Todor Chapkanov

BLACK LOTUS Review: Rico Verhoeven’s Inaugural DTV Action Star Moment Tests The Waters

Black Lotus will be available on Digital Download beginning June 19 in the UK from Strike Media. If you’re like me and never knew who Todor Chapkanov was until seven years ago apart from his lengthy resumè, you can almost imagine the excitement that the man who delivered what currently sits as the final entry in the Undisputed franchise was well on his way up with another feature actioner to entice fans. Enter world-class kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven in his first feature film role for a package that now brings us Black Lotus. Added to the mix is a script by Tad Daggerhart who now sits among the credited scribes of Expend4bles, which ought to draw some more relevancy to this newest chase thriller inspired by the likes of Taken and Man On Fire. Thus, the concept itself is simple enough and therefore marketable and easy to understand on a […]

BLACK LOTUS: Don’t Miss The Official Trailer For Rico Verhoeven’s Feature Debut Action Thriller Ahead Of Its NL Release!

Lee B. Golden III

If you’re as new to the trailer below as I am then consider yourselves happily reminded of the awesomeness ahead that is action thriller, Black Lotus. The film stars eleven-time world champion kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in his feature acting debut from a script by Tad Daggerhart and directed by Todor Chapkanov. In Black Lotus, Verhoeven plays the role of special forces officer Matteo Donner. After his best friend died while on a joint mission, he roamed the world struggling with guilt. Back in Amsterdam he ends up in a one-man war in the streets and on the canals of the city. Between explosions, flying bullets and crashing cars, Donner has only one goal: to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his dead friend. That’s the description per the film’s announcement mid-production. I first caught wind of this project from a source close to it and was left in the dark for […]

BLACK LOTUS: Frank Grillo Toplines New Action Thriller From ‘Boyka: Undisputed’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Principal photography has just begun on action thriller Black Lotus, according to production notices sent out on Friday. Todor Chapkanov (Viking Quest, Boyka: Undisputed 4, 2nd unit for The Hitman’s Bodyguard, The Expendables 4) will direct a cast headed up by Frank Grillo (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Copshop, Boss Level) opposite eleven-time world Dutch kickboxing champion and lead actor Rico Verhoeven (Kickboxer: Retaliation, Netxlix series “Undercover”) Penned by Tad Daggerhart (The Expendables 4), Black Lotus sees Verhoeven in the role of special forces officer Matteo Donner. After his best friend dies while on a joint mission, he roams the world struggling with guilt. Once back in Amsterdam, he ends up in a one-man war in the streets and on the canals of the city. Between explosions, flying bullets and crashing cars, Donner has only one goal: to rescue the kidnapped daughter of his dead friend. Cameras are rolling in the […]

Scott Adkins: I Think The Undisputed Movie Franchise Is ‘Done And Dusted’

Lee B. Golden III

The Undisputed movie franchise, as it stands, is officially over according to Scott Adkins in an interview in with The Action Elite contributor Matthew Essary on Monday. The actor had previously expressed the desire for a fifth film even as the franchise, which began in 2002 and continued with Adkins opposite Michael Jai White in 2006, suffered due to rampant piracy. The subject arose near the end of the interview when Essary asked for updates on the film franchise. “I’ll never say never, but those films, they suffered with piracy,” says the martial arts star. “The reason those films are so good is that we do have enough shooting days to make them good because that company knows how to make good films. They don’t want to do them on the cheap.” Piracy was especially an issue following the release of Undisputed 3: Redemption. Development on fourth languished and production […]

A Case For Better Action Movies…Or Why We Don’t Deserve Another Sequel After BOYKA: UNDISPUTED 4

Lee B. Golden III

Director Todor Chapkanov’s latest feature-length affair, Boyka: Undisputed 4, isn’t exactly the kind that would get the big screen treatment in North America. Elsewhere? Perhaps. Not so much here though, and it’s a shame as it was still a hope of mine that I shared as a theatergoer, albeit understandable with a limited number of screens at the least considering how rare it is to see martial arts movies these days, and of the caliber they bare in talent and content. I take this fact to mind in observing the career progression of martial arts star, actor Scott Adkins, once a stuntman and someone who has essentially woven himself into ample popularity as an action-capable actor, and with his biggest audience keen on major martial arts fanfare. It’s a succession that has not been easy – one plagued by the ever-continued proliferation of piracy that causes films like Adkins’s latest […]

BOYKA: UNDISPUTED 4 Comes Home On August 1

Lee B. Golden III

Todor Chapkanov is the last person I think anyone would have expected to be attached to any of the Undisputed films following up from director Isaac Florentine’s work in recent memory. That being said, the trailers that have been circling online and early reviews of the new movie, Boyka: Undisputed 4, have been nothing short of approving following its out-of-phase release in Sweden and subsequent release in France this year. Well, North America is next on the rollout front and we have a brief new trailer from Universal Pictures to mark the occassion. The high-octane action series Undisputed is back with BOYKA: UNDISPUTED 4. Scott Adkins is Boyka, the most complete fighter in the world, a man looking for his shot to fight for a championship belt. After he accidentally kills an opponent in the ring, Boyka reaches out to the fallen opponent’s wife. But when the wife gets kidnapped […]

BOYKA: UNDISPUTED Takes You Ringside For Brutal, Head-Bashing Sneak Peek!

Lee B. Golden III

You love martial arts movies. In some capacity or another, you love them. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading this article discussing the upcoming next succession of the underground fighting saga, Boyka: Undisputed, starring genre favorite and Marvel’s Doctor Strange co-star, actor Scott Adkins, someone who, by far, deserves the best shots at even bigger action movies in the months and years to come. Todor Chapkanov sits at the helm for this latest feat with Isaac Florentine taking a producer role this time around after directing two of the four films – both with Adkins in the iconic role that has become so prolific among martial arts fans. You know, like you. And with the film having finished its most recent run at Fantastic Fest last month, the reactions have been nothing short of positive and supportive. On that note, hopefully fans, you know, like you, will equate that […]

BOYKA: UNDISPUTED Sounds Off With A New Post-Production Sneak Peak

Lee B. Golden III

Goodness…it feels like forever since we first caught the trailer for Scott Adkins vehicle, Boyka: Undisputed. By far it’s one of this year’s most-hyped titles and a release date is yet to be revealed while the film itself remains in post production with director Todor Chapkanov at the helm and Isaac Florentine producing. In the meantime, a little taste of something is better than nothing and so now we’re getting a sneak peak into the film by way of a new featurette with re-recording mixer Gord Hillier and supervising sound editor Kris Casavant hailing from Nu Boyana Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria. For this, you get an action-packed intro followed by an intriguing look into the complex sound design process using Avid Pro Tools | S6 control surface, and another quick sampler at the intensely shot fight finale between Adkins and hulking actor and bodybuilder Martyn Ford. Take a look below!

Watch The New Knockout Trailer For BOYKA: UNDISPUTED

Lee B. Golden III

Martial arts action star Scott Adkins (Close Range)is ready to face the odds once more in the next installment of the Undisputed franchise, Boyka: Undisputed. It took a trailer teaser late last year to whet the appetites some for fans around the world while the new film had been slow to pass since Undisputed 3: Redemption fell to the woes of film piracy. Action cinema favorite Isaac Florentine is back once more, but interestingly in the producer’s chair this time with Todor Chapkanov at the helm following a slew of sci-fi and horror dTV and film credits to his name. Sure, it’s a different name we see, but this shouldn’t have much of an effect on the film’s delivery with a cast of action actors and fight choreographer Tim Man rejoining Adkins since Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear, for a film that looks like it lives up to the solid […]