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SWORD OF THE DEAD: Help Stephen Vitale’s Inspired New Chanbara Horror Rise From Its Grave!

No stranger to cult cinema, filmmaker Stephen Vitale’s resume topped off noticeably in recent years with a refreshing take on blind samurai fandom with Star Wars fan film short, Hoshino. That project was a delightful and compelling work paring our helmer with actress Anna Akana and there’s no telling when the two will regroup once more for something even just as fantastic or more. Of course, this still leaves us with Vitale with his freed-up time to continue his craft in ways that hit all the notes required for the audiences he seeks. There’s no question he achieves just that with his latest teaser for inspired chanbara horror proof-of-concept, Sword Of The Dead, which has already completed principal photography and now requires the good graces of loyal and financially able fans and cinephiles to help finish with perks available per contribution. After a curse befalls an island in Edo period […]

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Spotlight Series: Bobby Nickels & FLUX ACTION

Usually my normal style of interviewing folks is just to have a sit-down over a cup of coffee, tea, or what have you but when conflicts arise between myself and action filmmaker/stuntman Bobby Nickels, we do what we can to get the job done. And this first Spotlight Series is no exception. I was able to fire off an email to Bobby with questions I had in mind and he responded frankly. Bobby is a 24 year-old stuntman living in Los Angeles. Originally from Seattle, Washington, he has been here for more than nine months to pursue his calling as a stuntman and freshly minted actor with Flux Action. CF:  First I want to know a little bit of your background, in your own words, about who you are and how you came to be an action coordinator and stunt performer – your leanings, people you admire/respect, and your first hand at […]

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FEAR: Filmmaker Peter Jang Needs Your Help To Bring His Latest Inspired Indie Drama To The Screen

Believe it or not, I don’t always discuss action and martial arts on this site as there have been quite a few times I’ve delved straight into drama. Fear is one such example here, inspired by actor and martial artist Peter Jang whose numerous stunt and performance credits include online fantasy action staple, Bat In The Sun, as well as the upcoming post Super Bowl LI premiere of 24: Legacy, as well as lead stunt credits on both seasons of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. This time, Jang is switching gears and most recently with a year into his first directing stint for currently-developing crime thriller prospect Boss Uzi. In that same period of time, his own personal journey has initiated his own movement to shed light on the societal dissolve and overall polticial and social toxicity over Islamophobia and racial hatred toward people primarily of Middle Eastern descent. “Fear” is […]

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DEAD SHACK: Peter Ricq's New Kickstarter Needs Your Help!

The pitch trailer for Peter Ricq’s gory new horror thriller production, Dead Shack, is just too hilarious. The biggest factor in that is the seemingly young age of the children in the footage which makes this so much more fun given the vision and overall look and tone and it all looks really appealing. That said, the word is that the characters are being reprised by an older cast line-up though I hope that this doesn’t take away from the film’s desired affect. For this, we have a campaign Kickstarter page all fired up and ready for a month of fundraising to help with post-production costs and other specifics, and as always with the usual perks and prizes you can claim in exchange for your generosity. On a weekend getaway at a rundown cottage in the woods, a precautious 14 year-old teen, his crude best friend, and his best friend’s […]

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Help Trent Dickens Down The Rabbit Hole For PANDA On Kickstarter

When Trent Dickens isn’t busy working on his craft varied in dance and acting, you’ll usually find him assisting other filmmakers and appearing in various commercials, as he’s done so in more than a decade so far while based in L.A.. Moreover, you’ll find him at a table somewhere concentrating heavily on erecting his latest idea for a brilliant-looking indie drama with the new film, Panda, and for all intents and purpose, the trailer conceived for it boasts a bit of promise. PANDA, is a neo-noir short film about a man who hides from the world behind a “mask”. He falls down the rabbit hole as he is thrust into one increasingly dangerous situation after another. His decisions over the course of one night will ultimately define his life, his relationships, and who he is forever… Watch the trailer and you’ll see an obvious nod or several to the cerebral work of […]

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Stunt Players Speak On Behalf Of Logan Cross's NIGHTSHADOW Kickstarter

