career as a film producer in Hong Kong, forming his own production label, B&E Productions (standing for "Breaking and Entering").[5] He confirmed that Dragon Dynasty would continue releasing East Asian films after his departure, and that he would retain a consultancy role to assist the company with future acquisitions.[6]
In March 2010, B&E had their first release, The Blood Bond. This English-language film was Michael Biehn's directorial debut, and stars Biehn along with Simon Yam, Emma Pei and Phoenix Chou. After The Blood Bond, B&E Films have several further films in production, beginning with Tony Tang animation Little Gobie, and another film from Tang, Beach Spike. The latter is an action comedy, combining martial arts and beach volleyball. It will star Chrissie Chau, Phoenix Chou and Ankie Beilke and additional proposed actors include Bolo Yeung and Ronald Cheng. The film was formerly known by the working title Hard Spike.
This will be followed by Rogue Option, a spinoff of the Gordon Chan films The Final Option (1994) and First Option (1996) and will feature Michael Wong reprising his role from those films. Subsequent intended projects include Choy Li Fut, a period kung fu film to be produced by and co-starring Gordon Liu; Harlem Goes East, a "blaxploitation" action film; and Lady Transporter, the 4th film in The Transporter franchise. Some of these titles are currently only in the script development stage.[7][8]
Bey is also writing his third book, entitled My Life In 36 Chambers, featuring a personal top 36 Hong Kong films, mingled with some autobiographical material.[8]
Logan has worked in the Hong Kong film industry as an actor, screenwriter and producer since 1993. Notably, he wrote the screenplay for Jackie Chan's film, The Medallion (2003) and produced, and appeared as a vampire in, The Twins Effect (2003). He also appeared as Officer Kyle in Dragon Squad (2005). He wrote the scripts for the documentaries Jackie Chan: My Story (1998) and Jackie Chan: My Stunts (1999), co-producing the former with Chan.
Logan appeared in an episode of the Fist of Fury television series, in 1995. He also appeared in the documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey and wrote and performed voice dubbing in another Lee documentary, Bruce Lee in G.O.D.. On a couple of DVD commentaries for Hong Kong Legends, Logan revealed that he found the long-lost footage filmed by Bruce Lee for Game of Death whilst looking through the vaults of Media Asia (his employers at the time). This footage was subsequently released on the bonus disc of the Hong Kong Legends release of Game of Death, as well as on the Warner Home Video release of the documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey.
Logan is also noted for his many audio commentaries on international DVD releases of East Asian (predominantly Hong Kong) films, earning him a place in Empire magazine's "Ten Heroes of DVD".[9] He has recorded 123 film commentaries to date, his latest being for the UK DVD releases of Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, Woochi The Demon Slayer and Young Bruce Lee, all in collaboration with Mike Leeder, and the forthcoming Shaolin, which he has recorded solo. The commentaries Logan has recorded, by label, are as follows:
| Commentaries | For DVD company | Release Dates | Film Origin | Film Studios | DVD territory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hong Kong Legends | 2000—2007 | Hong Kong | Mainly Golden Harvest | UK (R2) |
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Celestial Pictures / IVL | 2002 | Hong Kong | Shaw Brothers Studio | Hong Kong (R3) |
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Tai Seng | 2003—2005 | Hong Kong | ATV | USA (R1) |
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Premier Asia | 2003—2007 | Japan, Thailand South Korea |
Various | UK (R2) |
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Optimum Asia | 2006 | Hong Kong | Cinema City | UK (R2) |
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Dragon Dynasty | 2006— | Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Thailand Vietnam |
Various | USA (R1) |
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Cine Asia | 2010— | China, Hong Kong, South Korea |
Various | UK (R2) |
Maurice and Catherine Bulley, Logan's adoptive parents since birth, now deceased, are greatly missed. Maurice, a typical Englishman had no idea nor interest in the action films and projects Logan was so passionate about, yet he was extremely supportive and a good sport. Thanks to his adoptive parents, Logan was educated at Uppingham School, a Public School in Rutland.
He has been based in Hong Kong since 1993. In 1996 he married Ponnie Leung, and they had three children together (Ryan, Calvin and Kyle) before getting divorced in 2004 due to his many infidelities. He attributes his conversion to Buddhism to Leung.