Cry of the Tiger book for young people

Tony Anthony, whose dramatic story is documented in the award-winning books,

Taming the Tiger and Cry of the Tiger is an international speaker and advisor on crime and rehabilitation. He is married with two children and for the past 20 years he has taken his complelling life story and teaching to prisons, schools, universities and stadiums, addressing hundreds of thousands of people every year.

tragedy turned me into a blood“ Personal thirsty, violent man.  I was incarcerated in the notorious Nicosia Central Prison, ­Cyprus when, on the 3rd  May 1990, my life was radically and powerfully transformed.  We live in a world that is desperately in need of hope and redemption. My story shows how this can be found, even in the most unlikely of places.

”

The Award winning book from Tony Anthony and Angela Little . . . 1,500,000 copies sold globally Translated into 30 languages TV documentary

Cry of the Tiger book for young people International author touring schedule and now. . .

Taken away as a child from his parents in England and forcibly trained in the ancient martial art of Kung Fu in rural China, Tony Anthony becomes three-times Kung Fu Champion of the World. He is later head-hunted for his fighting skills and abilities by an elite close ­protection company. From China to Europe, America and across the ­Mediterranean into the Middle East, we follow Tony ­guarding the world’s richest and most powerful ­people. When deep personal tragedy strikes suddenly, his tough regime of discipline and self-control twists and bolts out of control and he begins to use his skills for ­illegal means and bloodthirsty pleasures. Eventually incarcerated in a deadly prison in Cyprus, Tony hits rock bottom. When a stranger asks to visit him, Tony’s desparate days are set on a different path, towards an encounter with a higher power that will change his life forever . . .

Taming The Tiger’s unique cinematic journey offers edge-of-the-seat entertainment. Packed with Kung Fu action, drama, nail-biting ­suspense, romance and tragedy, it features a surprising twist, challenging its audience in the portrayal of an unexpected and remarkable spiritual encounter. Fast-paced, action-packed, compelling and, at times, chilling, this is a deeply moving story of one man’s ­brutalised life and his journey to redemption . . .

Kung Fu: 

Prison:

Action:

Romance:

Opening in China, Tony’s childhood initiation into the traditional world of martial science is brutal but it sets the scene for some of the story’s most beautiful landscapes and thrilling action. From the ancient art of meditation, the study of animals and an encounter with a wild white tiger, to the gritty streets of Triad territory, prostitution and racketeering, we are introduced to an art that is as beautiful, skilled and self-disciplined as it is violent and deadly.

Progressing in a Bourne Trilogy-like style through cities across Europe, the United States and the Middle East we are exposed to the world of espionage and underground crime as we follow Tony through highly ­choreographed close protection and hand-to-hand combat sequences.

A world of debauchery and violence, these graphic scenes (with echoes of Midnight ­Express) depict the reality of rejected and ­broken souls at their most base level. Nicosia Central Prison in Cyprus is a ­seemingly God-forsaken place, yet as the plot ­thickens it is in this melting pot of depravity that ­inconceivable hope, life and true freedom breaks through.

Juxtaposed against tough scenes of high ­action, Tony’s romanctic encounter with a blind Swedish law student infuses the story with emotion, tenderness and glimmers of ­human warmth that are touchingly apparent in their otherwise startling absence. Principally set in London, their romance ­ironically becomes the springboard for the story’s progression into tragedy and the ­unleashing of tsunami force self-destruction.

Tragedy:

In an intensely gripping scene Tony learns of the tragic death of his lover, killed by a ­mindless drunk driver. The trauma finally tips the scales and instantly Tony’s suppressed emotions, buried deep in his soul – the wounds of ­rejection by his mother and his disabled father, the physical and emotional brutality of his training at the hand of a merciless grandfather, his lack of identity and a place to call home – are catapulted to the surface sending him on a blood thirsty rampage.

