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Ronny Yu < Return to Family Man

Bio - Ronny Yu directed the episode of NBC's "Fear Itself" entitled "Family Man." "Fear Itself" is a provocative new 13-episode suspense and horror anthology series from the Emmy-winning team behind "Masters of Horror."

Born in Hong Kong, Ronny Yan-Tai Yu dreamed of making films since he was a child. At only nine months of age, Yu contracted polio, resulting in a long recovery that prevented him from having an active childhood. As a result, he spent 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 himself in grander, more exciting adventures. It was then that his passion to become a director began to grow.

Soon after graduating college, a pivotal turning point occurred for Yu. His friend, a police lieutenant with acting ambitions, persuaded Yu to direct "The Servant." Yu seized the opportunity and learned the craft as the filming proceeded. The film became the No. 1 box office hit for the summer.

Throughout the 1980s, Yu directed and produced many box office successes in Hong Kong. In 1993, the romantic swordplay epic "The Bride with White Hair" established his signature style of kinetically paced storytelling through sumptuous imagery. It 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.

In 1995, Yu brought to the screen the equally ravishing "The Phantom Lover," a love story inspired by the original novel of "The Phantom of the Opera" and the 1920s Chinese movie "Songs of Midnight."

Following these two 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: "Bride of Chucky" (the fourth film in the "Child's Play" franchise), which he infused with dark humor; then "Freddy vs. Jason" (of the "Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th" franchises, respectively), where its box office gross totaled more than any single film in either franchise.

Never one to confine himself to a genre, Yu followed with "Fearless," starring Jet Li as martial arts legend Huo Yuan Jia, who became the most famous fighter in China at the turn of the 20th Century. The film was Yu's attempt at reinventing the "chopsocky" genre by having a film that not only consists of high-energy fight scenes, but one that is rich in character and story, combined with a universal theme audiences can relate to. Rogue Pictures picked up the film and released it in the U.S. in 2006. It became at the time the highest-grossing picture Rogue had released to date.