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I am a few days late on this one but ahead of the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (out on 4th September), we have for you the very funny music video from David Hasselhoff and some special guests for the track Guardians Inferno which has been hailed as a galactic retro dance party. The music video will also feature on the Blu-ray bonus features. Check out the greatness below! and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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Already a major hit in China, action blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 topped the worldwide box office in its opening weekend and has broken several records. It also became the fastest Chinese film to break the one billion yuan (£113m) benchmark, reaching this in 85 hours. Written, directed by and starring action prodigy Wu Jing, 2015’s Wolf Warrior was a surprise hit and boasted slick, epic and cinematic action. Now, the sequel brings a fresh flavour with world class stunts and choreography from 87Eleven Action Design, the veteran Hollywood stunt team behind John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Captain America: Civil War. This huge success has cemented Wu Jing’s reputation as a force, and filmmaker, to be reckoned with. To coincide with the UK release of Wolf Warrior 2, we look back at some of Wu Jing's best action roles which helped define his star power... Tai Chi Boxer (1996) This modern genre classic is helmed by Hong Kong action legend, Yuen Woo-ping (Once Upon a Time in China, The Matrix), who first spotted our young star. The story follows a martial artist (Wu Jing) inspired by his heroic father to combat the violence of an opium-smuggling ring and win the girl of his dreams, if only it were that easy! Calling on his years of training and time spent as a member of the Beijing Wushu Team, Wu Jing dominates the screen and shares a now-famous showdown with late, great British martial arts actor Darren Shahlavi (Ip Man 2), which reportedly took 16 days to film SPL (2005) A critically acclaimed, action-packed thriller from director Wilson Yip (Ip Man trilogy). Boasting an all-star cast, a straight-arrow detective (Donnie Yen) reluctantly teams with a group of rogue cops to bring down a notorious Triad boss (Sammo Hung). Wu Jing plays Sammo's ruthless assassin and shares a tense, brutal fight in an alley with Donnie, which many consider a real highlight from both stars' careers. Fatal Contact (2006) Giving the fight tournament formula an Eastern twist, naive and penniless Olympic champion (Wu Jing) agrees to try his hand on the illegal fight circuit to support his girlfriend. Thinking he can earn a fast buck and leave, he is drawn deeper underground until he can summon the courage to fight back. With tough action choreographed by Nicky Li from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, Wu Jing trained hard to prepare for his role, received injuries and even said, at the time, it was his toughest work to date. Invisible Target (2007) From popular director Benny Chan (New Police Story), Invisible Target is an exhilarating, fast-paced action thriller showcasing a younger generation of action stars. A group of cops from different backgrounds (Nicolas Tse, Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue) unite to bring down a gang of mercenaries led by a ruthless boss (Wu Jing). The cast, well known for their physical skills, were requested to perform all of their own action and stunts throughout filming, adding to the authenticity. Fatal Move (2008) In a powerful criminal empire, a Triad boss (Sammo Hung), his troubled brother (Simon Yam) and lethal hit man (Wu Jing) work to systematically unravel their enemies, both inside and outside the organisation. Cue plenty of hard-hitting violence and gutsy action. The film presented a wealth of veteran genre stars across its cast, arguably one of the best ensembles from a Hong Kong movie. According to Wu Jing, during fight rehearsals, Sammo would throw him friendly surprise moves to see how he would react. Despite these antics, they enjoy working together and have great mutual respect. Legendary Assassin (2008) As Wu Jing's first foray into filmmaking, he co-directed this movie with the Jackie Chan Stunt Team's Nicky Li. Combining martial arts, action and romance, as assassin (Wu Jing) inadvertently befriends a woman after his latest kill, not knowing she is a cop. Meanwhile, criminals descend on the quiet island community looking for revenge against the mysterious assassin. This also marked the screen debut of singer, songwriter and model Celina Jade (TV's Arrow, Skin Trade) who would later reunite with Wu Jing for Wolf Warrior 2. Wolf Warrior (2015) A big box office hit in China, the first Wolf Warrior made an impact with Western fans too, a fun throwback to larger-than-life 1980's action cinema. A loose cannon special forces soldier (Wu Jing) is confronted by a group of deadly foreign mercenaries hired to assassinate him by a vicious drug lord. In the martial arts and ballistic carnage, Wu Jing goes toe-to-toe with the mercenary leader, played by Brit action star Scott Adkins (Undisputed 2-4, The Expendables 2). Writing, directing and starring in the film, it proved to be Wu Jing's most ambitious work yet. SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015) A name-only sequel to Wilson Yip's gritty original, SPL II takes an entirely new story with returning cast members Wu Jing and Simon Yam (Election) playing different characters, plus new cast additions Tony Jaa (Ong Bak) and Max Zhang (Ip Man 3). Combining a tight script with great action, and the cops and criminal themes of classic Hong Kong cinema, the film was well received by fans and critics alike. Wolf Warrior 2 (2017) Following the success of the original, this proved to be an even bigger hit, breaking global box office records. Reviving the character with a fresh new story, the heroic 'Wolf Warrior' hopes to settle into a quiet life by the sea. But after he crosses paths with a new band of mercenaries, overseen by a volatile and sadistic leader (Frank Grillo, Warrior, Captain America: Civil War), he must reaffirm his duty as a soldier and put an end to the terrorizing of innocent civilians. As the action movie event of the year, Wolf Warrior 2 is a must-see for genre fans and hopefully marks more to come from this exciting franchise. Cine Asia and CMC Pictures presents Wolf Warrior 2 in selected cinemas now For tickets and showtimes head to: ODEON website here Genre staple Tracey Birdsall gives an intergalactic performance in the Neil Johnson helmed Rogue Warrior : Robot Fighter. What goes into making a successful indie sci-fi movie? Tracey fills us in!
