Independent film duo Robert Samuels and Robert Jefferson are developing Blood Brothers, a new action thriller set as the first of a new line of feature projects out of R4 Films LLC. The duo is also in talks with actor and martial artist Marrese Crump for a lead role, with Jefferson penning the script for a hopeful Q4 2023 or early 2024 shoot in Thailand.
Best known for reimagining 1989’s Kickboxer with two storied back-to-back reboots, filmmaker Dimitri Logothetis segways into the comic book genre for the first time, adapting Acme Rocket Fuel’s in-house IP, Jiu Jitsu. Teeming with action-heavy talent per usual, the film rejoins Logothetis with Kickboxer Vengeance and Kickboxer Retaliation star Alain Moussi, having since escalated from stunt performance to achieving leading man status for the martial arts niche.
Well, I didn’t think I’d make it this week for another installment of the Hit List. It doesn’t undercut the amount of content still forthcoming, especially with San Diego Comic-Con inbound so… looks like it’ll be another full plate this season.
I’m pondering taking next weekend off for the Hit List. As it stands I have a few screeners that need screening and reviewing and I haven’t at all had the time for them. Plus, a little extra time for myself would be spiffy.
L to R (top): Adele Elasmar, Marrese Crump, Amber Lamarca, Troy Butler, Amy Johnston
L to R (bottom): Noel Schefflin, Monique Ganderton, John Wood, Niahlah Hope, Timothy Eulich
Of course, all that could change depending on the content of the coming week and if it’s too good to hold back, you can expect another entry online stunts and hits. For now, its the 16th of April and back hand-springing in her element is stuntwoman Niahlah Hope for the inaugural reel of this week’s stunt playlist.
Rounding it all out are reels by Max Laferriere, Thaddeus McQueen, John Wood, Amber Lamarca, Ivan Kasnyov, Nakamura Koji, Bryan Dodds, Beni Alexander, Attilla Kiss, Sarah Laidler, Joseph Roark and StormFreerun with a cinematic display of parkour feats featuring athlete Charlie Havill. Last and far from least is a share from Vimeo with a cool fight reel by Timothy Eulich.
Timothy Eulich Fight Coordinator from Timothy Eulich on Vimeo.
Off to promote some stuff!
Beneath is a playlist with two promos and the first hails from actor and martial artist Marrese Crump of The Protector 2 fame now back and stirring the hype a little more with Cash, and upcoming webseries from Diallo Frazier. Following that is a humble update from action cinema favorite, Accident Man actress Amy Johnston following up with a number of updates coinciding with her channel and in conjunction with her latest series, Hero Training, in which she brings aboard fellow entertainment performance artists and stunt players to highlight health, wellness and training methods.
Lastly and greatly is Johnny Balazs, now ramping up at Indiegogo to crowdfund tactical revenge thriller, Night Shift. Several gems have alreasy emerged online courtesy of Balazs at Prima Lux Films, hinting at the style action that will entail with actress Adele Elasmar training hard for the role as production nears.
Balazs is best known for gaining notoriety at multiple festivals in the past year for his stylish, hard-hitting hitman thriller, Dancer, and now looks toward bringing Night Shift centerstage with a worthwhile heroine front and center, and furthermore, with your help suited to equal perks available for you here.
Vimeo played a major role this week in nabbing some accidental finds for the Fights and Films section. Bangkok Dangerous star Daniel O’Neill’s starring role in Matt Routledge’s 2016 thriller, Fixer, was a winning center of attention at producer Soo Cole’s inaugural Fighting Spirit Film Festival and last year’s HBO Urban Action Showcase. It’s an anomaly as to why I’ve only just spotted it this weekend but…better late than never.
The same goes for The Compass Rose from sibling film duo, the Dell Sisters – Producer Elizabeth and writer/director Emily. The two won Best Action at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival in 2014 with stunt talent, actresses Tara Macken and Monique Ganderton; The two also front their own stunt and fight sequencing central to the ministory about one fugitive’s connection to missing letters, and an organization rooted in an enigmatic tattoo.
Both of these amazing projects kick off this week’s Fights and Films section in fitting fashion!
