Apparently Disney isn't moving forward with its plans for director Joseph Kosnski's third installation of the Tron franchise according to THR's report a few days ago. Tron: Legacy stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde were all set to reprise their roles from the second film that followed actor Jeff Bridges's performance in the 1982 first, while it was said earlier that production would commence in Vancouver, British Columbia this October with actor Jared Leto also starring.
I don't know what this says about the chances of a third as I've been looking forward to it myself; The film's cancellation comes just after director Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol helmer Brad Bird's latest contribution, Tomorrowland fell hugely short of expectations at the box-office. Despite this, the studio still has more live-action features coming so I wouldn't count the possibility of seeing a third film out just yet, although the fact that it's not happening as soon as we all thought just plain sucks.
As for Tomorrowland, I wish I caught this trailer sooner because this looks fantastic. Check it out:
QUESTION: Is Tomorrowland's box-office flop to blame for Disney's decision to shelf Tron 3? Comment below or on our Facebook page
Not suggesting that action star Dolph Lundgren ever left, but the name is back in the headlines again with Screenmedia's latest circulation of the new extended trailer for debut director Jerry Dugan's creature feature, Shark Lake following its AFM announcement late last year. Kickboxer: Vengeance co-star, actress Sara Malakul Lane takes the lead here from a script by David Anderson and Gabe Burnstein, and with a release tentative for this summer, it's also funny that the trailer comes on the heels of a reported theatrical re-release of the classic thriller, Jaws on the cusp of its 40th anniversary. Interesting.
SYNOPSIS:
Meredith Hendricks happens to be the best cop in her quiet town on Lake Tahoe. When a black-market exotic species dealer named Clint is paroled from prison, something he let loose begins to make its presence known. Swimmers and land-lovers alike begin to become part of the food chain at an unbelievable rate. Meredith and her team discover that they’re not just hunting one eating machine, but a whole family of them. Not everyone will make it out alive, but those who do will never forget this summer at Shark Lake.
Watch the trailer below and keep an eye open...and by all means, swim with caution!
Tournament martial arts dramas always lend a good bit of lip service to the genre for fans. Keep this in mind with less than a month before director Zang Xichuan's latest mainland feature, Bloody Destiny, provides another step forward for the locals and the niche abroad.
Gu Shang Wei leads the cast in a story of a former underground fighter whose past comes back to haunt him and the life he wants with his newfound love interest. There aren't any English plot details as of this write-up, but there is a teaser and trailer that should offer something much more convenient to appease the curiousity.
Also starring are Haitao Du and Yun-su Choi, Feng Xinyao, Feng Gang and longstanding thesp Ka-Yan Leung as the villan. Check out both videos below as well as a batch of posters and still.
Considering China's continuing efforts in sharpening its visionary methods for 3D fantasy filmmaking, debut director Raman Hui's newest offering couldn't come at a better time. His new film, Monster Hunt, which he also wrote with Alan Yuen, is based on an 18th century short story compilation, serves up quite the for someone like Hui to deliver the same caliber of family-oriented action adventure spectacle seen aplenty in his previous work as supervising animator and lead character designer for films such as Dreamworks’ Antz, Shrek and Shrek 2, and as co-director for Shrek The Third, to name a few.
SYNOPSIS:
Set in a fictional world where human has waged war against monster for generations, the story begins with the birth of Woba, the last royal bloodline of the monster king, and centers on his quest to bring unity to the two races.
Edko Bill Kong produces with a promising cast that lists Bai Baihe, Jing Boran and Tang Wei along with Yao Chen, Eric Tsang, Sandra Ng and Wallace Chung. Action, adventure, comedy with heroes big AND small in a cinematic presentation with excellent choreography by Golden Horse Award nominee Ku Huan-Chiu (Journey To The West, The Monk) are the goal here with an appeal to a market that continues to bridge its industry overseas with some noteworthy results.
Check out the latest teaser below before its July 16 release, in addition to a behind-the-scenes featurette with excerpts by Hui and Yuen, production designer Taneda Yohei, cinematographer Anthony Pun and visual effects supervisor Jason H. Snell among others.
Well, six years after playing him in X-Men: Orgins, eight months after confirming his role and just three months since principal photography began, actor Ryan Renyolds has annouced completion of director Tim Miller's forthcoming adaptation of Marvel superhero, Deadpool. Renyolds himself has largely been the sole occupant of tweets before and during production with any number of set pics and updates interacting with fans on Twitter, with particular interest in at least two young fans who got to meet the actor on set through Make-A-Wish Foundation well over a week ago.
No doubt that being the forefront of the film's active campaign has been beneficial to the production as a whole, and even actor and TV show host Mario Lopez got in on the fun earlier on. The journey to this film's existence hasn't been an easy one though, as it's taken so long to not only get production up-and-running, but to tether it to fans' wishes for an R-rating in an age where you would expect any superhero movie to be PG-13 even if the original material called for something less restrained. We have a lot to be thankful for here, and for this, we're finally much closer to the film's February 12, 2016 release. I suspect a teaser may arrive as soon as late summer or early Fall, but we'll see what happens.
SYNOPSIS:
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Renyolds stars from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, with actors Ed Skrein and T.J. Miller, and actresses Gina Carano and Morena Baccarrin and newcomer Brianna Hildebrand also starring. Stay tuned!
Cavill has reportedly dropped out of the production due to issues regarding scheduling, casting and script changes as cited by Guy Collins, co-founder of GFM Films who were financing the picture and marketing the film and securing many pre-sales deals with distributors. "After securing many distribution deals ahead of the market, we had a really good Cannes and had closed more deals ahead of production next week,” said Collins. “But just before leaving Cannes last Friday we were informed by the production company that they wanted to push the start date back by around three weeks to finalise some additional casting and make some further fixes to the script. Then, during several meetings this week in London with both sets of producers including Henry Cavill, he told us he has decided not to shoot this script at this time. He had a different vision of what the film should be to us and the production team and wanted to delay production until September and shoot a different story and script.”