In a few words, what’s the film about? ROGUE WARRIOR: ROBOT FIGHTER, out August 15 on VOD, is a Science Fiction film set in the distant future depicting the overthrow of humanity by artificial intelligence on Earth and other worlds. Always been a fan of the genre? Most definitely. Have you discovered any unlikely fans or segments that you didn’t count on? It’s been surprising to me when people come out and tell me that they are fans of my work now, as there’s the likely and unlikely fan base. There’s an actor that I’m a huge fan of his work (an Oscar winner), whose wife came up to me at a local restaurant and told me that her husband is a huge fan. It’s kind of surreal. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, but it was very unpredictable. How important are reviews to you? I think they’re important for the distributor marketing the film. This particular film, the reviews have been pretty awesome. There are a couple of them (major outlets) who dissed the film, but in their Vimeo stats they didn’t even watch the movie. They probably watched the trailer or something, but we were very tight on screener links so that we could judge the statistics – it was really quite interesting. I took screen grabs of their “lack of viewing” on Vimeo and sent them to the editors of the sites, who did nothing. That’s their bad karma. Now it’s all in the hands of the distributor – I’m too busy to police that stuff. Besides what it’ll do for your career, are there any standouts involved in the film that you believe will see a real career boost from being involved in it? Several of the actors are already talented names working in film and TV (Daz Crawford, Stephen Manley, William Kircher), but Sci-Fi shows a new side to already established actors – it can really open doors. I hope that the whole cast gets a boost from it, as they all really did an excellent job. Even Tony Gibbons, who voiced Hoagland, now he was a real find! Have doors opened for you as a result of it? It’s too early on to really judge the exact impact on my career, but I’ve been shooting on the next two Sci-Fi’s, so that’s a good sign! I’m not exactly trying to look around the corner or in the future… I’m focused on the now and just putting out the best work that I can. Would you compare the storyline to anything we’ve seen in earlier films? Anything you can say is an intentional homage? Other people have compared it to many other things, but it was intentionally made to stand on it’s own. Ironically, many of the films it’s been compared to are films neither of us has seen! Has it all gone according to plan for you? Anything you’ll do differently next time around? It’s actually all gone according to plan…! What’s ahead for you? It’s going to be a very exciting year, as The Time War – an epic time travel movie we’ve been working on for years – will be released in another 4-6 months (that’s a guess of course.) It’s really been an exciting journey, as we knew it had to be even bigger and more epic than Rogue Warrior… The Director (Neil Johnson) has really outdone himself on this one! Brett DeJager talks up his fun new horror jaunt Bonejangles, now out on VOD from Wild Eye Releasing!
