Rush Hour—a reimagining of the hit feature film franchise—is a buddy-cop drama about a maverick LAPD detective and a by-the-book detective from Hong Kong who knock heads when they are forced to partner together.
At any other point in time before the new millennium, you may have been right in simply assuming that the martial arts action genre wouldn’t have had much fervor with the internet. Of course, time proved quite the opposite with a vast number of independent groups sprouting online for a community that has evidently gone global. Germany, for one, has surely seen its share of that effect with its own native talents, namely folks like Can Aydin, Phong Giang and award-winning stunt performer Cha-Lee Yoon – just three of the principle stuntmen combining years of experience to form their own team, Reel Deal Action, as of just several years ago.
Since then, they’ve continually left a memorable mark in the world of independent action, most recently winning Fight Of The Year over at Martial Arts Movie Junkie for their 2013 hit, The Messenger, prior to going global with their latest award-winning film festival short favorite, Evil Twin, which is now on its way to Tally Shorts in Florida and Jaipur International Film Festival in India this February. This, coupled with their recent successes in the stunt industry with credits like Arena Of The Street Fighter (2011), the 23rd Bond film – Skyfall (2012) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2, as well as the Samuel L. Jackson starrer, Big Game this March, and the upcoming summer reboot releases of Point Break and Agent 47 have inarguably put Reel Deal Action on the map for certain viability as a self-sustaining team suitable and worthy enough for their own feature-length film. Alas, with the forthcoming German martial arts action comedy, Once Upon A Time In Berlin, they’re doing exactly that.
Currently under the working title, 4 Gewinnt (Connect 4), Once Upon A Time In Berlin is the feature-length debut collaboration between Reel Deal Action and VFX studio, CineChromatix following their prior get-together on Evil Twin and The Messenger. Visual effects artist and editor, CineChromatix founder Ufuk Genc and composer Michael Popescu are directing the film from a story and script by Reel Deal Action, Popescu and key screenwriter Rafael Garciolo which centers on a group of four best friends hustling for stunt jobs in Berlin who accidentally stumble upon the wrong address for an audition, only to have one of their own held hostage by a shady crimeboss who sends the remaining three on a harrowing race against time to collect four coordinates throughout the city leading to a safe and its incriminating contents.
Currently rounding out the cast are non-team member, actor and co-star Eugene Boateng and actress and stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker following her most recent kick ass role with sister Renae Moneymaker in their 2014 short collaboration with 87Eleven, Behind Every Great Man. As per their M.O., Reel Deal Action designed their own sequences with Aydin serving as action director, and are also producing the film which is currently in post-production with further casting details, a release date and other specifics pending. A teaser could arrive as soon as next month although that is subject to change, so your best bet is to keep your eyes peeled and subscribe to the official Facebook page for Reel Deal Action for further news!
The film has a few working titles but is set to release in South Korea in a couple of months, and thankfully, there’s a teaser to accommodate our patience. Check it out just beneath and watch for more news ahead.
It was announced back in July that actor, writer and director Kevin Smith was developing a sequel to his upcoming September 19 horror release, Tusk. The new TIFF 2014 entry contributes as a first to the True North Trilogy which will span three films rooted itself in Canadian folklore and mythology with Smith’s daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, and actress Lily-Rose Depp co-starring.
As of this week, an official announcement was released stating the return of both actresses for Smith‘s new sequel, Yoga Hosers, which also include Lily-Rose‘s father, Mortdecai star, actor Johnny Depp. The film is being pitched an action adventure horror comedy which will also mark’s Smith‘s first foray into comic book movie territory with both daughters leading.
Smith is popularly known as a leading voice with certain inside knowledge on what’s what these days pertaining to comic book movies and all things sci-fi and film. He’s a fan favorite and while most of us are still waiting for Clerks 3, it will be interesting to see where he goes with his vision for this film. Superheroines are always awesome to catch in almost any feature-length capacity, so this will likely catch the interest of most fans who dig something like this.
As a noteworthy mention, father Depp is set to appear in the upcoming action comedy, Mortedcai next February while is following foray as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales, will bow on July 7, 2017.
As for all things Yoga Hosers, read below!
Asana-kicking enlightened-action and eerie adventure awaits in the Great White North, as StarStream Entertainment (OTCQB:SSET) announces principle photography on YOGA HOSERS, a horror comedy starring Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, and Johnny Depp. Written and directed by Kevin Smith, YOGA HOSERS is the second installment of Smith’s True North Trilogy, spinning out of the director’s upcoming TUSK. The entire cast of TUSK returns for YOGA HOSERS, including Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez, Ralph Garman, Jennifer Schwalbach and Harley Morenstein. In YOGA, they are joined by Tony Hale, Natasha Lyonne, Austin Butler, Adam Brody, Tyler Posey and Jason Mewes.