Cavill, who has been pushing for the project under his shared Promethan Productions banner with brother Charlie and producer Rex Glensy for some time now, would have played the title role as penned by former military serviceman-turned-author pen-named Duncan Falconer. The author launched the original eight-part literary series in 2003 from which the film will be based, aimed at following the story of SBS commando and Northern-Ireland intelligence operative John Stratton as he and his team set out to eliminate an international terrorist cell.
The whole situation has been described as a shock, especially since it was something that Cavill himself had been so emphatic about the character and the potential it had to offer. At any rate though, it appears that recasting is now underway with production that could start anywhere between now and the next three weeks or late summer.
Meanwhile, West's latest rock-and-roll action comedy, Salty, has recently acquired international distribution in multiple territories through reps at Carnaby International. Cavill will bow next in Guy Ritchie's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on August 14, and next year's Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice on March 25.
If your fandom has at all kept you on high alert for action star Marko Zaror's fourth bow with director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza in their newest revenge action thriller, Redeemer, don't fret. Hopefully you've caught our latest interview with Zaror where he discusses the film in addition to a number of morsels revolving around his career with more projects to come, and I, for one, can't wait to share more information on those. In the meantime, Zaror returns to the fray in Redeemer, the story of a suicidal former hitman who makes a suicidal deal with God to right his earlier wrongs through unleashing his own brand of vigilante justice, a mission that ultimately sees him confronting the demons of his past. The film is coming to five theater locations in four states with a digital release in just a few weeks, which you can read below if you so fancy it. Otherwise, the most recent trailer for the film is viewable just beneath (oh, and the new poster with the subsequent dates as of this June 1 edit should suffice as well)!
6/12/2015: Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park, Houston, TX 6/12/2015: Alamo Drafthouse Lubbock, Lubbock, TX 6/12-6/14:Gateway Film Center, Columbus, OH 6/12 & 6/13: Cinema Village, New York, NY 6/12/2015: Laemmle's Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills, CA
Actress Loreto Aravena, and actors Noah Seagan, Mauricio Diocares and Boris Smirnow also star.
Just shy of a year away from watching actor Jesse Eisenberg deliver his best Lex Luthor impression on the big screen, he's since returned in a less formal, ruggedly dressed and slightly more intoxicated role that still packs a wallop! American Ultra is coming to theaters this August with actress Kristen Stewart from director Nima Nourizadeh and writer Max Landis that takes what Seth Rogen and James Franco did for Pineapple Express and throws it in a 'Bourne' millieu full of government espionage, mystery and explosive thrills.
SYNOPSIS:
AMERICAN ULTRA is about an unmotivated stoner named Mike (Eisenberg), who lives with his girlfriend Phoebe (Stewart), in a small, sleepy town.
One night, their lives take an unexpected turn when Mike’s past comes back to haunt him, and he becomes the target of a government operation set to wipe him out.
Filmmaker and Kickstarter success story David Sandberg is likely having a really good year right now. Having started from almost nothing but an idea, a small crew, a nostaligic appreciation for the 1980's and love for things fantastic of the decade therin, his newest half-hour short, Kung Fury is about to kick its way online starting at 3:00pm EST/12:00 PST with a televised premiere on El Rey Network at 6:30pm EST/5:30pm CT.. And yes, this is all a pretty big deal too with a feature-length picture also in the works in the wake of the shortfilm's notable reception at the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes this month.
KUNG FURY is an over-the-top action comedy written and directed by David Sandberg. The movie features: arcade-robots, dinosaurs, nazis, vikings, norse gods, mutants and a super kung fu-cop called Kung Fury, all wrapped up in an 80s style action packed adventure.
Kung Fury takes place in a variety of exotic locations; 1980s Miami, Asgard and Germany in the 1940s, to name a few. With a limited budget to work with, we had to solve this by shooting most of the scenes against a greenscreen backdrop.
Kung Fury was funded mainly through a Kickstarter campaign, where people from all around the world showed their support for this crazy project. David worked on the film for a more than a year with almost no budget but a strong vision, with the help of friends and family. Most of the film has already been shot, but additional filming and lots of visual effects remain to be done.
The film will be around 30 minutes long and released for free on the internet.
Award-winning filmmaker Jeon Kyu-Hwan isn't afraid to take his contemplative arthouse style approach (as previously lauded in his work on the Town trilogy) and turn it up a notch. His newest erotic action thriller, Angry Painter, puts us square in the main character's tragic universe - one filled with madness and darkness, with several shades of red...and some black and blue, too.
SYNOPSIS:
Painter is veiled in mystery and seems to exist beyond this world. He spends his time painting, while his partner Driver makes love to Elbe, the Estonian woman whom he met at the strip bar. Meeting each other was like a heaven, however she misses her sister still living back at the country. The heavenly time all ends abruptly when her ex-boyfriend breaks into their house. When Painter arrives in the house, he finds Elbe is killed and Driver is deadly wounded. Painter helps his partner die in peace, then travels to Estonia with final remnant of Elbe. There, he comes across Kristi, Elbe's sister. Slowly and silently their lives intertwine, and Painter's true identity is revealed…
Actor and real-life painter Yoo Jun-Sang leads the film for its release on June 18 in South Korea, and the new trailer is now out and about to glance at. And nope, no happy little trees or bushes here either.
Aside from its film festival run overseas in the last few years Argentian 2013 revenge thriller, Justicia Propia currently remains a local success story for its lead action star Juan Manuel Olmedo while plans are evermore hopeful to release the film beyond borders next year. That said, it's been a while since any and all talk of a sequel began circulating, but that doesn't mean that nothing is happening. Because there will be plenty happening between August and September.