Daniel O’Neill – FIXER (Official Movie) from Daniel O’Neill on Vimeo.
THE COMPASS ROSE from Emily Dell on Vimeo.
Bookending this week’s Hit List is a playlist full of practice fight and thrilling shortform content. Ukraine-based XGST has a pair of vids now up and running, followed by Jefferson Lewis III trading blows in a few new entries this week – one opposite Troy Butler, and in a seperate spy-themed gem with Katie Kramer, and two comedy shorts from Lucia Ordaz’s channel, The Bodyguard and Roomie’s Rules and Regulations.
Matt Philiben gets his game on with a little help from Lo Lieh in Code Of The Dim Mak, and actress and martial artist Chintya Candranaya makes her return to the Hit List this for a second week in a row courtesy of Chevrolet with Silat Assassin 2. Following that is Project 7, a gritty throwback that looks as spectacular as I recently found it, hailing from 2010 as an Action On Film Festival favorite from director Vincent Gatinaud the talented creatives at Cascade Demo Team.
Next on the roster is Fury Fingers, having stepped up to the plate for a roaring fan film inspired by Ubisoft’s latest Far Cry installment with Far Cry: Baptism Of Fire. The Ubisoft Australia-backed fan thriller is directed by Nicholas Cleary who stars along with Hjalmar Marteinsson, Diane Dee Kalei and Eliott Howard.
Last and far from least is actor Noel Schefflin, front and center for Robot Underdog’s most recent rollout of the new unauthorized DC Comics/Stephen King hybrid fan film, Red Hoot: IT. The short is shepherded by film duo Hisonni Johnson and Alberto Triana, and with Jeremy Boone starring and voicing and the prolific balloon-teasing killer clown among a few surprise appearances in this latest fan-driven labor of gruesome joy.
L to R (top): Matt Philliben, Lucia Ordaz, Nicholas Cleary, Tara Macken, Max Laferrier
L to R (bottom): Katie Kramer, Bryan Dodds, Beni Alexander, Thaddeus McQueen, Sarah Laidler
Last week’s entries are a fun gathering as well. Endulge and don’t forget to sub to the channels and share The Hit List with friends! Also, if you have an amazing demo reel or a project that needs promoting or sharing, send it to us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com and we’ll be happy to vet it!
This is one other gem I actually had the opportunity to screen earlier this year but I couldn’t post anything as it was planning a fest run at the time. Thankfully, it’s here and all still very much worth sharing as fans and netizens alike now get to see just why people like Lei are deserving of her accolades. By all means, it’s four minutes of contemplative drama, action, brutality and gore.. what more do you want?
With the recent casting announcement of director Stephen Fung’s new Kickboxer reboot starring Alain Moussi, Scott Adkins, Tony Jaa, Dave Batista, and George St. Pierre, I felt this casting was just insane; a group of actors/martial artists that can really bring something special to the fight sequences…it’s something that many of us haven’t seen in an American martial arts film in quite some time!
That thought led to this one: Whatever happened to the classic martial arts tournament movie era that started with King Boxer AKA, Five Fingers of Death and ended with, Bloodsport? (Jean Claude Van Damme is more iconic to American martial arts films then some people think). Well, nowadays we have more actors who ARE real martial artists than ever before on screen, and we’re seeing different styles and systems that were never captured on film more than forty years ago. As such, a new tournament film showcasing hundreds of fighting styles would be an AWESOME idea, right?
So, the possibilities of a new tournament movie led me to think about the greatest cinematic martial arts tournament film of all time, bar none: Enter The Dragon starring the one and only Bruce Lee.
I grew up on Bruce Lee and so my take on martial arts films is this: There’s BBL (Before Bruce Lee) and ABL (After Bruce Lee). The man singlehandedly supercharged the genre (notice that I didn’t say “created”). He had me and my friends in our yards, beating the shit out of each other as the Kung Fu craze arrived in a 5’7″ 140 pound package in summer of 1973, and we LOVED it!
