Ronny Yu

RONNY YU

Date of Birth: 1950

Born in Hong Kong, Ronny Yu contracted polio as a child. The disease left him with a crippled leg, and he felt isolated, because he couldn't run and play with other children. He studied marketing at the University of Ohio in the United States, then returned to Hong Kong where, along with a police officer friend, he co-wrote a movie script about two cops. Another friend financed the film, and unable to find a director, Yu took on the job, while the script's co-writer played the leading man. The film went on to become a hit in Hong Kong, much to his father's dismay. "To my father, film directors were pimps. It had been a long tradition in Hong Kong for directors to set up starlets with possible investors," Yu said in an interview. "The great irony is that my love of film is my father's fault. He loved American westerns and took me to them whenever possible when I was a child."

In Hong Kong, Yu made many films over the next 18 years, working with film stars such as Chow Yun Fat and Brandon Lee. Despite the fact that he speaks English fluently, Yu's first English language film wasn't until Warriors of Virtue (1997), filmed in Beijing and Vancouver. He was next asked to direct the horror film Bride of Chucky (1998), starring Jennifer Tilly and John Ritter.

Samuel L. Jackson, a fan of Yu's films, brought him a script for an action comedy called The 51st State (2001). Yu agreed to direct the film, starring Jackson and Meat Loaf. He then returned to Canada to shoot another horror film, Freddy Vs. Jason (2003), starring Jason Ritter. Yu lives in Australia and has become a citizen of that country.

Filmography:

Blood: The Last Vampire (2007)
Jet Li's Fearless (2006)
Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)
The 51st State (2001)
Chasing Dragon (1999)
Bride of Chucky (1998)
Warriors of Virtue (1997)
Ye ban ge sheng (1995)
Bai fa mo nu zhuan (1993)
Bai fa mo nu zhuan II (1993)
Wu Lin sheng dou shi (1992)
Huo tou fu xing (1992)
Qian wang 1991 (1991)
Gwang tin lung foo wooi (1989)
Meng gui fo tiao qiang (1988)
Long zai jiang hu (1986)
Si yan zi (1985)
Ling qi po ren (1984)
Jui gwai chat hung (1981)
Xun cheng ma (1981)
Jiu shi zhe (1980)
Cheung laap cheing ngoi (1979)