fight choreography

THE HIT LIST: July 9, 2018

Well, I didn’t think I’d make it this week for another installment of the Hit List. It doesn’t undercut the amount of content still forthcoming, especially with San Diego Comic-Con inbound so… looks like it’ll be another full plate this season. As for now, our weekly entree of inspired action and stunt feats begins as usual with a healthy appetizer of demo reels from some of today’s best and brightest stunt performers. Pat Chu gave us something to gaze at last week in a supercool fight video and he now makes his return to the Hit List with his latest stunt reel, followed by selections from Justin Howell (click here to check it out), Andrew Nadanyi (click here to check it out), Nik Pelekai, Erin Wu, Simon Li, Danny Rowe, Kimberly Root, David Lavallee Jr., Jordan Okubo, Alexey Chagai, Alex-Marshall Brown and fight choreographer Tolga Degirmen. This week in trailer news brings a […]

CREATIVE’S CREED: An Interview With Adam Brashaw

Lee B. Golden III

Having extensively covered Universal Pictures’s famed Fast franchise, this week’s latest bit of coverage has to be the closest I’ve come. It’s primarily attributed to the forthcoming live show which kicks off in London in January and obviously with a film saga so action packed, of course it’s going to need a crew of some very talented stunt performers to take to task the very feats attendees can expect. For this, it is with great pleasure to have been able to share an auspicious chat with Adam Brashaw, someone whose work thusfar in stunts, film and television have been all but impressive. He’s only appeared in The Hit List a few times having done three shortfilms (two of which I have seen), and you need only to see the results for yourself apart from his exceptional work reel just above. Brashaw is going nine years strong in his field with […]

THE HIT LIST: June 12, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

Probably the best way I can sum up the gist of my weekend is that 76 years and current box office gross of more than $450 million dollars later, I would say that Patty Jenkins has earned her place at the helm of a Wonder Woman sequel and Warner Bros. would be wise to oblige. On to other matters, however, it’s a new week which means it’s time for another installment of the Hit List. Kicking off the first playlist in this week’s stunt reel category is Umar Khan now out with a compilation video in celebration of his recent 35th birthday. Rounding out the playlist are Leon Ngo, Beni Alexander, Aaron Hakala, Joon Poore, Barret Coates, Heather Lynn, Nikki Stanley, Veto Swarn, Troy Butler and Li Qiang, with coordinator and choreography reels by Jennifer Badger and Joseph Roark. There’s more fight stuff to come. For now though, we’re switching […]

THE HIT LIST: November 7, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

Well, I can’t say much about my weekend. Saturday was a 19 hour day and so Doctor Strange had to be put on hold, and my energy level on Monday was about the same as your average everyday housecat. That said, I did get to enjoy a cool Sunday night out with someone who’s been doing stunts for some time now and you can read more about that by clicking here! On that note, The Hit List has arrived for this week and new stunt and action demo reels are here for your viewing pleasure with the first – a reel from an actress whose work I’ve been dying to share in a Hit List entry ever since I became friends with her on social media in 2014. Hailing all the way from London and fresh off of a stellar box office run thusfar in the U.K. and U.S. in […]

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: An Interview With Steven Yu

Lee B. Golden III

You might recognize the video above if you follow independent martial arts movies. Videos like these are a culmination of years of fandom and the hard work it takes to keep that fandom alive, and there’s no question that actor, martial artist and stunt fighter Steven Yu has contributed his fair share, and with any luck, still is. As it is, Yu is one of the dozens and dozens of people I’ve been following in the world of online independent film since 2004 when I first started watching Bilang.com tricking videos and Zero Gravity practice fights for my own evening enjoyment. (Sometimes my Quicktime player [I owned a PC, not a Mac] would crash, whereas my Windows Media Player would save the day. Fun times). Jump over to 2005 and short films like Stephen Reedy’s award-winning kung fu ninja comedy, Undercut would propel me into the workload of the San […]

THE HIT LIST – June 20, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

Save for any attempt at a relaxing weekend, I had a list of stuff to do. Ultimately that included a review and two interviews which are still being edited and will air this week. That wasn’t all though, as yet another installment of the Hit List is here and is absolutely packed with awesome demo reels and action gems from the web! As always, we begin with some terrific new reels by some of today’s talented stunt performers in various categories. On that note, I think it’s safe to say that stuntwoman Amy Johnston is gaining quite a good footing at becoming an astute actress. She’s shown her progress immensely with projects like Kung Fu Femmes and Clandestine, and with a raft of leading roles in films like Lady Bloodfight, Female Fight Club and Kellie Madison’s upcoming feature, The Gate, I can’t wait to see what comes next from Johnston […]

Call To Action: Stunt Industry To Rally In Beverly Hills For An Oscar Category On Wednesday

