BLOOD BROTHERS: Nacho Serapio Leads Robert Samuels, Silvio Simac And More As Cameras Roll On New Martial Arts Thriller From ‘Balas Y Katanas’ Director [Exclusive]
Filming locations include Spain, and select parts of the U.S.
robert samuels
BLAQUE RAIN: R4 Films And VCB Collaborating For U.S./Mexico Action Thriller Filming In 2026
R4 Films LLC and Tijuana/Baja-based VCB Films are in development with an independent action thriller inspired by Ridley Scott’s 1989 crime classic, Black Rain. Founding R4 creative Robert Samuels is currently aiming to direct from a script by producing partner Robert Jefferson whose in-progress draft could finish by month’s end. The project, currently titled Blaque Rain, reteams the indie labels once again following shortfilm concepts such as Samuels and Jefferson’s “Blackout,” and Nicholas Ortiz’s “Jugando Con Fuego.” The plan is to crowdfund ahead of principal photography in 2026. “We’ll once again be tapping the rich filming environment provided by the Mexican landscape and partnering with VCB and producer/fight choreographer Angel G. Brophy to bring a new level of gun fu action & white knuckle thriller to the screen,” said Jefferson. “The goal here is to create a feature film with the grit and gravitas we’ve brought our audience in our […]
JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND STYLES: Eddie Griffin To Star In Epic Kung Fu Fantasy From Hong Kong Stunt Veteran Robert Samuels – EXCLUSIVE
EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker, actor and martial artist Robert Samuels is set to direct Journey Of A Thousand Styles, with actor and comedian Eddie Griffin (Double Take, A Star Is Born) starring. Samuels, who shared the helm with James Lew on 2021 action comedy, Made In Chinatown, will make his solo directing debut from a script by Robert Jefferson. The fantasy urban kung fu adventure sees Griffin in the role of Eddie Stiles, a disheartened kung fu teacher who finds himself and his son trapped within an endless universe of kung-fu movies, ensnared by a mysterious VHS tape. To break free, they must embark on a journey of self-discovery, embracing new perspectives on life and mastering the art of kung fu in ways never imagined. Additionally, Samuels will produce through his R4 Films LLC banner, rejoining Made In Chinatown cohort Mark V. Wiley who will produce via Tambuli Media. Also producing is […]
SHADOW FIST 3 To Clinch Up SDCC’s Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza On Thursday!
Actors and martial artists Robert Samuels (Red Wolf, Made In Chinatown) and Ron Hall (Triple Impact, Bloodsport 2) will make landfall this Thursday for the panel at the 27th Annual San Diego Comic-Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza. The pair will join a round of guests to be featured on the panel hosted by film expert and author Ric Meyers, film producer and festival programmer Frank Djeng, and host of YouTube’s “The Movie Dojo,” Preston Downey. Both Samuels and Hall met in Hong Kong during their heyday, pursuing their dreams, forming a lasting friendship for over three decades. They have traversed the action film landscape in that same period, working as actors, stuntmen, fight choreographers, and filmmakers, with each commited to raising the Black profile in a genre in which they feel is both commercially viable and grossly underserved. “Black people love martial arts movies, but the African American presence in […]
SHADOW FIST 3: Roxalinda Vazquez Shapes Up For A Deadly Showdown In The Indie Shortfilm Kung Fu Finale
I recently joked with filmmaker Robert Samuels about an idea I had for a surprise quadruquel installment of his Shadow Fist short film series. I’ll be delighted if he actually follows through with it, although he and partner Robert Jefferson have since publicly claimed their latest, Shadow Fist 3, to be the last, in which case, I have no regrets. Indeed, it’s a high-note send-off for a concept that began roughly five years ago, fusing hip-hop with old school kung fu action for niche audiences. Warring factions, mystics, epic battles, ancient scrolls and deadly one-on-one duels are par for the course in a saga that now brings us a cast led by relative newcomer Roxalinda Vazquez, and veteran action star Ron Hall. Shadow Fist 3 has been circulating the festivals a bit since reviews went out and has already scored some wins along the way, so kudos to the duo […]
Robert Samuels Fights To Stay On His Toes In BLACKOUT. Watch The New Action-Packed Short Thriller Now Online!
