fernando jay huerto
THE FIGHTING JOURNEYMAN: An Interview With Eric Nguyen
He acts and occasionally performs stunts, but he especially exercises his strengths behind the camera as well with his brother, Irvin, and fellow Lunar principle, Mikey Arce, among the team getting down and dirty to help manifest Eric’s vision. It’s an honor to see people like him doing what he does and a true gift to the genre as it adds to the potential quality it often starves within the mainstream, and you needn’t look further than the content on his channel with projects like Eat.Pray.Ninja. and the Pandora’s Box trilogy, and several of his collaborations with other filmmakers which are also online.
CAFE CON LECHE Brews An Intense New Trailer For The Upcoming Crime Thriller
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Shortfilm Review: FLOWERS OF THE NIGHT (2015)
Tim Neff (left) and Jennifer Linch (right) as killer vs. killer in FLOWERS OF THE NIGHT (2015) – Sunshine Pictures
My research this past week for the July 13 Hit List brought my attention to an article online that spoke of filmmaker and actress Jennifer Linch who I am very much new to. Her latest project, Flowers Of The Night won the Grand Prize at iCannes earlier this month, and much to Linch’s approval since entrenching herself into film with the establishment of her own production company, Sunshine Pictures, and much to the delight of action fans at that.
Clocked in at about twelve minutes, the story takes off in graphic novel fashion with a neo-noir setting and a narration that briefly sets up the backstory, centered on homeless orphans who are taken in and raised to become killer mercenaries with near-limitless money, wealth and influence at their disposal. That all changes when a betrayal ensues and the women, led by an assasin named Lily, escape from their organization with a plan for redemption, and vengeance against their employers. Moving quickly from its exposition, Flowers Of The Night takes off right into the action with Azalea (Donna de Muerte) and Nightshade (Morgan Macedo) as two of our three sexy assassins advance into the lush hideout owned by Matthew (Tim Neff), the last line of defense for the organization’s boss, Hunter (John Paul Ouvrier).
The film is shot almost entirely in black and white with just a few colors left unfiltered, primarily the blood graphics used throughout the scenes. The acting is mostly good with Neff bearing the brunt fot the film’s dialogue midway into the shortfilm leading up to the final fight with Lily, played by Linch. As for the action, none of it slows down and delivers all of its intended effect with good choreography, cinematography and pacing, and each principle actors clearly evoking their training and experience on camera – as per Linch‘s own standards as well.
Much of the opening is left to the imagination, which services the simplistic appraoch the film takes in getting things going, and there is plenty of depth to observe here with Neff and Linch right down to the intense finish. More importantly though, the absolute centerpiece here for a shortfilm of this kind is the action designed accordingly by Neff and longtime independent actioner Fernando Jay Huerto, and for a workable proof-of-concept like this, it doesn’t disappoint.
Flowers Of The Night is currently being groomed for a feature-length production from Sunshine Pictures while on par for future fest screenings at L.A. Neo Noir Film Festival on August 8, and plans for entry into Sundance next year, as well as festivals in Italy and Greece. An air date for the shortfilm’s online release is not yet available, so feel free to check out the trailer for the shortfilm below, as well as the clip now up and running in this week’s Hit List!
THE HIT LIST – May 4, 2015
Talk about down to the wire… this Hit List article was almost a no-show today as I was getting other things done in the process. Thankfully it IS here, and as alway, it’s choc-filled with goods from the web. Before I begin though, if you missed the trailer for the upcoming short, Temple, then please take a look at it. It’s poised for presentation to hopeful backers of a feature-length expansion and you only need to see the teaser once to be convinced why it deserves your attention and that of sales’ agents…
As for the Hit List, well…let’s get things started in here with a small grouping of stunt reels from folks like stuntwomen Janine Parkinson and Eileen Weisinger, and others from Omid Zader, Ogiwara Satoru, Johann Ofner, Sergei Dmitriev, John Sharpe, Jack Hansen and a fresh new, and Kombatastic reel from LBP Stunts Chicago!
As far as teasers and trailers go, there are a few more worth highlighting here, one from the Asians On Film YouTube channel for a new webseries titled Gun Girl from Asian Cinema Entertainment and In Yo Face Films featuring femme fatale character, “Diona Bran”, played by actress Rebecca Grant. Gorby Shih directs and it looks like it will premiere some time in July but I advise following the channel for more info just in case. The trailer below that is for a new shortfilm from the growing workload of the folks over at Fight Factory Stunt Team titled Deliver(ed) with Vaughndio Forbes and Oscar Leiva among its cast.
