emmanuel manzanares

THOSE WHO GO TO HELL…AND BACK: An Interview With Emmanuel Manzanares

Lee B. Golden III

Back in 2012, I had been about four or five years away from the online action community since its burgeoning began over at The Stunt People forum – the unfortunate perks of not having a working computer, sadly. That year, a lot had changed within the community, and particularly with new additions to the fray, including folks like Emmanuel Manzanares. By the time I got acquainted with who he was and his work, his 2012 short, Dogfight, was the talk of the interwebs among the niche, and of course, as eager as I was to get back into the mix of things, it got my attention. Getting to know Manzanares was a pretty slow process at first. We hadn’t spoken often, but I’d come to know him through small exchanges, as well as his interactions with his peers. His role in Dennis Ruel’s feature debut, Unlucky Stars, as a martial […]

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THE HIT LIST: July 23, 2018

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve written all this on three hours of sleep after an awesome Saturday evening. Still in recovery, yes, but nonetheless willing and able to keep the Hit List action going for another week! And so it goes with another round of reels and demos from some of today’s top and emerging stunt talents. Megan Hui out in Canada leads off followed of by reels from Sam Symons, Andre Da Silva, Julie Elizabeth, Troy Faruk, Kawui Joa, Bethel Lindsey, Anthony Giovanni Elias, Deineka Pavlo, Jannelle Beaudry, Jennifer Li, Johnathan Henry, Jason Truong, Chelsea Goldsmith, April Taft, Branden Arnold, Keanu Lam and Caitlyn Grace, with reels courtesy of Reuben Langdon and over in Denmark with Joon Poore’s JP Stunts. Time for just a few promo vids and the first comes from James Couche who recently kicked off a new Indiegogo campaign to provide funds for his next project, Fallen Blade, which you […]

AFM 2017: Thirby, Ritchson And Fox Enter The Arena For MMA Romance Tale, SHADOW GIRL

Lee B. Golden III

Acclaimed Fort Bliss and Kettle of Fish helmer Claudia Myers is set to bring MMA action and romance to the forefront of her new movie, Shadow Girl. Lining-up the cast are Olivia Thirlby (The Stanford Prison Experiment, Dredd, Nobody Walks), Alan Ritchson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), and Megan Fox (Transformers franchise, This is 40, “New Girl”) for the new film hailing from Hipzee, Boundary Stone Films and Wrangle Entertainment. SHADOW GIRL is a magic-realist tale about a young woman who has faded to the point of becoming invisible and must find her way back into the world. After more than a decade of solitude and making a living in the shadows as a paparazzi photographer, Holly (Thirlby) meets the one man who can see her, Shane Blackwell (Ritchson), a disgraced MMA fighter working as a bouncer. Holly discovers that it was one […]

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THE HIT LIST: August 7, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

My weekend was good! Well… not terrible anyway. Atomic Blonde was on my agenda and I stand by my last words in that piece as we now approach a new week with another installment of The Hit List. As always, a nifty amalgam some of today’s top and talented stunt performers is how we start things and we begin with a major contribution a la Vimeo with Boyka: Undisputed co-star, actor and martial artist Brahim Achabbakhe. Malin Kirjonen takes the lead this week in our Youtube playlist just beneath with Nathan Barris following, as well as stunt players Daniel Stevens, Hayden Lam, Diandra Stoddard, Darren Holmquist, Mark Miscione, Tien Hoang, Kami Bruder, Maggie MacDonald, Jay Greene, Kyro Wavebourne, Yavuz Topuz, Darren Bailey (click here to view it), and Vlad Rimburg with a fantastic highlight reel showcasing the brutal action of Ali Abbas Zafar’s multi-award winning MMA thriller, Sultan! Promotional gems come to […]

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THE HIT LIST: July 31, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

