Born in Hong Kong, Ronny Yan-Tai Yu dreamed of making films since he
was a child. At only 9 months of age, Yu contracted polio, resulting in
a long recovery that prevented him from developing an active childhood
and had to spend much time in isolation. To cope with the loneliness,
Yu created fantasy worlds of his own, with furniture as props. As he
grew older, his world of escape became the cinema, where he could
immerse in grander, more exciting adventures. It was then that his
passion to become a director began to grow.However, as the only son of a traditional Chinese family, film making
was cast aside by the time he started college. Under pressure to take
up the family business, Yu studied business instead and earned an MBA
from Ohio University.Soon after graduation, a pivotal turning point occurred for Yu. His
friend Philip Chan, a police lieutenant with acting ambitions,
persuaded Yu to direct The Servant, a screenplay that he wrote based on
his experiences in the police force. Yu took up the opportunity and
learned the craft as the filming proceeded. The film became the No.1
box office hit for the summer, and Yu's future seemed destined to be in
film after all.Throughout the 1980s Yu directed and produced many other box office
successes in Hong Kong. In 1993, the romantic swordplay epic
The Bride with White Hair (1993) (The
Bride with White Hair) established his signature style of
kinetically-paced story-telling through sumptuous imagery. Bride was a
huge summer hit in Hong Kong, and also became an art house theater
favorite in the U.S. and Europe, leading to international critical
acclaim. It also won the Grand Prize at the Fantastica film festival in
Belgium.In 1995 came the equally ravishing
The Phantom Lover (1995) (The
Phantom Lover), a love story inspired by the original novel of The
Phantom of the Opera, and the Chinese movie Songs of Midnight from the
1920s.Following these two stunning films, Yu launched his Hollywood career.
His flair for visually rich narration appealed immediately to broader
Western audiences and has been associated mostly with the horror film
genre, as he has revived three franchises - with
Bride of Chucky (1998); then
Freddy vs. Jason (2003), of the
Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises, respectively,
where its box office total is more than the two franchises'combined
earnings.Never one who confines himself to a genre, Yu went on to direct
Fearless (2006) (Fearless), a
film starring Jet Li, based on the true story of the martial arts
master Huo Yuanjia.