garage hero

STREGA

Cocked, Locked And Ready To Rock, STREGA Does Not Need Your Permission To Be Awesome

While A-list Tokusatsu programming reigns supreme in its conventions, the last eight years have proven to be slightly more watershed in challenging the norm. Thus, with actor and independent filmmaker Bueno signaling a new beacon for fans keen on something different, the release of Gun Caliber in 2014 proved pivotal for the niche in doing just that – ultimately heeding the call for a new brand of suit-action heroics.

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STREGA: Bueno’s Sexy Purple Partner Packs A Punch In The Newest Teaser Trailer

Garage Hero

Filmmaker and tokusatsu maverick, Bueno, now brings us slightly closer to the halfway mark before the theatrical cut release of Strega, the sequel to his most recent feature suit action adventure, Gun Caliber. Production is on going with final action sequences gearing up for next month following strategic cutbacks to earlier intended wire stunts due to production constraints while Bueno currently aims to manifest a splashy, action-packed saga fitting for an era that even now seems to graciously welcomes R-rated Marvel film fandom.

Strega is a direct sequel to our first film, Gun Caliber, and is set a few years after the events of that film. The Japanese government decides to even further regulate superheroes AND the overall populace using the Vector Card, a new ID system.

Vector also happens to be a corporation that has been gradually extending its power behind the scenes. Our hero, Soma Kusanagi, is a foul-mouthed ruffian marked as a persona non-grata by not only the government, but also Vector.

However, he’s one of the only people who can equip the “Stray Buckle” which transforms him into the hero Strega. Due to his pariah status, Soma, the former Gun Caliber, is forced to keep his newfound identity of Strega secret from the public eye.

When a mysterious, yet boisterous Vector Card hacker emerges with a sinister plot to turn all of Tokyo into monsters, Soma is partnered up with a new recruit, Sayuri. Tokyo’s fate now depends on the two unlikely heroes rising to their greatest challenge yet.

With a theatrical cut slated for this winter followed by a webseries run in 2019, monthly updates are continually made in the film’s Indiegogo news feed while Bueno and co. move forward to a possible June wrap of principal photography. In the meantime, fans are now being graced with a new teaser introducing AV actress Miori Mai in the role of our foul-mouthed, X-rated hero’s new partner.

Also starring are Ayane Haruna, Fujiwara Sakurako, Oka Hideki, Kimura Keisaku and Hachidori Amita with action sequences coordinated by Taniguchi Hiroyuki. Check it out!

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STREGA: Garage Hero’s Indie Toku Action Sequel Needs Your Help!

Japanese Tokusatsu maverick, Bueno, has been loyal to his Garage Hero brand since launching it in 2011, and has shown his committment to bringing indie acclaim with his edgy feature debut, Gun Caliber. Fans in the U.S. and elsewhere can find the film now available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and even VHS from SRS Cinema, while it has more than a year since lending lip-service to the massea with an announcement teaser for the proposed sequel, Strega.

That sequel is now in production and aiming to no less keep the bold, brash, hyperviolent and gonzo tone of its predecessor with no apologies made. What’s more? Fans now have a chance to throw their hats – and wallets – in the arena by contributing to their newly launched Indiegogo to help feed the cast and crew, as well as furbish the production accordingly, and for a project that stands to gain fruitfully with backing from some of the best of the best in Tokusatsu, like “Mr. Kamen Rider himself – actor Takaiwa Seji, action coordinator Taniguchi Hiroyuki, cult favorite Sakamoto Kouchi, and designers Koh Gideon and Komatsu Daisuke.

Following the events of GUN CALIBER, Japanese government decides to even further regulate superheroes AND the overall populace using the Vector Card, a new ID system. Vector also happens to be a corporation that has been gradually extending its power behind the scenes. 

Our hero, Soma Kusanagi, is a foul-mouthed ruffian marked as a persona non-grata by not only the government, but also Vector. However, he’s one of the only people who can equip the “Stray Buckle” which transforms him into the hero, STREGA. Due to his pariah status, Soma, the former Gun Caliber, is forced to keep his newfound identity of Strega secret from the public eye. 

When a mysterious, yet boisterous Vector Card hacker emerges with a sinister plot to turn all of Tokyo into monsters, Soma is partnered up with a new recruit, Sayuri. Tokyo’s fate now depends on the two unlikely heroes rising to their greatest challenge yet.