Eventually, these fond memories of my youth led to this realization that I kind of forgot about since it was pointed out back in 2007: Warner Bros announced that there would be an Enter The Dragon REBOOT. And like clockwork, people flipped their lids, solid on the notion that reobserving Lee’s 1973 masterpiece, the first co-production between a major Hollywood studio and a Chinese company (Golden Harvest) was just CRAZY! No one in his or her right mind should mess with that film! After all, Bruce Lee was the star of that film. Take him out, and what do you truly have?
However, deep down, after Robocop, Total Recall, Superman, The Thing and other movies, we know sooner or later it’s probably gonna happen. So while we’re at it, let us discuss an Enter The Dragon remake/reboot/reimagining – whatever you want to call it. Warner Bros. previosuly stated that Kurt Sutter, the creator of the popular television series, Sons of Anarchy, was attached to write the script. After that, nothing was ever said on the matter. So what happened? Who knows? I don’t exactly know for sure, but one other rumor was that the character, Roeper (played memorably by actor John Saxon) would be more of the lead, and Korean actor and musician, Rain, star of Ninja Assassin at the time (the scuttlebutt is that film tested good) would inherit the role of Lee as co-star.
Let’s say somebody came in my house and got all John Woo (circa 1989) and shot the place up, and then shoved a silver-plated 45mm against my temple and said, “You have to CAST and PRODUCE the ENTER THE DRAGON REMAKE and if you don’t, I will squeeze the trigger and these doves behind me will fly away in slow motion!” Needless to say, I would comply. No argument there.
Now I know many of you out there want to see new talent. I love new faces and new talent is fresh and exciting, but as a responsible producer, (remember Mr. Fat said CAST AND PRODUCE) taking chances on new talent can be (dare I say it) “risky.” So, I’m going to be fiscally responsible in my decisions and make sound choices, based on previous exposure (already having a career) and territorial appeal (international exposure), as well as the level of crazy martial arts skills I want seen.
Nuff said, here we go….
Tony Jaa would be my LEE and here is my reasoning: I love Iko Uwais (The Raid, The Raid 2). He could play Lee as well, but Jaa has already started transitioning into America with, Fast And Furious 7 and Skin Trade – the latter which seems to have a international polish and cast to it, and I’m sure that his co-stars Michael Jai White and Dolph Lundgren are speaking English.
I know that Jaa is not Chinese, but it could still work. Braithwaite (previously played by Geoffrey Weeks) could easily come to a monastery in Thailand and select Jaa. If they’re going to stick to that premise or build on it, I would want Jaa trim, more vascular and defined, (visual presentation is important) then he’s been recently, but I want the seriously deadly Tony Jaa from Ong Bak!
Next, Scott Adkins could be my choice for my version of ROPER, one who can kick all kinds of HELLA ASS! (And I would want him to be a Brit and keep his accent!) Even as a kid, I NEVER bought John Saxon, God bless his soul, to be that competent a martial artist (either that or Bruce Lee just made everyone else look bad.) Adkins has always been right on the brink of something great and is definitely one of the best non-Asian actors out there capable of performing martial arts in film. Plus, women like looking at him, which means your girlfriend or wife will not mind seeing this film.
Third and finally, Marrese Crump would be my choice for WILLIAMS. Yes, I could definitely cast others, but Marrese actually got me excited in The Protector 2. He gave Jaa a run for his money, (and that’s not easy) combining different martial arts styles, broken rhythm, speed, feints, boxing and kicking. Frankly, I hated the CGI in the film as Jaa and Crump were the only SFX the film really needed, but Crump’s performance IMPRESSED me! His confidence in the fight scenes, and character reminded me of Williams and his iconic hubris.
And there you have it! These are my selections, and if someone put a gun to my head and made me cast and produce an ENTER THE DRAGON remkae, this is how I would go about it. Also, I picked these guys because they’re around the same age, which I feel is important and would help these three look good together on screen; Even though I could have easily picked Donnie Yen and Michael Jai White (I LOVE THESE GUYS!) in place of Jaa and Crump, these men are not around the same age as Adkins (at least to my knowledge). Obviously however, they would have been my headliners a few years back.
