alex chung

CONTRACTS: A New (Shorter) Director’s Cut Is On The Way For Alex Chung’s Feature Hitman Debut [EXCLUSIVE]

It’s early days at the moment but a director’s cut is now pending for Contracts, stuntman, actor and director Alex Chung’s feature debut which released on DVD and Blu-Ray through Indiecan in 2020. Chung broke the news in a brief teaser on Monday which you can view below, and to that end I reached out for a few more tidbits on the updated version. There wasn’t much Chung could divulge to me privately except the following, stating he “wanted to see a cut of what it would have looked like before making the decision to turn it into a feature.” To note, that choice was made in the ten years Chung spent expanding the concept from a small series of action shorts leading up to what would have been a third short film had he chosen to stay the course. Interestingly, Chung added “…The main thing is it’s shorter” when […]

The Saga Continues As Alex Chung Releases HIT ME (WITH A STICK)!

Lee B. Golden III

It was eight years ago when Alex Chung began a peculiar little indie action odyssey with a series of shorts titled Hit Me. He made three of these before closing the book in 2016, and then sort of re-opening it a few years ago with Hit Me: Isolation to whet the mid-pandemic creative appetite, and while the book is still mostly closed (or not), Chung is otherwise expanding the concept just a smidget more. This time, it’s stunt professional Dylan Rampulla hitting himself, and he’s got a stick… That’s right…a STICK! Check it out below along with a playlist of the previous shorts which I’ve gathered just beneath, and definitely subscribe to his channels below in case this little self-inflicting saga of comic violence truly isn’t over.

CONTRACTS Trailer: Indiecan Gives Alex Chung’s Martial Arts Indie Thriller A Red-Band Welcome Ahead Of November Release [UPDATED With Home Release Artwork And Disc Details]

Lee B. Golden III

Actor and stunt performer Alex Chung’s latest film, Contracts, didn’t exactly set out to be a full-length feature at first, and yet, this is where we’re at. Some ten years and change, a few shorts followed by an extensive independent production and two award wins out of last year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Chung’s feature debut as writer and director is finally on the way to a Blu-Ray, DVD and VOD release on November 10 from Indiecan Entertainment; On-demand pre-orders are now up and running here! Jaded assassin Anthony Lo (Alex Chung) is tapped on the shoulder by Marc Sullivan (Jermaine Carty), who commands a band of killers dedicated to achieving world peace by any means necessary. Sullivan seeks Anthony’s help to find and eliminate a rogue assassin who’s picking off Sullivan’s crew one by one. In exchange, Sullivan offers Anthony the opportunity to get revenge on the person […]

THE HIT LIST: April 6, 2020

Lee B. Golden III

As stifling as it is to see life grind to a halt thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s been certainly beneficial the numerous performers and content creators out there who’ve otherwise been able to complete backlogged shortfilm projects. It’s also inspiring to see more folks hosting performers and projects on their own platforms to support other artists, and with the newest installment of The Hit List here, I’m happy to do my part. Up first is the usual round of stunt reels, this time featuring Tricia Guarin, Ron Smoorenburg, Phillip Dang, Ivy Haralson, Chris Cortez, Maurice Chan, Joelle Comeau, Devin Regan, Byon Tae-woo, Julia Morizawa, Sergey Ryabtsev, Woody Almazan, Marina Mazepa, Kyle Dean Bolt, Julia Elizabeth, Justin Cabanting, Kenji Shimohira, Nailah Johnson, Mark Stas, Sasha Simic, Tally Rodin, traceur LJ McDonald, and a fantastic performers’ love letter to sword in a montage of projects edited together by Aaron Toney. The […]

CONTRACTS: Indiecan Lands Alex Chung’s Award-Winning Action Feature Debut

Lee B. Golden III

Indiecan Entertainment has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to release independent action thriller, Contracts, as noted from the official announcement forwarded by Screen Anarchy‘s Andrew Mack on Saturday. The film, which stars Alex Chung who wore multiple hats on the production next to writer, producer, director and action director, is also being repped by APL Film for international sales as of this year’s events at the American Film Market. Contracts is the work of several years from Chung who got his start near the turn of the century with burgeoning Canadian stunt group, Eclipse Stunts. Having sharpened his skillset in multiple aspects of filmmaking and stunt work, it is with Contracts that he proudly signaled his feature directing/starring debut which eventually found it way to a world premiere at the 14th Toronto After Dark Film Festival where it won ‘Best Action Film’ and ‘Best Fight Scene’. In Contracts, a team […]

