
james lee


BLIND WOLF Reteams The Minds Behind ‘Kill Fist’ And Upcoming ‘Exiled’ For Singapore Assassin Thriller Production In November
Consider this a heads-up if you’re eagerly awaiting the latest on Singaporean actor Sunny Pang. With Gareth Evans’ Havoc on deck from Netflix, the actor is now suiting up as a blind government assassin in Ranjeet Marwa’s Blind Wolf which rolls cameras this November in Singapore.



KILL-FIST: Sunny Pang Action Thriller To Go Toe-To-Toe At 9th Cambodia International Film Festival
It’s been a long time since we last heard from Malaysian filmmaker James Lee who first came on our radar with an array of amazing short films. His career is undoubtedly inclusive with some terrific feature work, some of which include 2009’s Call Me If You Need Me and 2012 action comedy, The Collector – both featuring Singaporean import Sunny Pang.

FIRST LOOK: Meet The Kung Fu Killers In James Lee’s KILL-FIST
EXCLUSIVE: Independent filmmaker James Lee is well on the way with the new martial arts redemtpion thriller, Kill-Fist. Hailing a reunion for the director and his lead actor, Singaporean action favorite, recurring Code Of Law star Sunny Pang, the film further etches a mutual creative partnership for the two who’ve known each other for more than a decade in cinema.
“It was fun and great to work with him again after The Collector and Call If You Need Me.” says Lee who cites that as both were different films that served the purpose Kill-Fist aims to do once more in challenging Pang as an actor. “Indeed he had to do some preparations for the character tragic Zhang. Kill-Fist is kind of a refresher for both of us, we hope we can move to bigger projects after this.”
Pang, who serves up more brutal screentime in Gavin Lim’s own upcoming film, Diamond Dogs, is one of the two principal leads for Kill-Fist next to actor Alan Yun, both central to the story in the respectful roles of Zhang, an impecunious sales rep struggling with impending divorce amid fighting for custody of his daughter, and John, a pastor facing down his own financial woes as his wife lays ill from cancer. Their circumstances soon take hold as they’re lured into a deadly underground fight circuit where the victor wins a cash prize based on rank.
Alan Yun in “Kill-Fist”
Lee divulged some details to Film Combat Syndicate about conceiving Kill-Fist – a film thematically centered on family and vengeance about his inspiration toward the project. I first caught up with Lee when I discovered a shortfiln project in 2014 called Second Life with burgeoning local TV star Michael Chan, and it was then that Lee showcased an understanding of shooting and directing action which immediately drew my own interest in learning more about his endeavors through his film banner, Doghouse 73 Pictures, through which Lee continues his agenda in autonomously producing and financing his new homage to a celebrated bygone era of action cinema.
“It was simply an idea to just make an no-nonsense martial arts action movie, like those in the 80s with titles like ‘Kill And Kill Again’.” says Lee. “With focus on the families of the characters, I was inspired to write and design a story that will legitimize the action look instead of bringing action just for the sake of action. The two mutually co-exist and so the story will still play an inherent, important part in the film.”
Filming wrapped over the weekend following a brisk photography period. It was actually pretty surprising which makes me a lot more curious about some of Lee’s work which I haven’t gotten around to catching, but it’s also usually the case for an independent project such as Kill-Fist, with things like budget constraints and cutting certain creative corners to make things work. There were definitely some hurdles in the mix for fight scene prep as well, which led to some of the fight sequencing being designed on the spot.
Koe Yeet in “Kill-Fist”
“The biggest hurdles were the fight and action scenes totaling about ten scenes, with Sunny himself in eight of them,” says Lee. “It was really a demanding shoot for all of us, and so we didn’t have ample pre-production time to complete the choreography, so five of the scenes were choreographed and improvised on set.”
The film also signaled another collaborative reunion with Malaysian local, actor, stuntman and fight choreographer Lau Chee Hong who worked on a number of Lee’s projects through his own brand at Low Angle Productions. A few peculiar promo stills began releasing online for the film which echo and otherwise confirm Lee’s own expressed interest in introducing stylish Kung Fu fighting techniques for each character, with Pang’s role taking on that of centuries-old Praying Mantis.
“I envisioned a modern day kung-fu fight thriller pitting traditional styles against each other.” says Lee, who added that closer attention was needee for the more BJJ-oriented Marcio Sebsam, best known for his towering villainous role in Asun Mawardi’s 2011 thriller, Mortal Enemies (a.k.a. Pirate Brothers) and is set to star in female-led thriller, Duality. “We did not use many grappling or ground work as they’re actually harder to design compared to stand up striking techniques. So Chee Hong had to choreograph five of the major fights in a period of over a month. We trained and met up every Saturday to do the choreography with his team when available. It was truly an indie effort.”.
Sunny Pang and Marcio Sebsam in “Kill-Fist”
The search for a distributor comes next on the agenda prior to film festival notoriety for Kill-Fist, which ought to make for good movement for Pang after making waves in 2016 in Toronto and Texas for Iko Uwais thriller, Headshot. Award-winning director of photography Tan Teck Zee lensed Kill-Fist which also stars actresses Koe Yeet and Pearlly Chua, and is produced by Kenny Gan (KL24: Zombies).

