Head's Up! The First Dates And Locations Are Set For THE MARTIAL ARTS KID!

Following the announcement a few weeks ago, the first locations and dates in New York and California have gone public for the forthcoming premiere of writer and director Michael Baumgarten's family action drama, The Martial Arts Kid. The film has already earned the appeal of several critics with a narrative that bodes highly, both for fans of the genre, as well as advocates against bullying.

Produced by martial artists, producer James Wilson and company president and veteran Hollywood stuntwoman Cheryl Wheeler with a script by Baumgarten and co-writer Adam Marsh, actor Jansen Panettiere leads the cast in the coming-story of a Robbie who moves in with his aunt and uncle in Florida following the death of his mother. Facing adversity in his new surroundings, his sibs begin to focus on teaching Robbie martial arts in an effort to channel his rage and anger, and essentially help put him on a path toward making better choices in life.

Panettiere is joined by a stellar cast that includes the presences of martial arts legends, actor Don "The Dragon" Wilson and actress Cynthia Rothrock, in addition to actress Kathryn Newtown, Matthew Ziff, martial arts star and actor T.J. Storm and Chuck Zito.

The film is still posied for a festival premiere in Burbank, California on September 12. Make note of the dates and locations below and check out the trailer, and follow the film on Facebook for more info!

New York Theatre
Friday September 18th
Theatre: Maya Deren Theatre (street level)
Time: 5PM SHOWING
Address: 32 2nd Ave, New York, New York 10003

Sunday September 20th
Theatre: Court House Theatre (2nd floor)
Time: 4PM SHOWING
Address: 32 2nd ave New York, New York 10003

Los Angeles Theatre Days
Friday Septemeber 18th
Theatre: The Downtown Independent
Time: 7:30 SHOWING
Address: 251 South Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Saturday & Sunday SHOWINGS TBA

Acclaimed Action Director Art Camacho To Attend LEGENDS OF THE MARTIAL ARTS AWARDS In October

We're down to the wire for the upcoming release of acclaimed veteran stunt and fight coordinator Art Camacho's upcoming feature debut, The Chemist, which will soon get an audience later this year at the Action On Film Festival in Santa Monica, California. Camacho is still keeping busy on other projects as well with the current development of sequels to the 2001 actioner, Final Payback, as well as the 1993 film, To Be The Best, as per its announcement last year.

In the meantime, folks familiar with the Legends Of The Martial Arts Hall Of Fame Awards will find Camacho among a slew of nominiees and recipients attending the event set for October 9 through 11 at the brand new Kalahari Resorts & Conventions at the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. Camacho will be giving a seminar on October 11 as well in addition to ceremony vice-president, actress and action legend, Grandmaster Cynthia Rothrock.

Rothrock and LOTMA President and founder, Grandmaster Eric Kovaleski announced Camacho's attendance on Satuday via the following: "It is such an honor to have famous movie diector, Master Art Camacho attending the Legends of the Martial Arts Hall of Fame Awards. Master Camacho will be receiving the Living Legends Award. Congratulations sir, it will be an honor to present to you! Art Camacho was also the director of 'The Chemist ', an award-winning movie, which he will be showing the trailer at the Legends Awards. He will also be teaching a seminar on Fight Choreography on Sunday, where he will be looking for new talent as well as hosting a Fight Choreography Contest with Lady Dragon Cynthia Rothrock on Saturday.".

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Visit the fan page on Facebook for the Legends Of The Martial Arts Awards for further updates, and feel free to check out the official website for more information about the event.

Lead Photo: Robert Duron, Domain Photography 

Debbi James, Daughter Of Late Action Legend Steve James, Joins Cynthia Rothrock In BITCHFIGHT

It's taken sometime for director Dean Meadows to get his latest gritty female-centric action thriller, Bitchfight, off the ground. Thankfully production is finally slated for early next year with legendary martial arts actress Cynthia Rothrock starring, and as of this week, Meadows has unveiled at least one more casting detail with a heartfelt nod to a time-honored legend of American action cinema, late actor Steve James.

Read on:

It’s been a while since the original promo for Cynthia Rothrock’s forthcoming ‘grindhouse’ style exploitation movie, ‘Bitchfight’ went viral. Then, came the exciting announcement that, ‘The Queen of Martial Arts Movies’ would be reuniting with her, ‘No Retreat No Surrender 2’ co-star Max Thayer. After several months of additional script development and some cast and crew changes it looks like ‘Bitchfight’ is finally moving forward and is set to pay homage to the late, great action movie actor Steve James, (‘American Ninja’, ‘Avenging Force’, ‘I’m Gonna Git You Sucka!’).