Film duo Robert Samuels and Robert Jefferson are still claiming their accolades at festivals with the recent premieres of kung fu thriller, Shadow Fist 3. As folks await its online release, the channel is currently hosting the release of Blackout, directed by the pair in their latest offering from the R4 Films L.L.C. banner, joined by VCB Films. The short espionage actioner stars Samuels as an operative pit between two groups of armed killers when his twentieth and final assignment as the carrier of an unknown biological agent that causes him to pass out during missions goes awry, leading to an even darker twist. Samuels is also joined by Roxalinda Vasquez and Angel G. Brophy, both who’ve previously collaborated with R4 Films on Shadow Fist 3, and Nicholas Ortiz’s Jugando Con Fuego. Mind your surroundings and appropriate viewing cohorts as always, and enjoy!
SHADOW FIST 3 Review: The Final Chapter Welcomes New Blood For An Old School Kung Fu Showdown
Shadow Fist 3 screens for the 11th Urban Action Showcase & Expo in New York City on November 11. The last decade-plus of made-for-television martial arts and action is a proven era for those keen on entertainment of a screenfighting variety. Robert Samuels’ efforts to expand on the genre via R4 Films LLC are a generous reminder of this, including the last several years he and his cohorts have spent expanding on Shadow Fist, a concept producing a ubiquitous blend of fantasy, hip-hop and multicultural and multiethnic fruition though kung fu cinema with an old-school sensibility. Samuels and fellow creatives Robert Jefferson and exec producer Tayari Casel have since reconvened to take the journey of their indie shortfilm saga for one final leg in Shadow Fist 3, making ample use of Tijuana’s locales and resident talents. That includes a cast roster featuring burgeoning actress and Hung Ga specialist Roxalinda Vazquez […]
SHADOW FIST 3: Catch The New Teaser For The Latest Chapter Of R4 Films’ Kung Fu Shortfilm Series
It’ll be a good minute before we can see Robert Samuels and Robert Jefferson flourish in their feature film endeavors. Such remains the case as always with indie creatives. In the meantime, the two have since returned to their bearings in Mexico to complete the third and final chapter of Samuels’ Shadow Fist shortfilm series, aptly titled Shadow Fist 3. If you’re new to the concept, a quick brush over on YouTube ought to take you over to the first two shorts forthwith now online. It’s gritty, fully-fledged indie kung fu action and thrills shot through a comprehensive lens all for the sole purpose of fan-service. That journey continues onward to the finish line with none other than martial artist Roxalinda Vazquez who rejoins Samuels following their previous screen action together in Nicholas Ortiz’s hit indie action short, Jugando Con Fuego. Shadow Fist 3 also stars Miguel Alexandro Peralta and […]
I Just Debuted At Polygon. Check It Out!
I’ve been a creative for most of my life, although if you told me 20 or 30 years ago that I would find a place in online writing and journalism, I would’ve looked at you like you were smoking something. Nowadays, though asthmatic as I may be, I’m more inclined to ask to share whatever you’re having, if any. Forty years into this life with an interest in the arts, I now come with at least fifteen years experience, writing for several small (and large) websites covering politics, and for the majority of that period, movies. Alas, it was back in April that site co-contributor and freelance film critic Matthew Essary made my name a recommendation to the senior editors over at Polygon. The proposed subject matter? A celebration of Black action stars with a selection of names of our choosing, among which partly include Denzel Washington, Pam Grier, Jim Kelly, […]
Robert Samuels (HKSA) Signs With American Talent Management
Actor and martial artist Robert Samuels has signed with Burbank-based American Talent Management for representation as director. The move marks the latest for Samuels, based in Philadelphia, who has long been active in independent film production on both sides of the lens for the better part of the last decade. Samuels is prominently known among extensive circles of Hong Kong action cinema fandom. Following a series of prospective trips to Hong Kong in the eighties, Samuels eventually found his footing under the stewardship of action legend Sammo Hung in the early nineties, later becoming the first African American member inducted into the Hong Kong Stuntman Association. Samuels can be seen in Hong Kong action hits like Fatal Bet, The Gambling Ghost, Don’t Give A Damn and The Red Wolf. He is also one of the founding creatives of R4 Films LLC, joined by partner Robert Jefferson, having directed shorts such […]
BLOOD BROTHERS: R4 Films Developing Starring Vehicle For ‘Tom Yum Goong 2’ And ‘Jiu Jitsu’ Actor Marrese Crump [EXCLUSIVE]
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. Key story details are under wraps but I am told the film will take its key aesthetic inspiration from films like The Raid movies and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives. Both Jefferson and Samuels are producing the pic as well, in reunion with frequent collaborator Oso Tayari Casel, in addition to Mark V. Wiley who penned Samuels’ 2021 co-directing effort with James Lew, Made In Chinatown. The potential casting will mark a return to “The Land Of Smiles” for Crump who is a purveyor […]
BLACKOUT, And You’ll Miss All The Action In The First Teaser For The New Short!