Lee B. Golden III

Photo from the set of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Courtesy Of Joel Kramer) Good stories and good acting are key to making any film or TV show notable and watchable. The same goes for action movies, and in that respect, even greater action and stunt work is what’s required to sell an action product. Without it, most of our habits wouldn’t exist today. More specifically, it’s a field that influenced my interest in online independent action by inspired filmmakers back in the early 2000s as many of the people I’ve written about on this blog have risen to some major career successes in the field. It’s why we enjoy a lot of the Marvel and DC films we see today and enjoy some of the smaller scale productions like Sakamoto Koichi’s Broken Path or Dennis Ruel’s recently released Unlucky Stars, a fact that still raises a lot of questions among […]

STUNT FIGHTING THE FUTURE: An Interview With Umar Khan

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve been back and fourth on multilinguist and multifaceted actor, stuntman, filmmaker and fight choreographer Umar Khan‘s YouTube channel for a few years now. It’s loaded with reels and highlights of his training and work as a martial artist and stunt performer working his way up, and all which are clearly working to his benefit to date. His efforts in past year have granted him the necessary credentials, tools and people necessary to help fulfill his goals of becoming a top-tier action director in the film industry, and with more growth to come in film and television. I have to say, it’s rare for me to meet someone like Khan of his caliber who happens to have a team of his own that is just beginning, and having seen what’s out there from other groups I’ve witnessed in the last decade along with sampling a bit of what Khan has […]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: PART THREE – An Interview With Ken Quitugua

Lee B. Golden III

2004 was a pretty invigorating year for me. We got our first computer and I suffered like hell everyday with dial-up until we finally acquired DSL which evidently made it much more easier for me to venture into online martial arts fandom at the time. It was new to me and quite phenomenal, and thanks in large part to one such skit was titled Battle Of The Stunt Monkies, a product of a very talented and diverse group known only as the premiere team that started it all on the cusp of the new millenium, Zero Gravity. Incidentally, it just so happens that member Ken Quitugua was one of the first people I began noticing before getting addicted to the content Zero Gravity was putting out. This, on top of my newfound DVD craze through sites like the now defunct HKFlix.com and hkdvdstore.com, and the still-active YesAsia.com added to my […]

Come Learn How To Kick Ass And Get Paid With Stunt Coordinator JAMES LEW This Saturday!

Lee B. Golden III

Fresh off of making a splash at the Urban Action Showcase and Expo last weekend, actor, martial artist and stunt coordinator James Lew (Big Trouble In Little China, Best Of The Best, The Perfect Weapon, The Martial Arts Kid, Underdog Kids) will be hosting a seminar in Whitestone, New York’s Nubreed Martial Arts on Saturday, November 14. It’s his first ever stunt school seminar and in lieu of his forthcoming work on Marvel/Netflix series, Luke Cage, following his recent contribution to CBS series, Rush Hour, as well as Ben Ramsey’s UASE shortfilm premiere, Black Salt in which he plays a Shaolin abbot. So, consider this a good time to be in the neighborhood with a cinematic legend who clearly hasn’t stopped and probably won’t for a long, long time if ever. If you want to be in films and perform stunts and martial arts for the camera, this would be […]

THE HIT LIST – May 18, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

Stunt reels, freerunning, tricking, fighting and more. The Hit List is back this week and there’s at least one video you should check out here as it pertains to an upcoming televsion series arriving this Fall. For now, the Hit List begins in the only way it should, particularly considering anyone who knows who action star Donnie Yen is knows he has a sister. Alas, Chris Yen‘s latest reel comes first and foremost, with others from Amy Sturdivant, Kiki Okubo, Christopher Llorca, Paul Clark and David Rodriguez, as well as a new fight choreography reel Paradox Pollack, and an absolutely fantastic stunt coordinator reel from Philippe Guegan! Now we get to do a little bit of freerunning, and to kick things off, the folks over at Precision Parkour have a new video out which you can view right now, with other entries from Team Farang’s own Pasha Petkuns, 16-year old […]

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THE HIT LIST – February 18, 2015

Lee B. Golden III

This week’s list is a few days late putting together. It should have been up on Monday night but I had every intention of sharing one video that didn’t release until the following evening. On a seperate note, I did manage to find a few teasers – one I decided not to include in this article because I wanted to learn a little more about it. It’s a challenge I hope to overcome so I can share it provided its not too late, but anyway, here’s this week’s little gathering of goods! It was last October that up-and-coming actor Ricky Barksdale was featured in full display on a teaser poster for the upcoming shortfilm, Blade: The Chronicles Of Eric Brooks. All fandom aside for its Hollywood predecessor notwithstanding, there’s plenty of reason to endorse what’s happening here, particularly with some of the impressive work accomplished by its director, Lang Yip […]

87 Eleven Presents: BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a remarkable year so far for the folks over at 87 Eleven Action Design. Now more than ever, they’ve taken to social media to showcase numerous pre-viz fight clips and short action vids for fans who love action cinema in any capacity. Accordingly, their platform is exactly where actress and stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker has positioned herself this week for her newest shortfilm release, Behind Every Great Man. Filmed on-location in Germany over the summer, Heidi wrote and directed, as well as provided pre-viz choreography for the new project, which was shot in the course of a rigorous schedule as everyone involved was working on a movie at the time. Heidi is joined by sister, actress and stuntwoman Renae Moneymaker, along with Germany-based stunt company Reel Deal Action members Can Aydin, Cha-Lee Yoon and Phong Giang, who played an intergral role in their collective three-day team effort. The result? […]

