darren holmquist

THE HIT LIST: December 17, 2018

My weekend was mostly contemplative. I may try to explain this before the year is out as I’ve normally posted yearly thoughts around this time… As for The Hit List, you’re about to indulge yourselves with the first of the final two installments for 2018. First up is a fresh new playlist host to some of today’s top and rising stunt talents listing Stephen Koepfer, Evelyn Osorio Vaccaro, Jackson Rozario, Bridgette Bentley, Ben Aycrigg, Aline Mayne, Tyler Street, Brea Schneider, Luke Baxter, Krista Jasper, James Procelli, Alyson Pickett, Robin Webb, Claudia Heinz, Levgenii Poliakov, and the explosive coordinator stylings of one Brendon Huor! Promotional gems are but few this week, firstly from stunt performer, fight choreographer and screenfighting tutor Rustic B who invites followers of his channel to engage themselves in his latest holiday-themed Fight Scene challenge. As always, there are rules and the rules apply from now through December […]

EXCLUSIVE: Hitman Action Horror, THE INTERMEDIATE, Casts Kevin Lukata, Begins Filming Later This Year

Lee B. Golden III

Filmmaker Xavier Q. Kantz is someone who I’m more than humbled to have in my own film viewing repetoire. My earliest experience was his 2002 direct-to-video sophmore actioner, Love And A Bullet featuring Naughty By Nature’s own, actor Anthony “Treach” Criss. To say the least, it wasn’t a perfect film but it’s a great headliner to get some worthy insight into a director’s vision for action, and while a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fan, the addition of Walter Emmanuel Jones in an R-rated actioner for a change, certainly drew my interest. This is the same director who contributed a rather interesting read here at Film Combat Syndicate back in 2014 amid all the lingering chitter-chatter over the prospects of an Enter The Dragon remake. Much to my own chagrin it’s the only piece he’s written here as he’s been kept busy with his own craft, which is largely a blessing […]

THE HIT LIST – March 28, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

I’m currently getting over a cold, but hopefully you’ve rested well from your Easter weekend as the past two days have been brimming with all things Batsy and Super. Otherwise, here and now and once more, we attribute our day of the week to an article filled with things that make up a lot of the entertainment you see on the big screen, thanks to none other than the stunt community. It’s a little shorter than preferred but I think you’ll still get your fill, in my opinion. Getting things off to an excellent start this week is actor and stuntman Eric Jacobus with his latest movelist performance attributed to Tekken game villain, Heihaichi Mishima, followed by reels from filmmaker and action director Bueno, stunt performers Ryan Robertson, tricker Vellu Saarela, Aviel Ayoung, Curt Wheeler, Nick Stanner, and Steve Bravler, and a fan reel knitted with scenes attributed to celebrated […]

THE HIT LIST – November 30, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

My Thanksgiving weekend almost tempted me to opt out of putting together another Hit List! What can I say, it was fun to unplug and I’ll probably do more of that in the near future. In the meantime, a new installment is here for the week with a great deal of stunt reels and just a few shortfilms and test fights to share… So, let’s kick this off with the usual assortment of stunt reels to warm things up, and it begins with a fantastic new reel by stuntman and independent filmmaker Emmanuel Manzanares, and we’ll have more on him a little later. Following up are more reels as of late from other indie film and stunt guys including Shaun Charney and Greg Poljacik, along with those from Nicola Bokardo, Naomi Turvey, Torrey Vogel, Domenica Rossi, Ben Tardif, Nick Krawiec, David G. Pelta, Alli Marrie and a new team real […]

THE HIT LIST – August 17, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

Well, Monday night has arrived and I pretty much consider myself well-rested seeing as how I ended up back in blogger-mode on Sunday night. Some days you burn out, and on others you just start clicking…it’s funny, really. Anyway, with our return to the start of a new week, the Hit List is back just as well, lending nods to a meaty handful of stunt professionals every week in attribution to their hard work shown in reels and shortfilms alike. Alas, the new stunt reel playlist for the week is now up and running with reels by Donovan Sheehan, Boris Martinez, Marco Pancrazi, an awesome action reel by Raze co-star Allene Quincy, Jacob Sebastian Malm‘s latest reel featuring his Turandot stunt team from the summer in an illuminous new fire showreel, and actor David Sakurai in a new Vimeo-exclusive action reel of his own assembled from several of his recent […]

