…And of course, some of the most flourishing and talented performers to date, much like Tony who has contributed so much on a premier and debut level to the birth of a new generation of stunt players to date. For example: These fine people. ?
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 been making an extensive effort to do it all again ever since. Fast forward through 2014, and this is where it gets all kinds of weird and exciting for me, because this is the first time I’m including myself in a report of this nature.
I won’t delve too much into the details as I welcome all of you to read more about how the project came to fruition in the description of the video. But from the bottom of my heart, I am deeply thankful to have such a wonderful extended circle of taleneted acquaintances and friends with like-minded goals. I consider myself very fortunate this week. I am humbled to be included in such a project, and thankful to have inspired such a fine group like this one seen here. They did all the work, and as fans of the action genre, we owe these people our boundless support!
Subscribe to Rimburg‘s channel in the embed below, and stay tuned to Film Combat Syndicate for more exciting content to come!
If you have been tuning into Film Combat Syndicate, chances are you have had the good fortune of coming across some of the best independently made martial arts action short films and test fights to make our way in recent years and months. More importantly, action fans, particularly fans geared toward science fiction might have even caught The Stunt People’s own Eric Jacobus with his crowdpleasing Star Wars Go Pro lightsaber Vader Strikes project. Well, here and now in 2014, the trend continues with different players and a different vision as actor and martial artist Noah Fleder initiates the newest Indiegogo campaign for his own Star Wars fan-driven action channel, Force Storm Entertainment.
Fleder briefly spoke to Film Combat Syndicate late last year about his new project as things were still in development at the time. “I grew up as a HUGE Star Wars fan all starting with the ORIGINAL film (A New Hope) and I was hooked.” he says. “I started to get all of my friends from around my block as kids playing with lightsabers and nurf guns… and then I started to read the books and play the games. Now I feel like I have the friends and resources to make my own films within the Star Wars universe.” He then added, “Also I grew up backpacking, in the outdoors doing lots of martial arts as a child growing up, so that went hand in hand with my wild imagination as far as Star Wars goes.”.
As Fleder continues his journey into Force Storm Entertainment with the self-appointed task of writing, executive producing, co-coordinating and performing throughout, he won’t be alone, as he will be accompanied by some of the biggest and most impactful action performers to date, namely premier martial arts action aficionado and indepenent filmmaker Vlad Rimburg (pictured right). The two recently worked together on just a few projects last year, including producer Travis Wong’s original webseries The Hunt for the Flow YouTube channel, as well as Rimburg‘s Donnie Yen-inspired Special ID miniseries, and it’s easy to see why Fleder would choose such a great action choreographer like Rimburg in the first place. “His WILD imagination and creative process is why I love working with him.”, Fleder says of Rimburg. “His ability to capture the fighters skill on camera and develop great choreography is why I feel honored to have him apart of this project. I remember the first time I worked with him on The Hunt, he told me to think of a quick kick combination before Brendon Huor finished me in the fight. I asked him if I could do a double front kick to side kick combo in the air, and he didnt think I could do it. So he said ‘you get three shots…after that we move on.’ After my first successful attempt, he yelled ‘HELL YEA NOAH!! You can do it as many times as you want!!’”.
With filming to hopefully begin sometime this month, the ambitious new series will be aimed at illustrating varying storylines hosted with a number of fighting styles and philosophies emphasizing the use of The Force and lightsaber choreography as a whole, and will bring lead actress Mickey Facchinello on board along with Zero Gravity stunt impressario Tony Chu, and a reunion of several actors from The Hunt, including Brendon Huor, Yoshua Sudarso, Gui DaSilva and Jimmy Chhiu; That’s just for the first installment considering Fleder is hoping to do an entire series, which means future videos could very well include perfomers and actors from other teams around the country and possibly the world. But as with all things in film, this can only happen with your donation.
So if you want to see some more Jedi and Sith muscle in your martial arts entertainment and you believe in what Fleder and Rimburg have to offer, then head on over to the official Force Storm Entertainment Indiegogo page to view Fleder‘s campaign video, a list of who the selected performers listed so far with links to their respective work, and the perks with which you can benefit from your donation, and much more!
Also, be sure to LIKE the official Facebook fan page for Force Storm Entertainment as a further show of your support. And as always, may the force be with you!
Coming off of a busy summer of online action hits like the explosive miniseries, The Hunt, this week’s latest gem comes courtesy of independent filmmaker and action director Vlad Rimburg‘s new online miniseries, Right-Handed. Based on an original concept by actor and professional screenfighter Gui DaSilva, the project was a year in the making, taking Rimburg into a vision that is quite different than most of us have seen over the years, briefly bringing indie action performer Tyler Williams on board with DaSilva and actor and fellow veteran indie action star Tony Chu.
As always, Rimburg single-handedly (see what I did there?) gets the job done delivering innovative fight choreography with DaSilva and Chu, shown in the blisteringly powerhouse performances by the two actors. Today’s release also grants the gift of seeing Chu back in action, being a member of the premiere action team that started the worldwide culture of independent Hong Kong-stylized martial arts filmmaking, Zero Gravity.
Chu will also be seen alongside DaSilva and Rimburg in the upcoming ensemble independent feature action thriller, director Dennis Ruel’s Unlucky Stars, so stay tuned for more info.
To inquire about Chu‘s personal photography services, visit TonyChu.com.