STAR WALKER OF THE MONTH
November, 2007

www.thestarwalkers.com

February 1^st, 1965 March 31^st, 1993

BRANDON LEE: SHADOWS IN THE MIRRORS
by – G. K. Holland

“……we get to think of life as an inexhaustible

well. Yet everything happens only a certain number

of times, and a very small number really. How many

more times will you remember as certain afternoon of

your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply

a part of your being that you can't even conceive

of your life without it? Perhaps 4 and 5 times more.

Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch

the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.”

-- Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky, 1949

DESTINY’S CHILD – DEATH BY MIS-ADVENTURE

Brandon loved reciting the above quote by writer Paul Bowles. And he did so in his last interview on the set of the film The Crow. And that makes the words above all the more poignant and eerie. In a tribute album to his late older brother Bruce, Robert Lee once wrote a song called: ‘Pointing Finger’ with lyrics that went: “ …lightning hands, disrobing stare. We miss the thunder of your fame….” And so as it was with the father, and so it is with the son. Today there are many people who enjoy Brandon’s undeniable talents through the cinematic work he left behind (some five films and numerous TV appearances). They miss his unique magic on screen. Brandon Lee died tragically in what has since been labeled by what the Chinese would call ‘Death by Mis-adventure’.

While on location at Carolco Studios in Wilmington, NC, Brandon was shooting the death scene of his character Eric Draven when an improperly cleaned prop gun fired a dummy bullet tip into his midsection. The dummy bullet tip tore through Lee’s abdomen and was lodged in his spine. Brandon lost a tremendous amount of blood and subsequently he was pronounced dead on the operating table at New Hanover Regional Medical Center at 1:04 P.M. on March 31, 1993.

It would seem that it was a life ended far too short. But in his brief 28 years on this planet he accomplished much (ominously, Brandon’s father Bruce, also died at a very young age). After years of paying his own dues in Hollywood, New York and even abroad, Brandon had finally risen above the immense legendary shadow of his father. This was something he had struggled with for many years and now he had finally begun to come into his own as a recognized talent. Brandon had finally begun to see not the image of his father in the mirror when he looked at it, but his own bright image now emerging. It was certain that he was poised for greatness. His star had finally arrived.

But like his father before him, Brandon had become a child of destiny, and again the world would see so much promise suddenly taken away. It seemed like another cruel blow had been dealt to the international film community. And even worse he was scheduled to marry his fiancée Eliza Hutton in Mexico after principle photography on The Crow had been completed. If Eliza’s heart could cry, perhaps our ears could not stand the pain it would sing out to us. The measure of loss of movie star Brandon Lee is perhaps second only to the loss of those who loved him. For his family and close friends the pain of their loss can never be fully measured.

A TRUE TALENT IN HIS OWN RIGHT

"Since my earliest memories, I always wanted

to be an actor, and I pursued that from the time

I was very young... I have really never felt that

there were other paths for me."

– Brandon Lee

I remember meeting Brandon Lee, (though it was from a distance). Once when he attended the premiere of Columbia Pictures ‘watered down’ release of Bruce’s un-finished film called: The Game of Death. Brandon attended the premiere with his mother Linda, and his sister Shannon at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood in 1978. And a second time while driving down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. And for some unexplained reason he was driving a hearse. It was just a strange quirky thing he did. Now looking back, I can’t help but think that this has some serious ominous and self prophesizing connotations to it. We never actually met or hand the opportunity to exchange words but I had heard nothing but great things about Brandon. Most of this was from several stunt men who had worked with him and were working with me on several pilot projects Eric Walker and myself were filming at the time (all pre-Star Walker projects). Although you can’t always really trust what people may say about a person), I had a very good image and idea of what kind of person Brandon Lee was.

I had heard that he was humble, intelligent, respectful, a good martial artist and a talented actor. As I watched his work over his short career I remember thinking how much of a better actor he was than his father Bruce Lee. As I sat in the theater during a screening of ‘Showdown in Little Tokyo’) starring Brandon and Dolph Lundgren, I wondered how many people in the theater knew who this very talented and up and coming movie star was. I had been inspired to begin my own journey in the martial arts years prior by watching Bruce Lee’s incredible athletic grace, speed, power and the technical precision of his punches and kicks in ‘Way of the Dragon’ ,and then again later in the film ‘Enter the Dragon’. So I felt very proud of Brandon. And then without thinking I yelled out “Son of Bruce!”. And several people in the theater began clapping and yelled that same phrase back at me. So it was good to know that there were indeed at least a number of people who knew who Brandon was. And at that moment, a kind of special kinship, filled the theater. It is inspiring how there is a fellowship of excellence that all people can relate to, no matter what ethnicity, one’s social station, or gender. This is one of the true gifts of athletics, the way it brings people together.