Olmedo has exclusively confirmed via press release with Film Combat Syndicate that Ley Mortal (Mortal Law), the sequel to Justicia Propia from Stunt Fighter Producciones, 3C Films and Lumiere Films, will begin principal photography in the next few months. Filmed in English and Castilian Spanish, Helmer Gaston Cha will direct with Olmedo reprising his role from a script by Bruno Zilli which now sees hero cop fighting his way through the walls of a private prison after being framed for his sister's alleged murder. In addition to coordinating the action, Olmedo will also produce with producers Juan Crespo and Adrian Ortiz.
Officer Diego Ponce (Juan Manuel Olmedo) "a narcotics policeman" goes to jail after being indicted in the alleged murder of his sister Graciela Ponce, spends his days locked in a maximum security prison private in the outskirts of the city. Where he meets Eduardo Marino "his brother-in-law", who is imprisoned for dealing with a drug gang and being murderer masterminding the homicide of her own daughter Silvina Marino.
Inside prison, Ponce attempts to rescue his lawyer and ex-girlfriend Marina Vassal Martínez (Miriam Lanzoni), daughter of police chief, Aníbal Vasallo, that in wanting to clarify his capture was kidnapped by Alfredo Benaci "Jail’s director”, faithful ally of Humberto Solano "Deputy Minister of Security of the Province ".
In prison he also encounters his former co-elite, who were jailed in a drug raid, Walter Cespedes and Yago (Mohamed Qissi).
Ponce will have to fight his past and his present before being killed by dangerous convicts in prison. His revenge of justice reveal an exciting police thriller full of intrigue, passion and above all, a lot of action.
Action movie fans at large may be familiar with actor Qissi who has played a pivotal role in propelling Jean-Claude Van Damme's film career, primarily as the villainous Tong Po in the 1989 installation of Kickboxer.
Further details describe Qissi's character in Mortal Law as Yago Tapia, outside of being the villain's right hand man, as a highly trained and disciplined weapons expert, fighter and member of the rebel group, Elite. The press release also stated that the film will take place in two stages, with the second stage filmed inside its prison setting with Olmedo and Qissi fighting at least twice throughout the film.
The cast is currently training under fifth-dan Tae Kwon Do blackbelt Gustavo Balbis, while Qissi himself also announced his participation in the new movie in a recent video you can check out below.
Be sure to follow the page on Facebook, and if you're just learning who Olmedo is, get to know him a little bit by clicking here.
Anything for a girl, it seems...Such it is for actor Huang Xiaoming's latest role as a man searching for his true love in Timothy Kendall's directorial debut, Hollywood Adventures. But will it be worth it to have to dodge all those damn bullets, near-death car accidents, disco balls to the dick and rattlesnakes? Personally I'd rather keep my balls in one piece, thank you very much.
SYNOPSIS:
When the girl of his dreams breaks up with him, Xiaoming (Huang Xiao Ming), a mild-mannered car salesman from China, buys Hollywood Adventure, the last available package tour from a shady travel website, so he can get to Los Angeles to win back his girlfriend. Along the way he’s paired up with a loony, cinema-crazed tourist named Dawei (Tong Dawei) and a slippery but hot Hollywood tour guide, WeiWei (Zhao Wei), whose scam finds her caught between a rock and a rhino horn - literally. When Xiaoming’s search for his girlfriend suddenly transforms into a rambunctious action comedy of errors across Hollywood, the quarrelsome partners Xiaoming and WeiWei finally discover what’s really important in life.
Justin Lin produced the film under his Perfect Storm Entertainment banner with Troy Craig Poon, in the company of producers Anne Clements and John Pierson. Enlight Pictures is releasing the film in China on June 26 while IM Global has since snagged the rights for the film outside North America and Southeast Asia.
The newest trailer is also here as well as some poster art just beneath!
Remakes... They're everywhere, and even in China where newly established film school dean, action legend Jackie Chan partook in producing one nearly seventeen years since the 1998 globetrotting espionage Chan-classic, Who Am I?. Producer and first time helmer Song Xi-Yin directs this latest revival with actor Ocean Wang now taking the lead in helping propel the next generation of action filmmakers and performers, and a cast featuring actreses Anna Yao and Zhang Lan-Xin, with fellow Chan cohorts Ken Lo and Yu Rong Guang also starring.
If you've seen the 1998 original, you pretty much get the gist of it as this particular installation centers around similar plot points with lur lead actor having fallen into amnesia and forced to fight for his life while searching for answers. It's a classic Chan film and the choice to remake a classic can always be a damming one if it's not respected for its history, although the fact that Chan was involved in this is still reassuring in many ways. Chan is a man with clout which could benefit Wang in this, his second bow in a feature film. Here with the help of action director Han Guanhua, the new Who Am I? could forsee a new action star in the making.
However, the fact is that the action will be key to how well this will bode, with at least one particular scene in mind involving the protagonist and two methodical henchmen. It's pretty much what made that movie so unforgettable and it will be nice if the fight sequences here would do the same.
Check out the trailer below ahead of the film's release on June 12 in China.
It's neither too early or late to remake a movie, especially for the folks over at Twentieth Century Fox who are now on the cusp of reviving more live-action superhero movie lore for millenials. For this, we turn to the 2003 installment of Blade helmer Stephen Norrington's The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which played a bit loose with the original source material and had some pretty gamey visual effects but still provided the necessary steampunk spectacle.
Word now has it that John Davis is now on board to produce the forthcoming reboot with Ira Napoliello and Matt Reilly overseeing. The film is based on the 1999 graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill and centers on a group of extraordinary individuals brought together to protect the interests of the British Empire in the late 1800's. Such characters included vampiress Mina Hasker, big game hunter and occasional tradesman Allan Quartermain, scientist and submarine navigator Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll and his chemical alterego Mr. Hyde, and The Invisible Man.
A television pilot was in the works for a while but was never picked up for series, so perhaps this day and age couldn't be a better time for an LXG resurgence.
