stunts

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THE HIT LIST: February 10, 2020

Lee B. Golden III

I’m having a whirlwind weekend as you’re reading this so let’s get past the formalities and right to this week’s installment of The Hit List! We kick off with another selection of explosive stunt and action demos featuring the following: Nana Miya, Rachel Shier, Sain Ferhad, Phi Nguyen, Alex Suarez, Justin Carney, Jean-Paul Ly, Linn Solem, Samantha Perez, Ronnie Shalvis, Thomas Lorber, Miroslav Notch Karel, Kujo Ashanti, Pai-Sen Wang, Brenda Castillo, Antonia Timbol, Justin Chang, Luke Davis, Marley Webster, Kyle Sutherland, Bobby Hernandez, Krystle Martin, Paige Rhea Allison, Djamel Bride, Jonty Green, Emilien Bergeret, Jacob Ellis, Mollie Wilson, Kate Bera, Sam Symons and Thai stunt coordinator Jakkrit Kanokpodjananon. It’s been a while since I talked about R.L. Scott and I think we’ll be hearing from him a little more this year beyond what he’s got happening. That entails the official trailer for Jade Rising from Scott’s Wonder Studios and Silver […]

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THE HIT LIST: January 27, 2020

Lee B. Golden III

Putting together this week’s installment of The Hit List wasn’t too troubling, though the workload is now piling up, so I’ll be working on pacing myself a little more apart from last month’s announcement. For now, The Hit List begins with an extensive commemorative video of late stunt performer, athlete and martial artist Hans Wikkeling II who sadly passed away last year. The video was created by Peter Rulon-Miller for the late star martial artist’s memorial service earlier this month. The playlist continues with a raft of stunt reels by some of today’s top and up-and-coming stunt performers: Marie Mouroum, Jason Truong, Allen Quindiagan, Zia Kelly, Benjamin Sanchez, Ryan Bainbridge, Olivia Wilcox, Kent Lloyd, Margo Graff, Brian Krainson, Austin Durden, Megan Le (click here to watch), Jim Priz, Yessenia Cossio, Jackson Rozario, Tanguy Guinchard, Rissy Dollins, Jessica Barfoot, Simon Li, Margaryta Soldatova, Taylor Tai, and a 2019 lookback reel featuring […]

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RUSTIC B. Cites A Toronto Stunt Pro On ‘How To Get Into Stunts’

Lee B. Golden III

Staving off narrative content for a bit, I’m just gonna leave this latest instructional here courtesy of stuntman and filmmaker Rustic B. whose latest video delves into the mechanics of the stunt industry and how to engage the field. Rustic takes his cues from Canadian stuntwoman and coordinator Alicia Turner who, in a recent ATP Online piece, elucidates a raft of intricate steps and methods on how to enter the stunt industry as well as maintain your craft, standing and good name within the community. As the author of the Hit List and someone who covers films with an angle toward stunt professionals, I found this sort of important to share given how I’ve been e-mailed by folks thinking I work in the industry (which I don’t, and mainly since I’ve never sold myself as a stuntman at all) asking how to get into the industry. I’ve even had people […]

JAMCast Episode Three – IN FOCUS: James Young

Lee B. Golden III

The last five years have been an extraordinary thrill for us with stunt multi-hyphenate James Young being one of the biggest that Film Combat Syndicate covered in this site’s young life, and much credit goes out to Darren Bailey for being pivotal in engineering that for us for a 2014 sit-down with Young and fellow Marvel MCU cohort, Film Combat Syndicate favorite Aaron Toney. There’ll be plenty of ground to cover going forward as the higher ups at Marvel Entertainment and Disney plot what’ll happen next with the approach of Avengers: Endgame, which Young goes into at the top of his latest interview with Travis Wong for the newest episode of Wong’s JAMCast. Wong, also a stunt professional, hails from the same base of operations over at Reseda’s Joining All Movement. The Joining All Movement #JAMCast is a weekly podcast hosted by Travis Wong, interviewing influential figures in the movement […]