CONTRACTS Outlines The Brutal Rules Of Engagement In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

There are only several more days left before the next Toronto After Dark Film Festival reveals director and actor Alex Chung’s latest cinematic arrival, Contracts. Film Combat Syndicate debuted an exclusive inaugural festival trailer a few weeks ago to whet the appetite prior to composing a first-hand review, and now we have an official trailer to set things further in stone. Fight choreographer Alex Chung channels JOHN WICK and JASON BOURNE with this hard-hitting action packed crime thriller about a jaded hitman who finds himself in a fight to the death with a group of vicious assassins. Packed with jaw-breaking fights, intense duels and dangerous stunts, CONTRACTS is a hardcore action movie fan’s delight! Chung and select cast and crew will also be on hand to answer questions for attendees. Tickets are still on sale for the next few days so click here and get yours if you’re going!

CONTRACTS Review: Alex Chung Signals With A Bloody, Bone-Crushing, Action-Packed Freshman Indie Feature Debut

Lee B. Golden III

The seemingly walled-off millieu that is the film industry is hardly inpenetrable these days with the numerous film artists that have emerged in the last twenty years. It has since spawned a generational talent pool and a raft of notable film projects to leave its mark on independent film and fan-driven martial arts and stunt professional history. Independent filmmaker, actor and stunt performer Alex Chung is a biproduct of that history which now leaves us with Contracts, a movie nearly a decade in the making since its evolution from shortfilm treatment to the arduous, albeit peer-inspired effort of a full feature film. It’s also worth noting Chung’s successes in other genres from horror to romance and drams, while Contracts serves an ample entree comprised of a little of everything, and topped with a heavy dose of brutal, nail-biting action for the fans. Penned by Chung himself, the story generally centers […]

CONTRACTS: Watch The Exclusive, All-New Trailer For Alex Chung’s Action-Packed Feature Debut

Lee B. Golden III

The last twelve years have been a pivotal period of growth for actor, stunt performer and filmmaker Alex Chung. From his birth into stunts and independent cinema to a full-fledged resumè in the field, his latest endeavor, Contracts, stands on its own as a true testament of his dedication to the craft. “The existence of this film is ironically not a result of a clear ambition to make a feature-length chaotic martial arts action film with no funding, yet that is what we ended up with.” says Chung, whose earlier evolution of the project was intended to be a 45-minute prequel to a small string of independent action shorts from 2009 and onward. “I had always imagined attempting my first feature once I had a script that was perfect, the desired amount of funding, and basically all of the planets lining up. I realized the naiveté of that and decided […]

CONTRACTS 3: Alex Chung Makes It Official With The Full Trailer For His Feature Action Thriller Debut

Lee B. Golden III

Roughly sixteen years into a fledgling stunt and independent film career, filmmaker and actor Alex Chung is ready to take the next step having quietly advanced his agenda with his latest feature directorial debut. Thus, we get Contracts 3 the third follow-up in a series of non-linear shortfilms going back close to a decade – this one likely setting up for a much longer-form story of its own which could mean a title change in due time. Chung’s film here centers on a team of assassins who now find themselves targeted by a highly-skilled and superior killer. Also starring are an amalgam of actors and action talents that include Neil Bishop, Giulio Calisse, Michael Carter, Jermaine Carty, Christena Gaunce, Jonathan Pang, Dan Sanderson, Margaryta Soldatova and Kyle Stewart. Release details are tentatively pending but a full trailer is now in our midst. Take a look!

