indie action

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THE HIT LIST: February 11, 2019

It’s been a big past week in film for me what with reviews and all. I’m looking forward to what summer will offer so watch this space! As for the Hit List, get your views in this week with more entries from some of todays top and up-and-coming stunt performers and inspired creatives. Alfred Hsing kicks things off for the first playlist of the week in stunts, followed by Damian Mavis, Hayley Wright, Troy Castaneda, Cameron Early, Ryan Tarran, Sarah Laidler, Rashid Phoenix, Diandra Stoddard (turn the volume up), Branden Hunter, Gabriel Belotti, Taylor Castriota, Du Au, Lauren Pugh, Andrew Nadanyi, Ismael Abadal, Bryan McGowan, Brittania Fader, Maximillian Sturm, Jessica Bell, Danny Yang, Matt Philliben, Heather Fusari, Spencer Davis, Ariel de Ment, Angelos Poulis, Michel Quach, and action director Franz Spilhaus. We have but a few items to promote and that all but includes two projects from two amazing groups, […]

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THE HIT LIST: February 4, 2019

Having been in touch with a few people in the last several weeks since the year started, it’s got mw pondering my possibilities a bit as we approach the summer. Provided things look up for me this year, I should be getting some more outdoor minutes with friends and new faces, so we’ll see.. In the meantime, another installment of the Hit List has arrived and as always, we begin with reels aplenty, filled with stunts and training gems galore, commenced by none other than Boyka himself, Scott Adkins (Undisputed 4: Fight For Glory). The playlist continues with reels from Janelle Beaudry, Abel Djilali, April Taft, Antonio Moore, Oscar Dorta, Eugenia Yurevskaya, A.J. Gagliardi, Florence Rubinger, Joe Santos, Afton Rentz, Francisco Grey, Michelle Jean, Rich Thompson and Holland Diaz. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpu_bZWo5kF58R1VRyReb5izpyLmQxleF There’s nothing to promote this week per se, and so we’re just gonna skip right to the fights and films […]

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UNLUCKY STARS Prevails With Indie Action Talent And Tenacity (Reprint/Revisal)

It’s been well over a decade since I first discovered independent martial arts shortfilms online and I have humbly stood by and watched over the years as companies like Zero Gravity, The Stunt People, Reel Kick, VJ Films, Montanick Pictures, LBP Stunts Chicago and other individual stunt professionals around the country have woven into a thriving community that nourishes itself with immense talent for projects in and outside of Hollywood. Of course, the goal has been, and still is, to keep creating enough content to generate interest in feature-length kung fu and martial arts films on larger scales, a campaign that couldn’t have come at a better time as the genre itself had taken a beating in popularity since its heyday in the 70’s and early 90’s with a market now saturated by million-dollar blockbuster superhero movies, and if you’re a filmmaker like debut director, actor, martial artist and stuntman […]

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THE HIT LIST: January 21, 2019

Managing to keep myself busy with a few things into January, I’ve also come to the realization of how drab post-birthday 2019 is, to be honest. So, I really hoping things turn upward from here on. Season 2 of The Punisher is pretty damn cool too. Hong Kong cinema legends are the hello-and-good-evening for your enjoyment in all things pertinent to this week’s new installment of The Hit List with an energizing fan tribute to Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The playlist continues with the soothing sounds enlisted for the high-flying visuals of Melanie Peyton-Smith, followed by John Nania, Eric Nieto, Mickey Facchinello, Taz Garcia, Mykola Galagan, Emily Tung, Tyler Street, Sain Ferhad, Heidi Schnappauf, Brea Schneider, Craig Putman, Marvin Ross, Georgie Blackwell, Alex De Lorei, Paul Wilk, Vanessa Cater, Scott Hoffman, Joseph Spano and Becca Buckalew, and a quartet of reels highlighting exciting stunt, fight design and coordinator work […]

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THE HIT LIST: December 24, 2018

Well… this is it. It’s been another incredible year for The Hit List and being able to explore some filmmakers beyond what they shoot. There’s still plenty exploring left to be done as I hope to do something a bit more ceremonial by next year and maybe with a little help and some luck, I’ll be able to accomplish it. Alas, we’ve reached the final Hit List for 2018 and we’re gonna cut to the chase here starting with a raft of stunt and action demos from some of today’s talented members and up-and-comers of the stunt industry, and relative althletes therein. We begin with a kinetic extensive overture from Quan Minh Le, followed by the latest stunt and training reels from Matt Esof, Angela Jordan, Mykola Galagan, Vikrant Kumar Kalania, Jared Kirby, Marian Sing, Bobby Hernandez, Jimmy Davidson, Javi Cornelio, Bridgette Bentley, Olivia Fowler-Courtney, and choreography reels by Anthony […]

