After we spent a week at 87eleven, Alvin Hsing and I came away with this video to show what came of our efforts - a pre-viz (choroegraphed and shot rough version) for the final knife fight in A Good Day to Die Hard (that's Die Hard #5). The scene called for McClane to face off against [...]
United States
The Running Man Still Predicted An Optimistic Future
onIn The Running Man the future is depicted as an authoritarian police state with a broken economy. When our man Richards (Schwarzenegger) faces airport security and has no travel pass, he rummages through his bag until a line of anxious tourists forms behind him. "We got a plane to catch!" one yells, so the guard lets [...]
Art Films Masquerading as Action Films
onI have a theory that art films are starting to masquerade as action films because in a globalized economy, producers can't pick any contemporary villains, so characters' conflicts end up being directed internally. Hence, we get a slew of boring action movies, which hire the best talent to pepper the film with 5-10 minutes of [...]
Return of the Arnold – Expendables 2, Last Stand, and The Tomb
onThe late Total Recall massacre reminded us all how vital it is to the health of cinema that Arnold Schwarzenegger return to the big screen. Thank God he's back. The Last Stand The Tomb And of course
Indie Action Weekly-ish Roundup – August 14, 2012
onHiroshi Adachi's Shoreline Operation with Emmanuel Manzanares Sleeping Dogs, action by EMC Monkeys, funded by Enix themselves! Reddit article here. Green Jade by Movie-Do
New trailers to Skyfall
onInternational Trailer US Trailer
How Science Fiction Lost Its Edge – A Genre Study
onWhile working on a science fiction concept I'm developing, it's been interesting to study how the genre itself functions. Science Fiction has two key responsibilities: Predicts the logical ends of a technological trajectory and sets it up as the conflict. Utilizes current filmmaking and computer technology in a profound way.Or "Tech-porn". Often sci-fi films will [...]
Death Grip Kills It with James Lew at Ric Meyers’ Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza Panel
onRic Meyers showed Death Grip at his kung fu movie panel, and I had the opportunity to meet James Lew before the panel. It was awesome. Though the crowd was an entirely different demographic than the one that attended our premiere, they laughed at all the same jokes. Afterward Ric had us all stand in [...]
First Impressions of an Indie Action Exhibitor at Comic-Con 2012 – Bigger and Better than Ever
onWhen we walked into the exhibit hall today to begin our Comic-Con 2012 adventure, the initial impression was: holy sh*t. Not only is Comic-Con bigger, but it's louder, thicker, longer, and faster. Legendary is two hundred yards from us with a Dolby Surround system and a 130-inch LED TV near the ceiling playing every trailer [...]