As it stands, out of any and all expectations there may be from director Ericson Core's upcoming Point Break remake, there are quite a few things I'm looking forward to here with regard to some of the iconic scenes from the 1991 film this one is based on, including the epic footchase chase, and the fight choreography by Can Aydin. Other than that, it's fair to hold remakes to a specific standard these days, as some fall shorter than others. The decisions to remake a film is of a touchy nature, especially when it comes to this one and the tone being introduced when it comes to the next level of dynamic action and stunts to incorporate the drama.
Needless to say, I like the potential here seen in this trailer. We get many of our key characters in our millieu of extreme sportsmanship played by daredevils living life on the edge, including a villain in search of the ultimate thrill. It's a standard that actors Luke Bracey and Edgar Ramirez, and actress Teresa Palmer now must live up to through Kurt Wimmer's script order to bring that same essence back that Keanu Reeves and the late Patrick Swayze delivered so effervescently more than two decades ago, now joined by a dairing line-up of cameos by celebrity surfers, snowboarders and more. Thankfully, we'll be finding out if this can be done on this Christmas when the movie opens.
SYNOPSIS:
In Alcon Entertainment’s fast-paced, high-adrenaline action thriller “Point Break,” a young FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), infiltrates a cunning team of thrill-seeking elite athletes – led by the charismatic Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez). The athletes are suspected of carrying out a spate of crimes in extremely unusual ways.
Deep undercover, and with his life in imminent danger, Utah strives to prove they are the architects of this string of inconceivable crimes.
The film is replete with the most daring athleticism ever seen in a motion picture. These action adventure feats are performed by elite athletes representing the world’s best in class in big-wave surfing, wingsuit flying, sheer-face snowboarding, free rock climbing, and high-speed motorcycling.
Ray Winstone and Delroy Lindo also star. Peep the trailer below and see it to believe it!
Fans of martial arts action star Michael Jai White can feel free to keep their antennae up a little longer as production awaits for his next directorial move with Never Back Down 3. White's attachment to the direct-to-DVD 2011 sequel in 2011 as its co-star and director has lended itself as one of the greatest additions to the genre's history as a movie geared toward mixed-martial arts fans by and large and with a third on the way, given all we've heard thusfar, we can more than likely expect something special out of this next line-up.
The word is that the roster has officially added former wrestler-turned-actor Nathan Jones, according to a social media post from veteran cinematographer Ross Clarkson who shared the attached photo just above. After a career spanning fields such as powerlifting, MMA and wrestling, Jones began his continuing resume in Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996) before landing roles opposite the likes of Tony Jaa in Tom Yum Goong (2005) and Jet Li in Fearless (2006) prior to debuting a lead role of his own in Nanthakor Thaweesuk's Thai action romp, Som Tum (2008) to name a few.
Clarkson's addition is also a reassuring one as an ACS and HKSC-certified lensman, having worked among the likes of filmmakers Ringo Lam and Simon West in addition to Isaac Florentine for the last two Undisputed films with White starring in the second film in 2006.
Fans can further expect other appearances from stars like Tony Jaa and Jeeja Yanin along with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett. In the meantime, Jones can currently be seen in this summer's dystopian box-office smash hit, Mad Max: Fury Road, with other titles to follow.
While the 61-year old action cinema mainstay was busy stirring up enthusiam with a special award to fund young filmmakers with the aid of the Marche du Film at Cannes, plans were already unfolding for Chan's new school which had its celebratory opening six days ago as of this report. THR writes that The Jackie Chan Film and Television Academy of the Wuhan Institute of Design and Sciences officially opened to the public May 20, where Chan himself will serve as the Dean.
The school, where Chan said he hopes to utilize his own experiences in conjunction with that of others to provide an outlet, as well as an interactive venue for students between classrooms and actual sets, is stated to be a lifelong dream for the action star whose earlier efforts to open one in Beijing long before had led to nowhere for "many reasons." Chan's staff will partially include a growing number of guest professors at the school, with actor Zhang Guoli, actress Li Bingbing, director Feng Xiaogang and his wife, actress Xu Fan among those named.
"Today, I am able to establish it through the assistance of the people who do care," said Chan.
So there you have it. Obviously this is something that his own stunt team has benefited from in the years since Hong Kong cinema's golden era well into the 90s as his circle grew more and more diverse. However, with his newest endeavors finally taking off after a long and continuing legendary film career, Chan can finally open doors for the next generation to absorb the crux of his successes and become future content creators for the next millennia.
As for movies, yes. June 5 is when Well Go USA premieres Police Story: Lockdown in select cities. Stay tuned for more info!
Well it was only a matter of time before action star Jean-Claude Van Damme would reappear in another comedy. His acting has grown pleasantly stronger in recent years so it's still great to watch him get silly from time to time. And his latest, Jian Bing Man (a.k.a. Pancake Man), serves quite the delicious example.
The film is set to arrive in July with Van Damme starring opposite actor and director Peng Da who plays a lowly street food vendor who somehow acquires his powers through the creps he sells. Somehow it leads to a final battle between him and Van Damme possibly in the role of the villain - although not plot details are available to discuss that end.
Suddenly I'm reminded of Meteor Man and Blankman. Hm. Only this could be cooler. Because Van Damme.
The film has some useful footage making the rounds this summer before its July 17 release along with the usual assortment of posters and banners.
Those of you who have been reading Film Combat Syndicate since the site launched twenty seven months ago may be familiar with one of my first interviews. Certainly it was one of my biggest assignments at the time and it helped stretch my brain muscles a bit while learning how to handle the specific HTML standards of working a blog, whilst diving me deep into the inner-workings of one of Asia's most inspired groups of up-and-comers to date, thr3guys, a group dedicated to performing and filmmaking martial arts choreography, as well as still-photography with founder, martial artist, hip-hop musician and up-and-coming actor, J. Cheung and others modeling in front of the camera.
