micah karns

THE HIT LIST – March 14, 2016

I think I may have contributed more on my blog than I may have wanted to, although it was probably instinctive. Maybe. Alas, I found myself working on the Hit List at the very last minute of Sunday and so I managed to get a few things together, including a few oldie-goodies I think are worthy of your viewing… On that one and as always, we’re starting things off with a slew of stunt reels and I’m buckling down to twelve this week for a playlist that features stuntwoman Somnang Chay, followed by a return to form from German action actor and Kampfansage co-star Volkram Zschieche. The playlist rounds out with stunt reels from Jesse Phillips, Keith Ward, Jae Greene, Jillian Lee, Joshua Romeo, Denys Alieksieiev, Donovan Louie, Suzuki Kimmy, Micah Karns and an encore entry from Kai Ferris! Now, it’s onto the fights and there are just a few […]

Karate Action Short, OSU, Emits Hardcore Brutality With Martial Grace

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R: Nate Hitpas, Tony Vittorioso and Micah Karns perform Goju Ryu Karate kata, Seiunchin, in the Vlad Rimburg-directed short, Ous. Back in January, I wrote that it was going to be an exciting year for action fans, and particularly for those who follow the work of independent action director and filmmaker Vlad Rimburg. This week, Rimburg fortifies that exact point in his latest indie action shortfilm, expressively titled Osu. The name itself is based on a mildly known word in Japanese culture that is also rooted in a myriad of meanings. In this case, the expression grants the application of yet another installment in the growing repetoire of stellar action shorts by Rimburg, whose YouTube channel has been gaining serious virality and recognition with major industry stunt coordinators and other film bloggers since the release of his homage to The Raid 2 with CZ12 co-star Caitlin Dechelle […]

LBP Stunts Chicago Presents: KARATE BOYS Vs. THE WORLD

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R (background): Tony Vittorioso, Alexander Hashioka and Nate Hitpas take direction from Emmanuel Manzanares (center/front) Going into the weekend, we have a outstanding amalgam of talent that once more sees LBP Stunt Chicago’s own Emmanuel Manzanares back behind the camera for his latest skit, Karate Bros. vs. The World. This one is one of the slightly more spectacular ones with a little bit of VFX near the end, which is different from a lot of the short test fights we see from this group. Not to mention tricking impressario Micah Karns does a neat little stunt that was edited just nicely in the second half to give the fight that extra edge. Fellow LBP members Alexander Hashioka and Nate Hitpas, with fellow tricker and martial artist Tony Vittorioso also perform.

Epic Rival Does It TMNT STYLE!

Lee B. Golden III

From L to R: Jimmy Chhiu, Chris Cowan (behind), Xin Wuku (in-front), Brendon Huor and Micah Karns Yes, ninja turtles usually come green with assorted masks and shells, and we’ll get more of that in a few months. This week however, we’re getting an inspired take on the classic characters by way of independent filmmaker Chris Cowan in the form of a new action short simply titled TMNT Style, featuring performances by actors Brendon Huor, Xin Sarith Wuku, Jimmy Chhiu and Micah Karns, with a special guest appearance by actor and stuntman, Master Simon Rhee of Best Of The Best fame. The project is one of two new gigs that were announced by Cowan and his team in light of the launch of their new production platform, Epic Rival. Cowan is also one of the co-founding members of Thousand Pounds Action Company, the team behind the long-awaited fantasy martial arts series action Clandestine […]

Caitlin Dechelle Hammers Away In A New Fan Fight Tribute To THE RAID 2!

Lee B. Golden III

Fans of martial arts action cinema like myself and independent filmmaker Vlad Rimburg represent a majority of people eagerly awaiting the official March 28 release date of writer and director Gareth Evans’s new epic crime thriller, The Raid 2. However, on Tuesday evening, Rimburg took to his channel to offer an inspired look at actress Julie Estelle’s portrayal of the iconic character, Hammer Girl, in a new, brutal, bloody and spectacularly violent fan short by CZ12 co-star and action actress Caitlin Dechelle. Rehearsed last week in the course of two days and filmed only several days ago, the Hammer Girl fan fight marks Rimburg‘s second project with Dechelle since a chance meeting in 2012 during a photo shoot with photographer and performer Tony Chu. That photo shoot eventually led to their first collaboration later that year for the two-part ensemble action piece, Part 2: Chapter A, and the two had […]

LBP's Nate Hitpas Takes Center Stage With Tony Vittorioso

Lee B. Golden III

Independent action filmmaker Emmanuel Manzanares hosted a new fight practice this week with LBP Stunts Chicago member Nate Hitpas (left), and fellow screenfighter Tony Vittorioso (right) both who met each other back in 2009 while attending Sharkey’s Karate in Naperville, Illinois. Hitpas and Vittorioso have been working on a few of these on their own time over the past month or so, but you can now view them on the official LBP YouTube channel in the first two embeds below, the second video being the newest. As a bonus, Hitpas himself has been dabbling a bit in choreography himself, as recent as earlier this month with actor, tricking impressario, martial artist and fellow Sharkey’s head instructor, Micah Karns. I spoke with Hitpas a while back about his interest in directing action. He tells Film Combat Syndicate “I’d always been interested in it, but I didn’t wanna try it on my own until […]