Rising singer/songwriter, Debbi James, daughter of the ‘American Ninja’ legend joins the cast of ‘Bitchfight’ in what can only be described as a poignant tribute to her father, playing a character named ‘Jackson’. Cannon movie fans will of course remember that ‘Jackson’ was indeed the name of Steve James’ character in the classic ‘Ninja’ franchise.

“I want ‘Bitchfight’ to represent everything that was cool about 70’s and 80’s low budget action movies and exploitation cinema,’ said writer and director, Dean Meadows, “you know, the early Chuck Norris movies, the Ninja boom, that kind of thing, so when the opportunity to get Debbi involved came up, I knew I had to rewrite the script a little to honor the memory of her father and all those great movies he gave us. I think Debbi and I are both happy with her scenes and I know that she smiled when she read a particular line within the script. I hope that when Debbi gets to do her thing in ‘Bitchfight’, her father will be looking down on her and smiling too!”

So far, the synopsis of ‘Bitchfight’ and the characters that will be portrayed by the lethal ‘Lady Dragon’, Cynthia Rothrock and veteran character actor Max Thayer have been kept top secret, but it seems all that is about to change very shortly. Dean Meadows, currently in Wales shooting the female assassin anthology film, ‘Scarlett Cross: Agents Of D.E.A.T.H.’ added, “we have a major announcement regarding ‘Bitchfight’ coming up in the next few weeks that Cynthia Rothrock fans can’t afford to miss… we are going to make this movie absolutely ‘epic’ for everyone that has supported us over the past 12 months!

Debbi James was recently featured on the ‘American Ninja’ documentary, ‘Ninja Gaijin: Remembering A Classic Cannon Franchise’ and her music can be found at http://www.soundcloud.com/debbi-james

For more information on ‘Bitchfight’, head over to the official facebook page at www.facebook.com/furiousfightingfemales

Traditionz To Release THE MARTIAL ARTS KID In Select Theaters Next Month!

Finally on par for release following a successful Kickstarter campaign last year and several promotional appearances since then is director Michael Baumgarten's new anti-bullying action drama, The Martial Arts Kid from Traditionz Entertainment. The film's release will be aimed at establishing Traditionz as a staple of martial arts film production and distribution, here and now piloting with a cast and crew brimming with well-known names like Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock, and T.J. Storm with actor Jansen Panetierre in the title role opposite Matthew Ziff.

Casper Van Dien Hates Bugs, So Help Him Kill Them In Mark Steven Grove's STAR RAIDERS: THE ADVENTURES OF SABER RAINE!

Director Mark Steven Grove's love for independent, low-budget filmlore and all things action and sci-fi has since led him to his latest labor, Star Raiders: The Adventures Of Saber Raine. It boasts a main cast consisting of actor Casper Van Dien and action legends Cynthia Rothrock and James Lew, with actress Sara Salazar also serving as unit production manager and Adam Lispus producing and many of the people on set wore multiple hats throughout its principal photography prior to its completion. That said, Grove's new film needs your help now that it's in post production and a Kickstarter campaign is already underway to help accomplish just that.

SYNOPSIS:

Rocket ships, Rayguns, and Robots abound in this heart-pounding tale where the stellar adventurer Saber Raine is hired to guide three elite soldiers on a rescue mission to recover a prince and princess who have been abducted from their home world.   

The trail leads Saber and his allies to a planet deep within uncharted space inhabited by strange mutated creatures, leech-like desert marauders, renegade mercenaries, alien outcasts, and cybernetically enhanced soldiers that guard mysterious ruins of a long forgotten empire. 

Deep within the ruins, Sinjin, a sinister overlord freed from a cryogenic chamber that has been his prison for many centuries, is now in league with the Quintari, a malevolent insectoid race known throughout the galaxy as the scourge. 

In possession of a powerful new energy source, Sinjin plots his revenge on the descendants of those who betrayed him in the past. 

Can our heroes complete their rescue mission and stop Sinjin from unleashing his fury on the universe? Find out in Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine!

The campaign video at the Kickstarter page is up and running with speaking segments from Grove and Van Dien, in addition to a slew of footage from the film to help lend an idea on what Grove has in store for this latest intergalactic swashbuckler. He's got quite a diverse resumé with one particular shortfilm I had the opportunity to recently sample called Blue Hope in which he coordinated stunts for actress Marina Voruz's action and directing debut, and there's even a small clip for it available online as of this write-up which offers a somewhat promising testament to the kind of work Grove loves doing for filmgoers.

So if you want to see something on a slightly bigger scale with greater star power, Star Raiders: The Adventures Of Saber Raine appears to be that film, although it can't be done without your help, and as per its crowdfunding status, there are perks indeed!

Watch the campaign video and learn all you need about what you can give and get back in return.