Corona | Coming Attractions

I didn't know that Keanu Reeves was making a kung-fu action movie in Taiwai until I learned about it on Reddit, but that's exactly what the star of The Matrix trilogy is doing. Reeves isn't just starring in Man of Tai Chi, he's also directing it too. And judging from this behind-the-scenes video that got posted on YouTube, it's looking promising.

Keanu may have picked up inspiration from watching the Wachowski brothers make their Matrix movies, but the automated dolly cam that Reeves is employing on Man of Tai Chi goes way beyond the bullet time visual style pioneered by the W's.

According to the description posted on the YouTube video, the rig was built by a camera company called Bot & Dolly. The camera is able to do moves that aren't possible if it's being held by a cameraman, or on a platform. For instance, as the two fighters in the video brawl, the camera can rapidly dodge between their moves, spin around and then zoom up, all the while keeping the fighters in the center of the frame.

Holy crap, it looks awesome. Watch for yourself:

 Like I said, Reeves is filming Man of Tai Chi right now in Taiwai. All I've been able to find out about the movie is that it's got some lesser known eastern action stars in it, and the screenwriter (Michael G. Clooney) has some past credits writing for video games and short films.