THE HIT LIST: March 13, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

My weekend needed more hours seeing as how the lack of sleep tends to wane on a person. Thankfully I got through it enough to finish this week’s Hit List, though I’ll be keeping some of these passages a bit more abbreviated. Kicking off this week’s stunt reel playlist is Stephon Reynolds, followed by reels featuring Courtney Chen, K Dynamique’s own Siamak Samie, Gina Marinella, Michael Carey, Ronin Skai, Sadiqua Bynum, Justin Krall, Martin Martejcik, Ellette Craddock, Kyle Thomas, Stephané Giroudeaud, Justin Craigen and the hard-hitting musings of stunt coordinator and stuntman, Simon Rhee! Onward, we have some more trailer goods to share and we begin with word that Vietnamese Australian actress Maria Tran’s latest efforts with filmmaker Adrian Castro for old school Asian action homage series, Tiger Cop, have officially been met with funding as of last week. The concept itself has stewed for several years as concept trailers […]

APOCALYPSE THEN AND NOW: An Interview With Alex Chung

Lee B. Golden III

Nope, I didn’t see it coming, but it happened nonetheless. Stuntman and independent filmmaker Alex Chung’s latest foray into action and comedy finally saw my own shortfilm debut in Hit Me: Apocalypse. It’s no biggie really, but it left me hugely thankful and buzzed to be included in something I follow regularly, and if you read Film Combat Syndicate frequently, then you obviously know what it is. While I won’t hammer on and on about my small contribution to indie action and comedy, the project did finally give me the opportunity to talk to Chung and share a little about himself in an interview. Having followed his adventures in collusion with his own team, Eclipse Stunts for up to three years now, he’s proven himself to be another fine talent whose boldness behind the camera has led to some wild, wacky and entertaining results – one including his most recent […]

THE HIT LIST – April 25, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

Well, it’s Monday morning on my end and belive it or not, I intially lost my entire draft for this week’s Hit List. So, this is me typing it all out for you again. You’re welcome. Short and sweet, our stunt reels begin the new playlist and the first comes by way of a Vimeo exclusive courtesy of Eunoia Creations’s own Ieisha Auyeung, followed by a YouTube playlist that features Ingun Yoo (a.k.a. Kickgun), Yoshua Sudarso, Slobo Panouvic, George Quinones, Emil Roe, Remi Bakkar and a fan-edited reel for capoeirista, actor and martial artist Lateef Crowder. The last is another Vimeo exclusive from none other than French screenfighting extraordinare Olivier Schneider, who we all hope to see behind the scenes and at the helm of his own films soon! As for promotional bits, the first is a poster marking the upcoming Sunscreen Film Festival premiere of filmmaker Bryan Williams’s new […]

THE HIT LIST – April 18, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

This week’s installation of The Hit List presents some great pieces to share, and without a doubt I will be resurrecting another lovely piece of shortfilm worth viewing for those not in the know. Right now and as the script usually goes, we kick the festivities off with a playlist full of entertaining reels full of stunts and action by some of today’s talented performers. Actor and stuntman Eric Jacobus starts it off with a continuation of his epic journey through Katsuhiro Harada’s Tekken gameverse with a movelist attributed to the Dark Talon of Death himself, Raven. Following that is a reel from actress Jessica Wolff who has been on my radar for the last few years having worked with indie filmmaking familiars like Fernando Jay Huerto of Jabronie Pictures, and Mikko Löppönen whom I had the pleasure of helping promote his 2015 shortfilm, Eliza. Aside from being a recording […]

THE HIT LIST – February 8, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

My weekend was a little adventurous. Nothing major but I do have a few things going on right now that may involve a little less activity here at Film Combat Syndicate, so I can’t guarantee the usual amount of content like always. That won’t stop me from procuring the weekly Hit List as per each Monday evening, because there’s more action to entail along with a small announcement on a project I will be making a cameo in, and you would be wise to keep up!… First up, as always in our weekly series of playlists is a reel loaded with various training and professional stunt and fighting footage from some of today’s upscale players, including Shaun Finney, Ross Kohnstam, Matt Berberi, Corbin Reinhardt, Aston Crabtree, Shane Yan and Leandra Giese. And now, onto some short fight videos with a vimeo-exclusive from Tyler Williams in Canada. His latest piece is […]

THE HIT LIST – October 26, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

This weekend was another rough one… safe to say I need two of me. Nevertheless, I’m committed to the Hit List this week and have delivered the goods, the high falls, the hard-hitters and all! Right now, we kick things off like we always do, and that’s with the stunt players and demo reels of their own. Watch the latest from Alexandre Gay, Jennifer Li, Sam Slater, Pablo Verdejo, Kadia Saraf, Jesse Haus, Alessandro Romeo, Felix Quinton, Moe Alafrangy and Taz Garcia, as well as an illustrious Darth Maul-inspired lightsaber demo conjured by actor and martial artist Aaron Gassor. Up next, as always, we have a small list of test fights that I found worth sharing. The first comes courtesy of filmmaker Bryan Sloyer who dazzled us earlier this year with an amazing action short called The Keeper. He’s got a new BTS video for that project you can view […]

Check Out These Cool Test Fight Shorts Now Online!