It was good for a time, although it wouldn't be long before the group would find itself split later that year. Nowadays with its members moving on to other endeavors, I had been in touch off-and-on with Cheung as he remained focused on other venues for his creativity. In my own personal talks with him, while I won't get into too much detail, it wouldn't be completely honest of me to say that life for Cheung after thr3guys was completely easy for him, despite the amicable split. Needless to say though, it's been a few years since our interview, and Cheung has been staying as busy as possible, which made it feel all the more easier to invite him onto my platform once more since then.
I will say, looking back on that first interview does lend a somewhat melancholy feeling as it was one of my first and considerably BIG projects for the blog, especially while editing the pain-in-the-ass code and aligning the pics neatly and properly with good measure ON TOP of having to remove a portion regarding a particular Yuen Woo-Ping movie upon request from a certain English Hong Kong film producer - Yes, that was difficult for me. Still, I take pride in it as an early accomplishment with the rewarding feeling of knowing that Cheung still has a story to tell. It's pretty fulfilling.
Photo by Jessie Lam
Film Combat Syndicate: Greetings J, and thanks for taking the time to chat for a bit. It's been a few years since our previous interview in the company of your group, thr3guys at the time. How have things been?
JC: I've been great, thank you for asking. Since our last interview, I've been busy with my music and working on movie projects. The last couple of films I worked on was "Now You See Me: The Second Act" in Macau, and a film called "The Stop Hit" with Eric Jacobus, Katelyn Brooke, Xin Wuku, Carter Wong and John Ng Long Cheung.
FCSyndicate: Tell me about thr3guys. I understand the group has been apart for a while. What's happened?
JC: Kamil and I decided to pull the plug on thr3guys out of mutual agreement as we both have different ideas and paths that we wanted to move on with. So instead of parting and going our own ways with a company still up and running, we ended thr3guys so we have nothing in the middle to hold us back on what we want to do.
FCSyndicate: You started thr3guys as a film and photography group. Are you still taking up photography in that same angle?
JC: With photography, that was more of Kamil's thing. I was the one creating ideas and coming up with new concepts for each photo in thr3guys. I designed them on paper, choreographed them and Kamil just snapped the pics. I still do have interest in that field though and wouldn't mind exploring the photography world.
FCSyndicate: And now you're back doing film. Tell us about that.
JC: It's going great. I've been busy working in London, Macau and Hong Kong, mostly action stuff on indie films, Hollywood productions and local Hong Kong movies. I've also gone back to my music too, making songs for movie projects in Asia, Europe and the US.
FCSyndicate: I know you can't say much about your involvement on Now You See Me 2 in terms of the film, but tell us about your experience in Macau. What was it like to work with Jon M. Chu for this go-around?
JC: Being apart of Now You See Me 2 was a great experience. It was awesome working with Jon, he's such a great guy to be around and learn from. Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenburg and Lizzy Caplan made me feel so comfortable on set and I owe a big thank you to Jon, for trusting me and giving me a chance.
Photo by Thomas Sandfield
FCSyndicate: And you also mentioned "The Stop Hit" at the top of the interview with Eric Jacobus, Katelyn Brooks and several others. Tell us about that project and who is behind it?
JC: The Stop Hit was a fun action project to work on. It's directed by Dr. Z and choreographed by Carter Wong, John Ng Long Cheung and Eric Jacobus. My role was that of Lau Ling, the son of big-time Triad boss Lau Gong played by John Ng Long Cheung. It's a revenge story that sees Eric as a cop who chases my character from the U.S. to Hong Kong after I kill his partner.
The final showdown between Eric and I was fun to shoot and it was great to finally meet him as we've been corresponding with ach other through messages while I was in London and HK, just trying to organize and shoot a fight scene together. Who would have guessed the odds that we would both on the same project and my character had to fight his? [laughs]
Photo by Eric Jacobus
FCSyndicate: Not to mention being around legends like Cheung and Wong. By the way, what was it like to see Wong's legendary knuckles first hand?
JC: [laughs] His knuckles are solid like a rock. He is one guy that you don't wanna mess with! (Photo by Eric Jacobus)
FCSyndicate: I believe you [laughs] Tell me about the fights. You have Jacobus, Cheung and Wong each designing the action. Will we see Hong Kong-style fights given the setting? Or will we see a variety of contemporary elements added? Were there any injuries?
JC:There's alot of different styles in this film - we have Carter's style, John's style, Jeet Kune Do, Eric's style, street brawling and Taekwondo. The style is a mix between the West and HK-style. There were some injuries on set, but nothing major. Just a few bumps and bruises here and there.
FCSyndicate: How often do you train? Describe your regimen.
I do six days a week of training, only having Sunday's off as a rest day. I train three times a day - in the mornings I do toning exercises and extreme leg stretches, I then focus on jump kicks, flips, and combo kicking in the afternoon and at night I work on light jump kicks, stretches and splits.
FCSyndicate: Aside from this, were there any challenges during production?
JC: I guess the real challenge for all of us was the heat! During the shoot, we were outside in 30-something celsius doing fight scenes and a lot of chase scenes.
FCSyndicate: Were there any hilarious moments on set while filming or during production? If so, tell us about them.
JC: The hilarious moments for me were doing all my scenes with John Cheung. All my scenes had to be done speaking in Cantonese which I'm not fluent in, so I kept messing up my lines and not saying the Chinese words correctly.
I originally thought my character was going to speak in English as it was so written in twh , so I only memorized what I needed to say in English. I wasn't prepared at all to do my lines in Cantonese and was completely thrown off when I had to shoot some father and son moments with John.
Photo by Xin Wuku
FCSyndicate: I can only imagine how stressful and awkward that would be for myself but I'm glad it brought some levity for you both! [laughs] So how did you go about troubleshooting this issue? Was everyday a crash course in Cantonese to some degree?
JC: It was a crash course indeed. Thankfully Carter and John stood beside me all the way and taught me what to say with my lines and telling me how to pronounce each word clearly & perfectly. It's tough for me as I naturally have an accent when I speak Cantonese, but everybody on the set understood and helped me a lot.
