Interviews

Photo of Stephanie Pham

COME DRINK WITH ME: An Interview With Actress And Martial Artist Stephanie Pham

Coverage continues this week with Art School Dropouts as they now work to proliferate their latest webseries, Yes, Auntie!, which is also setting up a feature edit premiere at the Museum Of The Moving Image next month. From what I’ve gathered, the ASDO members will be in attendance for a Q&A at the January 4 screening, including one Stephanie Pham who has been with the group for several years now. She’s become one of the most vastly prolific talents on both sides of the camera and from a background of intellect and versatility, and poise that I’ve come to admire in the last four years and having shaken her hand on at least two occasions. After sharing my first-ever interview with Joey Min, Ms. Pham is next on my roster as of Monday with our Q&A below. Enjoy, and don’t forget to visit the museum’s website, and be sure to […]

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MUSINGS OF A RONIN: A Word With SWORD OF THE DEAD Director Stephen Vitale (Reprint)

As important as it is to know how to make a film to begin with, what also matters is your vision, and how well you package it. Such is the case for the lot of independent content that I’ve covered in the last five years, and surprisingly, of which only a handful I notice are given the festival treatment. And I’ve seen my fair share of short films to be fascinated and amazed, as well as even befuddled that they would go straight online. It’s a tough road though, and so opportunities like that, I reckon, need to be planned and timed in such a way that at least the initial steps can be covered toward garnering the attention of investors. And today’s film market is one that is vastly full of ideas ranging from some of the most top-notch and intriguing, to the less-than-impressive that are otherwise still shamelessly […]

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STARTING SOMEWHERE: An Interview With Art School Dropouts Founder, Actor And ‘Director Senpai’, Joey Min

Just shortly after announcing their newest ten-dollar ‘Thank You’ campaign on Kickstarter, the team at Art School Dropouts found themselves in lucrative straits as their crowdfunding platform accrued more than enough funds to throw a pizza party for a cast-and-crew screening and commentary for their feature film debut. This brings us to the official trailer now online for Yes, Auntie!: My Asian Auntie Season 2, produced and directed by in-house creatives Joey Min and Stephanie Pham who also star in the film. The plan is to the release the film in serial format just as they did with the first season in 2016 – only now they’ve amassed enough materials to weave together a feature-length format, marking a debut milestone for the team since the birth of ASDO in 2009, and prior to its affirmation just a few years ago. For this and for as long as I’ve been following […]

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THE LONG HAUL, Part Two: A Word With SPLIT LIP Star, Actress Dorée Seay

Our coverage continues this week for director Christopher Sheffield’s new movie, Split Lip. It’s the latest major move for actress Dorèe Seay who happens to be a woman of many talents, loves cinema, and especially loves that of a Korean variety (fun fact: I just finished harping on Instagram recently about how much I would love to see Jung Doo-Hong collaborate with action stars Scott Adkins and Bruce Khan and so you can imagine my elation when I read her answers this week while drafting.) Seay talks aplenty here about her role in Split Lip as Set, a hitwoman on the run from her employer following a botched hit job. She also discusses preparing for the role and approaching its dramatic and physical aspects, and essentially getting to work with a director with whom she clicks really well – that’s usually the case we can all imagine or hope for […]

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THE LONG HAUL, Part One: An Interview With SPLIT LIP Director Chris Sheffield

2019 will be another good year for genre titles going forward, and if you’re extra keen on the kind of cinema we follow, you might have an eye on Chris Sheffield as we speak. His latest film, Split Lip, has one hell of a title to ring itself into the new year, and actress Dorée Seay looks nothing short of tough and tenacious in Sheffield’s new presentation. Its journey toward completion is not without its fair share of toils – eight years of such, in fact. It’s an exemplary highlight of Sheffield’s own growing acumen of filmmaking in today’s age, and in learning even more aspects of the business now more than ever before. He talks to us about it in the interview below, and we hav two exclusive clips to share from the new movie as well. Greetings Chris and thank you for taking the time to discuss your […]

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UPHILL: A Word With ‘Jack & Jill’ Actor And Director Mark Poletti