Lee B. Golden III

In the sprit of keeping up with independent action, at least four new test fights are now available for viewing in the embeds below. As always, feel free to subscribe to their respective channels! The first one comes from Bryan Sloyer, an actor and stuntman who I’ve been covering for about a year now. He’s gotten a little sharper with the camera and his editing ever since, and it also helps that he’s getting a bit more creative in the process. His latest is called Shadow Fighter, with actress and stuntwoman Amy Sturdivant in a performance that illustrates the psyche of a fighter in training. Stunt player Jerry Quill plays her shadow, and its pretty slick! The next one comes from indie auteur Emmanuel Manzanares – someone who I’ve covered in articles aplenty in the past few years, mingling with who’s who in the stunt industry between his own team, […]

The Process Continues In The New Shortfilm Trailer For REVERSE

Lee B. Golden III

Kyle Stewart in REVERSE Canadian indie action filmmaker and stuntman Alex Chung‘s most recent solo act, Hit Me, is getting some extra attention at Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival – just one of several maneuvers his projects have been making in the past year. As such, a busy schedule can often at times get in the way, so he’s got a few projects that are still on the way or in the making as we speak. One such project is titled Reverse, a sequel to the 2009 shortfilm, Process Of Elimination – a gritty crime drama centered on a man’s infiltration into the criminal underworld to find the person responsible for his brother’s disappearance. Reverse is another addition to its predecessor’s universe, and I briefly chatted with Chung about what inspired him to move forward with this project after so long. “Its connection to Process Of Elimination was almost an […]

Deanna Graci Sees Red In The New Eclipse Stunts Short, INHUMAN

Lee B. Golden III

Independent stunt and action troupe Eclipse Stunts still like to break-in newcomers from time to time; take Deanna Graci for example, an upcoming actress who, in September of last year, found herself preferring to do stunts more than anything. This came prior to meeting Eclipse member, Werewolf Assassin hemler Alex Chung and other members of his team, who eventually decide to put a little something together about a few weeks ago. That little something is called Inhuman, thanks to Chung and that kooky artist brain of his. A thousand cool points for those who can guess the inspiration for the last shot! Check it all out below, and by all means, hit the subscribe button!

The Official Trailer For WEREWOLF ASSASSIN Howls Online

Lee B. Golden III

Independent filmmaker, actor and fellow Eclipse Stunts fall guy, Alex Chung is still putting this finishing touches on his latest labor of love, Werewolf Assassin, featuring Eclipse member Kyle Stewart with Jermaine Carty and Celine Lolos among other names casted. Tentatively clocked in somewhere in the region of thirty and forty minutes, fans can expect this one to arrive hopefully sometime this Fall as Chung has other obligations in between now and then, but we now have an official trailer that presents the inspired Grindhouse-style vision that clearly does this one MUCH justice! Werewolf Assassin also has an official Facebook page, so if you haven’t subscribed yet, it would be wise to do so. Otherwise, check out the juicy new trailer below ans watch out for more updates throughout the summer…as long as you’re not doing so while out at night with a full moon. SYNOPSIS: Appearing only during full […]

Watch Alex Chung Fight Himself As Hard As He Can In HIT ME!

Lee B. Golden III

Opinions may differ in certain volumes when it comes to the movie, Fight Club, the 1999 dark-comedy crime caper centered on a schizophrenic forced to confront the terroristic manifestations of his inner-self. However, one thing that is certain is that the film does have its share of fans, including Eclipse Stunts member, actor and independent filmmaker Alex Chung, who recently aired his own fan contribution with the new action short, Hit Me, with fellow performer Rjay Garcia. I have to say, out of all of the online shorts I have seen, Hit Me might be the first time I have seen something like this. And in my honest opinion, this is nothing short of one heck of an impressive variation of something David Fincher made awesomely memorable. And I think would be proud of it. Yes, I am Jack’s sesne of fulfillment. Watch, and subscribe, and stay tuned for more updates on […]