The production of director Logan Cross’s Cross The Line L.L.C. feature film, Nightshadow, still hinges currently on the hopes of a successful fundraising campaign via Kickstarter. Current stretch goal plans include a comic book branch-out marking the launch of Cross The Line Comics franchise based on said property which centers largely on a diverse cast of characters and a strong female lead to spearhead its martial arts-infused superhero vigilante story. The earlier stunt concept, The Hunters: Betrayal, best serves exemplary for the kind of world Cross hopes to invite moviegoers to. In the meantime, the production still needs the bare minimum of $30K to help pay for the necessary weapons, stunt costumes and other props they need to help make this project a reality, and not for nothing either with several members of the stunt team behind The Hunters: Betrayal now sharing their on-set testimonies about each of their experiences […]

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Help Kickstart NIGHTSHADOW And Cross The Line's Film And Comic Venture!

Provided that you’re in tune with the Monday night Hit List every week or if you’re subscribe to mulitfaceted filmmaker Logan Cross’s Cross The Line, L.L.C. YouTube channel, chances are you might have come across his latest proof-of-concept, The Hunters: Betrayal. Cross and his cast and crew spent four hours rehearsing and seven hours filming the project, thus executing it into the shortfilm splendor you can now see at the bottom of this page, in case you missed it the first time around. Bearing this in mind, their efforts here aren’t for naught with prospects now in their favor thanks to investors who have lined-up to fund Cross’s latest vigilante action thriller, Nightshadow, with a story and a production formula centric to strong female figures among a diverse cast of performers. So what’s the scoop? Well, the film is in pre-production, and with allocation of funding from investors slated for […]

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Help Kickstart A.J. Annila's New Fantasy Action Novel Adaptation, WARRIOR NUN!

You’re sorely mistaken if you thought for one second that female-centric action storytelling is dwindling. Far from it, in fact, with what now looks to be a spectacular new venture into fantasy and martial arts action with the forthcoming live-action adaptation of author Ben Dunn’s cult graphic novel franchise, Warrior Nun. First appearing in Dunn’s “Ninja High School” book series, Warrior Nun focuses its epic narrative on Sister Shannon Masters, chosen by a Valkyrie as the avatar of a centuries-old clandestine global organization of warrior nuns and magic priests who fight forces of evil in the name of the Catholic Church. The project is especially one that’s been long sought after in its development with Finnish filmmaker Antti-Jussi Annila (Jade Soturi – Jade Warrior, Sauna) who has been hard at work at aiming to turn Warrior Nun into a film that adheres to his visual style and interest in martial arts action […]

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Help Kickstart Kevin Barile's Action Thriller Feature Debut, SAVING SARA

Acclaimed independent filmmaker, actor and martial artist Kevin Barile has been on my radar for a few years now, having worked on numerous shortfilms and just recently designing action sequences with fight choreographer Mario Rocha for actor Matthew Karedas’s return in Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance. Currently Barile is readying his latest short, Fight For Your Life, for a premiere this week at the Action On Film Fest in Monrovia, California while gearing up to host a martial arts choreography seminar there this Friday as well. In the meantime, Barile has a few things he’d like to make clear in officially stating his case with Rocha to produce their feature film debut, Saving Sara. The film previously introduced a test clip many months ago with actor Mark Craig presenting his leading action role appeal opposite Rocha, and now we have a concept trailer that further speaks volumes to its depth […]

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THE GATE: Help Crowdfund The New Amy Johnston And Yayan Ruhian Action Series Pitch!

Concept art via Kickstarter Surf the internet long enough with a craving for quality martial arts action and you’re bound to come across some of the best and brightest ever to hit the business end of a camera, and most of the content you see is free and viral for all netizens to enjoy. Take this in comparison to the multitude of action shows on television which normally cast actors who are trained long enough to look convincing on screen, and while the formula often proves viabale for the networks, it still leaves a lot wondering for those minding how genuine screen-friendly athletes could achieve the same successes they continue to exemplify through online independent mediums. It’s certainly something that filmmaker Kellie Madison has been wondering in the wake of momentum drawn to actress and stuntwoman Amy Johnston, followed by Madison’s own fondness for Pencak Silat as portrayed in the […]

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Help Kickstart Leonardo Corbucci's Martial Arts Drama, THE ART OF FIGHTING

