team one take
MY ASIAN AUNTIE SEASON 2: YES AUNTIE! Star, Director Launches $10 Kickstarter With ‘Thank You’
The last several years have been great in getting to acquaint myself with filmmaker Joey Min and his team at Art School Dropouts. They’ve amassed multiple awards at festivals and continue to garner support from fans and viewers in a field that Min has been hustling in since long before when Team FistyleZ was a thing. Nowadays and with a rousing quintet of talents in collusion with some of the best of the best in the northeast, the team is on deck to finish up and release their first feature film in My Asian Auntie Season 2: Yes Auntie!.
MADE IN CHINATOWN Casts Newcomer Jay Kwon To Star
This update comes from left field for me, but the word now is that up-and-comer Jay Kwon has been cast for the lead role of Made In Chinatown, from Tambuli Media and R4 Films L.L.C.. Martial arts stalwart and filmmaker Art Camacho (Half Past Dead 2) will helm the martial arts mob comedy with venerable H.K.S.A. member Robert Samuels (The Red Wolf) serving as co-director in addition to producing and co-starring.
Kwon, who replaces actor and martial artist Alfred Hsing in a robust, last minute recast, will make his feature acting debut in the role of Vinny Chow, an underdog Asian American living New York City’s Chinatown. Chow’s biggest goal is to be with the girl of his dreams, Michelle (Michelle Procida), and so with the help of a ragtag group of friends and the aid of his wise Sifu, he will rise in the ranks of the Italian mafia and become a “Made” man to do it.
Kwon has cut his teeth in both online as well as mainstream TV production; With select stunt performance credits that partly include FX series Lucifer, Marvel’s The Punisher and Iron Fist, he has been an oft favorite here at our site having been featured in many a Hit List entry on Monday evenings with prolific appearances at Bryan Sloyer’s YouTube channel, Sloyerstunts, and even in a Lumix GH5-shot action short from director Sam KJ titled Unmasked which you can view here:
Kwon will be joined by a bevy of screenfighting talents for Made In Chinatown including premiere Puerto Rican martial arts action sensation José Manuel, in addition to the local stunt performance talents at Team One Take who will be intergral in coordinating the action. Shaw Bros. legend and Ip Man franchise co-star Lo Meng further adds to the list of heavy-hitters next to Emmy Award-winning action director James Lew (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Big Trouble In Little China, Timecop, The Perfect Weapon) and Hwang Jang Lee (Drunken Master, Magnificent Warriors, No Retreat, No Surrender II: Raging Thunder), as well as Eric Kovaleski and Chuck Zito (The Martial Arts Kid) and Grandmasters Norman Chin and Wai Hong to name a few.
Rounding out the cast of principles are Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore and Maureen Van Zandt, Goodfellas and upcoming Brawler co-stars Tony Darrow and Artie Pasquale, and actress Shuya Chang (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, Snakehead, Revenge of the Green Dragons). Screenwriter and magazine editor Mark V. Wiley wrote script and is executive producing.
THE BLACKER THE ‘BETTY’, THE SWEETER THE ‘HONEY’: A Word With Filmmaker Nicholas Ortiz And Dance Wunderkind, Actress Krystal “Honey” Pizarro
Apart from dance and choreography, Pizarro is now further residing her prospects with a casting agency to work her way up in entertainment. With any luck that will hopefully lead to more prominent roles with other directors and showrunners as time passes. At the end of the day however, she’s ardent about her continued support and exclusivity with Ortiz as long as he’s got his ship running at Deviant Children Productions or wherever he’s behind the lens. Being inspired to create and express herself through art is especially a plus.
THE HIT LIST: March 12, 2018
Starring are Terrell Southwind Bullock and Vanessa Bontea shepherding the villain end of things opposite Raymond Blong with Soria presenting the fight action with Luis Orlando Candelario. Samuel is rejoined by fellow film cohort Robert Jefferson in penning the narrative with Eng Andy, Alan Goldberg, Oso Tayari Casel and Dr. Mark Wiley serving as executive producers.