In a few words, what’s the film about? A group of poorly trained cops try to escort an unstoppable serial killer to an asylum when their van brakes down in a cursed town where the dead rise once a year. Always been a fan of the genre? Absolutely! I grew up watching cheesy sci-fi and b-horror movies with my mom. My love for horror movies has only grown over the years. Have you discovered any unlikely fans or segments that you didn’t count on? I am very pleasantly surprised at how much love Juice Lad is getting. We took a roll with this character and Brian Hoesing really smashed it out of the park with his performance. How important are reviews to you? I don’t think I’ve ever read a movie review before getting into filmmaking. I still don’t read reviews for any movies except my own. Having said that, I like to think I have thick skin because there are always people that will tear your stuff apart. And that’s OKAY. I want people to enjoy my movies, but I know not everybody will. Besides what it’ll do for your career, are there any standouts involved in the film that you believe will see a real career boost from being involved in it? I’ve said this since day one but the talent of this cast was above anything I could have expected or deserve to have worked with. Their performances saved my bacon numerous times during production when we were running behind schedule and they just nailed their delivery on every take. They made my job easy. So I’m hoping each one of these talented actors gets what they deserve…. And that’s a ton more actor work! Have doors opened for you as a result of it? I think so… maybe? I’ve been trying to network my tail off for the past few years but Bonejangles has finally given me something to really throw around. I’m hoping it will open doors for me though. Otherwise.. I’ll just keep trying to bust them down myself. Would you compare the storyline to anything we’ve seen in earlier films? Anything you can say is an intentional homage? Hm… that’s really a tough question because nothing comes to mind right away. I think that’s why I really loved the script when I first read it. My mind didn’t wander to another movie that I’ve seen… it started creating something new. In terms of homages, there are a ton of them in Bonejangles…. F13, Halloween, Evil Dead, Dale & Tucker vs. Evil…. Insert the blank. If you loved….. you’ll love my movie. If you loved Dale & Tucker vs. Evil you’ll love my movie! Has it all gone according to plan for you? Anything you’ll do differently next time around? Yes & No. We set out to make a complete horror movie and we accomplished that. We set out to make a horror movie that horror fans would enjoy… and I believe we have accomplished that as well. Next time around? I’m going to have a bigger budget! (I think that’s what every filmmaker wants…) So… if there are any money men or women out there reading this interview… contact me! Bonejangles II is dying to be made! What’s ahead for you? I directed a segment for each of the upcoming horror anthologies, 10/31 by Rocky Gray, and Cryptids by Zane Hershberger, Justin Seaman, and P.J. Starks. Those anthologies are going to be a ton of fun so make sure to keep your eyes out for them! Those guys have a ton of talent. In terms of feature length projects, I’m hoping to direct Tis’ the Season of the Witch sometime next year if I can secure funding. I’ve been laying the groundwork for that movie for the past few years and it has an amazing script behind it. I’d basically do anything to get that movie made! AND of course Bonejangles II... hopefully we’ll get to see a lot more Bonejangles in the future. Plenty of projects ready to be made! Megan Freels Johnston, writer-director of The Ice Cream Truck, talks about the horror film fans are comparing her August 18 release to, doors that are opening as a result of the well-received thriller, and what’s ahead. In a few words, what’s the film about? The Ice Cream Truck is a horror/ psychological thriller about a woman who’s in a limbo period in her life. Her youth is far behind her but she’s not quite middle aged. She moves back to her hometown, into a new house prior to her family’s arrival. So she’s alone for several days for the first time in a long time. She’s thrust into a strange new environment with nosey neighbours, predatory men and a strange Ice Cream Man. The combination of boredom, the need for some excitement and wanting to reclaim her youth, leads her to a whole host of bad decisions. Although this film has some slasher elements, it is a psychological thriller above all and a character piece. I don’t think films should have to be put into any kind of box. Even within the horror genre. Always been a fan of the genre? I love the horror genre and I have since I was very young. However, I don’t like super gory films or films that are too disturbing. I like suspense and the horror films that take their time. To me, suspense is often more effective than the reveal. Have you discovered any unlikely fans or segments that you didn’t count on? I would say the response to this film has far exceeded my expectations. Most of the reviews have been glowing. I think those fans who want nothing but blood and gore in their horror films will likely not enjoy this film. The horror fans that can appreciate that horror comes in all shapes and sizes, and those that like to be challenged, will love this film. The people who get it seem to REALLY get it. The people who have not liked the film, I think maybe they were just looking at it at face value. How important are reviews to you? Reviews are very important to me. I appreciate all reviews. This being my second film, I am no stranger to this process. The only reviews I don’t like are ones that bash films. I think reviewers should be educated in film and try to speak objectively about what they liked and didn’t like. I don’t think reviewers should sound similar to internet trolls, or else how will we be able to distinguish between the two? At the end of the day, art is subjective and everyone has the right to their own opinion. I would rather have a polarizing film, than a forgettable one. Besides what