So now that we got that out of the way, who would take the place of Oharra and Bolo, our two other beefy brawlers on Han’s Island? Could it be anywhere between Marko Zaror (Undisputed 3, Kiltro) and Darren Shahlavi (Ip Man 2, Pound Of Flesh)? Maybe Bolo Yeung’s son, professional bodybuilder David Yeung (Painted Faces)? Or, given the list possibilities, could we interpret these roles as new characters in a potential remake/reboot?
Feel free to comment and tell me if I’m crazy or not, but leave my mother out of this, she’s a nice lady!
WAAAAAAAPLISHHHHHHHH!
~XQK
This article was written by Xavier Q. Kantz, writer, indie filmmaker, ex-Martial Artist and daddy to the Blondtourage. You can follow him on Twitter @XavierQKantz
Action fans may recall a conceptual featurette that was released pitching what is in the works for actor, martial artist and Floridian native Marrese Crump’s forthcoming production of Formless with actor, RZA. The project has since been in development for a number of years to date, now slightly prolonged further in part due to one of its earlier announced cast members, former Middleweight MMA champion Anderson Silva rebounding from a broken left leg during UFC 168 late last year, while Crump and the cast and crew focus on tentative obligations and potential future projects.
In the meantime, Crump’s electrifying pitch for Formless brings our attention to some of that very footage now seen in the latest cinematography reel from multifaceted action film professional, martial artist and fellow Floridian, Anesti Vega, whose works have landed him the attention of numerous amazing film professionals as of 2005, from the independent scene and getting his name circulated on Craigslist, to working in Thailand alongside action film headliner Panna Rittikrai.
From the age of twelve, Vega‘s history with martial arts becane rooted with a year of Tae Kwon Do classes at the age of twelve. That same passion never left Vega upon a chance meeting with Crump at the Florida high school they attended together as they were printing out fliers for a martial arts tournament. It was a friendship that would later materialize into something much more necessary and beneficial for Vega when it needed to be.
“I asked him about his martial arts training and he told me about ‘Warriors Dojo’, a training group that he just started with one of his teachers, Master Kim Jae…” Vega says. “…I showed up to the address he gave me and it was Master Kim Jae’s house and the training area was in his screened in garage, and I was only the second student in the group, and after one class, I was hooked.”.
Vega continued, “A month later, I became homeless and had no money and no place to live. I approached Marrese and told him about my situation, and he said I could continue training if I could design a website for the Warriors Dojo group and help promote. I continued to train with him until we graduated high school in 2000 and I left to join the Army. We had also trained privately in his backyard in Progress Village where we grew up, and even stayed up in the late hours of the night, having marathons of old Bruce Lee, kung fu and other martial arts movies. I came back to Florida often between deployments and trained with Marrese when I could until 2004 when I left the Army and came back home. By then, Warriors Dojo transitioned into a full academy business called 3R Self Defense Academy where I became an assistant instructor and continued my training with Marrese.”.
From then on, Vega began a pursuit in the field of film where he would ultimately find recognition in his home state of Florida as an up-and-coming, award-winning shortfilm and promo director, fight choreographer and cinematic photographer much to the chagrin of his naysayers at the time. “…It was something so different than what I originally saw myself doing and it was exciting.”, says Vega. “I was in a professional rut at the time; I was pretty fresh out of the U.S. Army and hadn’t really gained any footing with a professional career yet at that point. I had worked on a few projects and was analyzing the production the whole time from start to finish to see what was working and what wasn’t and I was hooked. By 2008, working on projects on and off, I became pretty popular and in demand around Florida and was asked to do a few talks on a number of topics including styles of action and fight choreography and tips on how indie filmmakers can incorporate action elements into their film and how to execute them safely and without needing a huge budget to do so. At one of the panels I was on, I was expressing my disappointment for how many of my previous projects did not come out so well because of poor casting, cinematography and editing of the fight scenes. I stated that just because a cinematographer has been working for ‘x’ amount of years doesn’t mean they know how to shoot action. It’s a different science all to itself. One cinematographer in the audience, who clearly had his feelings hurt, had jumped up and yelled ‘If you know so much about it, then why don’t you start shooting your own fights then?!’. And so I did…”.