THE HIT LIST: June 12, 2017
Probably the best way I can sum up the gist of my weekend is that 76 years and current box office gross of more than $450 million dollars later, I would say that Patty Jenkins has earned her place at the helm of a Wonder Woman sequel and Warner Bros. would be wise to oblige.
On to other matters, however, it’s a new week which means it’s time for another installment of the Hit List. Kicking off the first playlist in this week’s stunt reel category is Umar Khan now out with a compilation video in celebration of his recent 35th birthday. Rounding out the playlist are Leon Ngo, Beni Alexander, Aaron Hakala, Joon Poore, Barret Coates, Heather Lynn, Nikki Stanley, Veto Swarn, Troy Butler and Li Qiang, with coordinator and choreography reels by Jennifer Badger and Joseph Roark.
There’s more fight stuff to come. For now though, we’re switching it up a bit with the latest from a talented filmmaker and performing artist I’ve always enjoyed since I began following him in 2014. Jordan Cann, hailing from Virginia and currently based in Atlanta, Georgia, brings creative gumption to the forefront of his latest endeavor, DeTour, shot in a robust, energetic, colorful miniseries of four inspired visuals host collectively to an eight-minute medley of music, martial arts and dance.
Cann is joined by Kia Dawn and Taye Amegboh, and the aesthetic of Atlanta’s varying backdrops and the musical sounds of Mario, Sean Paul, Tory Lanez, Matias Damasio, and Omarion.
Time to close the deal this week and with a raft of fight and shortfilm material beginning with new practice pieces from Eugenia Guryleva, Singapore-based JKHH Films, and the latest from Wildchild Gil Sanabria and Samuel Olmo in Survival Of The Fittest, followed by a trio oTekken-themed promotional videos featuring Cha-Lee Yoon, Phong Giang, Can Aydin and Dee Yoon for 20th Century Fox’s theatrical German release of the new martial arts comedy, Plan B: Scheiss Auf Plan A.
Fledging fight training-for-film company Screen Combat Guys is up on the roster this week with Tony Chong opposite Ricky Barksdale and Stephon Reynolds, an ample bookmark to help promote their current crowdfunding initiative for a bigger, greatly-needed studio in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York City (You can learn more about the group at their GoFundMe campaign page for info on how you can help).
Stunt player Igor Tjumenzev picks up the pace with a stimulating MegaMan fight concept at Impulse Action Design, while Gun Cho and Tin Dang play at the most epic Jenga fight you’ll ever see in your lifetime – courtesy of Art School Dropouts and their appreciation for Kung Fu Tea and Hector Soria brings Hong Kong action cinema and stunt stalwart, actor and martial artist Robert Samuels (Red Wolf, No Problem, Beast) to the frontlines in the action-packed cop shortfilm thriller, The Call.
Culimating the playlist is the first of two long-form shorts, and no less deserving of an obligatory reshare here for the Hit List with Dance Nocturnal’s own Six Carolino currently raising funds to expand the potential serial universe following Garrett Atkinson’s award-winning November 2016 short, Gauntlet Run: Origins. Per the Kickstarter, the money raised will be used to purchase new camera equipment, lights, and other technical necessities as well as fight weapons to be used in the new stunts for the ambitious new action comedy series. Click here to contribute and/or share accordingly.
Last and far from least is a video by an equally-inspired and fine group of people whose love and passion for dynamic stuntwork and Asian action cinema has apparently sent a few of them to the hospital in the wake of their latest shortfilm, Supreme Art Of War. The project debut last week on late Monday and I couldn’t add it then, so I’m adding it here as a matter of utmost certainty for its rightful place in the Hit List.
See that play button? Yep…Move on over and hit it!
The Hit List is an almost neverending stream of action-packed content from around the web and that string goes on from last week and the weeks and strings before it. Click here to take a gander and immerse yourself in the raw talent before you, and share the Hit List with friends and family.
The Hit List will be taking a break before returning on June 26, 2017, but don’t fret! We will still accept entries, and so as always, if you or someone you know has a stunt reel that needs to be seen to believed or deals in a quality and upscaling caliber of action on film deemably worthy of a spot in our weekly Hit List, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
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