15-year-old yoga-nuts Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie love their smart phones and hate their after school job at Manitoban convenience store Eh-2-Zed. But when an ancient evil rises from beneath Canada’s crust and threatens their big invitation to a Grade 12 party, the Colleens join forces with the legendary man-hunter from Montreal named Guy Lapointe to fight for their lives with all seven Charkas, one Warrior Pose at a time. Depp, Depp the younger and Smith the younger are returning in the roles they created for TUSK.
“People always ask me ‘Are you ever going to make a comic book movie?’” said director Smith. “This is it – but instead of yet another dude saving the day, our antiheroes are the most feared and formidable creatures man has ever encountered: two fifteen year old girls.”
Adds Smith, “I’m absolutely in love with the StarStream team and to say I’m tickled to be making a movie with my only begotten kid is an understatement. Also happy to report that this will be the first PG-13 horror movie I’ve made since JERSEY GIRL.”
StarStream Entertainment’s CEO Kim Leadford comments, “We are thrilled to be making a teen comic book movie with Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Depp. The timing couldn’t be more perfect as so many production companies are struggling to find content to fill a serious void in the market of female superheroes and antiheroes. And, it’s pretty exciting to have their dads making the film with them.”
StarStream Entertainment is financing and producing the film in association with Invincible Pictures, Abbolita Productions and Smith’s SModcast Pictures. Kim Leadford and Charles Bonan of StarStream Entertainment will Executive Produce alongside Abbolita Productions’ Tim Nye and XYZ Films with Liz Destro, Jordan Monsanto and Jennifer Schwalbach producing.
XYZ Films will be selling foreign rights for the film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival with WME Global handling North America. XYZ Films is also handling foreign sales on TUSK, which is set to have its world premiere at the festival in September.
A24 Films released StarStream Entertainment’s LIFE AFTER BETH in theaters on August 15th, and Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions will release StarStream Entertainment’s LIFE OF CRIME on August 29th. The films premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and 2013 Toronto International Film Festival respectively.
SYNOPSIS:
The team for You Can’t Hear Me/You Can’t See Me, with Andrew Suleiman (left) and Verdy Bhawanta (right) on the bottom.
Upon discovering the world of independent action cinema for myself about a decade ago, I learned who actor, writer, martial artist and stunt coordinator Andrew Suleiman (pictured above, bottom row on the left) when I saw him in a 2004 project for Zero Gravity with actor Larry Leong titled Cha Cha Chinaman. From then on, Suleiman became a name I never let go of – even as my computer burned out back in 2008 and I was left to endure life without the internet for a few years.
Well, earlier today, I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with Suleiman in a fun, lively chat about his happenings, his career and what he’s up to now. And though many of us haven’t heard from the team as a whole, it doesn’t mean that its members aren’t staying busy in the field in one form or another. The same goes for Suleiman who has been back home in Indonesia working on his career, in addition to building up his credentials and craft as an actor, writer and martial arts performer with a number of projects in mind, including his latest ambitions for the upcoming Holy Bastards English-language action comedy short, You Can’t Hear Me/You Can’t See Me.
Imagine, if you will, a story of a blind guitar-playing hipster songstress who invites two men over for a small Christmas gathering-one, a blind former soldier/happy ending masseur, and the other, a perverted mute cat-burglar. A good time is had by all that evening until suddenly the two spot a small horde of hooded members of the occult set on kidnapping the very same woman. Of course, this must not be allowed to happen, and our two heroes must leap into action to save their beautiful female host from certain harm.
This is the project Suleiman is intending to approach with ample funding for a hopeful transition from a short proof-of-concept filmed back in February of last year, to a full feature-length production which also puts rising martial arts star and Capoiera maestro Verdy Bhawanta back on the map after starring in Pirate Brothers (a.k.a. Mortal Enemies) back in 2011 with actor Robin Shou. And not to rub it in, but I was fortunate to screen the proof-of-concept for myself today, and it is awesome!
While I cannot show you the actual proof-of-concept, what I can show you is the newly unveiled pre-viz stunt featurette now available for viewng on YouTube, featuring Suleiman and Bhawanta, the stunt team and choreographers Andry Ganda and Ivan Chen. With any luck however, the next few weeks of patience will grant us the opportunity to view the spectacular short that martial arts cinema fans will enjoy.