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CONFESSIONS OF A YOUTUBE SUPERGIRL: A Word With LIFE XP Series Creator, Actress Cassandra Ebner

Lee B. Golden III

It had been a while since I was in touch with actress and stunt performer Cassandra Ebner, and so in the months since she released a trailer for upcoming webseries, Life XP, it remained on the back of my mind. It’s a good thing I remembered it too seeing as Ebner just recently received funding for the new series and she sounded visibly excited when she posted the update on Facebook. I wanted to learn a little more about the show and that of the actress who first came on my radar several years ago when she and collaborator, Trevor Addie, took part in a fantastic shortfilm inspired by Tomb Raider; It was an incredible piece of work and more than enough to garner my continued interest this day, and especially following the warm reception she received back in Spring as one in a raft of 2018 Artemis Women In […]

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Watch: THE RYAN CARR SHOW S2/E5: Pete Antico V. The Illusion

Lee B. Golden III

Last week’s episode of The Ryan Carr Show was especially informative as much as it was stimulating. Carr and co-host, actress and screenwriter Natalee Arteaga sat with the 39-year stunt veteran and background actor Peter Antico on Friday to discuss the week’s news along with a plethora of gems pertaining to his heyday beginnings as a stuntman and the knowledge he’s accrued in the years since. Our trio also engage persuasions over issues pertaining to the recent SAG/AFTRA presidential election following Gabrielle Carteris’s re-election back in August, as well as the need for more stunt and safety committees, pay and pension equality, union transparency and much more. The ending gets a little bit more robust and suspenseful as well, I’d say. But informative nonetheless and especially for stunt and film professionals alike. Enjoy!

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CREATIVE’S CREED: An Interview With Adam Brashaw

Lee B. Golden III

Having extensively covered Universal Pictures’s famed Fast franchise, this week’s latest bit of coverage has to be the closest I’ve come. It’s primarily attributed to the forthcoming live show which kicks off in London in January and obviously with a film saga so action packed, of course it’s going to need a crew of some very talented stunt performers to take to task the very feats attendees can expect. For this, it is with great pleasure to have been able to share an auspicious chat with Adam Brashaw, someone whose work thusfar in stunts, film and television have been all but impressive. He’s only appeared in The Hit List a few times having done three shortfilms (two of which I have seen), and you need only to see the results for yourself apart from his exceptional work reel just above. Brashaw is going nine years strong in his field with […]

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FOOD FIGHTING IN BROOKLYN: An Evening With Tony Chu

Lee B. Golden III

I’m currently reeling over a two-year gripe about a fan film as I’m writing this (and possibly as you’re reading this). However, I still have other things to do and as I continue to recover from my short-term rest from the night before, I wanted to share my latest experience this month with another individual I’ve come to love and respect over my years as a martial arts film fan and supporter of independent film and stunts. This gratitude comes in the wake of having met another member of legendary stunt group, Zero Gravity, by the name of Tony Chu. He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife and newborn daughter and while having experience and often collaborating from time to time with other stunt performers to film things, he’s a photographer by trade, and you can learn more about his work via his official website, TonyChuPhotography.com where he’s […]

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So, Some Blonde Walked Up To Me One Day…

Lee B. Golden III

This was the only normal picture I managed to take with a straight face. The struggle is very real. It’s not everyday that I bring my “other work” home…or in this case to my work. Rather, it’s not everyday my “other work” walks up to my door and gives me a great big hug before shooting the breeze. Such is what happened on Thursday at the tail end of stuntman Dylan Hintz’s recent visit to New York City for a few seminars, including Chazz Menendez’s Quiet Storm Training Group workshop with Person of Interest Coordinator Tony Vincent this past weekend. Dylan returned that week to train at Chazz’s newly established facility, UATW Stunts in New Rochelle which Hintz encourages both aspiring and current stunt people to check out HERE. Hintz hails from the D.C. area bordering between Maryland and Virginia, and operates his own stunt training and performance group called D.C. […]

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AT LONG LAST: An Interview With Andy Long