An amnesiac black ops agent/black bag courier is in for the fight of his life as he struggles to survive waves of assassins bent on stopping him from removing an apocalypse-level chemical compound from his own blood. With time running out, can he make it across the border before it’s too late? If so can he retrace his steps and truly reclaim his own identity? Who do you trust when the enemy might be you? That’s the wind-up-and-the-pitch for the newest martial arts-loaded thriller short, Blackout from indie production duo Robert Samuels (H.K.S.A.) and Robert Jefferson who’ve been keeping the habit up nice and well since making the rounds with Shadow Fist 2: Axe Gang, and their previous collab on Nicholas Ortiz’s Mexico-bound Jugando Con Fuego. The new actioner returns our pair back to their old JCF stomping grounds once again to direct, shepherding a cast that lists Angel S. […]
SHADOW FIST 2: AXE GANG: Fists And Steel Clash In The New Kung Fu Thriller Short
Indeed it’s Friday and I would imagine you’d need an escape if you’ve had a long week. Welp, if a little indie kung fu cinema is more your speed then you’re welcome to try your hand at Shadow Fist 2: Axe Gang following its recent arrival in time for this year’s star-studded tenth Urban Action Showcase & Expo in Times Square in New York City. The latest chapter hails from directors Robert Samuels and Robert Jefferson whose R4 Films LLC produced the project in collaboration with Nicholas Ortiz’s Deviant Children Productions – a near half-hour of pure, expressive cinematic indie-produced and hip-hop infused kung fu thrills that follow things up nicely from Samuels’s first installment in 2020 which you can check out here. And all by way of an expert stuntman honing in on his craft since his heyday working with some of the best of the best in 1990s […]
JUGANDO CON FUEGO: Robert Samuels Is An Agent With A Vendetta In Nicholas Ortiz’s New Shortfilm Release
Following a brief release window through Vimeo On Demand, action thriller Jugando Con Fuego is now available to watch via YouTube in the player below. The short haila from Tambuli Media, R4 Films, and Deviant Children Productions, and sees actor, martial artist and Hong Kong stunt laureate Robert Samuels take on the role of a CIA agent on a mission of vengeance against a notorious cartel leader scorned from a tragedy of his own. The project is now one of a pair of ventures, the second of which Samuels is currently en route with alongside director Nicholas Ortiz with the current production, which already has some stills to check out through Samuels’ social media here. I’ve been especially covering Ortiz for a while, and so with any luck, these could finally at some point lead to more of at least one project he had been planning for a while prior […]
BUT FOR ME, IT WAS TUESDAY!: A Night Of Indie Kung Fu Fanfare At The Angelika
I think at least one other important lesson I must always remember is that I don’t get out enough. It’s true. I’ve lived in New York City my whole life and I’ve never explored it enough to know my bearings when I venture out anywhere other than my usual familiar places when I do end up having to take the subway. The same goes for when I arrived at the Angelika Film Center for the second time since catching Snowpiercer years earlier and crossing paths with actor Gabriel Byrne as he was crossing the street. He had company at the time and so, yeah, nah, I didn’t intrude. I’ll also add that sometimes, JUST sometimes, Google Maps can be shit. So leave it to me to find myself walking past the movie theater twice and nearly turning the wrong damn corner. It didn’t help that there were a few exterior […]
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Nicholas Ortiz’s JUGANDO CON FUEGO Heats Up With Revenge Thrills And A Touch Of Genre Nostalgia
Four years after landing on our radar with 2018’s multi-award winning short, Black Betty, up-and-coming director Nicholas Ortiz has long since stayed the course with developments on his endeavors, ultimately landing one of his more larger projects to date out of his Deviant Children Productions banner. Jettisoning out to Tijuana, Mexico last summer for the independent short production of action crime thriller, Jugando Con Fuego, Ortiz is joined by none other than R4 Films LLC, whose Robert Samuels has been a working staple in the Nothern East Coast indie film community between Pennsylvania, New Jersey and neighboring New York City. To boot, Samuels, a veteran member of the heralded Hong Kong Stuntman’s Association who’s credits are shared with the likes of Jackie Chan, Frankie Chan, Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung, continues to apply his trade on both sides of the lens. He successively segues here from his previous Hong […]
