Paneled Goods: Sgt. Fury and Basic Training

For today's first hit of World War II heart and machismo, let's take it back to January of 1969 for Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos # 62 by Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers and company. While we're used to Fury being a hard assed, cigar chomping leader, here we get him as a loud mouthed Army recruit starting basic training in 1941 before America actually entered the conflict. Sgt. Bass is in charge here and has only nine weeks to whip these bums into shape. Straight out of Hell's Kitchen, the only reason Fury signed up was because he lost his job and was flat broke. Hoping to wait it out a couple years, Fury figures on breezing through basic and challenges Bass to a fight nearly right away. The result? Big mouthed Fury gets socked in the gut and has to be helped to his feet by fellow recruit Jim Schaeffer who tells Fury to get that chip off his shoulder.

Fury becomes the necessary scapegoat of the unit and is dubbed "Foul-Up" by Bass. The seemingly rough sergeant knows there's a great soldier inside of Fury, it just needs to be brought out. Bass gets a little bit of backstory and heart as we learn that his son Danny wouldn't enlist due to being a pacifist. The brash Fury doesn't see it that way and can't stand the needling. Wanting to quit, the other troops won't let him, nor will the top brass. During their final training mission, things get real with Nazi saboteurs take over the training grounds and firing live shells at the soldiers, killing two. Fury is thrown into command and takes out the gunners with a pineapple (grenade). But not before taking part of a blast and losing half of his shirt as per Fury usual.

It was interesting to see Fury's origins being such a jackass but could have used a little more fleshing out as to why Bass and the brass saw so much potential in him. Most of the issue Fury is complaining and ready to quit, not exactly showing off glimpses of greatness. Sadly no awesome Hostess ads here, we just get notes about bulking up, learning karate and finishing high school. Jim Schaeffer doesn't ring a bell but someone so integral to Fury's beginnings has to come back at some point as an ally or villain, right?! Guess I'll just have to keep reading.

Summer Cinema: Mad Max Fury Road

It's a full weekend of movies as last night was Mad Max: Fury Road, tonight is Pitch Perfect 2 and Saturday is Quentin Tarantino's print of The Great Escape along with a program of Steve McQueen trailers. The summer kicked off okay with Avengers: Age of Ultron but Mad Max did not disappoint. I do my best not to consume any interviews or pay any attention to critical or viewer opinion before a movie I want to see but it was all good things preceding Max on the ol' internets. We checked out the new Cinemark in Playa Vista for the second time and had a drink at their Reserve Bar upstairs. Drinks were surprisingly affordable and tasty while their food menu runs the gastronomic gauntlet of sliders, burgers, flatbreads, edamame and more along with vegan options to go with the popcorn. It's not very crowded yet as the rest of the mall isn't open so take advantage now while parking is still free and the hordes from Whole Foods won't be in your way.

Mad Max: Fury Road takes us to a world of sand, fire and blood. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy taking over for Mel Gibson) and his Interceptor are on the run from the scarred and albino (?) Immortan Joe's (Hugh Keays-Bryne) scavengers. Out in the desert, Joe and his deformed family (inbreeding and nuclear fallout?) own the local population by controlling water and food supplies. He's got a bunch of pristine wives locked in a vault who are hijacked by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) as they head for the "Green Place" across the sea of sand to keep their children from becoming warlords. Max escapes his Warboy captor Nux (Nicholas Hoult) and teams up with Furiosa as they evade Joe and his army of souped up vehicles, drummers and guitar player.

Basically, Mad Max: Fury Road is f@cking crazy. It's in your face and full of "what the hell" and "whoa-ly sh!t" moments. It's rabid and frantic. It's essentially a two hour chase filled with explosions, demolition derby, speeding cars, trucks, big rigs and motorcycles along with lots of bizarre characters. Much of the mayhem and destruction looks real and not like a video game a la every other summer action blockbuster for the most part. Half of the dialog was indecipherable due to masks, accents and whatnot but it's not like you miss much. I'll be surprised to see if people complain the way they did for Interstellar when Michael Caine's dying mumbling wasn't put on full blast even though he wasn't saying anything story important. Big fan of Tom Hardy from Bronson to This Means War to Warrior and Inception. He does a lot of acting with his face and expressions in the film going stoic, angry and funny all with a look. His voice is surprising reminiscent of what he did for Bane in The Dark Knight Rises though and I honestly didn't catch much of an Australian accent, except when he said "tank-a" as tanker. Charlize Theron gets almost equal billing as the near gender neutral Furiosa with a shaved head and grease war paint. The story involves the two of them working, saving and supporting each other in a very well done way. There's even a Predator shake between them at one crucial point.