Lee B. Golden III

2016 has seen its fair share of stumbles for me, particularly in the interview department seeing as how I didn’t get to reach as many people as I wanted to. This was one of the grievances I aired in my year four piece from a few weeks ago, and interestingly enough, things still took quite a turn for me following the teaser announcement of a new reel by a stunt performer and martial artist whose career growth now lends him the prominence that I among dozens of others can truly assert that he deserves. That stated, I was never personally well acquainted with Andy Long until around my first or second year as a writer here at Film Combat Syndicate. However, the work he’s amassed and contributed to the genre and the people of his field makes him one of the most sought after people to date for a guy […]

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MERCURY RISING: An Evening With Actor And Stuntman Shayan Safar

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve never really pondered the affect I might have as a blogger on people that I’ve been writing about in the past three years, and primarily because I’m just busy writing. I get mostly good responses from people in the stunt and film industry apart from some of the more less-than enthused ones (yes, those exist), and they’re all nice to hear in the course of my own growth, though for me there will always be a room for improvement. I thought about this and a bunch of other things as I shared reflections over some beverages at Starbucks at Columbus Circle with stuntman and actor Shayan Safar who was in New York City for a job interview unrelated to stuntwork. I’ve been covering Safar since early 2015 when I shared his first stunt reel online, and he told me how jubilant he was when he saw his demo being […]

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Review: CONCRETE AND CRASHPADS: STUNTS IN NEW YORK Welcomes You To The Urban Stunt Jungle

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve been covering stunt performers off and on for about eight years – three of them most prolifically here at Film Combat Syndicate. As a fan, been following stunt performers since about 2004 or 2005 when I became keen on the growing number of homemade kung fu movies being shared on forums and independent stunt team pages before YouTube was born and it’s been a blast seeing how some of these folks have evolved since then. That said, if there is one thing that I am proud to have observed in all these years, it is that once in a while, you will find more and more people who work in journalism, as well as stunts, covering the stunt industry in all its efforts in film, stage and TV. New York City has proven especially viable here with its own pockets of communities and people working together to create, build […]

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Call To Action: Stunt Industry To Rally In Beverly Hills For An Oscar Category On Wednesday

Lee B. Golden III

Photo from the set of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Courtesy Of Joel Kramer) Good stories and good acting are key to making any film or TV show notable and watchable. The same goes for action movies, and in that respect, even greater action and stunt work is what’s required to sell an action product. Without it, most of our habits wouldn’t exist today. More specifically, it’s a field that influenced my interest in online independent action by inspired filmmakers back in the early 2000s as many of the people I’ve written about on this blog have risen to some major career successes in the field. It’s why we enjoy a lot of the Marvel and DC films we see today and enjoy some of the smaller scale productions like Sakamoto Koichi’s Broken Path or Dennis Ruel’s recently released Unlucky Stars, a fact that still raises a lot of questions among […]

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GRACE UNDER FIRE: An Interview With Actor, Stuntman And Producer, Sonny Sison

Lee B. Golden III

One of the earlier fortunes I had in starting my blog back in 2013 was getting acquainted off and on with actor and stuntman, Sonny Sison. Granted, in months prior to that, I had just seen him in the 2008 action thriller, Broken Path, which is still one of the most fascinating films I had ever seen, and for a number of reasons. Last week, I had the opportunity to share a dialogue with Sison about the film among several others within the span of his career in the past two decades. Having cut his teeth as an actor and stuntman over the years, primarily as a suit actor on the AmeriToku crossover series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and having recently worked with a number of familiar faces fans know and love, I would say there’s plenty of reason to bookmark him as someone worth looking out for in the […]

Meetings And Greetings: A Night Out With ARCADE KILLERS's Own Slobo And Duy Panouvic

Lee B. Golden III

Photo Courtesy of Duy Panouvic, and as you can see, I was very, very thirsty. A common practice for a lot of folks in the stunt industry outside of working on film sets, is to travel and explore other parts of the globe to acquaint with other stunt professionals – something particularly effective in an age where social media has since played a huge role in networking millions of people. Evidently, this is one area that professional stunt couple, Slobo and Duy Panouvic were keen to act on in the progression of their own careers having already spent quite awhile working their way up between working their native Germany, and in Cape Town, South Africa where they started their own professional team, Arcade Killers back in May of last year. I have written about them a few times in the past year, so it was rather opportune for me that […]