JUGANDO CON FUEGO Official Trailer Sees Robert Samuels On A Mission Of Vengeance
The newest official trailer for Nicholas Ortiz’s latest short, Jugando Con Fuego, had an exclusive presentation the other evening over at The Movie Dojo on YouTube and we’re happy to share it here. The film marks yet another reunion with actor and martial arts legend Robert Samuels who stars in the project opposite actor and stunt performer Hector Soria who plays the villain, who previously shared the set with Samuels on Joey Min’s 2019 action feature debut comedy, Yes, Auntie!. Jugando Con Fuego was filmed on location in Mexico with Ortiz directing from a script produced by Samuels’ R4 Films LLC partner Robert Jefferson. It centers on Forge, a retired CIA whose past comes back in brutal fashion, leaving him beaten, bloodied, and left for dead, and waging war against the man who tried to kill him. I’m not sure if this will hit festivals or go straight to an […]
JUGANDO CON FUEGO Hails A Vengeful Showdown In The Latest Shortfilm Trailer
It’s been the long time since we’ve heard from indie filmmaker Nicholas Ortiz who’s presence on here was noted much more for his work on shortfilm thriller, Black Betty, a project whose webseries/feature prospects were long since shelved by the pandemic as well as other factors. Instead however, Ortiz took to the streets of Mexico several months ago for the production of original short action thriller, Jugando Con Fuego, filmed safely under Covid guidelines and has since stayed the course with a trailer now online, which premiered firstly over the weekend via Jeof Vita’s Kung Fu Drive-In Podcast. Ortiz directs a cast led by Hong Kong cinema and stunt legend Robert Samuels (Red Wolf, ASDO’s Yes, Auntie!). Follow one man’s blood soaked pursuit of revenge through the dark underbelly of Mexico. Sometimes Justice… is Revenge. Jugando Con Fuego hails from Deviant Children Productions, R4FILMS and TeamOneTake Action Design, and also […]
SHADOW FIST: HK Legend Robert Samuels’s Kung Fu Short Strikes Red Sash Theatre This Weekend
Actor, filmmaker and Hong Kong cinema legend Robert Samuels (Yes, Auntie: My Asian Auntie S2, Red Wolf, No Problem) has a big weekend ahead of him as he ramps up his most recent pet project of the last several years with Red Sash Theater, a digital library of independent shortfilms aimed toward fans of Asian films, action and martial arts. That collection will undoubtedly include his newest seven minute kung fu short, Shadow Fist, created with R4 Films partner Robert Jefferson, and starring Samuels along with Andre Duza and Sharif Bey. The short will premiere this weekend alongside Samuel’s UASE (Urban Action Showcase & Expo) 2020 Virtual Experiences panel events on Saturday for Black Heroes Matter at 5:00pm EST, and Black Heroes of Martial Arts Cinema on Sunday, also at 5:00pm EST. There’s more info at the official website, but do peep the teaser above, and feel free to visit […]
MADE IN CHINATOWN Review: Indie Mob Comedy High Jinks Bolster Ample Martial Arts Fan Service
Author Mark V. Wiley’s script serves as the basis for Made In Chinatown, signaling the feature directing debut of Sammo Hung protègè Robert Samuels, next to co-director, Hollywood stunt veteran and actor James Lew in his return to the seat since 2006’s 18 Fingers Of Death!. A light hearted and lean low budget production, Made In Chinatown dives right into its narrative, told in flashback fashion with a bruised Vinny Chow (Jay Kwon) donning a black eye, and desperate for answers from two homeless wise men named Wisdom (Shing Ka) and Knowledge (Geoff Lee). Cut to the seedy criminal underworld that is New York City’s illegal condiments trade, where bitter rivalries between bosses Al Capella (Tony Darrow), Amadore Condimento (Vincent Pastore) and Hung Phat (Lo Meng) threaten to collapse the already unsteady peace meant to keep the city’s police commisioner, Sean O’Greedy (Raymond J. Barry) in power. Seperate from their […]
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