it’ll do for your career, are there any standouts involved in the film that you believe will see a real career boost from being involved in it? People have really loved the score for this film. It has been a showcase in the film. And of course Deanna Russo is incredible. I think she really shines and she carries the whole movie, which is no easy task. Emil Johnsen is equally excellent and his part was a very difficult part to execute the right way. He is equally menacing and tongue-in-cheek. Have doors opened for you as a result of it? I think it will open doors, yes. I am just proud that the film has been such a stand-out to most of the reviewers. People for the most part really like that we have given a different voice in a genre that is so dominated by men. There aren’t that many female-centric stories that aren’t littered with clichés. This is a very real and relatable story, about a woman who happens to be in age range that is often forgotten by the film industry. Would you compare the storyline to anything we’ve seen in earlier films? Anything you can say is an intentional homage? There are no homages at all. But I am a big fan of horror from the 60s and 70s, so I’m sure that comes through. I love Roman Polanski, Hitchcock, Dario Argento, Carpenter and David Lynch. Those are the types of filmmakers whose work compels me. They are masters of composition. They are fully invested in every aspect of a film. It shows in their artistry. Insert the blank. If you loved ….. you’ll love my movie. I would never say that. But the film is being compared to Halloween a lot. Mostly in terms of style. Has it all gone according to plan for you? Anything you’ll do differently next time around? Things are never exactly how you plan, but I would say this film has exceeded my expectations. The reaction to the film has been really strong. It seems to remind people of what it was like to be young in the suburbs in the summer, when you were free of responsibility and trouble was in the air. I guess you would respond more if that was your experience growing up. What’s ahead for you? My next film is called Hunting Season. It’s more of a straight horror/thriller about trophy hunters. I hope to shoot it next year. It’s kind of like Get Out meets Psycho. Bad Frank, currently racing up the charts, is pummelling a lot of the indie horror-thriller competition at the moment. We got the lowdown on the project, and what’s next, from filmmaker Tony Germinario.
In a few words, what’s the film about? The film is about a guy with impulse control disorder. He messed up all his relationships when he was young, but now that he’s older, he’s medicated, he’s married, and he’s trying to make everything right. But just as he reconnects with his family, he runs into an old boss and all hell breaks loose. Always been a fan of the genre? Absolutely. I love psychological thriller/horror films. I like gore horror films too, but when you can mess with somebody’s mind? That’s just awesome. Have you discovered any unlikely fans or segments that you didn’t count on? Yeah, when we made the film we really didn’t think straight up horror fans would jump on like they have. Horror fans are the most rabid fans out there so the fact that they have taken to BAD FRANK is fucking great. I’ve met so many of them over the last few months and they’re very supportive. I can’t thank them enough. How important are reviews to you? Eh. Getting a good review is great and it helps the film. But you’re going to get all types of reviews no matter how good or bad your film is. I try and look at everything constructively. No film is perfect. There’s always something you could do better or different, so if someone hated my film, at least it’s a response. I’ll listen to it, and maybe learn something from it. What I hate are the trolls that just trash your film, and it’s clear they haven’t even watched it. Besides what it’ll do for your career, are there any standouts involved in the film that you believe will see a real career boost from being involved in it? I’d say most of the cast. I can’t say Sizemore needs a boost, because he’s Tom Freaking Sizemore, but Kevin Interdonato was the biggest standout. He drove the film. But Russ, Brandon, Amanda, Lynn; they all did terrific jobs. Every main actor in the film won at least one award on the festival circuit which is amazing. Actually, Lynn Mancinelli, who plays Crystal in the film, is starring in my next which we’re starting next week. Have doors opened for you as a result of it? It’s let me meet a lot of great people. I’m kind of outside of the Hollywood machine, so I’m not really sure how industry people view me or the film. I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully make films that people can sink their teeth into. That’s more important to me. Would you compare the storyline to anything we’ve seen in earlier films? Anything you can say is an intentional homage? Not in particular, no. I’m just a film fan in general, so people can probably find a lot of little homages in there that weren’t intentional. I should have put me Hitchcock moment in there and walked across the screen, looked into the camera, but I’ll leave that to the professionals. Insert the blank. If you loved….. you’ll love my movie. Wow. That’s a good one. I’m going to go with Seven. If only for the fact that I love that movie and it’s super intense. Has it all gone according to plan for you? Anything you’ll do differently next time around? I’d say 90% according to plan. There’s always something you take away from a film. I think I’d do a little more with scoring on the next one. Maybe change a few things here and there, but that’s all part of the movie magic. What’s ahead for you? Next week, I start filming a new feature called THE PRICE FOR SILENCE. It’s a psychological rape revenge story, and it stars Lynn Mancinelli who played Crystal in the last one. We put another great cast together including Richard Thomas, Kristin Carey, Dorothy Lyman, Emrhys Cooper, and Jon McCormick. If you liked BAD FRANK, you’re gonna love THE PRICE FOR SILENCE!!! |
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