I think that people began to have a hope that Brandon would re-kindle that special magic and excitement that his father’s talent had brought to the silver screen some twenty years prior. On some deep level, many like myself wanted Brandon to fill his father’s shoes. But Brandon was much smarter than that. In true alignment with the philosophy of Bruce’s martial art method called Jeet Kune Do (in Cantonese it means ‘Way of the Intercepting Fist, or Foot), Brandon had embraced being the son of a legend but he would use it to get his career started. He would take what was useful to reach his ends and discard the rest, which is the basic theme of Jeet Kune Do.

In the TV interviews he appeared on in the last few years of his life, I was struck at Brandon’s humbleness, knowledge of acting, the martial arts, the true meaning of Jeet Kune Do, and the cinema. He had not only paid his dues (having studied acting seriously for a time at the Boston Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and then appearing on stage with the American New Theater Company), it was obvious that he had seriously immersed himself on the journey of discovering who he really was.

I have a deep respect for his humble walk and his sincere quest in becoming an ‘artist of life’ in the process. Brandon was a true gentleman. When he trained at the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts (Danny Inosanto was Bruce Lee’s close friend and assistant instructor), he took his lumps like everyone else without any pretense of ego. Brandon was actually being groomed by Danny Inosanto to take over his father’s martial arts legacy. It would have been interesting to see what direction he might have taken his father’s method or concept of ‘live hand to hand combat’, at a time when many take up the study of Jeet Kune Do for all the wrong reasons.

SHADOWS IN THE MIRRORS

“Remember, the enemy has only images and illusions,

behind which he hides his true motives! Destroy

the image, and you will break the enemy.”
-- Master Monk - Enter the Dragon

In his father’s break out movie and now classic film Enter The Dragon, there is a scene in which Bruce Lee must face his nemesis (a man named Han who was a rebel Shaolin Monk) in a daunting maze of mirrors. In a brief moment in between a game of cat and mouse with his foe, Lee remembers what his martial arts master had said to him in an earlier scene back at the Shaolin Temple. In audio flashback we hear Lee’s teacher say: “Remember, the enemy has only images and illusions behind which he hides his true motives! Destroy the image, and you will break the enemy.”

If one’s struggle to live up to a legend can be called an enemy (an enemy to the mind if you will), then the legendary image of Bruce Lee was a haunting one for Brandon. Imagine being expected to fill the shoes of such a legend as Bruce Lee. Imagine it, if just for a moment. What would that be like? Ask yourself, “How would I handle something like that?” And for Brandon the comparison came automatically for several reasons. One, he was Bruce’s son, and two his chosen profession and passion was for acting, an arena his father had made the bulk of his reputation in.

I can imagine that while Brandon was very proud of his father and to be his son, I’m sure he did not like knowing that when people looked at him they saw his father’s image, his father’s shadow in the mirror (if you will). But to Brandon’s credit he came to embrace this inevitable obstacle and set out to destroy an illusion that had been haunting him. Because that is exactly what it was, an illusion. He no longer feared being compared to his father and came to recognize that the enemy in the shadows of the reflection of himself was his own fear, of his own making, and had been forged in self doubt. But in true warrior fashion he challenged it and finally overcame it. Although he had been trained it the martial arts since the age of four or five by Bruce and was a true martial artist, he did not want to just do action or martial art films. The plan was to use that to advance his career and then branch out into a variety of roles to showcase the depth of his acting ability. And he did just that and succeeded at it.

SCIENTISTS OF MOTION

“Don’t concentrate on the finger,

or you will miss all the heavenly glory.”

– Bruce Lee – Enter The Dragon

Bruce spoke about not getting to caught up in this technique or that, only to meld with ‘what works’ for you, the individual free martial artist. He felt that was the only way one could get down to the true essence of unarmed combat, ‘the true art of war’. He believed in learning from tradition but not at the cost of being bound by it. He talked about letting your ego die, letting ‘the it of it’ just happen. This is what he meant when he said: “You must learn the art of dying.”