Look closely at the latest Kickstarter campaign video from this Monday for Bao Tran’s The Paper Tigers and you’ll likely spot actor Mark Poletti in the mix. I’ve been following Poletti off and on since about 2013 as I was catching on to the efforts of a group called Usurp Productions and Poletti has gradually seen his carrer progress little by little. His latest effort recently sat him on both sides of the lens for his latest action short, Jack & Jill, an aptly-titled and intriguing thriller which focuses on two agents forced to make a choice as they engage an underworld crime boss. There’s a bit more I missed out on bringing up before publishing this interview, while Poletti’s latest turn at the helm deems an exciting an newsworthy move. For all else, Mark’s official website is how you can best reach him. Greetings Mark and thank you for […]

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THE PAPER TIGERS

UNFOLDING ‘THE PAPER TIGERS’: Catching Up With Filmmaker Bao Tran

For what it’s worth, director Bao Tran’s 2015 short, The Challenger, was just the shot in the arm needed to help grow his brewing vision for a larger feature narrative. That evolution will next arise as The Paper Tigers which now has a new campaign pending as of Monday to accrue the necessary support needed before rolling cameras some time in the first or second quarter of next year. Tran is joined by producers Michael Velasquez, Al’n Duong, Dan Gildark, and cult cinema favorite, Yuji Okumoto, along with a cadre of ripe, experienced talents as of late for a recently-filmed ten-minute pitch that Tran and Duong brought to the Frontières forum earlier this year to present the film to buyers. Essentially having shot two proofs this time around, I sought an opportunity to try and share an update from the director about his endeavors. The official website is still up […]

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STRANGE TIMES: A Word With Actor And Fight Coordinator Mark Strange

Much is ado these days for UK director Chee Keong Cheung. His latest segue into action horror with zombie thriller, Redcon-1, is well underway in its campaign after a peculiar PR rollout which, as far as I know, began in Japan (as indicated by a Japanese captioned trailer I learned of over the summer). A U.S. release still remains pending for the film and time will tell before how much more waiting is needed on that end. In the meantime, the cast has been doing the promo rounds some, including actor, martial artist and producer Mark Strange who, after a heavy week of publicity last week, was able to answer some questions for us ahead of Thursday night’s Raindance premiere. Greetings Mark and thank you for taking the time to discuss a few things with us. How has the year been for you thusfar? This year’s been amazing, my best […]

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FIELD COMMAND RESPONDS: A Word With Actor And Producer Joe Barbagallo

In the course of the past month, I found myself prospective in covering Mark Cheng’s directorial debut, Ghost Source Zero. If you haven’t seen the trailer for it, well…here it is: Cheng partnered with longtime friend and film cohort Joe Barbagallo, and amazingly with legendary creator and fan-beloved Larry Hama on this film and you’re more than welcome to learn about the process from Cheng by clicking here. In the meantime, an opportunity also fell in my lap to interview the film’s star and producer who himself not only shares Cheng’s vision and plans, but those of his own for other projects forthcoming. Greetings Joe and thank you for spending sometime with our readers. How has the year been for you? Hi Lee, thank you so much for having me. It’s an honor to be interviewed by Film Combat Syndicate. A lot of my friends and colleagues have been featured […]

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MEI DAY: A Word With Actress, Martial Artist And Fight Choreographer Sarah Chang

It was late 2016 when I sought to dive a little more into the work of filmmaker and stunt performer Temujin Shirzada. His Golden Horde-produced Mulan proof-of-concept eventually led me into the throes of Asian-American martial artist, Sarah Chang and as such, her activity also helped keep me abreast of some really exciting cinema to come out of the Philippines. It’s a darn good time too, especially given the warm reception of Erik Matti’s latest, BuyBust. Other directors helping to pave the way forward in Filipino cinema beyond politics and creative differences as a result, particularly director, actor and martial artist Vincent Soberano, are already showing promise in this millenium, and rest assured, the nationally renowed Wushu stylist is certainly making her own investment quite clear and present as a result. Filipino moviegoers are less than a month away from the new martial arts tournament thriller, The Trigonal, marking but […]

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CHAMPION ROAD: An Interview With Actor And Filmmaker Vincent Soberano

It’s been roughly a couple of years since I was made aware by Facebook friend and stunt performer Eulver Presto of actor and martial artist Vincent Soberano‘s endeavors in film. His 2016 action horror proof, Blood Hunters, won Best Short Film at the Urban Action Showcase that year, and ultimately drew a turning point for the martial arts journeyman, MMA trailblazer and filmmaker whose directing career now brings a fully-loaded schedule. He has at least two trailers already running; His first release is still forthcoming next month with martial arts tournanent thriller, The Trigonal. Ironically, his narrative directing debut advancing his shortfilm concept into feature film fruition for Aswang action horror, Blood Hunters: Rise Of The Hybrids, came prior just last year with its production and with its trailer came hopes of release. As such, questions followed for anyone wondering what’s been procuring the long wait period. This week, Soberano […]