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THE HIT LIST: December 10, 2018

Two more weeks until the holidays! Have you guys laid out Christmas plans yet? I have, and if I’m fortunate then they’ll mostly include sleep. Indeed, it’s another week and THAT means another installment of The Hit List, brimming with medleys of stunt and indie action talent from around the world. Rising action star Jean-Paul Ly (Jailbreak, upcoming Artemis Fowl) unveils his calling card with a new demo reel, followed by reels from Alexey Minaev, Milena Brewster, Ishigaki Shinji, Frank Alfano Jr., Alyson Pickett, Sebastian Andrade Heinatz, Drew Reade, Heidi Pascoe, Gene Freeman, Xanthia Marinelli, Ryan John, Wilson Sze, Camran Bostanabad, and Aaron Hakala. Time to promote some projects and the first of which comes from our own Nicholas Ortiz with an exclusive look at three stills from the next installment of Power Rangers: Unworthy. The first episode from Kamen Ramen and Ortiz’s Deviant Children banner arrived back in August […]

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STARTING SOMEWHERE: An Interview With Art School Dropouts Founder, Actor And ‘Director Senpai’, Joey Min

Just shortly after announcing their newest ten-dollar ‘Thank You’ campaign on Kickstarter, the team at Art School Dropouts found themselves in lucrative straits as their crowdfunding platform accrued more than enough funds to throw a pizza party for a cast-and-crew screening and commentary for their feature film debut. This brings us to the official trailer now online for Yes, Auntie!: My Asian Auntie Season 2, produced and directed by in-house creatives Joey Min and Stephanie Pham who also star in the film. The plan is to the release the film in serial format just as they did with the first season in 2016 – only now they’ve amassed enough materials to weave together a feature-length format, marking a debut milestone for the team since the birth of ASDO in 2009, and prior to its affirmation just a few years ago. For this and for as long as I’ve been following […]

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THE HIT LIST: December 3, 2018

Well how about that. Holiday break is almost here! I’m actually looking forward to some extra time to myself seeing as I’ve missed out on so much in the course of the year – I even had to put some anime on the backburner too…and kinda sucks. ? Stunt reel time! Hit the play button and catch up on the latest in stunt training, demo and performance with reels by Elizabeth Cotter, Luke Scott, Jen Mitchell, Scott Hoffman, Connor Simon, Alyma Dorsey, Donny Nichols, Natalie Strasser, Tom Cotton, Giovanni Dubard, Roxanne Roca, Brett Belcher, Keiona Chang, Tien Hoang, Hunter Smith, Kayley Carrigan, Johnny X Wang, and Kira Omans, fight choreographer J.A. Crooms and traceur Nate Weston. Time to promote some shorts and first up is one from Trent Duncan, best known for his recent ‘Epic Horror Battles’ on YouTube. His latest narrative short, Fallout Of The Reaper, is currently circulating […]

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THE HIT LIST: November 26, 2018

It’s been a hell of a year. There are definitely a few things I want to share in that regard and will do in another post going into December. In the meantime, we have another installment of the Hit List with plenty of online gems to count and we begin with an inspirational jewel from actress, martial artist and filmmaker Maria Tran who is currently in tow with a female-fronted doc about stuntwomen in Asia. The playlist continues with entries from Andy Whitmarsh, Klem Kaan, Chris Schmidt Jr., A.J. Gagliardi, Chelsea Goldsmith, Josh Madison, Kevin R. James, Timothy Flood, Geneviève Doang, Shane D.R. Alson, Michael Laricchia, Jacob Pattison and Marian Sing, with direction and coordination reels by Kefi Abrikh, Marques Zaror and Czech Action Crew. Just a little more on the aforementioned Kevin R. James who appears to have a shortfilm project in the works called The Prodigies Production – […]

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THE HIT LIST: November 19, 2018

