UPDATE (8:43pm EST): In the minutes that followed the publication of this story, we learned that Johnston is no longer affiliated with Epic Rival’s forthcoming plans for the Clandestine project. We’ll keep you posted on future updates.
It probably dawned on many of you who may have been following the workings of online film production group, Thousand Pounds Action Company, since promoting and successfully fundraising their newest action series, Clandestine, why it feels like it has taken forever to see what the project has to offer. It probably feels the same way for its creative trio, Chris Cowan, Haile Lee and Lex Randleman, who kicked off their second film production arm, Epic Rival, back in April, while doing their best to help bring Clandestine to its fullest potential. That, of course, meant taking it to various studios for any number of meetings to see about possible network expansion, and deservedly so.
If you’ve been following Cowan and Lee for at least as long as the last couple of years, you will notice the electric responses they’ve received for the amount and quality of work they have achieved in the past several years, bringing a careful touch to their visionary blend of live-action spectacle with martial arts and storytelling gems, layered with attributions to various elements and franchises of gaming and Japanese anime and manga, from their numerous conceptual videos for Clandestine, to the arduous wait and delivery of the independently made Naruto Shippuden: Dreamer’s Fight, Eleven, Street Fighter X Tekken and even their most recent homage to TMNT, all of which have generated some of the biggest online viral video crowds to date, from the interwebs and blogosphere to the gatherings at Anime Expo in Los Angeles. It’s all been about strength in numbers at this point, because even as we’ve come this far, Cowan, Lee and Randleman are going to need all the support they can get as they continue their quest to bring Clandestine to episodic life.
The fundrasier eventually led to the subsequent completion of two principal episodes sampling the epic generational story of love, honor, family, betrayal and spirtual awakening, all encompassed in a young woman’s quest of self-discovery amidst political upheaval and turmoil among polarized clans. Lady Bloodfight star, actress and stuntwoman, Amy Johnston, whose 2012 action sampler at the formerly-titled White Lotus kung fu gym has become the talk of the interwebs, is the heroine of this stellar new project, and as you will see by the release of the first episode in the player below, if the quality and impact here say nothing else about Clandestine, it certainly says this: There are too many good projects out there online that get left by the wayside because someone upstairs in a suit who is too busy looking up the next thing to adapt from a comic book or video game doesn’t know a good thing when they see it. This has to stop.
Clandestine is fresh, original and rich with all the trappings of what could be a truly awesome and fruitful investment in televised action adventure programmimg. And after this write up, I hope the right people will start paying attention. Because if not now, then when?
Johnston is joined by Marshal Hilton and Judith Scarpone, along with Jaymes Edwards, Ming Lo, Luise Heath, actor and stunt coordinator Aaron Toney, Laura Burgo, Michelle Lee, Christopher Rivas and Katrina Walters, with episode two excerpts featuring Reuben Langdon, Linden King, Jimmy Chhiu and Gui DaSilva.
SERIES DESCRIPTION:
Enter the world of Clandestine.
Hidden within the recesses of modern society, lives four ancient supernatural clans who have been feuding since the beginning of time. Adelene, a young girl who knew nothing of the war between the clans, is suddenly thrown in the thick of it when it’s prophesied that she is the next matriarchal successor to the one of the Families.
Adelene begins her journey to learn all of what mankind has forgotten as she struggles to become the clans new “Matriarch”. The secrets of what life was like “before”, the decisions that risk countless lives, and the constant struggle to keep the clan united, are just a few of the dangerous trials she must now face… and survival is not guaranteed.
A martial arts action epic with political intrigue, love, and unforgettable supernatural action.
Epic Rival presents: Clandestine
Watch episode one below and stay tuned for further updates one number two and the series in its continued efforts. Happy New Year!