Some might say the movie isn't about Max but he was always getting saved and playing semi-nice with others in Mad Max, Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome. Here it's a nice balance between the two characters but in the end, it's still Max's story and we'll be following his lonesome trek into the wasteland in future installments I'm sure. He wasn't cameo'ing in his own film like Godzilla was last year in any way. For all the noise, thrills, chills and action, director George Miller and his co-writers Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris do an amazing job of not bludgeoning the audience with whiz-bang or forcing quiet moments in as it all just flows naturally. Music by Junkie XL is pulsing and pounding in that new Hans Zimmer, no theme, ambient kind of way and works very well. If anything I could have used some more Interceptor as it's such a part of the world yet it's never really shown off. Fury Road is a fun and ridiculous time at the movies that would be best experienced on a big screen. Here's hoping Mel Gibson shows up in the sequel somehow.

Tell Me A Question: Ernie Barbarash and Pound of Flesh

The day after speaking with Pound of Flesh producer Kirk Shaw, I had the chance to chat with director Ernie Barbarash. I had known Barbarash from his previous collaborations with Jean-Claude Van Damme; Assassination Games and 6 Bullets along with genre flicks They Wait and Hardwired with Jamie King, Michael Biehn, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Val Kilmer. Mr. Barbarash was great to talk to; easygoing, educated and experienced. Easing into the conversation, I asked about where he grew up:"I was born in Odessa, Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union and lived there for the first 9 years of my life, then right before my 9th birthday, we moved to Montreal, Canada, where I lived until I was 18 and left for college in the US..." I asked how he got into film and was surprised to find out he never intended to work in movies but was focusing on theatre instead. While living in New York, Barbarash got a job on a play that was then delayed and he ended up working for a random Canadian film company that needed some help, Lionsgate. Spending several years reading scripts and producing in house, Ernie was put into a trial by fire to write and direct 2004's Cube Zero.

Having directed his first play at 14, Barbarash feels it's easy to learn technology but working with people is much more instinctual. When asked further about the transition from theatre to film, Ernie responded: "As a theatre director, I came to film not only with the experience of working with actors, but also an education in storytelling for an audience through an immediate experience. The theatre teaches us how to take the audience on a journey. It teaches us that we’re not making art for ourselves – that it’s really all about how it affects the audience. One of the reasons I love talking to fans of the genre in which I’m working, be it action, thrillers, sci fi, horror, etc. is because I really miss that immediate response from the audience in the theatre. It’s also why I love going to see movies on the first night they open as often as I can…"

After speaking with Shaw and hearing about some of the bottom line economics and logistical challenges of working in the modest budget action world; Barbarash made it even clearer as he discussed not being able to stop in a sense as one movie wouldn't pay the bills for a year. He's got kids, a wife and a life to take care of so it was interesting to hear about the people who work for a living when thoughts of Hollywood are always dreamed about with glamor and riches. While Barbarash has worked mainly in the science fiction and action genres, he's also wrote Hallmark TV movies, dramas and been able to delve into different worlds. As a kid he loved action movies so his collaborations with Jean-Claude Van Damme is a bit of coming full circle. Producer Brad Krevoy asked if Barabarash would be interested in directing a Van Damme movie resulting in the Lionheart and Timecop fan's immediate agreement. Their first project, Weapon, eventually became Assassination Games, co-starring the high kicking Scott Adkins about a pair of trained assassin/mercenary types who team up to take down a common foe with crossbows, guns, kicks and a beheading by samurai sword. 

When it comes to directing a feature in the face of limited time and resources yet managing to keep a positive attitude, Barbarash answered: "people hire me because I put the work in, not because I'm pretty" and that making a movie is in a sense like going to war as you're on the clock, the director is the leader and his actions will reflect on the whole crew. So to keep people pushing for those 17 hour days, it's better to show off a positive attitude and keep things going rather than fall apart in negativity. For Pound of Flesh, his third go-round with JCVD, Barbarash believes it's their best project yet. Now that the level of trust is there, it's easier to give up on certain ideas while fighting for others to tap into what matters and what will bring the best ideas to life. Like Shaw, Barbarash thought that Joshua James' script was excellent with a great story and action that was tweaked for JCVD and the location. While the shoot came in at 36 days, Barbarash explained that it wasn't really 36 days as things moved slowly due to the language barrier and not being familiar with the area. But the crews put in hard work, going 17 hours a day 7 days a week. Barbarash enjoyed the challenges of shooting in China and is eager to return. He'd also love to shoot in Thailand as it's a beautiful place filled with nice people. That's one of the joys of his job, traveling and exploring, even if he can't always celebrate as there's shot lists and homework to do. 