And now, we get fighting, and the first of our action finale in this chapter of our Hit List begins with Mathew Lorenceau‘s most recent working of the lends for a skeletal pre-viz lightsaber battle concept. The second is a good old-fashioned test fight to initiate performer Daniel Sim into the ranks with Leroy Nguyen over at Rising Tiger Films; both starred in Nguyen’s recently-celebrated short, Black Scar Blues which is still making the festival rounds so feel free to check out their channel for more info as well. Beneath that is the latest video from the fellas over at Beat Down Boogie titled Kung Fu Avengers, released days beforehand in celebration of the weekend U.S. premiere of Avengers: Age Of Ultron, while the other three come from Mikko Lopponen, Germany-based Noobtown Monkeys and Aracade Killers Cape Town, respectively, with Samurait Kalassatamassa, Girlfriend VS Boyfriend, and Mission Staircase.
And to finish, some slightly longer content, beginning with the usual comedic action styling of Fernando Jay Huerto in Tim And Michael Go To Canada, performing with Anthony Noceda, DL MacDonald and Alex Chung among others. The remaining two include a fresh new episode from the darkly-lit, comprehensive martial arts webseries drama, The Way: Fighters Twitch, and Joshua Zacharias’s latest Donnie Yen-flavored action short, Deception!
But before I go though…
The ‘Apocalypse’ is NEAR, so CLICK HERE to catch up!
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Swordplay, Freerunning, BTS Fun And Much More In This Week's Batch Of Action Shorts!
The new video features both actors discussing their experience in training for the new movie, reuniting once more under the tutelage of martial artist, stuntman and fight trainer Noah Fleder. Check it out below, and I dare you to keep a straight face.
No Guns Needed In The Latest Episode Of THE FIGHTING JOURNEY From Lunar Stunts
Longtime indie action fans may be familiar with veteran filmmaker and Jabronie Pictures founder Fernando Jay Huerto, whose earlier projects within the past decade included two independently made shortfilms, Gunpoint and Gunpoint 2. Well, Huerto has now returned to carry on his memorable character in a short spin-off performance in fellow indie director and Lunar Stunts founder Eric Nguyen‘s sixth installment of his longstanding action miniseries, The Fighting Journey – a filmmaking experiment with various performers from around the country.
Huerto performs opposite fellow performer, actor Irvin Nguyen.
As a noteworthy mention, my own previous conversations with Huerto have led to possibile mentions of a Gunpoint revival in some capacity. Of course, as with the nature of independent filmmaking, time will tell. Other than that, head over to the official Facebook pagefor Jabronie Pictures to keep posted on what’s what. For all things Lunar Stunts, subscribe to the channel in the embed below and take The Fighting Journey for yourselves!
Watch Jay And Sunny Take Flight In SEASONS BEATINGS 2: NEW YEARS' BEATINGS!
From romance to comedy, light sabers to suit action, actor and filmmaker Fernando Huerto knows what his fanbase enjoys most. And if things continue to look up, then action fans and loyal followers of his independent production platform over at Jabronie Pictures may very well get to see some of those hopeful ideas manifest in his first-ever feature-length production, among other things.
Until then, you can catch some of his continuous work via his YouTube channel where he unveiled his latest shortfilm opposite often-partnering actress, producer and best friend, Sunny Smith in Seasons Beatings 2: New Years’ Beatings. The short follows up their 2010 spoof on Donnie Yen-style choreography previously seen in the 2007 hit film, Flashpoint. Only this time, the battle literally escalates to new heights!
Enjoy, and subscribe to Jabronie Pictures for more info and exciting news to come in the year ahead!
Check Out The Latest Action Preview For CODENAME: SWORD
Based on previous footage, this new webseries will bring the vitality of independent filmmaking that pays homage to the tone of dialogue and closed-quarters hand-to-hand combat seen in films like Skyfall and the Bourne films.
A Beloved 80s Hit Song Sets The Tone For AIM FOR THE HEAD From Jabronie Pictures
You can purchase The Jabronieverse DVD now available at the official website. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Youtube channel and LIKE Jabronie Pictures on Facebook to learn more about their upcoming events, including how YOU can benefit from helping complete the funding they need for the “BATTLE HERO: ABSOLUTE” Indiegogo campaign.