Spirit:

Missionary Michael Wright’s visits to Tony whilst in prison present intense scenes of ­challenging dialogue and the opportunity of a new ‘way’ for Tony. Films such as The Green Mile and The Sixth Sense, depicting spiritual encounters, have exceeded box office ­expectations. It is without a doubt that Tony’s tangible spiritual experience can be sensitively and dramatically depicted on screen, making Taming the Tiger a unique, powerful and groundbreaking ­cinematic experience.

T

ony Anthony’s London childhood comes to an abrupt end when at the tender age of 4, he is sent to Guangdong in Southern China to be raised by his grandfather, the legendary Kung Fu Master, Cheung Ling Soo. Alone, confused and in a foreign land Tony quickly understands that, if he is to survive, he must succumb to a harsh regime of cruel discipline. Like an animal he is quickly ‘broken in’ and so begins his initiation into the ancient ways of his maternal ancestors.

A half cast or ‘round-eye’, Tony suffers not only the blows of his Grandfather but also the ­merciless torment of the community who name him Gwai Lo (meaning ‘foreign devil’) and deem him forever an outsider. If there is any ­tenderness it is in the figure of his grandmother who opens up the young boy’s imagination with stories and Chinese traditions that bring bitter-sweet ­reprieve from the cane.

brothel where it is believed she is being kept and finds himself at the headquarters of the city’s most deadly triad gang. Men come at him with knives but Tony’s deft moves and skill see him defending himself and rescuing the girl. This is just one of many ‘tests’ and eventually Cheung Ling Soo begins to enter his ­apprentice in competitions which take him across ­China and Pakistan. Continually seeking only his ­grandfather’s fealty, Tony becomes three times Tony’s story of harsh training and ­brokenness ‘World Champion’, earning a fearsome ­reputation is set against a backdrop of traditional ­China’s and becoming a ‘Master in Kung Fu’. colour, vibrancy and stunning cinematic ­landscapes: From the scorching heat of Guang- Whilst intrigued by his grandmother’s dong’s open plains to ice-cold, death-defying superstitious practises to appease ancient mountain ravines, the young novice is made to gods, Tony is bound under his master’s mantra perform extraordinary exercises to mould, shape of ‘there is no god, only the god within.’ and strengthen his physique into an ­ultimate Harnessing the power of this belief he proves fighting machine. Harnessing the ­power of himself many times over and gains the ­attention ch’i, he endeavours to move on the breeze and of a private ­close-protection company who seek through a remarkable encounter with a wild white his help in training their men and women in tiger, learns to overcome all fear and adopt the ­hand-to-hand combat. movement, strength and spirit of the ­magnificent This means a move to Europe which soon leads beast. With this he is given a new name, Lo Fu Tony into the higher echelons of society working Zai, meaning ‘Little Tiger’. as an elite b ­ odyguard. As a teenager Tony finds himself using his skills in many episodes of high drama. When a drug syndicate for human trafficking kidnaps one of his cousins, Tony’s grandfather sends him alone to the city to find her and bring her back alive. Tony searches the streets and dark alleys for the

World travel, private jets, fast cars, yachts, big money and powerful people: a far cry from the cherry-blossom temples, the bamboo bed and the restricted pleasures of his youth. Yet whilst Tony relishes the freedom this new life has to offer, the discipline of his training keeps him

f­ocussed and in control. He soon graduates to work with a number of rich and powerful ­Arabian businessmen and finds himself in a shady world as a ­tension-filled meeting in the Middle East ­escalates into a serious life-threatening ­situation. A car chase tears through Riyadh’s narrow labyrinth streets until Tony, his colleague and their client are forced to abandon the vehicle and take off on foot through the gruelling desert with the assassins hot on their heels. A shoot-out ensues and Tony’s right-hand-man falls but the client is safe. They live to seek ­refuge with the Bedouin and after a series of ­intense ­covert manoeuvres eventually escape the ­country under false identities.

is confronted by the demons of his dark soul. He tries at first to seek solace in meditation and the rituals of his training but the one-time ‘path to enlightenment’ is now some far distant reality. Back on the prison block, he receives a ­letter from a stranger, Michael Wright, an Irish ­missionary working on the island. Tony at first rejects his request to visit, until he hears about the Coca Cola and chocolate offered to prisoners in the visiting room.