On working with Jean-Claude Van Damme again, Ernie is proud that JCVD gets to display a wide range of acting in Pound of Flesh. It was emotional work and they went to tough places with the character versus simply brooding. The story is character driven with a hint of Van Damme's personal philosophy thrown in. Barbarash was determined to balance the drama with the action as if people only wanted action, they should watch a video on YouTube, not a movie. Van Damme wanted to do something new fighting wise, so choreographer and real life combat expert John Salvitti worked to build on the audience expectations of karate and high kicks and go further. Barbarash had mentioned staying ahead of the audience as they get more and more savvy everyday as he shared his own personal philosophy: "I keep striving to learn more every day. I think when you stop learning you stop growing and that you should keep learning no matter how old you are or how much experience you have… One of the things I love about what I do is that I learn something new with every project I do." 

It was a great talk and I enjoyed our conversation as Mr. Barbarash was honest about the business, quick thinking yet thoughtful and insightful. We ended the call with a mutual film fan moment when I asked how Michael Biehn ended up in They Wait in a supporting role. Barbarash, like Dammaged Goods, is a huge Biehn fan going back to The Terminator. Once they had Jaimie King in the lead, the producers were looking for another name to bolster the credits and Biehn was suggested and accepted the role. While Biehn only worked a few days on the film, Barbarash described him as a fun guy and good actor. Here's hoping Ernie Barbarash's future includes a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie co-starring Michael Biehn. Until then, thanks to Mr. Barbarash for taking the time and to Popular Press Media Group for making the introduction.

Pound of Flesh opens in select theaters and VOD on Friday, May 15th.

Chief Goods: Ask Me An Interview

"Because I went to a fucking donut shop once in Montreal, and all the staff spoke French!
And last time I looked - France was on the other side of the fucking world.
So I say to the people of Montreal - au revoir. Hahahaha!"

- Noel Gallagher on why the High Flying Birds aren't stopping in Montreal

A friend texted me from Atlanta where she was watching Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds perform at a festival. It only took her 20 years but she finally realized how Damme good The Chief really is. Noel's on tour for his well received album Chasing Yesterday and will be playing in Los Angeles next week. Tickets are aplenty on StubHub, part of the bullshit that is TicketMaster. We'll see how I feel on show night but I would like to see him again since we saw him on the inaugural tour. Always known for his passionate and knowledgeable diatribes against humanity and the current state of music, Rolling Stone awarded him a makeshift award for Best Rock Interview.

While in New York, Noel took part in a Redditt Ask Me Anything where the above classic quote came from and performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Van Dammage: Pain Sweat

 
"But I put myself into a mode of sweating profusely and it was cool. 

It was a good experience. It was painful." 

Jean-Claude Van Damme

The Van Damme media train keeps on chugging along with Red Carpet interviews, e-mail chats and an appearance on Conan O'Brien's late night talk show. Here are some highlights from the week:

- "If you play comedy, it’s the best because it’s no ego, you know.  Like, for example, in an action movie….Expandable, they all want to look better than the other because it’s about action, testosterone  and all that shit. So comedy, more goofy and stupid you are , more you’re winning the case.  And then the crew they have fun.  The lunch is about fun." 

- Our friends over at The Action Elite got to chat with the man in person after the PoF premiere.

- "If you don't I will beat you down...and guess what...he wasn't lying" - Charlie Sheen on at first refusing then accepting a pair of perhaps solid gold sunglasses from JCVD after working together on Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs Ummet Ozcan's The Hum music video. Apparently the two had run into one another back in the 90's at several Planet Hollywood openings but never bonded until having a great time on the recent set. Since then the two have become pals.

- On nutrition:

"Training is very important because…Sometimes I smoke a stogie. I don’t drink anymore because there’s nothing to gain in drinking. It’s pure sugar and it makes you think differently.
Everybody can go to the gym. Everybody can lose weight. You have to eat 6-7 times a day. You’re only going to retain only 30 percent of fat and the body will eliminate about 70 percent of fat. If you eat 2-3 meals a day, you eat a lot and the body knows that you will not eat the next hour, so the body will retain 70 percent of fat and will let go 30 percent of fat. I just want to tell the audience that everything is possible with knowledge."

- On Monday night, Van Damme trended on Facebook and the internet after recreating his hilarious drunk dancing and fighting from Kickboxer on Conan. Van Damme had some fun appearances on Conan's show in the 90's and this time out, the silly factor was cranked to 11. Van Damme helped Conan stretch out, talked PoF, the new Kickboxer film and then beat up some stunt guys while showing off his swole-ness, dance moves and a roundhouse kick.

