Setting out to cover independent action cinema eventually brought me in the throes of then film duo, Dylan Hintz and James Couche. That was about three or four years ago and both have since gone their individual ways with Hintz currently traveling whilst overseeing his own stunt and training facility in Washington, D.C..
The latter, following his service in our military, still continues to make his own projects with well over a decade into the craft of keeping authentic, genuine action cinema alive. This time however, things are a lot more different with Couche now looking to pivot from his usual short-duration projects to developing and actually shooting a feature length film now in the form of arthouse-style assassin thriller, Fallen Blade.
Fallen Blade is an art-house action anthology with an innovative approach to storytelling and blistering action sequences. It’s a traditional assassin revenge tale shown through the eyes of four different civilians who have been drawn into the conflict. Seen by some as a protector and others as a ruthless killing machine, the assassin will stop at nothing to destroy the centuries old guild that betrayed and excommunicated him.
As a matter of disclosure within this article, Couche has often contributed reviews, opinion pieces and other write-ups for Film Combat Syndicate, and I wear that badge proudly as he’s accrued a wealth of knowledge to couple with his fandom and appreciation for the genre. You can spot a number of his shorts currently on YouTube that highlight his keenness and intellect on many of the how-to’s of fight choreography and performance, which ought to level him up as someone worthy of anyone’s consideration for supporting.
Alas, an Indiegogo campaign launched on Tuesday for what would ultimately be Couche’s feature film debut. He makes a clear, articulate and detailed case for himself and trust and believe – if you know independent cinema, the often bustling and tumultous nature of the creative process and the ways and means by which challenges at almost any level are overcome with on-the-spot fixes, remedies and almost dogmatic resolve it takes to see a movie production right through to its bittersweet end, you know he’s got some great points made.
Go to Indiegogo now to learn more about this project and how you can help.