Actor and martial artist Jin Kelley is currently in the midst of a month-long crowdfunding campaign to help raise money for the post-production of a new proof-of-concept shortfilm. The Art Of Fighting is the name of the project from director Leonardo Corbucci and is just about halfway toward its current goal in the hopes of guaranteeing a fully-fledged feature, and not for nothing either – especially with backing by BJJ Master Rigan Machado, Hollywood stuntman and actor Jon Komp Shin and action legend, actor James Lew also on board. The Art of Fighting is a story about a humble guy named Daniel.  Daniel is in the beginning stages of a relationship with his girlfriend Rosie.  Rosie wants Daniel to learn to fight until she realizes that not only does he know how to fight, but is an accomplished martial artist with a dark past.   Through this journey Rosie learns from Daniel […]

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Help Kickstart Michael Neal's New Action-Packed Webseries, SWORDS OF INSURGENCY!

It’s always welcoming to see original content stake its claim in the eyes of the film viewing world. As tough as it is to sustain, however, opportunities for things like this most certainly advantageous, and so director Michael Neal is now ready to heed the call with crowdfunding at his disposal for the hopeful support of his newest webseries, Swords Of Insurgency. There’s no doubt that this one assures quality in its inspired vision between production values and cast performances. I had the opportunity to screen the pilot episode myself awhile back and observe lead actress Rebecca Hausman in the lead role and was very impressed with what I saw in an episode full of drama, intensity and phsyicality worthy of capturing on camera with great fight action put together by indie action design team, DC Stunt Coalition, led by oft-contributor to Film Combat Syndicate, fight choreographer James Couche. The […]

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Casper Van Dien Hates Bugs, So Help Him Kill Them In Mark Steven Grove's STAR RAIDERS: THE ADVENTURES OF SABER RAINE!

Director Mark Steven Grove‘s love for independent, low-budget filmlore and all things action and sci-fi has since led him to his latest labor, Star Raiders: The Adventures Of Saber Raine. It boasts a main cast consisting of actor Casper Van Dien and action legends Cynthia Rothrock and James Lew, with actress Sara Salazar also serving as unit production manager and Adam Lispus producing and many of the people on set wore multiple hats throughout its principal photography prior to its completion. That said, Grove‘s new film needs your help now that it’s in post production and a Kickstarter campaign is already underway to help accomplish just that. SYNOPSIS: Rocket ships, Rayguns, and Robots abound in this heart-pounding tale where the stellar adventurer Saber Raine is hired to guide three elite soldiers on a rescue mission to recover a prince and princess who have been abducted from their home world.    […]

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Help Kickstart Motion Spectre's Latest Martial Arts Shortfilm, ONI

Concept art by Lukas McGovern Hopefully by now you’ve become a purveyor of Film Combat Syndicate’s weekly Hit List. Actor, stuntman and fight choreographer, Fight Factory Stunt Team’s own Michael Lehr‘s history of my coverage dates back to my time as a mere Facebook admin while Lehr has since become much more prominent online in content creation over the past few months, and there are plenty of highlights to look back on. For this, we now turn to the next four weeks as a new Kickstarter has launched for Motion Spectre’s newest endeavor, Oni, a new shortfilm that opens a door into a millieu of filled with Japanese folklore as the premise for ample martial arts action. And what’s more, Oni is an original story with not based on anything but sheer innovative thought through the creative process led by up-and-coming filmmaker Sam KJ and a devoted cast and crew. […]

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KUNG FURY Unleashes Its Fury Online Today!

Filmmaker and Kickstarter success story David Sandberg is likely having a really good year right now. Having started from almost nothing but an idea, a small crew, a nostaligic appreciation for the 1980’s and love for things fantastic of the decade therin, his newest half-hour short, Kung Fury is about to kick its way online starting at 3:00pm EST/12:00 PST with a televised premiere on El Rey Network at 6:30pm EST/5:30pm CT.. And yes, this is all a pretty big deal too with a feature-length picture also in the works in the wake of the shortfilm’s notable reception at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes this month. KUNG FURY is an over-the-top action comedy written and directed by David Sandberg. The movie features: arcade-robots, dinosaurs, nazis, vikings, norse gods, mutants and a super kung fu-cop called Kung Fury, all wrapped up in an 80s style action packed adventure.  Kung Fury takes […]