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ADELE ELASMAR, star of NIGHT SHIFT

CALL OF DUTY Part Two: A Word With NIGHT SHIFT Star, Actress Adele Elasmar

One of the biggest treats I had was getting to see filmmaker John Balazs’ progression partly on social media for his most recent shortfilm, Night Shift. The second I spotted a fight demo he filmed with stunt performer and action actress Zia Kelly and lead actress Adele Elasmar earlier this year, I was instantly sold on its potential for greatness. More to the point, it pretty much asserted the second time I covered Elasmar’s work since her co-starring role in Balazs’ 2017 short film success, Dancer, which I very much took a liking to. That film showed all I needed to know about the kind of quality and mindset that Balazs brings to the set in addition to the two interviews we’ve shared thusfar. As such, it gave me great pleasure to be able to discuss Night Shift in a series of questions earlier this month in this second of […]

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CASSANDRA EBNER

CONFESSIONS OF A YOUTUBE SUPERGIRL: A Word With LIFE XP Series Creator, Actress Cassandra Ebner

It had been a while since I was in touch with actress and stunt performer Cassandra Ebner, and so in the months since she released a trailer for upcoming webseries, Life XP, it remained on the back of my mind. It’s a good thing I remembered it too seeing as Ebner just recently received funding for the new series and she sounded visibly excited when she posted the update on Facebook. I wanted to learn a little more about the show and that of the actress who first came on my radar several years ago when she and collaborator, Trevor Addie, took part in a fantastic shortfilm inspired by Tomb Raider; It was an incredible piece of work and more than enough to garner my continued interest this day, and especially following the warm reception she received back in Spring as one in a raft of 2018 Artemis Women In […]

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HELLE-BOUND AND BEYOND: A Word With ‘Of Gods And Warriors’ Star, Actress Anna Demetriou

One of the biggest moves I’ve done this year, particularly in covering David L.G. Hughes’ latest theatrical UK release, Of Gods and Warriors, was getting to share questions with action director Jude Poyer. You can check out our interview here, as well as my review if you so fancy it while you can now take a look at this week’s back-and-forth with the film’s star, Anna Demetriou. She discusses her training, her craft and ambitions, and even discloses that she’s a singer and bartender – the former of which I can absolutely relate to as it speaks to her versatility and veracity as an artist. As such, I’m inclined to look Anna up more after this for my own research and reading pleasure, while you are more than welcome to engage this latest exchange. Greetings Anna and thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. How […]

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OF LEGENDS AND LEGACIES: A Word With Film And Stunt Multi-Hyphenate Jude Poyer

As late as I was in discovering Hong Kong cinema per my own fandom by the mid-1990s, I proudly went with the momentum, keeping up with as many Dimension, Miramax and Sony releases as I could. One of my favorite DVD picks in the years going forward would be a blind purchase of Aman Chang’s 2000 action adventure comedy, Fist Power, pitting Vincent Zhao against co-star, actor, stuntman and nowadays a stunt coordinator, Jude Poyer. It’s been years since I’ve seen that film, although anyone, in my view, who watches and follows Asian films for as long as I have, or even longer, knows that someone like Jude stands out in a particularly cool way. His career was even subject as part of the Red Trousers Hong Kong stunt documentary in 2003 alongside the likes of Ridley Tsui and the late, great Lau Kar Leung. Jude spoke plentily about his […]

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FEARLESS CINEMA: A Word With PROTECTRESS Star, Actress Joanna Ke

If there was ever a film festival I wish I could attend, it would be the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival in Santa Monica. I’m not just saying that, either, lest I sound patronizing and fake (really, I live in New York City, so that’s an issue) – there are a LOT of festivals that bring some terrific headliners and sideshows to the table, but the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival is an especially important one. Between the need for better representation and gender parity for women in film and stunts and the widespread brushfire of protest against sexual misconduct that is the #MeToo movement, the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival couldn’t have come at a better time. 2018 marked the festival’s fourth annual installation hailing a gathering of impressive film projects, their directors and performers and much more. Reading about it and browsing through one of […]

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