My weekend was a much-deserved quiet getaway. Didn’t get to go out or anything but I did get in some extracurricular viewing and you’ll see some bits about that on my Instagram page if you’re following me. If not, then clicking here is how you can do just that. Afterwards, you’re more than welcome to spend this moment getting in on some weekly Hit List fun with some of today’s upcoming stunt talents. A resplendent, firey mix of freerunning, falls and and film fighting ensue with Anna Griukach, Corey Tomicic, Alix Schwartz, Thomas Watson, Kate Angus, Andrew Nadanyi, Lacey Robinson, Glenn McCuen, Athena Perample, Xandar Chabrieay, Bethany Levy, Zoltan Hodi, Kyal Scott, Damian Mavis and the automotive catastrophic stylings of stunt coordinator Michel Julienne. There are a couple of projects worth lending an eye to as their completion nears, first of which slated to arrive this Winter. The Omega, hailing […]

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THE HIT LIST – May 1, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

The week turned out quite different for content rollout it seems! It wasn’t as quiet as I thought it would be last week and so this week’s Hit List should be plenty filling, and I thank you, readers, for tuning back in. As always, we begin with a nifty round of stunt reels from some of today’s budding and top stunt performers, starting with Kate Cochran, Tien Hoang, Sam Situmorang, Mustafa Bulut, Stephen Koepfer, Jennifer Badger, Joshua Pereira, Billy Bussey, John Lyke, Joseph Roark, Kemet Black Whitlow and, Sergei Dmitriev, Evan Dane Taylor and Ben Van Huis. There’s currently nothing available in terms of promotion that has caught our eye as of yet, so I say give time. Meanwhile, what we have here is a bit of an experiment for three contributors at Buzzfeed – Kelsey Impicchiche, Michelle Khare and Jordan Shalhoub – who decided to partake in superhero stunt training and […]

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THE HIT LIST: April 3, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

My weekend saw a MAJOR curveball regarding my android phone, folks. So, if you’ve been following me on Instagram and haven’t heard anything, now you know why. Needless to say, I have somewhat returned to normalcy and, preferably, in kickass fashion with The Hit List. Actor, stuntman and stunt coordinator John Kreng lights things up this week with an illustrious new work reel chock-filled with stunt action and interview segments he’s done over the years with the likes of Cynthia Rothrock, Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and Keith Vitali. Rounding out the Hit List are reels by Jade Dregorius, Bruce Concepcion, Ariel Lee, Connor Dunn, Malin Kirjonen, Simon Potter, Rosslyn Luke, Gaetan Geloen, Natasha Paul, Noah Schultz, Alli Dunn, Narayana Cabral, Katie O’Donovan and all-around stuntmascot, Zoltan Berencsi. Peep it! Next up are four new trailers; Leading off are two channel trailers by way of two of France’s finest, Cedric Tellier and […]

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THE HIT LIST: October 31, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

As you’re reading this, I’m just reflecting on how my year has been ahead of what I’m going to post in December. I haven’t done much but I’m looking to add some more memories before long so, we’ll see. As for now, we off to this week’s jam-packed installation of The Hit List and there’s plenty of goods here to help bide your time. Action man Eric Jacobus takes to the Dead Or Alive character movelist once again for Rig in a new video of his own, followed by stunt and demo videos courtesy of Cassandra Ebner, Barry Nerling, Hannah Spreitzenbarth, Justin Charles Evans, Milly Nalin, Laurent Plancel, Sadiqua Bynum, Marvin Ross, Jessi Fisher, Chuck Johnson, Tien Hoang, Annette Van Moorsel, Alberto Rama, Unleashed 360 Stunt Team, Benjamin Redic II, Nicholas Marinos, and Team VellusTa hailing from their recent nine-day stint in Japan. Enjoy the playlist! Off to a quartet […]

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THE HIT LIST – May 30, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

Having written this on the day of, I’m just glad that my weekend didn’t completely burn me out. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me but I’m glad to have managed to squeeze in today’s playlists loaded with great stunt and fight work from today’s inspired action cinema creatives. Alas, welcome to another installment of The Hit List, and kicking things off is another new playlist full of electric stunt reels. Shahaub Roudbari kicks things off followed by Canadian traceur and stunt performer, Thomas Lorber. Following that is one of the rare instances I’ll feature a reel that doesn’t use music as the outling backdrop, and that comes from actress and filmmaker PeiPei Alena Yuan – no stranger to stunts and fight choreography having put out some great gems on her channel and making her all the more enjoyable to cover on this site. Deadpool double […]