Revenge Action Short, HEART Releases Online With Director’s Statement

Lee B. Golden III

Independent movies are no easy feat to achieve, especially ambitious ones with a striking vision that aims for potential greatness from exception to exection. Atom Phly Media’s own Frank Hernandez, filmmaker and helmer of such projects as Dardrex Productions’ Keep Going shortfilm and The Living webseries, is no stranger to the task of movie making and the stringent film climate we are currently in, having spent the last several years inspired to bring one other of his latest ideas to life on camera in the form of martial arts action drama, Heart, with co-star and producer Jennifer Faust. Hernandez began crowdfunding for the project earlier last year, and as common as it is for projects of this nature, Heart fell short of its goals and like with a lot of independent filmmaking endeavors, to say this project had its share of ups and downs would be nothing short of an […]

THE HIT LIST – April 13, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

The past week has been full of stunts, but not without a dash of drama – particularly over the haphazard-yet-brazen attempt of one particular person’s attempt at stealing glory she didn’t deserve. It happens often and it ALWAYS deserves calling out. In lieu of this, however, it also presents an opportunity to show some appreciation to one other aspect of the stunt community worth commending: The Stunt Drivers. Alas, kicking off this week’s Hit List is a small handful of reels of talented stunt drivers, namely Furious Seven stuntwoman Debbie Evans in her 2011 motorcycle stunt reel, along with reels from Laura Lee Connery, Matt Covert, Marcos Garcia, Danny Bopp and Bastian Kern, showing us how it’s done! Now, let’s get some more reels going featuring the recent feats of Marlee Barber, Jeremy Marinas, Morgan Benoit, Alex Duong, Gabriel Caste, Zoltan Hodi, Kendall Wells, Jake Eavey, Max Calder and actor Jason Statham […]

Oh No, NOT ANOTHER PARKING LOT FIGHT!

Lee B. Golden III

Fancy some indie action to start your day? Are you up for a cool little fight scene in a parking lot? No? Well, neither is independent filmmaker and online action creator Darren Holmquist in his latest comedic action interlude, Not Another Parking Lot Fight, with performances by Leonard Zhang and Alex Tasy, and cinematography by Atom Phly Media’s own Frank Hernandez . It’s awesomely tongue-in-cheek right down to the end, and if you’ve been a fan of independent action cinema long enough, you’ll get the joke (well, except for the weird part). Check it out below, and with Holmquist catching up on a few other projects he plans on sharing real soon from Dardrex Productions, feel free to subscribe to the channel in the embed!

Reel Time: DARREN HOLMQUIST (2014)

Lee B. Golden III

I remember a time around ten years ago when MySpace used to be a thing, and I first caught wind of filmmaker Darren Holmquist‘s home videos and shortfilms. A little less than a decade later when I think about it, it still feel like yesteday, although Holmquist has improved his range greatly throughout his contributions to indie filmmaking, from designing sequences and evolving his style of choreography whenever he can, to expanding his performance capabilities with that of other teams and independent filmmakers. Soon as of this writing he will be based in Los Angeles where he’ll continue is craft and maintain his place on the map as a rising figure in the stunt and film business as more and more projects come to pass, including the upcoming Fall release of the new shortfilm, Rope-A-Dope 2. For now, you can subscribe to his current platform on YouTube for Dardrex Productions […]

ROPE-A-DOPE 2 Goes Ringside With New Set Photos

Lee B. Golden III

Independent filmmaker, martial arts action cinema favorite Eric Jacobus is back once more with the current filming of the action comedy follow-up short, Rope-A-Dope 2: The Return Of The Martial Arts Mafia. The sequel officially began production back in May, roughly a year since the first installment, Rope-A-Dope, was released, featuring Jacobus in a Groundhog Day-style short story about a Dope who wakes up everyday re-living the same bad luck over and over again until he finds a way to break the vicious cycle, leading to a hyper-kinetic final fight with a gang of martial arts thugs, led by Barrio Brawler co-star, actor and longstanding member of The Stunt People, Dennis Ruel. Produced by Hollywood stuntman Clayton J. Barber and Death Grip co-star, actress Rebecca Ahn, Rope-A-Dope ultimately began its film festival run last summer, leading to a second place award at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival last November, […]