Once again I’ve got my work cut out for me so there may be less articles this week while I prepare a select raft of pieces going forward through mid-December. At any rate, I’m still posting – perhaps even on Thanksgiving, so there’s that. For now, it’s time for another installment of The Hit List – dispelling the notion that businessmen in suits are the “real” artists. Fight choreographer and stunt performer David Lavalee Jr. kicks off our stunt/demo reel playlist with a fine reel to display, followed by amazing reels from British Stunt Registry entry Craig Canning, Ishida Sachiko, Stuart Boother, Claire Hoogenboom, Zak Self, Rissy Dollins, Alan Silva, Talyn Edelson, Riley Rios Olga Miller, Christopher Spurrier, Ilana Collins, Jeremy Rivette, Noon Nardia Pimpitcha Boon, and a sensational demo reel by stunt multi-hyphenate Hiroki Asai. There are several promo goods this week to share in the playlist below – […]

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THE HIT LIST: November 5, 2018

I’m actually kind of glad November is here as it actually feels like things might slow down a bit with the holidays near. Plus, I’m looking toward this Friday or Saturday for some fun stuff as well so, fingers crossed. As for all these below, ’tis another week for The Hit List and we begin with another nifty round of demo reels from some of today’s top stunt professionals and up-and-comers beginning with the venerable Angela Meryl, and reels by Tyler Street, Milena Brewster, Chris Reid, Cameron Early, Jeff Budner, Anna Khrouchtcheva, Jeff Karr, Shae Gutrick, Daniel Elman and the cool cats over at Czech Action Crew. Moving forward with trailer and promo content, we have pitches to share for Art School Dropout’s latest serial progress on a second season of My Asian Auntie, followed by Artemis Motion Pictures‘ latest short film release, Battlers, and Sangai Films’ Khangsunaha, followed by […]

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THE HIT LIST: September 24, 2018

It looks like things are slowing down a little on the interwebs regarding shortfilms. I’ll do my best to scavenge for these gems as much as possible, though I am looking forward to taking another break (which probably won’t be one anyway since I’ll likely be using it to write ? …the cycle never ends). As for all else, The Hit List is now here and I’ve brought some new stunt, training and performance reels to the fray this week courtesy of Narayan Cabral, Anna Sophia Moad, Camran Bostanabad, Spencer Davis, Robert Steven Brown, Rad Floria, Amelia Skye, Bruce Neri, April Taft, Heather Brooke, Vinny O’Brien, Zhanna Sattsaeva, Gabby Perrera, Craig Henry, Shane Daniels and Jose Vicente Iborra. (*Marques Zaror Archie’s reel appears to have been tentatively removed.) There’s only one item to promote this week and for that, we turn to Nerdbot’s most recent effort, Back In The Shell. […]

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THE HIT LIST: September 10, 2018

So…how about that second season of Iron Fist? Feel free to tweet me on the matter. At any rate, we’re back to another installment of the Hit List and this one’s coming at you short and sweet this week as the candidates were limited. The stunt training and performance reels are pretty rad and we begin with the latest from Allen Quindigian, followed by reels from Johan Lindqvist, Jarell Hall, Alex Bailly, Ricky Barksdale, Britannia Fader, Tyler Elliot, Michael Bekemeier, Ellis McFarland, Matt Yanagiya, Antjuan Rhames and Emilio Spinoza. There are a few items to promote this week and we begin with a trailer for upcoming short, Dead Zone. The project is set to arrive sometime in late 2018, hailing from Nocturnal Pictures whose Leroy Kincaide has been off and on my radar since the 2015 fan flick, Freeman. Slowly but surely, he’s etching his way now into feature territory […]

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THE HIT LIST: August 6, 2018

I’m finally one of those late bloomers that got to see Mission: Impossible – FALLOUT this weekend! Pretty much my highlight thusfar next to managing to screen BuyBust and with another review coming later this week, in addition to another offering of THE HIT LIST… Indeed, the work had been cut out for me. And that no less included collecting all the essentials to help engage stunt performance and demo reels from today’s best and brightest. Kicking off that effort is Ed Nathan Mecate via Vimeo, followed by our first playlist of the week showcasing the work of stunt coordinator Sergi Subirá, and stunt professionals Claire Hoogenboom, Younes Boutinane, Torrey Vogel, Santino Ramos, Jason Elwood Hanna, Natasha Rose, Gibran Robinson, Samjai Daniels, Daniel Bodlák, Alexandra Filimonova, Jackson Rozario, Brandon McClary and Nishimura Tomonari. There’s only one item on the list of things to promote this week and for that, we […]

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THE HIT LIST: July 30, 2018

This week’s installment of The Hit List brings some stunning and inventive surprises…particularly if you’re a fan of 8-bit game lore, kung fu, power rangers and Johnny Cash. You read that last one correctly!

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