FOLKLORE AND FU: A Word With Filmmaker Samuel Smith
Film Combat Syndicate: Greetings Samuel and thank you for agreeing to share your story with us. How have things been this year so far?
david cheung
THE HIT LIST: July 24, 2017
The story is very entertaining as is the overall look and feel, and Suljic brings a very edgy mien to the lens. The action can be jarring at times in the editing but you still get something out of it next to the solid drama with a commanding performance by Loredan Krug who plays the villain.
Shortfilm Review: I AM NOT THE DEVIL (2017)
Director Samuel Smith only has two shortfilms to his credit. Both have been making the festival rounds including the new supernatual thriller, I Am Not The Devil, which I think wins with its title and artwork alone while presenting a feasible concept in shortform that provides a stable medium for action, drama and mild fantasy.
Featured is actor and martial artist David Cheung, currently a busy man with work to be done on his in-production spy comedy, The Real Target, debuting at the helm with lead actress and filmmaker Yolanda Lynes. Here, Cheung plays a thief raiding an underground auction where a woman, seemingly corrupted by Satan, is held captive and contained by two devil whisperers.
Smith and his crew shot this particular project in a period just shy of 24 hours, not always a preferred time frame but provenly doable for a director who knows how to shoot and package shots together solidly and with tact. The action, small in scale, stimulates enough for the martial arts crowd as it looks to Cheung to carry the stylishly-edited fight action opposite the film’s fight team as well as action principles Nino Noology and Adrian Bronin.
Linda Louise Duan compels as the woman held captive, amply presenting a stronger acting presence for a role that boils much more down to implied context than what little dialogue there is. For a seven minute venture, it’s a smart move as most of the short leans on its visual attributes and spectacle in its short-form execution of a story that could offer plentily if given a budget for a more grand, possible 90-minute showing.
Smith himself also lensed the action, and not for nothing as he exhibits gumption and gravitas when it comes to shooting fight choreography and stunts. A few of the shots might be cripplingly tight, but he makes up for it in the wider shots and longer takes where and when required.
I Am Not The Devil is just the kind of project that should deservedly get Smith in the door for more filmmaking prospects with the right people. Balancing a feasible story structure with exceptional fight action and photographic performance are not easy feats to achieve in the minimal production, and so it takes a good and knowledgeable director to make it work. With seven minutes, Smith staunchly exemplifes this in at least half that time.
Smith’s next stop after this will be the Iron Dragon TV Action Fest in August with the 2016 award-winning fantasy actioner, Tengu: Birdmen Of The Mountains, also starring Cheung. Keep an eye on him. He’s on the move and he’s got promise.
British Martial Arts Spy Comedy, THE REAL TARGET, Lands New Behind-The-Scenes Stills
In a world full of corruption, conspiracy and criminals, The Kung Fu Couple and their vigilante team target villains to save the planet from lethal weapons of mass destruction, starring international actors, martial artists and champion athletes. When a deadly man-made virus is created, they must fight to save the world and take down evil controllers of the global financial system.
British Kung Fu Comedy, THE REAL TARGET, Brandishes A Masterful New Poster
The Real Target is an action packed martial arts comedy film. In a world full of corruption, conspiracy and criminals, The Kung Fu Couple and their vigilante team target villains to save the planet from lethal weapons of mass destruction, starring international actors, martial artists and champion athletes. When a deadly man-made virus is created, they must fight to save the world and take down evil controllers of the global financial system.
Indie Kung Fu Espionage Comedy, THE REAL TARGET, Shares Its First Teaser Poster
You can chalk up UK actor and stuntman David Cheung as yet another in the list of figures working his way up in action cinema. Films like 47 Ronin, Green Street 3 and Mortdecai are worth noting while most genre fans and netizens may remember him briefly from earlier samplers of K&K Prodictions’s fan made Dragon Ball Z: Saiyan Saga proof of concept. In any case, you can now add the title of “director” to his current growth with the current feature production of his independent action comedy debut, The Real Target.
From a script by Cheung, co-writer Thomas Jenkins and leading lady Yolanda Lynes in her acting debut, the story centers on a kung fu couple who operate under the guidance of their master to rid the world of corruption and menacing evil, until their latest assignment unravels their master’s even bigger and notorious scheme. Producing are Soo Cole and Jing Lang and with a release tentatively planned for May, production remains on-going as Cheung is finally unveiling a promotional rollout via social media beginning with his newest teaser poster which you can view below.
The release could extend to the latter part of 2016 pending further funding and filming progress. In the meantime, follow the film’s progress on Facebook with links available to Twitter, Instagram, and an official website, and watch this space for more updates on its release!
Darkness Is A Ninja's Ally In The New Shortfilm, ASSASSIN
Netizens are well on their way to witnessing several independent filmmakers delve into live action production inspired by beloved Japanese classic anime and manga properties, with one of the most popular being Dragon Ball Z. Such is the case with writer and director Mariusz Scislowicz whose work can currently be viewed on his official page for the project HERE.
On that note, after kicking off his latest venture into the action genre with a screening earlier this year for his latest experimental martial arts action shortfilm, Assassin, featuring actor David Cheung, Scislowicz recently unveiled the new shortfilm through his YouTube channel below. And if you are into ninja heroics and gritty action capped off with some gruesome kills, then this is a nice little indie gem which should satisfy. Plus, I’ve talked about some of Cheung’s work before, and needless to say, he’s quite talented and worth looking out for on the long haul.
Check out Assassin below and remember to subscribe to the links in the description for more exciting content.