Wesley Snipes is back in the limelight this week with a first trailer for director John Stockwell’s latest, Armed Response. It’s nothing fancy but it looks solidly acted and performed up to par as a watchable feat from the auspices ot WWE Studios.
Kickboxer: Vengeance is a reboot of the wildly successful 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick, Kickboxer. The L.A. Times called it “egregiously dull,” joining with every other major publication in vilifying the movie. Well, despite this, it went on to gross over $14.5 million on a $2.5 million budget. I do not believe Van Damme went on to say, “C’est la vie” – I imagine more of a string of French expletives followed by some equally French laughter. Point being, in this case, the critics received a healthy dose of vengeance via Box Office Mojo. When it comes to this reboot … well, time will tell.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Returns to Star in the Reboot of the Cult Classic
Director John Stockwell’s latest, Kickboxer: Vengeance, is currently undergoing a slow promotional rollout with a few stills and there’s no telling when this will lead to a teaser, but this does signal that things are finally happening. Once more, leave it to stuntman and martial artist Alain Moussi to topline in this, his acting debut opposite Spectre co-star Dave Bautista in a remake of the 1989 David Worth classic, Kickboxer, which sees our own Kurt Sloan journeying out to Thailand to gain the skills he needs to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of the vicious Tong Po.
It was then that actor Mohammed Qissi portrayed the role masterfully, and now that task is handed over to Bautista whose own new photos are going viral in a few promo stills this month. Take a look below:
Sarah Malakul Lane, Gina Carano and Georges St. Pierre also star ahead of the film’s release TBA. Stay tuned for more info.
The forthcoming remake of director John Stockwell‘s newly titled Kickboxer: Vengeance remake is one of the most hyped about films going into the new year. Sadly, the film is not without its share of roadbumps, especially pertaining to previous unfortunate news of its casting and crewing as production didn’t start until three months after its initial September date.
Now, the word is that up to 200 people and their families in New Orleans, Louisiana have been affected after 150 crew members, mostly local workers, were left unpaid, based on a new report by Katherine Sayre, lead business reporter at Nola.com | The Times Picayune. Crew members initially refused go start work on the film’s last day of its New Orleans shoot on December 13 after learning their paychecks wouldn’t arrive as they expected, prompting producers to intervene with the promise of payment delivery last Tuesday.
Among several people, Sayre’s report also quotes New Orleans-based 39-year film industry veteran and SFX coordinator R. Michael Bisetti, who simply said “The bottom line is, they didn’t have the money,”. The report also cites prop master Stan Gilbert who says crew members were now forced to pay out-of-pocket to stay on good terms, even though he and other experienced crew were able to attain vendors’ services without upfront payment.
The report is a bit perpetual in highlighting an unfortunate pattern involving Radar Pictures’ efforts to move the film forward. Martial arts stars Scott Adkins and Tony Jaa had their own reasons for leaving the production earlier this year, aside from Tai Chi 0 and Tai Chi Hero helmer Stephen Fung, who, according to a source formally attached to the production as of a few months ago, says payment was also an issue among some of Fung’s other concerns.
In lieu of this week’s news pertaining to the New Orleans crew, a lawyer representing the producers of Kickboxer: Vengeance explained that the payment delay “stems from arranging a bridge loan and substitute financing for the production.” The report also says checks will hopefully arrive to its New Orleans crew this week, preferably before Christmas Day.
It’s not easy covering this type of news on a film, especially when it comes to business dealings and the inconveniences that follow when it comes to money. Financing may have been an issue with this film for a long time now, which also explains why filming was slow to start, and I sincerly hope this production isn’t marred by any more stifling news. Personally, I’d rather talk about how awesome it will be to see Moussi take on such a high caliber cast that reunites In The Blood director and star John Stockwell and Gina Carano along with Darren Shahlavi, Georges St. Pierre, T.J. Storm, Dave Bautista and superstar Jean Claude Van-Damme in a story full of intense action and drama with the proper thrills any fan of the genre can look forward to.
As things stand however, what’s required here is accountability. The economy is still in a major recovery period while American families are still struggling, and the last thing anyone wants to do is to end up working for free and feeling like their labor is unaccounted for. If any lesson is to be learned here, it is that not only MUST you pay the people who work for you, but do so in a timely fashion that represents your professionalism and commitment to the work force wherever you are in the world.
My heart goes out to the crew this week, whose efforts to help make the holidays more enjoyable are now underway with a newly launched Facebook page attributed to the crew. Subscribe to the page and reach out.
Stay tuned for more info and updates.
Let’s face it. After losing Tony Jaa and Scott Adkins, a lot of fans were dimming from any enthusiasm they may have had earlier on for Radar Pictures’s now-current production of Kickboxer, a revamp the 1989 martial arts thriller of the same name. Thankfully though, things have been turning around with surprising announcements left and right, with a sprawling cast list led by martial artist and stuntman Alain Moussi making his big screen acting debut, and now, the roster just got even better.
Filming is currently underway with director John Stockwell‘s reinterpretation of the 1989 martial arts thriller, Kickboxer. Actor and martial artist Alain Moussi (Immortals, X-Men: Days Of Future Past, Warcraft) tops the currently brewing list of announcements finally being made in the last several months in addition to the leading actress Sara Malakul Lane and actors T.J. Storm and Matthew Ziff, with action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Well as of this week, fellow action star and co-star of the upcoming Zambo Dende shortfilm, actor Darren Shahlavi (Bloodmoon, Ip Man 2, Metal Hurlant Chronicles) is being announced for a principle role in the new film, according to Impact. Shahlavi will star as Eric Sloan, whose reluctant master trains his younger brother, Kurt, to avenge Eric’s death at the hands of vicious Muay Thai brawler Tong Po. The film will mark Moussi‘s debut lead role in a film following a lucrative career in stunts, alongside the original’s film’s star, Van Damme, now in the role intially played by Dennis Chan, and opposite Bautista – currently lined up this week as Mr. Hinx in the new Bond thriller, Spectre, who will portray the villainous Tong Po.
Kickboxer is expected to release later next year while fans may also catch Shahlavi and Van Damme going toe-to-toe hopefully earlier in Falcon Rising helmer Ernie Barbarash’s new actioner, Pound Of Flesh. Stay tuned for more info!
Probably one of the biggest pieces of developing news as of late has been the current stagnation surrounding a forthcoming remake of the 1989 martial arts tournament thriller, Kickboxer. Updates have been slow and steady since the film was announced last summer, followed by this year’s press release from The Exchange CEO, Brian O’Shea in lieu of Cannes, with a cast list that appeared to be sizing up quite nicely with martial artist and stuntman Alain Moussi (X-Men: Days Of Future Past, Warcraft) set to make his acting debut. Lately however, the production has been hitting some bumps in the past several months, signified otherwise by the fact that the film was supposed to go into production in Thailand a few months ago.
Watch the new trailer below and stay tuned for more news ahead!