You wanna know what makes this even more funny? Eric speaks better Cantonese than me! He's been practicing a lot from Hong Kong action movies, a pocket dictionary and communicating with local Chinese people. Even my girlfriend agrees his Cantonese good! He's more Chinese than me! [laughs]
FCSyndicate: That is TOO funny and awesome! [laughs] So what is next in line for you after this? More movies? Music?
JC: I'm currently training for three-to-four more Hong Kong movie projects and I have five-or-six songs which I'll be releasing soon. I'm also making new songs for movies too, so soon you guys will hear my music everywhere.
FCSyndicate: Can you clue us in on what your next films will be? Nothing too huge or major as I understand not all can go public right away, but can you leave us with something? Becuase four movies sounds excellent!
JC: I've got two action projects with John Ng Long Cheung that'll go into production soon in Mainland China and Hong Kong and the other two are bigger projects with A-List Hong Kong actors and actresses (non action related) and the filming for that will be in Macau and Hong Kong. That's all I can say at the moment without getting into too much detail or trouble for matter. [laughs]
FCSyndicate: We're now at the half-way point of 2015 and you've been coming up in entertainment for some years now. You've had your share of ups and downs, you've met people and some have come and gone, and you and I have talked personally about some of these moments. Tell us, what lessons have you taken with you after all said and done?
JC: I've had my highs and definitely had my lows. To be honest with you though, I don't see it as a good or bad thing, or even as lessons, really. It's more of an experience for me - I mean, fair enough I've been messed over before by people who were close to me and some were work related individuals from the industry too, but each experience has made me much stronger, wiser and more focused. Without the mistakes I've made, I wouldn't be where I am right now, and in a way, I do thank them for given me that push and making me so driven.
Photo by Fun Tson Cheung
No matter how many times I'll get pushed down, I will always pick myself up.
FCSyndicate: Well I'm glad to see you've stayed up on your end. Thanks so much you for sharing this chapter of your continuing story in life in film and music, and I look forward to corresponding again in the not too distant future. Cheers J!
JC: Thanks Lee, and thanks again for chatting. We'll be in touch!
Follow Cheung via his official Cryptik Soul Facebook fanpage where you can also access his YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more info on The Stop Hit as it arises!
Getting my day off to a bit of an abrupt start while blogging, director James Bushe's newest homage to epic sci-fi, Predator: Dark Ages didn't upload to its channel right away before could add it to this week's Hit List last night prior to clocking out. Anyway, it's finally online and comes just off the heels of its positive response by comic-con attendees in London just this weekend, and having screened and reviewed it for myself on Saturday, I'm long proud to know everyone will have been in for a real treat. SYNOPSIS:
Set during the Crusades, the faith & fighting skills of a group of Templar Knights is put to the test when they encounter the Predator. Their battle is the thing Myths and Legends are born from.
Adrian Bouchett and Amed Hashimi lead the ensemble cast with actor Phillip Lane as the iconic alien hunter. Watch it right now!
Glad I took my time in getting this Hit List together with all the videos and pics to display. Its been a busy week for me so I hope this will suffice. I should, right?
As always, let's start off with the usual assortment of fantastic stunt reels now available online. Reel Deal Action member, actor and stunt professional Can Aydin has been coming into his own for sometime now. His story is an amazing one and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him last month as he was in the good company of friend and industry fight coordinator and stuntman Jonathan Eusebio.
Aydin's body of work is currently poised to include his debut ensemble role with Reel Deal Action under directors Ufuk Genc and Michael Popescu for the upcoming milestone German martial arts action comedy, Plan B. Until then, you can currently his choreography and other stunt work in films such as Big Game starring Samuel L. Jackson, as well as upcoming releases of Hitman: Agent 47 this August, Ericson Core's gravity defying action remake of Point Break, and much more. I sincerely recommend checking out the interview for yourself. Oh, and you can also check out his latest reel in the player just below as it's TOO good to miss!
Other dynamo training and performance reels include those from Shayan Safar, Nick Siv, Hymnson Chan, Ben Tardif, Justice Hedenberg, Jade Dregorious and absolute MUST-SEE reels from Kassym Zhumaguzhin and team BUFF Connection.
And now, it's time to get fighting and kicking off this final leg of the Hit List is a new video from Stunt 360. It's been uploaded as a Demo Reel with footage pertaining to a future project, and between the stunts, the fight action, costumes and make-up, it looks absolutely ferocious both visually AND audibly. Judging by the title, Unleashed 360 Demo Reel, you can already tell what the theme is, and I'm sure that a workable expansion of this will do wonders.
The following test fight videos beneath it also include performances by Kamikaze star Marcus Shakesheff for Codex Digital's new Codex Action Cam Demo, Juan Bofill's newest fight experiment with Shayna Bofill, Christopher Llorca and Reuben Maldonado and director Sone Hayato's Samurai proof-of-concept, Shinsegumi with Shogen, Funaki Ikki and Mimoto Masanori with action design by Sonomura Kensuke. After that, you'll see a clip with Fernando Huerto and Eric Jacobus from Huerto's upcoming Gunpoint series reboot, and another gem from The Racka Racka pitting warring fans against one another between Halo against Call Of Duty - full of face-ripping, tit-shooting and all sorts of over-the-top violence you can expect from these folks!
At long last, Bat In The Sun and Machinima have recently unveiled both versions of the epic Super Power Beatdown episode featuring action actors Peter Jang and Toku mainstay Jason David Frank in their respective performances as Street Fighter's legendary Hadou purveyor, Ryu, and the iconic Green Ranger. Bat In The Sun hosts these videos periodically with votes from fans who generate which ending comes first.
I wonder who you guys voted for!