As a noteworthy mention, You Can’t Hear Me/You Can’t See Me is directed by Dicky Fa and Awi Suryadi, the latter who just wrapped up the Fall 2013 filming of his new racing action thriller, Street Society, set for release later this year with the trailer set to premiere this Friday on Twitchfilm. In the meantime, more news awaits this year as Suleiman looks forward to more projects, including a possible role in director Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes For Us, and a reunion with several Zero Gravity members for future gigs, one of which could very likely see Bhawanta go toe-to-toe with fellow actor and Capoiera impressario, Lateef Crowder Dos Santos (Tom Yum Goong, Tekken).
Here’s to the best for Suleiman as the release of his new proof-of-concept short draws near. Check out training featurette below, and stay tuned for more info.
Bhawanta‘s film, Mortal Enemies, will release in North America on DVD and Blu-Ray on February 18, 2014.
A new slate of posters and a trailer have gone viral this month for Wellmade STARM’s upcoming Joseon Period fantasy femme fatale action comedy, The Huntresses. Following a production that lasted from August to December of 2012, the film was originally promised a theatrical South Korean release earlier this summer with teasers, stills and trailers aired online, and a slew of colorful character posters promoting the film before post-production issues interfered. Fortunately the film now has a Korean theatrical release set for this January, in addition to some new promotional poster art to get things rolling, which you can check out below.
It’s been a vivacious year for independent action cinema, and likely moreso than what I can keep up with, with so many teams out there in the world looking to create inspired and ambitious short films and projects to get their content circulating. And today, I have at least four new clips for what I am dubbing as this year’s Christmas Day edition of my Around The Web series, with two of the clips attributed to the holiday season.
The first two come straight from Italy, by way of two teams – the first being D-Unit’s new fan-driven shortfilm, Gift Revenge: A Star Wars Christmas Special featuring actors Loris Ripamonti and Mirco Cazzol. The piece is directed and edited by Cristoforo Cervino, with whom all three are currently working on a recently aired YouTube action webseries titled C9DES (Codes) – click the tags at the bottom of the article to learn more.
Check out Gift Revenge in the following embed, and special thanks to Ripamonti for sharing this little gem.
The second clip comes courtesy of Daniele Balconi who appears as his own rendition of Santa Claus in Stunt Claus: All Santa Wants For Christmas Is Peace. This little comedic holiday spoof doesn’t come with subtitles as it is entirely in Italian. However you get the basic idea of just what is happening – four thugs holding a rather Santa hostage, until Santa gets the upper hand and fights his way out. [UPDATE] The clip is now available with subtitles.
It’s a funny clip and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Alex Riva, Valerio Fioretti, Fabio Argentino and Klaudio Muça also star. Special thanks to Balconi for sharing this with our page, and for subscribing to Film Combat Syndicate.
The next two clips are non-holiday oriented, but I felt they deserved sharing as fitting additions to today’s Christmas article here; The next following clip in the next comes courtesy of the Serbia-based Team 360 and its members Dalibor Ranđelović Kraka, Nemanja Sekulić and Mirodrag Radulaški, and the team behind their first fight clip from the summer titled Fight For No Reason.
Ironically this not the first time I have seen a short action film with this particular title in the last ten years I have been following independent action cinema. But considering what you see in the short film, the title seems fitting – two guys going at it for no apparent reason whatsoever, leading to a silly and hilarious conclusion. It’s a fun piece created by a small group of people who have a total of well over thirty years in various styles of martial arts training and parkour, and are just now starting out.
Check it out below, and special thanks to Kraka for posting this on our Facebook page.
Last but not least, the fourth following short piece titled Sparring At Chimosa, features two of Germany’s most prominent film stunt professionals, Niklas Kinzel and Kai Fung Rieck. The clip was shot by Tolga Degirmen, and I came across this in my Facebook feed, so hopefully I can learn more about these guys in the near future. In the meantime, check out their latest clip below!
Subscribe to each and everyone of these channels for more exciting content. You can also find links to Facebook and Twitter in the description of the first two clips.
Stay tuned to Film Combat Syndicate as we continue to introduce quality content from some of today’s aspiring young action performers.
Ever wonder what superheroes really go through in real life? Well, actor and stuntman Yoshua Sudarso may have that answer for you in his latest lead role in Movies Vs. Real Life: Invincible Hero. The shortfilm is the latest from director and editor Casey Chan, and content creators Bart Kwan and Joe Jo over at Just Kidding Films, and to be honest, judging somewhat by the poster, I wouldn’t blame you if this actually turned out to be something slightly more spectacular.
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube lead the lineup in Ride Along, the new film from the director and the producer of the blockbuster comedy Think Like a Man.