By Alicia Lutes, Hollywood.com Staff

You know when you're walking through a park in an early morning, or watching a television commercial about the importance of bone density or something, and you see a bunch of people moving really slow? That's Tai Chi. You know, the slow-movement form of martial arts practiced by the geriatric set for mental health and clarity. It also helps reduces the risk of falling, which is very important for the older set!

So imagine our surprise when we heard that Keanu Reeves was making his directorial debut with a what is being described as a big-budget martial arts film, and it was titled Man of Tai Chi. The answer is: we were really, really surprised. But that's the truth!

Reeves recently discussed the nature of the project with MTV News, explaining he ""had worked on the script for about five, six years, and it just eventually became in my head, and I had to tell the story.""

And while Reeves is tight-lipped on the premise of the film, he does know how he wants it to play out--and all action with no substance is decidedly not on his agenda.

""My take on it was to not have action for action's sake and try to incorporate instead of action sequences… they were also story telling, not just plot but character development,"" he said. ""It wasn't just evil versus good or angry and defending. It was a little more about the journey of this person and going through the martial arts of who they were and who they are.""

What do you think about this new Keanu Reeves project? Are you a fan of martial arts films? Does Reeves have what it takes to pull it off right? Sound off in the comments!

[Photo Credit: WENN.com]

Follow Alicia on Twitter @alicialutes

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