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Heart Of A Dragon is a motion picture filmed on location in Beijing and on the Great Wall of China, written, directed and produced by Vancouver filmmaker Michael French, which will open Friday, October 29th, 2010. Heart of a Dragon is executive produced by David Foster, the 15-time Grammy® Award-winning producer and songwriter, and Mark Gordon, whose numerous film producing credits include “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Messenger,” “Speed,” “The Patriot” and TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy".== Synopsis ==Over twenty years ago, Michael French flew with a film crew from Vancouver, British Columbia to Beijing and documented something quite extraordinary, a young man in a wheelchair accompanied by a few of his closest friends who, half-way through their around the Man in Motion World Tour, entered Beijing with over 1 million Chinese heralding his arrival as a hero. Michael French was intrigued, and curious to find out why Hansen was given such an enthusiastic reception.In that moment, "Heart of a Dragon" was born. And since then, French set off on his own personal journey to make a feature film about hope and dreams that captivated him and a million Chinese over two decades ago - a story of a man, Everyman, who, in a test of his own self endurance, discovers the true meaning of love, loyalty, friendship, the strength of the human spirit. == Cast ===== Victor Webster ===Victor plays Rick Hansen, a world champion disabled athlete who after winning 19 consecutive marathons was invited to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angles where his will to win was replaced by a dream to make his wheelchair invisible. A dream not everyone in the press believed to be true until he pushed himself across the world to ascend the Great Wall. Victor shares many of Rick's physical attributes, most notably, the heart of a fierce competitor. As an able - bodied actor and martial artist whose family knew the pain of disability, Victor immersed himself in an intense psychological and physical training program in preparation for the role. His normally athletic upper body was transformed to match the massive muscled arms and shoulders Rick Hansen developed, first on the race track and then on his journey around the world in a wheelchair. Michael Jacobs who helped prepare Jon Voight for his disabled role in 'Coming Home' was called on to prepare Victor and teach him about life in wheelchair. Michael Jacobs died before 'Heart of a Dragon' was completed. Victor's performance as a man in search of himself committed to changing the world one stoke at a time, borrows from the experiences of many lives.=== James Byrnes ===Jim plays Ivan Kostelic, a reporter whose years of service as a newspaperman have left him harder than most and so very certain wheelchairs and the disabled did not belong in the 1984 Olympics. Moreover, Ivan is critical of Rick Hansen's mission to push himself around the world, believing it's nothing more than a publicity stunt. Jim comes to this role knowing intimately what disability means having lost both his legs in a highway accident. Playing Ivan asked everything of Jim. And in turn the actor created a character who challenges every aspect of what it means to be disabled. === Sarah-Jane Potts ===Sarah - Jane plays Amanda Reid, a physiotherapist whose commitment to helping others in word and in deed, enables a dream but asks more than she can ever know. Sarah - Jane wears a Chinese tattoo down her back that maps her own family history, and as a child remembers her home would often house those who struggled physically. In so many ways, Sarah - Jane understood the essence of Amanda Reid and China long before she accepted the role.=== Andrew-Lee Potts ===Andrew - Lee plays Don Alder, the best friend a boy could ever have. But this best friend carried with him the pain of believing he should not have walked away from an accident that broke another boys back. So intense was the guilt, as the boys became men, the memory of that day consumed Don.=== Ethan Embry ===Ethan plays Lee Gibson, the cousin who eats fire, wrestles geese and worries about his family. It's hard to be funny when you're exhausted and scared but if someone doesn't laugh, something very bad will happen and the dream of wheeling around the world will die. Lee Gibson went to bed every night knowing, worrying Rick was pushing too hard.=== Yu Na ===YuNa plays Maylee Wong, a interpreter charged with assisting Rick Hansen in his journey through China. Like many translators of the period, Maylee is fluent in English but struggles with the nuance of the language. This is Yu Na's first film with an English-speaking role.== References ==== External links ==* heartofadragonmovie.com * Heart Of A Dragon Movie clips on YouTube