Action Ensues And The Rules Don't Matter In The New Short, HETJA

Lee B. Golden III

Bridger Anne Fox and Evelyn Lesaca square off in ‘HETJA’! You can pretty much cast aside any high expectations you might have for independent filmmaker Jeff Lunzaga‘s style of filmmaking when it comes to any type of story, character development or scene guidelines. Why? Well, because these are exactly the kinds of things that “hyper-reality” filmmaking deviates away from – a formula which Lunzaga used in his previous shortfilm, Agent 6 and once more in the new fantasy action free-for-all, Hetja. The shortfilm was shot a few months ago as per the collaborative efforts of multiple actors, stuntmen and content creators from various YouTube platforms known as The Collective. Loaded with tons of unapologetic randomness ranging from flurries of kung fu fights, gun battles and explosions to fighter jets, slapstick comedy, wacky cosplay and a magic eight-ball in between scenes, Hetja perfectly exemplifies boundless creativity, whether you think it’s art or pure […]

Dardrex Presents: DARREN HOLMQUIST V. SHAUN BEEHAG

Lee B. Golden III

Darren Holmqist tries to force Shaun Beehag into submission in their latest fight. It’s not often that independent online filmmakers and action performers travel to other areas of the world to make short test fights for the simple fun of it. However, for online actioner Darren Holmquist, it was quite convenient a pairing when Aussie professional traceur Shaun Beehag flew to California recently on business and decided to pay Holmquist a visit. Hence, we are offered a brand new test fight this week featuring Holmquist and Beehag, choreogrpahed much to the tune of Holmquist‘s “New Style” of evolving choreography that strays from the usual Hong Kong elements he’s incorporated in his projects over the years. The new short was also another opportunity for Beehag to help sharpen his performance level as a stuntfighter since going on hiatus early last year to establish himself as a fitness trainer and an obstacle […]

FIGHTR Brings A Match Made In Black-And-Blue Heaven

Lee B. Golden III

Are you feeling lonely? Are you in need of that special someone to help you work off some of that stress? Guess what! There’s an app for that, and actor and independent screenfighting action director Darren Holmquist is here to show you how to use it against fellow actress Jennifer Faust in the new test fight shortfilm, FIGHTR – Ultimate Fighting Phone App. Be advised however, as curious as minds can be, this particular app doesn’t exist, but chalk another one up for the independent scene delivering another gem for the masses as Holmquist meets his lovely date, face first! If the names are familiar to you, then you may recall a recent crowdfunder that launched for indie director Frank Hernandez‘s new spirited action revenge drama, Heart. And, in case you are not up to date, Holmquist and Faust are currently attached to the project, with further developments pending as […]

The Spirit Of Endurance Lives On In The New Kickstarter For Martial Arts Revenge Drama, HEART

Lee B. Golden III

Independent filmmaker Frank Hernandez and executive producer, dancer and actress Jennifer Faust are hosting a brand new kickstarter campaign this week aimed at building awareness to fund their new inspired film project, Heart. Starring Faust opposite actress and associate producer Inder Mundi, the film is described as a martial arts revenge story of triumph over relentless tribulation, centered on a young woman who ventures in a downward spiral as she grieves over the tragic loss of her brother throughout her obsessive search for his killer. Heart is also the latest collaborative effort for independent film group Atom Phly Media and independent action and choreography team, Dardrex Productions, since previously teaming together on last year’s season of the zombie action horror webseries, The Living, which Hernandez co-created. Hernandez also directed the summer 2012 spirited prequel to Heart titled Keep Going, with actor and Dardrex Productions founder and fight choreographer, Darren Holmquist, […]

DARDREX Takes Its New Style UNDERGROUND

Lee B. Golden III

Independent action film company Dardrex Productions debut its most recent experimental short film called Test Fight: Underground. The video clip illustrates actors Darren Holmquist and C.J. Thoms, illustrating the company’s latest efforts to deviate from its previous observances of Hong Kong-stylized action scenes, and into a newer, more brutal, grounded-in-reality style of fight choreography and stuntwork (otherwise known as the “Dardrex New Style”) to signify Dardrex Productions as a pivotal milestone in evolving the independent action film industry since their video announcement late last year. Description via Darren Holmquist “…The main goals we were going for with this fight scene was to tell a story through the fight and make sure the fight never went into a pattern. No move repeats and the pace changes throughout the fight. We hope you guys found our acting decent as well. :-)” Click HERE if the embed fails to load, and don’t forget […]