We have some new shortfilm material online as well with longer durations. The first comes straight from the gang at Martial Club as of last week, dispensing their usual flair for kung fu comedy in homage to the stylish classics. Quest To Become Kung Fu Master is the title with performances by Andy Le, Daniel Mah and Du Au with Brian Le and featuring Shaun Charney among others in this latest romp. The second is the first of several serial boxing drama installments to come from Grayson: Earth One helmer Hisonni Johnson, titled Fight Night Legacy, centered on the events of an underdog fighter (Dio Johnson) dying from liver cancer as he struggles his way back up.
Finally, it's trailer time. Some are real, and some are fake. These are definitely fake, but well worth the viewing if you're a true classic Asian action fan like Adrian Castro whose latest crafty contribution, Tiger Cop 1 & 2 captures all the aesthetics traditionally seen in 80's Hong Kong action cinema with actress Maria Tran lending her attributes as her own tributary 80's HK Police Madam genre. Dickson Poon would be proud.
Up next, Garrett Dumas and Carnell Holley are returning to reprise their roles in the upcoming shortfilm sequel, Black Panther & Deadpool: The Gauntlet, following up their successful short last year. If R-rated superhero action and comedy is more your speed ahead of what Hollywood and feature indies may offer, this will be reassuring for fans. Check out its trailer!
The last comes from filmmaker Sean Cronin in his most recent collaboration with UK actor and martial artist Cengiz Dervis for a 20-minute short that encapsulates you in a journalist's curiousity centered on one man's ultimate struggle for redemption and healing in the face of tragedy, taking on the underworld fight circuit's most gruesome pugilists. I got to screen this film before it was removed from public viewing prior to its entry at Cannes this month, and the result is simply an astonishing piece of work, delivering action and drama with great performances by the cast, including Dan Richardson and actress Kate Braithwaite.
Welcome to London Hood, and its following trailer.
As far as pics go, while you can currently catch a teaser for Rising Tiger's upcoming Sega Dreamcast-inspired fan short, Shenmue, the crew have assembed some new stills to inspire the curiousity. The short unveils its kickassery with Leroy Nguyen and Daniel Sim on May 27 29. The album beneath includes a set of pics from Bob Bravler's latest short, The Spider And The Bird, which centers on actresses Toy Lei and Michelle Jubille Gonzalez in a sexy revenge love story that packs a punch or two. It's currently seeking festival attention so it may not be up for a long while, but the pics should suffice, along with whatever you like at its Facebook page.
And lastly, we have a new music video for the upcoming feature thematic martial arts crime sequel, SPL 2: A Time For Consequences. For better or worse with what little Google translate does for anyone, the title song translates to "Break", featuring the vocal stylings of singer Alex Chia hitting the bag and taking it to the ring ahead of the film's release next month. Enjoy!
Last week's Hit List is HERE if you missed it. In the meantime, subscribe to these channels, and if you have a QUALITY reel, test fight or short you want presented here, e-mail us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
A fourth installment of The Expendables franchise has had its fair share of on-again/off-again treatment since the third film released last August. However, knowing how passionate franchise star Sylvester Stallone is about his projects, it's fair to say that it isn't too late for another movie, especially since the previous one showed some strength at the global box-office.
That said, I guess we can start taking note of just which faces we can speculate would be in the running to join the film on either side of the hero/villain coin, and there are plenty to go around, and as of this week, former wrestler Hulk Hogan is reportedly looking for a spot in the line-up. According to Uproxx, Hogan was on hand recently at the Body Pro Expo in London where he talked about WresleMania 32 among other things, as well as his reported discussion with Stallone on the matter pertaining to The Expendables 4. “Was talking on the phone with Sly [Stallone] about doing The Expendables 4." he says. "We’re trying to figure out a way to maybe turn me into the most evil man in the world. Y’know, Stallone gave me my first break and he’s been a great friend. We had a great conversation, talking about the possibilities. Can I still run, can I still jump? Well, not as fast or not as high, but I think Hollywood could find a good stunt man to help me out.”
I think so too, and there are plenty to go around. Besides, it'll be a treat for the fans to see the two reunite since Rocky III, seeing as how Stallone has already done so much in congregating so many action stars in this franchise, old and new faces alike.
Actor Pierce Brosnan, Expendables 2 villain Jean-Claude Van Damme and boxer Manny Pacquiao are all names that have circulated the rumor mill with the second previously expressing his interest in playing a twin of himself in the fourth - something that would undoubtedly be a worthwhile thing for Van Damme's fanbase as well. Time will tell, though, if any of these names will come to pass as additions to the cast as Stallone is previously set to work on a number of movies, including a new Rambo film.
Stallone's next appearance with be in Creed alongside actor Michael B. Jordan this November.
For those who've been praying to Crom for the lasy thirty years for another Conan film, it's fair to say the fictional Hyborian deity has heard you!
The franchise itself, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is based on the work of 1930's pulp-fiction author Robert Howard, whose story finally lended itself a path through past a series of challenges up to its release of the first film in 1982. Writers Oliver Stone and director John Milius adapted the material to their script which begins its story with young Conan witnessing the brutal murder of his family and people at the hands of a snake cult leader and his army and growing into a mighty Cimmerian warrior with a thirst for vengeance! The film was a commercial success and grew its following from there with a sequel under director Richard Fleischer, and while its continued success led to the hopes of a third film, among several known and unknown reasons, one never happened and fans were offered a new look at the titular hero through a reboot that pretty much no one wants to be reminded of.
Since then, progress has been slow to come since Universal announced its efforts for then-title, King Conan back in 2012 with Chris Morgan and Fredrik Malmberg attached to write and produce, respectively. However, progress DOES exist on this end with word from both people on just a few morsels on what this installment will bring. For starters, it's going to be a direct sequel with a tone respective of Conan's portrayal in the earlier two movies. "When we meet him again, Conan has been many things over the course of his life — a thief, a warrior, a pirate, a king, a legend — and is now an older man." says Morgan. "Think Unforgiven with a sword-wielding barbarian."