Vega‘s current aspirations behind the camera have continued to allow him even more opportunities as time rolls on, with his new base of operations in San Francisco. In addition to organizing and producing the Action Film Challenge and Zombie Film Challenge this late Spring and Summer, Vega is meeting other filmmakers, producers and creators to delve more into feature-length territory, as well as promos and music videos, and even contests for other aspiring purveyors in the world of film. “I love being a director and cinematographer because it aligns with my philosophy of doing great things in this amazing world and capturing and documenting other people doing awesome things as well. When I’m behind the camera shooting a promo video or a film scene, it’s an exciting feeling knowing that I just shot a clip that is going to make the audience go ‘whoooaaaa!!!’.”. He also added, “I do my best to live life to the fullest, to challenge myself with bigger and better adventures and capture as much of it as I can to share and inspire others. So as a filmmaker, I task myself with inspiring the audience with what I capture and there is no better position to do that than as a cinematographer. Whether it’s martial artists or freerunners for a movie, or surfers and skydivers for a promo or commercial, shooting such exciting things is just as rewarding as seeing and hearing the audience reaction when they see the end result!”.
You can now observe some of that end result he mentions in the following embed for his YouTube channel where you may also subscribe.
With Crump’s ventures into film continuing onward, Vega also shared some important details as to the status Formless in its current stage. “There are a number of factors involved,” he says “…such as Marrese and RZA’s schedule being filled up with shooting The Man With The Iron Fists 2 in Thailand right now and Anderson Silva’s recuperation from the major injury he sustained in his last fight. The first draft of the story was written by me and the fights were written by Marrese and we combined it into a script in 2008. It is now in the hands of a well-known industry ‘script polisher’ who is way more talented at writing than I am. As martial artists, we understand the importance of timing so we are just waiting for the right time and all the right resources to come together for it to happen, but we don’t have all our eggs in one basket. Formless has been promoted as Marrese’s solo debut in the past, but there are a number of other projects in development that could happen first. We’ve planted a number of seeds in the industry for a number of projects and we are just looking to see which one produces fruit first.”.
Crump stars alongside international action sensation Tony Jaa in the forthcoming U.S. release of The Protector 2, heading to iTunes and VoD on March 27 before hitting theaters on May 2. Silva is also set to appear in Allan Ungar’s latest MMA action drama, Tapped, starring Cody Hackman with Martin Kove, Lyoto Machida and Michael Biehn, releasing in North America on May 27, 2014 courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment and Grindstone.
Feel free to visit Anesti Vega’s offcial website where you can sign up for his newsletter on Facebook, as well as updates on Tumblr and Instagram. And for more on Formless, Tapped, The Man With The Iron Fists 2 and all things Crump and Silva, stay tuned to Film Combat Syndicate.
Today we have a new trailer for the upcoming October 23, 2013 release of Tom Yum Goong 2.
Kham (Tony Jaa) has become the suspect in the murder of Suchart- the influential owner of an elephant camp, who was killed by three punches to the dead spots by a martial arts expert, and Kham (Tony Jaa) was the last one seen at crime scene. He needed to run away from the authorities and the hunt by Suchart’s twin nieces (Jija Yanin and Teerada Kittisiriprasert) Luckily, he was helped by Sgt. Mark (Petchtai Wongkamlao) the Interpol who was sent from Sydney to handle some secret mission.
Breakout action star Marrese Crump is joining hip hop artist, producer and filmmaker, The RZA and action choreographer Panna Ritthikrai in working on bringing martial arts cinema fans the next wave in action with a new film called FORMLESS. The film began developing in 2010 and is a continuation of Crump’s partnership with Ritthikrai since completing Tony Jaa’s upcoming Thai action blockbuster sequel, TOM YUM GOONG 2.
Prior to the release of the upcoming film, Tom Yum Goong 2, martial arts action performer, stuntman and choreographer Marrese Crump and hip hop artist, writer, actor and director, RZA, have been benefitting off of each other’s creativity, brainstorming in Thailand with filmmaker Prachya Pinkaew and fight choreographer Panna Rittikrai. Not a lot has been said since 2010 when things began developing, but for now, details seem to accumulate what will be an upcoming martial arts film production called Formless.
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