Strega is looking to earn up to $10,000 to help feed the cast and crew as well as furbish the production in all its phases, and with the promise of each donation guaranteeing a perk worth every penny. Such perks range from T-shirts, headsets, multi-media copies of the movie and a replica of the hero helmet, to everything mentioned above and more along with accessories, a Google Hangout with the Garage Hero clan.

There are stretch goals to unveil as well, but only if you can help unlock the campaign past its $10,000 milestone. Film duo Bueno and partner Raymond Arcega make their case in the following video, so take a look below and feel free to click here and spy an eye on the Indigogo page to help Strega shoot more evil in the dick and get the girl!

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THE HIT LIST: February 6, 2017

My weekend was ridic. Fun at the very top but ended up with quite a plateful that I almost couldn’t get this week’s Hit List done.

…I think I might take next week off too… we’ll see. As for this week, it’s a guarantee and we’re starting off with playlists host to some great stunt action and demo reels from around the web. And far from hiding my fandom in the age of Wonder Woman is the very soundtrack that now consumes you in a new stunt reel by Jessi Fisher, followed by an oldie-but-goodie revival from David Neyts, a late entry with Alix Schwartz (more on her later), John Nania and Alex Marshall-Brown. Rounding out the playlist are reels by Giordano Sabatini, Hannah Betts, Jerome Gaspard, Tianna Webberly, Jérémy Margalle and hard-hitting action star and co-star of Jesse V. Johnson’s Savage Dog, Cung Le!

As for promotional assets, a select number of stills are now out along with a new poster for director Samuel Smith’s new upcoming short, I Am Not The Devil. It’s his second venture following Tengu: Birdmen Of The Mountains, and features UK actor and martial artist David Cheung, and a plot summary of no kind can currently be found online so we don’t have much to go on. However, this isn’t Cheung’s first rodeo in film as I’ve all but enjoyed covering him in the last three years off and on, and considering his recent accolaces with Tengu in its current festival run, I wouldn’t write this one off. Footage may be long to arrive but I’ll be sure to follow up on this project as soon as things make headway some more, but we do have some stills below as well as a poster to start with, designed courtesy of artist Isabel White.

Just beneath is an exhilirating proof of concept teaser for Intrepid which released over the weekend. It features actor Booboo Stewart leading the action-packed sequences centered on a rogue clarvoyant gifted with the ability to predict and prevent his own death, and you can read more of my thoughts on it by clicking HERE.

Onto the shortform end of things and for this, we get a look at Angie Kim and her latest bit of fight practice with Jay Kwon and Allen Quindigan, followed by stuntman Dylan Hintz’s latest contribution with Andrew Kim as promised per last week from his visit to NYC. Michael Lehr keeps the pace going some with Suzuki Kimmy and Jenna Hellmuth while Bueno keeps the zany going with Suzaku‘s latest misadventures over at Garage Hero, and by way of the legendary Cynthia Rothrock’s own approval, a fan fight inspired by Sammo Hung’s 1986 Hong Kong classic, Millionaire’s Express, sets the example with performances by Gabriela Rodriguez and Chris Jynx McClure. The playlist finishes with Rising Tiger Films‘s own Edmond Shum breaking in new talent with performers Geoffrey Boggs, Lekir Stunt Action’s The Bondsman, Flawless Films’s Lord Of The Rings-inspired short, The Ranger, and a thrilling new fantasy action shortfilm, Salem: The Witch Hunters Chronicles, starring the aforementioned Alix Schwartz and Caitlin Hutson, and directed by Lou Giannopoulos.

Last and far from least is the limited-time availability of The Danger Element a webseries which eventually saw its way to a feature film edit currently in waiting for a release with John Soares starring and directing. The project saw a truly long and incredible journey for Soares in his efforts and he shared his story in a lengthy and candid interview with us late last year and you’re more than welcome to check it out.

Soares stars as the member of a secret order of vigilantes, afflicted by a demonic entity while faced with a deadly and dangerous mission to protect a certain element from falling in the wrong hands. Soares is joined by Cassie Meder and Doug Jones.

That about wraps up this week’s edition of The Hit List and if you want more action, there’s always plenty to view from last week. Follow the channels and lend your support and share the Hit List with your friends, and if you or someone you know has a smashing demo reel or an equally kick-ass project you would like for us to weigh in on, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com

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