This week’s Hit List load is choc-filled with goodies; there was one that I absolutely LOVED and if you’re a fan of Star Wars, Batman and Marvel, you’re going to be absolutely fulfilled by what you’re about to see. Ah, and there is music too!
That said, crack a bag of good eats open and put this playlist below on full screen, because it only gets more spectacular by the end. Team Cascade’s own Ben Milord kicks things off with his newest stunt reel followed by that of Kendall Wells thereafter (more on him later), and other reels from Lauren Okadigbo, Lang Yip, Jayden Irving, Damien Buffard, Jerry T. Adams, Korey Fackler, Mike Needham and Geoff Samuels. The list completes itself with two solid fight choreography reels from Peter Berube and the one and only Philip Silvera!
Next up is a series of still, some of which have already gone public. The first is a small handful of shots from Bat In The Sun’s next episode of Superpower Beatdown that pits Joker and Harley Quinn against Deadpool and Domino. The second batch comes from a shortfilm featuring action actress and stuntwoman Toy Lei and West Empire Production’s own Lovel Johnson Jr. among the cast in Boxer, and there are no two ways about it…there will be some boxing!; Word is that Boxer is still being circulated in festivals so there won’t be any open releases any time soon, but when it does, it will be a part of Hit List history yet!
Now that we’ve settled things above, it’s about to get a lot more bloody and brutal. Several test fights are now online, and with the great pleasure of watching many of these filmed with impressive quality and creativity, starting with Fight Factory’s latest, Five Directors with each performer directing a short action sequence between two of its members at a time. Other short videos featured beneath come from Jaze Phuaductions with Yan KayKay demonstrating a la Guy Ritchie how to stop a rapist, Wolf Stunts’ own David Conk lending his own etiquette lesson in a Transporter-inspired fan fight, indie company West Empire Productions‘s new ensemble four-way fight, Rising Tiger‘s own Leroy Nguyen’s latest attempt to goad Daniel Sim in a new test fight, stuntmen Taylor Tai and Yusuf Ahmed workin’ it for the lens under Reel Deal Action’s own Tanay Genco Ulgen, indie actioner Darren Holmquist’s own upload of a key fight sequence in the 2014 webseries, Disavowed (series link in the description) and Leo Kei Angelos’s latest get together with actress Bonnie von Duyke for vampire huntress concept, Fury.
Finally, we now get into some longer format items on the Hit List, and the first comes by way of a 2011 collaboration between Thousand Pounds and producer Jace Hall in a concept video that pits FCSyndicate familiar, action actress Amy Johnston against seven other performers. Johnston’s performace caliber is widely known among netizens for a similar video that has gained sheer virility in the last few years and became the ultimate precursor amid a growing career in stunt performance that has since led to her forthcoming debut lead role in director Chris Nahon’s upcoming Lady Bloodfight. In that respect, clearly this is one video that does Johnston justice! (To note, yes. That would also be her in the stills above as Harley Quinn)
The next video you’re about to see features Kendall Wells (see above) in a hard-hitting hitman comedy short, Apt. 29. Some of that footage is in Wells’s reel but is also available in full below with actress Sara Warner who plays the kind of girlfriend who will defend you with her life…even long after the break-up! Isn’t that sweet?
Apt. 29 is the first of several projects to come from director and fight coordinator Luke LaFontaine’s War Studios and it’s Warner’s action debut after two years of hard work and training leading up to what she hopes will be an open door toward more action-packed projects like it with fellow stunt professionals watching. It’s well worth the view below, and the laughs that follow.
Alright, time to get musicky for just a little bit! Winding down this leg of the Hit List is more content from filmmaker Bryan Sloyer in yet another poetic testament to art in multiple forms. Joining Jerry Quill and actress and stuntwoman and musician, 2013 interview subject Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, Music Man is the name of this latest gem, and hitting all the right notes…in the face. Hard. And speaking of Quill, he also joins a flurry of fellow fallguys in singer Lord Huron’s music video, Fool For Love, which aired back in March.
And lastly, Hollywood stunt and fight coordinator Larnell Stovall is back and making the rounds with an interesting concept video surrounding Image Comics publication, Romp. It’s a bit of a throwback to when Stovall’s earlier time at 87Eleven granted him an opportunity to apply this concept and turn it into workable action choreography with stuntman Christopher Brewster on hand as the title character – an armless crimefighter. As you’re about to see, the video speaks for itself, and this is something that could awesomely do well for a series or a film with the right people. Check it out and judge for yourself, oh, and CLICK HERE here to get to know Brewster while you’re at it. He’s a pretty big deal.
Last week’s Hit List was pretty epic too, so if I were you, I’d make note of it. In the meantime, you’re also better off subscribing to these channels above for more excellent goods to come, and if you happen to be a QUALITY content creator yourself and wish to host on the Hit List, email us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.