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MY GOOD FRIEND MANNY Needs Your Help To Get Manny Pacquiao's New Action Comedy Going

Boxing champion and actor Manny Pacquiao often gets attached to a lot of films as he also has some starpower based from his native Philippines. This week however, in lieu of his forthcoming match with Floyd Mayweather, he’s got a new major motion picture in the works with a Kickstarter and publicity push already underway. My Good Friend Manny is the name of the film which pits two geeks trying and failing to make it to the high-life within boxing scene until they decide to try and kidnap the champion boxer out of sheer desperation. Crazy, daring, and nonetheless quite promising for folks who are into road comedies like the Hangover trilogy and the like. Two Can Play That Game helmer and Barbershop trilogy creator and producer Mark Brown is tapped to direct the film which currentluly has fourteen days left to help crowdfund just enough to help the solidify […]

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Phillip Darlington’s THE DARK ZONE To Launch Kickstarter On March 30

Kickstarter teaser from Phillip Darlington on Vimeo. The video you see above is only a few days old as of this write-up, although there is plenty of time to take note of what’s about to happen in relation to this week’s newest press release announcing crowdfunding for the new contained action thriller, The Dark Zone. “Die Hard in a cave” are a good way to describe the story being sold here about a former soldier’s relentless cave trek in search of his daughter being held hostage by pack of jewel thieves led by Jim Hanks (brother of actor Tom Hanks) and champion boxer Manny Pacquiao as one of his machine gun-wielding henchman. The film will be directed by former James Cameron cohort Phillip Darlington and you can learn more at the official website prior to the launch of the film’s Kickstarter campaign at the bottom of the month. Feel free […]

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Help Crowdfund Mattson Tomlin's New Feature Thriller, RENE

Moviegoers all have their own tastes. Some prefer solid genre films while others aren’t very selective, and of course it takes a good filmmaker to make a movie work no matter what vision entails. As of late, independent director and crowdfunding patron Mattson Tomlin fits such a profile for the sake of his latest crowdfunding venture on Kickstarter for the new film, Rene. The film is the latest from Tomlin and producers Jordan Lietz and Raji Shivshanker from their Big Monster L.L.C. banner which they founded last summer prior to beginning work on Rene. Collectively, it’s a story aimed at various cinematic tones to shape a multifaceted, gritty coming-of-age character drama with all the tropes of a thrilling and intense, mystery epic to boot. Oddly, it’s for this reason that it hasn’t been an easy road to financing for Tomlin. Hence his return to Kickstarter for a third time. Having shot […]

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Singapore Martial Arts Action Comedy, I'MPOSSIBLE, Launches On Kickstarter

To some, Singapore may not exactly stand out as significantly when it comes to surveying the globe for prominence in martial arts movies. However, there are folks who are otherwise hopeful in flipping those prospects for the better, and it’s a case that does have some merit considering the amount of talent on display via social media from said country. For this instance, we now look to the new Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the new Rocky-esque underdog martial arts action comedy, I’mpossible – a portmanteau built on the words “I’m” and “possible”. Singapore’s own Grid Synergy is backing the project with film veterans, director Gilbert Chan (23:59, Ghost Child) and actor Vincent Tee (Ghost Child, Afterimages) along with aspiring actor Daniel Wee whose heartfelt testimony in the brand new campaign video over at the page makes THIS particular Indiegogo campaign all the more awesome. The movie itself is based on […]

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Want A Bruceploitation Documentary? A Celebrity Stage Event? Nickolas Nielsen Is Making Either Of These Happen!

You can certainly imagine the challenges faced by studios more than forty years ago who were desperate to find the “next Bruce Lee”… literally. The search for lookalikes who could echo the famed martial arts action star’s image became top priority for filmmakers and producers following the 32-year old actor’s and Jeet Kune Do founder’s untimely death in 1973, and it has spawned many films resulting in an era dubbled notably as “Bruceploitation”. The era still remains as a cult phenomenon among fans alike with a multitude of performers, (a few of whom have passed away in the years since) who’ve become famous for their portrayals of the actor in some iteration, including Bruce Li, Bruce Le, and Dragon Lee (a.k.a. Moon Kyong-seok) and despite previous documentaries, it’s a phenomenon that still drives questions from those curious to hear the real stories and answers. Well, as of just a few […]

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