Another week has begun, and thus, a new installation of the Hit List has arrived. I think we’re hitting sort of a dry spell at this point…it wouldn’t be the first time though, and yes, I came prepared.
Kicking off the Hit List is another round of demo reel jewels from around the web by way of stunt players such as Natalie Diaz, Chris Romrell, Bryan Cartago, Tally Rodin, Elizabeth Carpenter, Nate Mitchell, Tyler Street, Delyan Dimitrov, Chris Schmidt Jr., Niahlah Hope, Nik Pelekai, Justin Craigen, Adair Moran, Eric Cullet, Travis Statton-Marrero, James S. Gonzalez, David Cheung, and King Of Kung Fu‘s latest tribute reel to the legendary and death-defying feats of one of old school Hong Kong action cinema’s finest, actress and icon Moon Lee.
Onward now to the latest trailers going viral, and first up with actor and indie toku purveyor, filmmaker Bueno whose latest effort, Strega, remains pending. In the meantime, Strega‘s predecessor, Japan’s gun-toting, raunchy, alcoholic, fornicating and foul-mouthed indie suit hero, Gun Caliber, is now scheduled for webseries availability beginning on October 11 following its long-awaited feature film production with limited YouTube screenings hosted by Bueno himself.
Following that is a trailer that began circulating last week for the new shortfilm, The Escape, since its announcement two weeks ago. Actor Clive Owen makes his return to the role of the driver for this latest installation of BMW Films’s “The Hire” shortfilm series, now joined by director Neill Blomkamp with Dakota Fanning, Vera Farmiga and Jon Bernthal also starring.
The Escape premieres exclusively at BMWFilms.com on October 23 at 6:00pm EST.
Getting back into the fighting thick of things, here’s a playlist that has some meat to it, starting off with an anniversarial showcase of a test fight I wrote about two years ago today featuring stuntwomen Natalie Padilla and Tamiko Brownlee, courtesy of action director Aaron Toney. The playlist continues with some new practice action gems from the good folks over at Distinctive Light Entertainment, followed by a pair of test fights with a little MMA and drunken brawling over at Kyle Murillo‘s Youtube channel and a sweet new video showcasing some camera test action by way of stunt players making use of the great space over at 87 Eleven Action Design gym in Inglewood. Following that is a two-minute interlude of weaponry and fisticuffs by Micah Karns and Bryan Sloyer with Emmanuel Manzanares lensing, as well as a late find for me over at martial artist and stuntman Aaron Gassor‘s YouTube channel with Marvel’s Deadpool and Blade. Rounding out the playlist is a cool new character short featuring Ruby of the fantasy action quartet, RWBY, ahead of Rooster Teeth’s Volume 4 premiere of the hit show on October 22, and a sprawling distopian new tactical action short, Devious Ethics from Slim Reaction and Wildchild Development Inc.!
There’s nothing recent in longer-form content for this week’s shortfilm, so we’re somewhat out of luck. However, it doesn’t exclude what’s to be expected from Marriott Content Studio, the film branch behind a string of shortfilms as per its marketing campaign for the popular hotel and resort chain. Actors William Spencer and Caine Sinclair have been partly central in these efforts as well, joined by their own over at movement arts film and stunt company, SubOverHype for two Marriott-produced shorts, Two Bellmen and Two Bellmen Two – about two heroic bellmen who find themselves taking on rip-roaring adventures and obstacles around the world.
With Vegas and Dubai in their belt, their next adventure lies in Seoul for Two Bellmen Three following its announcement over the summer. Maze Runner trilogy co-star Ki Hong Lee and Girl’s Generation’s own, k-pop idol Jessica Jung join the cast for a premiere date now pending, while you’re more than welcome to catch up with, if not revisit the first two installments of the Two Bellmen shortfilm trilogy already online. Thirty-five minutes of action, comedy and spectacle, and all the more reason to put a good word in for a Two Bellmen featur
Subscribe to the channels and be sure to take a gander at last week’s plentiful jewels of online action and stunt content. And, if you or someone you know has a kick-ass action, martial arts or stunt demo reel, a cool new shortfilm or some polished screenfighting they would like to see featured in our weekly Hit List, hit us up at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