Reel Time: SHAWN BERNAL

Lee B. Golden III

Actor, martial artist and stuntman Shawn Bernal recently unveiled his newest demo reel ahead of his latest interview with Film Combat Syndicate. A member of LBP Stunts Chicago, Bernal‘s craft is rooted most significantly in the independent film scene, having worked on several conceptual projects, some involving the collaboration of a handful of other teams from around the internet. Bernal discussed all this and much more about his career in his latest interview, which you can check out by CLICKING HERE. In the meantime, his newest stunt reel is now available below. .

Kimmy Suzuki Stands Alone In The New Shortfilm, ICHIBAN

Lee B. Golden III

It’s funny that when chatting with actor and stuntman Kenny Wong a little over a week ago that he didn’t mention at least one of his other new indie ventures to me. It probably slipped his mind or maybe he was worn to secrecy. Not sure, but either way, it was pretty delightful to be caught by surprise with his latest appearance in the new shortfilm from directors Kwaz Fraser and Jacquees Thomas titled Ichiban, with lead actress Kimmy Suzuki portraying a downtrodden sweatshop worker who rebels against her abusive boss, played by Wong. Both are stunt performers by profession, with Suzuki initially getting her feet wet in voice-over acting at the age of 12 while living in Japan, until moving on to do stage work and commercials, a maneuver that ultimately aided her entry into NYU. Before she knew it and despite leaning more heavily into ballet, a chance meeting with actor Danny […]

Lunar Stunts Presents: FAIR GAME

Lee B. Golden III

I’ve mused in the past about the ever-evolving state of independent online action cinema, with the level of stunt work and achievements I have seen on behalf of aspiring creators and stunt professionals who want to showcase a balanced blend of acting and genuine action performance. I especially attribute this to independent filmmaker Eric Nguyen and the gang over at Lunar Stunts Action Company who added their latest action short to their repertoire about a week ago titled Fair Game. It’s one of those projects that can’t come out fast enough, having shared a clip late last year ahead of what should have been a holiday release. But, as always, things take time, effort, and patience. And six months into the year, it all finally pays off, showcasing eight minutes of fast-paced storytelling and great fight choreography by Nguyen, lead actor and co-choreographer Jeffery Griffith, and actor and performer Mickey […]

Reel Time: KENNY WONG (2014)

Lee B. Golden III

Having first landed my sights on the West coast for all things related to action films and stunts, it’s still pretty cool to know that there are some folks who share my interests here on the upper East, including actor and stuntman, Kenny Wong. And this week, Wong has taken to the internet to showcase his latest reel. So, I spoke to him for a little bit this week, and I asked him what he enjoys most about performing stunts on camera. “I never stop training and learning new things in life,” he says. “I am much more aware about myself and being more assertive to improving myself as a person. And I don’t mean it in just the physical way. I’ve learned so much through the martial way, acrobatics, and stunts that it reflects back to my every day life that it grounds me. Sure it’s fun and I […]

CBR Stunts Goes Parkour In A New 'Watch Dogs' Fan Film

Lee B. Golden III

I’m not a part of the gaming culture so video games are a bit alien to me these days. But I do take notice when fans of certain franchises come out of the woodwork to put together some of the most amazing and inspired fan-attributed projects ever to hit the internet. One such case is Ubisoft’s new action adventure game, Watch Dogs, and independent filmmaker Devin Graham has delivered his own inspired take on the popular upcoming product with a brand new parkour-enfused shortfilm now available on his YouTube channel in the embed below. Featuring freerunners Chris Romrell and Robert Bennett of CBR Stunt Team with comedic actor and YouTube personality Craig Benzine, the new shortfilm was shot on location in Chicago where the actual game takes place. The cinematography is excellent and smooth, and presents a great look at some incredible parkour work done by the performers, especially when […]