Morgan also spoke on the visual imagery and restablishment of Milius's cinematic vision, in addition with some words on much of the crew who either partook in the film's production or its fandom of yesteryear now involved in the new film. "...The goal, the dream, is to live up to his world." he says. "To make it worthy. And to expand on it in a truthful way that audiences will embrace. We’re very lucky that the architects of this new film — the writer, the producers, the studio and most of all, Arnold — who is Conan — are all first-generation fans who either worked on the film or who came along for the ride, cheering from their theater seats opening night. We plan nothing more than to immerse ourselves in the world Milius envisioned from Robert E. Howard’s unforgettable stories and Frank Frazetta’s stunning artwork."
Malmberg himself also shared his thoughts on what he and the crew promise to contribute to what he illustrates as a primal "dance of death". "...To Conan it’s not about fancy sword moves; it’s about the fastest and most effective way of disposing of your enemy. A dance of death, maybe, at least primal." he says. "In my opinion, Conan is beloved because of his political incorrectness. He doesn’t think, he just acts. People can relate to the freshness of somebody who doesn’t give a damn about civilization — in fact, despises it. At the same time he is a magnificent fighter, leader and friend."
Morgan also stated there would be at least three cast members from the previous films joining the production which Malmberg stated would hopefully begin in the Fall after Schwarzenegger finishes promoting the July release of Terminator: Genisys.
You can find more at The Arnold Fans for further exclusive insight. Otherwise, stay tuned and don't fall asleep on this one!
Never has the battle for a great manga been more epic! Such is the case for director One Hitoshi's latest directorial endeavor adapting the upcoming live-action feature, Bakuman, based on the 2008 Weekly Shonen Jump publication and the animared series that followed.
The script from manga authors Ohba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi reunite Rurouni Kenshin cast members Satoh Takeru and Kamiki Ryunosuke in a story of a young university student who falls in love with an aspiring voice actress, and, with the help of a fellow classmate, finds new meaning in his late uncle's aspirations in manga artistry and sets out to create their first manga. I'm not familiar with the original material, but I'm glad this looks like more than just a mushy love story and it looks like it will be a lot of fun to watch when it arrives this October for Japan audiences.
Komatsu Nana also stars with Kiritani Kenta, Arai Hirofumi, Masahiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito completing the roster.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Keeping up with superhero movies can be challenging, and without a doubt, writer and director Shane Black's Iron Man 3 is no exception. That said, I finally got to rent the film over the Memorial Day weekend and it was definitely a step up from the second film.
Robert Downey Jr. reprises the role of billionaire genius/playboy/philanthropist/title superhero Tony Stark in a story that follows the events from Joss Whedon's 2012 film, The Avengers. Beneath his façade, Stark is intrinsically haunted by the weight that comes with protecting the world and the fear of losing love interest Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, all while a new threat emerges in the headlines in the form of Ben Kingsley's iteration of the villain, The Mandarin. However, as a story like this would have it, not all is what it appears to be and Stark is forced to face himself and the choices of his past when new techology makes its way stateside with terroristic consequences in a mission that brings him ever more closer to his mortality, and the nation at the feet of an ambitious and unseen enemy.
For me, the key factor in making this film work was the process of bringing Downey Jr. and Paltrow even closer together and placing a little more emphasis on their status as a couple amidst the struggles they face. It's largely what kept me caring about the rest of the characters and most of the events that took place with all of the danger unfolding around them, aside from the fact that Stark goes through his Iron Man suits like butter. I especially enjoyed Guy Pearce's performance along with Ben Kingsley who I thought brought just the right tonal balance to the film even if some critics and comic book purists don't agree - Hell, I'm not at all familar with the comics so I can't delve too much into in an analysis in that regard.
I'll say this Iron Man 3 is pretty much everything it needed to be as per its initial franchise apart from being an MCU film, so I really wouldn't know what they could have done with a fourth Iron Man while it was being discussed at the time. Looking ahead up to now, I'm glad I saw this one and I'm pleased that a fourth isn't listed in the next phase of the MCU.
I'm also happy that Marvel hasn't publicly begun revamping Iron Man for a whole new set of movies with a new actor just yet, which I think undercuts what's currently happening with Phase 3. Besides, I like the Iron Man we have right now, and I'd like to keep him for a while longer as I'm not ready to see him replaced just yet.
Actress Alicia Vikander is making waves at Cannes this weekend as her most recent film with actor Michael Fassbender, Justin Kurzel's adaptation of the Shakespeare classic, Macbeth is set to premiere. The Ex-Machina starlet is reportedly postioned for two major movies set to release next year - Kurzel's Assassin's Creed and actor Matt Damon's next Jason Bourne film with director Paul Greengrass.
Assassin's Creed reunites its two Macbeth stars and director for a feature film inspired by the hugely successful Ubisoft Game whose initial setting revolves around a man swept into a thrilling adventure with the help of a device that unlocks and ultimately "bleeds" past lives and memories as a clandestine assassin in search of the Pieces Of Eden, powerful artifacts that can control the fate of mankind. Plot details are not known while the film, which was finally greenlit back in February, currently has its production geared for early this Fall for a December 21, 2016 release while Fassbender is currently filming for director Bryan Singer's final entry into Fox's current X-verse, X-Men: Apocalypse for a release a little over a year from today.
Damon is already at work starring in The Great Wall under helmer Zhang Yimou for Universal's 3D release five months thereafter. Earlier on, the next Bourne film, which finally confirmed Damon's involvement last year with returning director Paul Greengrass and continues the thrilling adventure of the title character late inspired by author Robert Ludlum's book series is on par for a July 16 29, 2016 release courtesy of Universal.
Following Cannes, moviegoers can catch Vikander in Guy Ritchie's feature TV adaptation, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. this August, with more info to follow regarding Kurzel's Macbeth which is already getting some positive feedback from festival attendees. A few clips can now be seen online which ought to whet the appetite for netizens at large until the film gains some distribution ground in the hopeful near future.