THE HIT LIST: July 17, 2017
My weekend was a bit of a bummer…although it’s nothing compared to what others were going through in the world of stunts and entertainment as last week.
For all intents and purposes here though, it’s worth celebrating the life and legacy of stuntman and New Orleans native, John Bernecker, who sadly lost his life on Friday. In honor of his memory, he kicks off this week’s installment of The Hit List with highlights from projects such as This Is The End, Goosebumps and Get Hard to name a few, followed by reels from some of today’s top and up-and-coming stunt professionals, including Bryan Sloyer, Rosslyn Luke, Michael Bekemeier, Bronin October, Brandon Ly, Gabriela Kostadinova, Doug Karr, Suo Liu and stunt coordinator T.J. White.
At current, there’s nothing really in the way in terms of promotional materials. However, the latest shortfilm directoral outing from Christopher Zatta might be worth a nod as the new thriller, Imbroglio, readies for its Fantasia screening on July 26 and at LA Shorts Fest.
“IMBROGLIO” is a short action film starring Zoë Bell in which two warring groups of criminals meet to exchange hostages, each side unaware the other harbors a deadly secret. On one side, KYLE wants his brother back. On the other, DAVID wants to free his girlfriend. And ANNA (Zoë Bell), fueled by a history of bad blood, just wants revenge. As the standoff unfolds, everything goes south for everyone.
Also starring are Alina Andrei, Deosick Burney, Robert Dill, Joseph Michael Harris, Kiralee Hayashi, Travis Johns and Jason Tobias. Zatta recently posted a version of the one-sheet with its LA Shorts Fest laurel for next month. Check it out the poster just above, and peer onward below for a brand new trailer for Jyo “Six” Carolino’s latest action shortfilm sequel, Gauntlet Run: Breach, currently an entry for the Memphis Film Prize in Tennesse this August!
Flmmaker Philippe Deseck gets things off to a proper start this week hailing from Action Movie Makers with a trio of test fight pieces featuring Brigette Paroissan and Angie Adler-Koops, Maddison Bailey and Madeline Howlett, and Johnrè Blackie opposite Emily Rowbottom.
Antonio Cortes and Femi Olagoke follow up with an action demo of their own while we get something quite special out of an action snip from an otherwise miscellanous project I can’t find called Redline with performances by Guillaume David and Raimund Querido; From what I’ve discovered the footage is from around 2011 and whether or not I can find the whole shortfilm itself remains to be seen, but their action sequence was a great find in my opinion.
Filmmaker James Lee returns to the Hit List from doghouse73 Pictures and Low Angle Productions with the new mobile phone-filmed experimental action short, Overtime with Ben Chan and Lau Chee Hong about a man fighting to retrive a briefcase in order to clear his debts.
Rounding it all off is a project that was unveiled back in February, and we’ve only just caught wind of it. Acheron is the name from Wooden Gate Productions and helmed by directors Julian Lambert and Lee Fox Williams and centers on a young fighter journeying to an underground fight club, only to be tangled in a web of mystery as he must discover what led him there. Christian Arno Williams stars along with Faye Tozer and Jase Dean.
Last week’s Hit List is still a feat to enjoy if you have the time. Check it out while you can and subscribe to the channels to show your support, and as always, if you or someone you know has a kickass action reel or demo, or shortfilm project that could use a boost, contact us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!