Vlad Rimburg Presents: X-MEN – GAMBIT Concept Short

Lee B. Golden III

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner may be on the way to getting Channing Tatum on set for a new Gambit movie. However that may be, what does bring curiosity is how the character would look in a live-action setting following actor Taylor Kitsch’s rendition of the classic Marvel character for the 2009 film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Of course, leave it to the inspired creativity of independent filmmaker Vlad Rimburg in lieu of his new Gambit-attributed X-Men concept video now available on his YouTube channel. Rimburg, whose own resume of awesome independent shortfilms over the last fifteen years have abstained from use visual effects-enhanced fight choreography due to lack of time and convenience. So this is not to say that Rimburg has not yet caught onto the trend, but quite the opposite, especially in an age where superhero movies now dominate the box office. “I love it!” says Rimburg. “Chris Clements, our […]

TeamBay Presents: GUN FIGHT PREVIZ with Stina Amedick

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a while since I shared any content from an indie group. Luckily the folks at TeamBay were kind enough to bring us something cool to look at in the form of a new pre-viz test fight clip featuring Stina Amedick. It’s a cool little experimental video from fellow martial arts cinematic action stylist and indie filmmaker Vi-Dan Tran, directing yet another impressive project from independent talent. And of course, who can deny a tough female lead in anything? Right? Check out the video below, and feel free to open the description for more info on TeamBay!

Anthony Alba Presents: LiTTLE BRAWL

Lee B. Golden III

This particular project caught me by surprise about a few weeks ago. I meant to write about it then but I didn’t have the time as I was overloaded. This week, I finally got in touch with the man behind the lens, independent filmmaker and martial arts instructor Anthony Alba, whose father, Stephen, inspired him to be a filmmaker since the age of 12. Having grown up on a staple diet of wide-ranging cinema icons spanning multiple genres from Hollywood to Hong Kong, ultimately Alba‘s passion would drive him and fellow creative partner, producer Michael Scott to put together a webseries based the concept titled LiTTLE BRAWL. The project was originally meant to promote his Van Nuys-based academy, Couprie Martial Arts, with performances by fellow students Hannah Hartmann opposite Kaycee Barrera and Kenneth Lyng, before the move toward webseries content came to light. Unfortunately however, the project underwent its own […]

KICKBOXER Lands Larnell Stovall For Action Director

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a very weird day for writing on my end, as I reported earlier today that award-winning fight choreographer J.J. Perry would be directing the fight scenes for the upcoming production of director Stephen Fung’s Kickboxer remake. The update came in a recent interview hosted at The Action Elite with the film’s lead actor, martial artist and stuntman Alain Moussi. Just minutes after I shared the article on my Facebook page, I was immediately contacted by a stuntman in my friend list who has recently worked with Perry that he would not be directing the action for the new film. So, ultimately I unpublished the article and contacted Perry myself right away to apologize for the confusion and he indicated he was alright by it before also informing me that seasoned martial artist, stunt professional and fight choreographer Larnell Stovall would be working on the film’s principle fight scenes […]

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 […]

JOURNEY TO THE WEST: CONQUERING THE DEMONS Is Getting An English-language Remake

Lee B. Golden III

How long did anyone think it would be before directors Stephen Chow and Derek Kwok’s 2013 fantasy action comedy adventure, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons would get an English-language remake? Because, well… that’s about to happen! The inital film, one of a number of cinematc reworkings of classic Chinese folklore notably highlighting fabled legend Sun Wukong (a.k.a. The Monkey King) starred actress Shu Qi and actor Wen Zhang, and was released in China in February of last year, earning a total of well over $200 million at the box office throughout several Asian territories, beating several records previously set by director Wuershan’s 2012 fantasy thriller, Painted Skin: The Ressurrection and the Michael Bay’s 2011 blockbuster, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. The new English-language iteration is now part of a newl diversified slate of film deals being announced this month between Oriental Dreamworks and three other Chinese companies for […]

Cinematic Fight Studio Presents: RICKY BARKSDALE And NEYSSAN FALAHI

Lee B. Golden III

The folks over at Cinematic Fight Studio are continue to provide their services as a premier, growing business as independent filmmakers and screenfighting trainers for any and all curious and willing participants. Part of those services include shooting test fights for up and coming film and television actors to add to their reels. Their latest volunteer: Actor Ricky Barksdale who is currently preparing to film the long-awaited installation to independent filmmaker Dominick Sivili’s inspired Power Rangers fan miniseries, MMPR. Joining Barksdale is actor, martial artist, trainer Cinematic Fight Studio regular, Neyssan Falahi, who you can already catch in a number of action shorts now available on the official YouTube channel in the following embed. As a noteworthy mention, Falahi is also set to appear in the forthcoming 2015 release of director Steve Rahaman’s new feature length thriller, Pain: A Revenge Story, which is currently in the process of acquainting with […]