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THE HIT LIST – July 27, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

This past week was pretty busy for me, so content has been slower than usual. But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been keeping up with with what’s happening in independent material and other matters of visual feats of sports and athleticism of which you will see plenty. Time to get things rolling, and as always with a new playlist of stunt and training reels with performances by Aaron Gassor in full Sith mode, stunt players Moussa Sako, Luciano Arnieri, Deangelo Harding, Laura Beamer, Hayley Wright, Jesse Haus, Jennifer Li, Chistopher Leps, Mallory Thompson, Jwaundace Candace, Jared Losano, Sina Ali, the latest action director reel by Mark Mottram featuring scenes from the 2014 thriller, The November Man, and a new director reel by lensman and action director Godefroy Ryckewaert. For the next leg, while I don’t always feature freerunning in these, gems featuring any aspect of stunt performance are welcome with […]

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THE HIT LIST – June 22, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

This week’s Hit List has some substance to it, if I may say so myself. One shortfilm finally came out in particular and it’s one I’ve covered quite a bit lately and I’m proud to have done as much as I have on it, and you’ll see more coverage on Tuesday. Until then, it’s Monday night, and it’s time to show off some stunt reels to cleanse the palette with videos by Bryan Sloyer, Michaela Chernoch, Cliff Ryder, Tonya Kay, Alexander Ullrich, Tim Storms, Lou Simon, Cassie Lee Minick, Sara Holden, Brett Easton and Narayana Cabral. Skipping brifely over to teaser territory, actor and stuntman Michael Lehr growing craft over at Fight Factory Stunt Team has amassed some impressive work in recent months; VerseS is one of those projects – a grisly implementation of violent prose with Lehr fighting his way out of captivity. It’s part of a whole series and the second […]

Check Out These Cool Test Fight Shorts Now Online!

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, […]

LBP Stunts Pays Tribute To Hong Kong Classic, WHEELS ON MEALS

LBP Stunts Pays Tribute To Hong Kong Classic, WHEELS ON MEALS

Lee B. Golden III

Ask almost any stunt professional who practices martial arts where their inspiration came from to take up the craft, and nine times out of ten, they will give you the same answer most fans of the genre will give you when you ask them who their favorite star is: Bruce Lee. As clichè as it sounds, it actually makes sense, particularly since the late Jeet Kune Do founder became the very center of the movement behind the growing popularity of the Hong Kong action genre with the 1973 hit, Enter The Dragon; It was ultmately a film that led to great prospects for many actors and stuntmen who have worked under him in some capacity, specifically one of today’s living legends of cinematic action, Sammo Hung. Hung has worked on HUNDREDS of movies in his life, so there is no way you can be a martial arts cinema fan and […]

87 Eleven And LBP Stunts Chicago Present: TRAINING DAY

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R: Jeremy Marinas, Jimmy Chhiu and Brendon Huor If there’s anything that virtually anyone can ask at this point, it is that actor, stuntman, filmmaker and longstanding online action frontiersman Emmanuel Manzanares keeps on doing what he’s doing. He’s one of the best content creators working today humbly walking the line between Hollywood stuntwork, and directing his own independent projects, whilst networking and collaborating with some of the most talented professionals in his field. And this week, Manzanares continues to exemplifies this in his newest collaboration with 87 Eleven Action Design for Monday’s test fight short release, Training Day. The awesome people you see are three amazing performers, all who have left an impressive mark in the online history of the martial arts action genre at one point or another. Brendon Huor, Jimmy Chhiu and Jeremy Marinas are their names, and if you don’t know who they […]

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LBP Stunts Chicago Presents: EXILED

Lee B. Golden III

Actor and stuntman Nick Benseman doesn’t always ask what’s in your bag. But when he does, it’s a great way to watch actor and stuntman Nate Hitpas get stabby-stabby in mere seconds! Exiled is the name of the latest gem from LBP Stunts Chicago member, stuntman and lensman Emmanuel Manzanares, back and collaborating with the usual assortment of talented industry fall guys out West. Benseman and LBP’s own Hitpas are joined by Nicholas Verdi and Bryan Sloyer, in a new scenario with some dialogue to boot. Check it out right now, and subscribe to the channel for more upcoming goodies!