The Hunt Begins In The New Action Shortfilm, SECOND LIFE
Following a trailer just unveiling last month, filmmaker James Lee unveiled his newest creation in the form of the action packed shortfilm thriller, Second Life. The project is one of several embody the workload highlighting the recent launch of Lee‘s independent film production and entertainment platform, Doghouse 73 Pictures, which already contains an impressive resume of shortfilms and ambitious new works spanning science fiction, romance, horror, and of course, spectactular screenfighting action.
Presenting signature stunt coordination and fight choreography by Low Angle Productions, Second Life is Lee‘s latest foray into action, exploring Western-stylized and conventional martial arts choreography after working on the 2012 action flick, The Collector. Here, the format hosts two parallel scenarios illustrating their own elements of mystery, suspense and danger, featuring initial performances by actress Charlene Meng and actor Michael Chen, with actor Michael Chin leading the way for the second act. And on top of the action, we also see more characters in the mix (including that of the director himself near the end), all of which hint at multiple layers outlining a broader scope for a potentially bigger story than what is seen here.
And so what exactly does all this mean? Well, it could mean a webseries. But that is up to you and how much you will share and support this shortfilm, which you can now check out below.
To read my previous interview with James Lee, CLICK HERE.

SECOND LIFE: A Dialogue With Malaysian Filmmaker James Lee
JL: The main reason was the unfavourable situation faced by smaller and independently produced films in the traditional marketing of films (cinemas, TV, Cables, DVD). Smaller films not only face stiff competition against big box-office blockbuster movies fighting for cinema screens and attention, even marketing and promotional budget needed to sell a small film would cost more than production cost. But with the emerging of various VOD platforms (VHX, Reelhouse, Vimeo, PivotShare, Distrify) and trends in the U.S. and around the world, it made sense that this is the best way for small budget filmmakers to sell their movies direct to audiences or fans.
New Announcements Arrive From DOGHOUSE 73 PICTURES
News has been waiting in the wings for sometime now involving independent filmmaker James Lee and the plans he has brewing over in Malaysia for his upcoming original channel, Doghouse 73 Pictures. Today, the channel’s conception grows closer to its full realization with the launch of the official website with new projects announced for feature-length and short films, series and theater projects, in addition to other film-related merchandise as well. Of course here, what draws our attention is the action, like Lee‘s previous conceptual fantasy action short, Atlantis Conspiracy with Jourdan Lee Khoo and Sunny Pang.
This month, the first of several projects being actively lined up include the currently-developing full feature horror thriller, The Lives Of The Rabbit Men, and the upcoming short film that caught my eye, Second Life. The latter, another of Lee‘s visions looking to bolster the Malaysian film circuit on a feature-length level, has already been filmed and should be ready by the end of March, centered on actor Michael Chin who the plays a rogue agent who wakes up one day with no memory and finds himself on the run with a mysterious briefcase while being guided by an unknown voice following the unsolved murder of another woman.
Actress Charlene Meng and Michael Chen also star from a script by Lee and fight choreography by indie action stunt crew, Low Angle Productions who have since went public late last year with a training reel to whet our appetites which you can view below.
In other news, fans of Sunny Pang can expect to see more of him in the theatrical Malaysian release of Randy Ang’s new film, Re: Solve. For more information on Doghouse 73 Pictures, visit the official website and stay tuned for more information as it develops.
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