The martial arts are no doubt a beautiful physical symphony of athletic coordination and physical mastery. But one can get so caught up in the rapid fire punch and kick combinations that one can miss the wonderful notes or points in between, the beginning, middle and ending benefits of the training or battle. This is where you can find the essence of the human spirit flowing in between the cracks like a warm nourishing liquid of sorts. But many take this ‘flow’ out of context. Instead of letting the training take them to a higher place of learning, a higher level of understanding one self and the world around them, a slaying of ones own ego to the service and welfare of others, they simply misuse it. The martial arts is about so much more than just a physical discipline. Instead their training becomes a rather twisted by product from the mind of one with an oversized ego. Brandon was well aware of all of this.

He was once quoted as saying: “For me, the martial arts is a search for something inside. It's not just a physical discipline. Because, if it was just a physical discipline, you may as well take up weightlifting, or playing soccer, or baseball, or anything else. Why is it the martial arts have generated this tremendous interest and excitement that these other things haven't? Because these other things are just surface. When you see someone who is greatest at what they do, it goes beyond a physical perfection. The don't just go out there and pump their muscles and win. There's got to be an inner spiritual - whatever it is for them - aspect to what they're doing. That's what the martial arts is to me. I'm trying to develop that. The physical stuff comes along with it, and is an expression of it. And each move should be an expression of the serenity that's inside. Because if the move is just a move, then it's just waving your arms about and shouting. And anybody can do that.”

BLAZING HIS OWN TRAIL!

“I do not want to be remembered

as the son of Bruce Lee!”

-- Brandon Lee

Brandon was his own man, with his own dreams and goals. He read different books than his father did, he had a different collegiate experience, dated different kinds of women than his father did (before he married Linda) and so forth. Brandon just wanted to be respected as his own person with his own accomplishments, apart, from his famous father.

To his credit Brandon Lee managed to leave behind his own shadows in the mirrors. He has left his own indelible foot print in the craft of acting and now has his own historic place in cinema. He was the consummate actor, a growing artist, the evolving martial artist, an innovator moving towards mastery of his craft(s). Brandon Lee was one deep fellow martial artist and creative artist.

A VISIONARY

In a rare interview conducted in early 1993 Brandon talked about how disappointed he was that there was still not one bankable Asian box office star. He talked about how even though some thirty years had passed since Bruce Lee’s international cinematic reign, there still was not any one leading Asian actor who had taken his place, not even marketability wise. He had a solution however, and cited how far Black Americans had come in film because many stories about that experience had been told and thereby had created a rich Black cinematic history and audience.

He knew that there were many rich stories in the Chinese communities of America and felt the same thing could be done. Had he lived, I have no doubt that he would’ve spear headed a revolutionary film movement lifting up and expanding Chinese American cinema in the U.S. and thereby the overall “American Experience”.

BRANDON LEE AWARDED HONORARY AS A 7^TH RANK KEN JU KAI

Within the ranks of the elite warriors known as the Ken Ju Kai (from the world of Star Walker), Brandon Lee we extend to you the honorary 7th Rank Ken Ju Kai. We acknowledge your desire and success in finding your own path in spite of being the son of a legend, few have been able to do this. Your evolving talent as a true and full artist has already been sorely missed. May God continue to embrace and keep your spirit.

Commenteors – What other people have to say about this Star Walker of the Month, these commentaries are like comets and meteors, though brief, they are prolific and enlightening and sure to leave a trail of insightfulness across your heart. These comments are what we call Commenteors.

To Star Walk – Click here and find the star of Brandon Lee as he is forever remembered in the galaxy of the stars within the Star Walker Universe. View and watch the skies slowly fill in the coming months and years as the light of Star Walker, after Star Walker, after Star Walker fills the heavens. We do this as an interactive tribute to those who have through fate, destiny, and even under divine purpose, left the rest of us behind, as well as to those who are still with us.

Star Walker of the Month for December 2007 is?

Past Star Walkers of the Month:

October 2007 - Queen Latifah

September 2007 – Vince Lombardi

August 2007 -_Chuck Norris

July 2007 - Deforest Kelley

June 2007 - Liviu Librescu

May 2007 - Watchman Nee

April 2007 - Helen Hayes

March 2007 - Nelson Mandela

February 2007 - James Brown

January 2007 - Mother Teresa

December 2006 - Paul Allen Knopf

November 2006 - Princess Diana

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