Gui DaSilva Strikes A Pose Opposite Manny Ayala In A New LBP Stunts Chicago Test Fight

Lee B. Golden III

Independent filmmaker Emmanuel Manzanares is taking a bit of a new shape lately. In terms of choreography, he’s as entertaining as he’s always been, and nowadays it appears he’s taking a more artistic approach with his online fight practice bits, adding a small comedic twist to each one so far. He’s done it quite a few times this year, and it’s done perfectly and always at the right moment. As such, you get good fight action, as well as a good laugh. It’s an excellent tool, and one he’s now putting to use this week with martial artist, actor and stunt duo Gui DaSilva and Manny Ayala. Check it out right now on Manzanares‘s official YouTube channel for LBP Stunts Chicago where you can also subscribe!

FILMS, FAMILY AND SUCCESS: A Word With Actor And Stuntman, SHAWN BERNAL

Lee B. Golden III

This interview was a long, long, LONG time coming!… Actor and stuntman Shawn Bernal is one of three people I posted about last year ahead of what would have hopefully been an earlier interview at the time. Unfortunately due to Bernal‘s career obligations, we never got around to it, although I have been able to keep up with the team’s activities as much as possible just as Film Combat Syndicate was starting out. So far, it’s been a fun journey watching Bernal at work over at LBP Stunts Chicago. Nowadays, many of the team members, including stuntman, independent filmmaker and LBP orginal, Emmanuel Manzanares have found themselves immersed in their careers as Hollywood stuntmen. Still, at the end of the day, Bernal‘s love and appreciation for the independent film community he has been a part of for close to seven years now, has never waned. Point in fact, the slowly growing momentum […]

LBP Stunts Chicago Presents: MIDNIGHT RUN

Lee B. Golden III

I’m not too sure if this has anything to do with the classic DeNiro/Grodin 1988 road comedy of the same name, but it does carry its own weight. Stuntman and actor Bryan Sloyer is back once more indie action director and fellow stuntman Emmanuel Manzanares for the quirky new action short, Midnight Run. Sloyer is joined by fellow LBP fall guy Alex Hashioka with a guest performance by fellow stuntman and actor Vonzell Carter in a one-on-one chase that ensues a three way throwdown and a killer finish. And the improv at the end is pretty cool too! You know how this works, watch and subscribe!

Ken Ochiai's UZUMASA LIMELIGHT Honors The Unsung Heroes Of Chambara Cinema

Lee B. Golden III

The golden age of samurai movies may be long gone, but such films are always welcome in the eyes of adoring fans who continue to share appreciation for the chambara genre. That sentiment can be seen extended through the latest effort of director Ken Ochiai in his new film, Uzumasa Limelight, which centers on seasoned action actor Seizo Fukumoto as a retiring stuntman training a young actress in pursuit of action film stardom. The new film showcases Fukumoto‘s in his first principle lead role, ostensibly based on his own life as a “kireriyaku”, perfecting the art of dying on screen to sell the hero’s performance. To date, Fukumoto‘s eclectic career highlit by names such as the late Kinji Fukusaku and Shigehiro Ozawa, and actors like Sonny Chiba, Hiroyuki Sanada and Tom Cruise, has earned him the legendary record of dying on film anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 times, a figure […]

LBP Stunts Chicago Presents: KARATE BOYS Vs. THE WORLD

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R (background): Tony Vittorioso, Alexander Hashioka and Nate Hitpas take direction from Emmanuel Manzanares (center/front) Going into the weekend, we have a outstanding amalgam of talent that once more sees LBP Stunt Chicago’s own Emmanuel Manzanares back behind the camera for his latest skit, Karate Bros. vs. The World. This one is one of the slightly more spectacular ones with a little bit of VFX near the end, which is different from a lot of the short test fights we see from this group. Not to mention tricking impressario Micah Karns does a neat little stunt that was edited just nicely in the second half to give the fight that extra edge. Fellow LBP members Alexander Hashioka and Nate Hitpas, with fellow tricker and martial artist Tony Vittorioso also perform.