Tony is rude and aggressive with Michael, yet week after week the missionary returns, ­becoming a precious window to the outside world. Though he remains suspicious of his motives, Tony grows to appreciate the man’s Tony accepts an appointment for a Saudi warmth and commitment. The months drag by ­Arabian politician named Amin, heading up his and after a particularly violent episode on the close ­protection unit in the UK, Italy and ­Cyprus. wing an agitated and paranoid Tony confronts Whilst in London, Tony meets and falls in love with Michael about his unprecedented friendship. a blind Swedish law student. Though their time together is snatched between his ­assignments, That evening Tony cries out from years of they begin planning a future together. Meanwhile, ­torment and in an emotional encounter finds despite only brief periods of contact throughout himself literally floored, experiencing a tangible his childhood, Tony tries to maintain something supernatural power in his prison cell. A new day of a relationship with his parents. It is a tense dawns and Tony Anthony begins a miraculous association but Tony ­provides financial support new life. Though still incarcerated, he lives as a for his father who is fast deteriorating through ‘free man’. It is a transformation that is ­sudden, multiple sclerosis. startling and intriguing to all who witness it. Many try to test and challenge his resolve. The One day, when Tony is on assignment in Rome, result is a remarkable story of redemption that is tragedy strikes. Aiya, his fiancée is killed in an far from over… accident with a drunk driver. A switch is flicked in Tony’s psyche, and the repression of his youth erupts with unprecedented force, ­sending him on a path of self-destruction. Reckless, he ­succumbs to his boss’s ­invitations to get ­involved in illicit debt collection; the ­self-control, discipline and etiquette of his ­training now ­vanquished by a new taste for unbridled violence. Tony takes to the streets, with predator intent looking for fights, hungry for blood. When his parents ­approach him for a large sum of money in the hope of treatment for his father’s condition Tony vows to get the funds by any means and embarks on a series of burglaries and violent episodes that finally land him in prison in Cyprus. Nicosia Central Prison is a sickening melting-pot of depravity and severe psychological torment. In the black silence of solitary confinement, Tony

TONY ANTHONY ‘I’m a great fan of movies and I know that the true story of my life is as extraordinary as many of the great action films. The difference with ­Taming the Tiger is its message of transformation and of hope. I believe my ­experience and my message is worth sharing and what better way than to stage it through a block-busting cinematic experience full of drama, of ­action, mystery and suspense . . . the depth is in the truth of the story.’

PATRICK AUMIAUX With a Master of Business and Administration (MBA) in movie ­production and many years experience in international project management of ­multi-million euros, Patrick Aumiaux is today associate and producer in Syloe Production, a movie and TV series production company based in Paris, France.

SISANDA HENNA Actor-Producer. Trained software engineer turned actor, has been in film production since 2003. Successful South African actor, starring in ­ground–breaking series Tsha tsha, Rifle Road (Cannes 2005), moved on to production for TV and film, focusing on development. Married to Bonnie Henna (actress Catch the Fire, Invictus, The ­Philanthropist…)

The primary objective of Taming The Tiger, The Movie is to produce a top quality piece of entertainment from a story that has proved itself undeniably provocative in print but demands the high impact visual format of a Hollywood style blockbuster to tell its amazing truth for a mass audience. To achieve this goal the producers seek the highest standards in acclaimed screenwriting, casting, acting and production. Taming the Tiger Productions Ltd. has been established to oversee the funding and development of the project. It is estimated that Taming The Tiger, The Movie will require an investment budget of £20 million, including a first phase development budget of £500,000. The producers invite you to further discussion of the business plan, financial forecasting and overall mission of this exciting and ambitious project.

TIMELINE: Development:

2010: Raising Development Funds



Soliciting interest from Writers, acclaimed Actors & Director

2011: Script writing



Securing financial partners



Recruiting production staff and cast

Pre-Production:

2011: October to December

Production:

2012: January to March

Post Production:

2012: April to September

Distribution and exhibition:

2012: November