Sunday Cinema: The Road Warrior & Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

There's a lotta movies coming out this summer but I've been itching to see Mad Max: Fury Road since those first crazy trailers started hitting. Clips at WonderCon only whetted the appetite and last week the huge premiere welcomed stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, writer/director George Miller and the original Max himself, Mel Gibson! Apparently a sequel, featuring Gibson, nearly happened in 2001 but after 9/11 the U.S. Dollar dropped and a couple of years later Mr. Gibson moved into his "complicated" stage of arrests, being illegally recorded, gold dug and saying some not so nice things. The story needed Max to be closer to his prime and over a decade later, it was not to be an "old warrior" tale a la Unforgiven or the proposed Conan the Barbarian sequel. Cut to word that Hardy and Theron were shooting in the African desert in Nambia during the summer of 2012 but it was basically silence on Fury Road until a single image dropped and little by little, we've finally made it. To prep for Thursday's release, I sat down for 1981's Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Mad Max did not blow me away. It was released several years before I was born, I didn't grow up with it and hey, times change, filmmakers ape stuff and source material just doesn't pop the way it could if you saw it firsthand. The flick heralded Mel Gibson's spectacular awaiting career and put Australian filmmaking on the map. The Road Warrior though, I enjoyed the snot out of. The opening minutes catch the audience up and introduce the world as Mad Max was an influential if not box office smash. Living in the wasteland looking for "juice" aka gasoline, Max encounters some hardcore marauders along with a gyro plane captain who claims to know where an oil refinery is. Doing some recon, Max, his dog Dog and Captain scope out the outpost that's under siege by Lord Humongous and his goons as they kill anyone trying to escape. Apparently the refugees believe there's a paradise outside the wasteland some 2,000 miles away and are prepping to make a run for it. Max ends up cutting a deal with them to lead the convoy and vehicular mayhem, shotgun blasting, hero shots, dog food, feral kid, crazy Vernon Wells, buff/masked villain and football shoulder pads ensues to make for a memorable 96 minutes.

Gibson is silent yet iconic as Max and his scene giving the feral kid a music toy shows him at his most randomly icy cool with inquisitive yet harsh and kind of dead eyes. A great bit of car chase starts out the flick but I was a little disappointed his souped up Interceptor didn't get more to do as it's totaled later after a short pursuit. It's a desolate and dirty affair with the marauders raping, torturing and murdering the refiners while also gonzo with the practical f/x, world, costumes and characters. The end sequence with a tanker truck with several cars and motorcycles in pursuit is fantastic as vehicles are really crashed and crushed and real people flung through the air. Made for a meager $2 million bucks, The Road Warrior opened up # 4 on May 21st in 1982 behind defending champ Conan the Barbarian, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and Porky's with a $2.5 million dollar gross on it's way to $23.6 million total.

Gibson and Miller along with co-director George Ogilvie and co-writer Terry Hayes returned to the franchise for 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. We find a long haired Max stumbling into Bartertown, a shanty built from the ruins of World War III where vendors hock radioactive water, methane gas from pig sh!t fuels the city and things are ruled by the strong yet not quite tyrannical Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). Max is recruited to take out Master and Blaster, the little person and slow witted giant who really run Bartertown with their pigs and crap. Max ends up booted from the city and found by a bunch of wild children whose plane crashed years ago in a Lord of the Flies meets Peter Pan set up. Together, they head back to Bartertown to free The Master. A fight on bungie cords with huge hammers and chainsaws anchors the first act while things turn into a swashbuckling adventure with soaring music when the kids get involved. They live in a lush and wet rainforest which is a nice change of pace from the sand and fire of usual Mad Max motifs. Just when I wondered when Max was going to drive a car, we get a huge chase sequence at the end involving a truck on a train and lots of post-apocalyptic vehicles in pursuit.

Beyond Thunderdome is an interesting movie, it's slicker and shinier than the previous films but also really weird but somehow all works to make a visually interesting and entertaining time. Miller and Oglivie go overboard on the panning and zooming but it definitely gives the piece part of it's over the top personality.  Reportedly budgeted at $12 million, Warner Brothers released Thunderdome on my birthday a few years after I showed up. Opening at # 2 with $7.2 million, Mad Max 3 would gross $36 million at the box office going up against the likes of Back to the Future, Cocoon, Rambo II and Pale Rider. Gibson's next movie at Warner Brothers, Lethal Weapon, would mark the beginning of his career as a top grossing and earning actor before becoming an Oscar winning director with Braveheart. While I do wish Gibson could have had a part in Fury Road as he brought the character to life, it's comforting to know George Miller is still at the helm and is looking to carry on the series like a James Bond and passing the mantle.

Workout of the Day: Less is More

What a crazy week. Got back from the Dominican Republic (going through customs sucks!) then hit premieres on back to back nights. While in the DR, kept up my workouts by swimming in the ocean (calm one day, choppy and seaweedy the next, always salty) and hitting the weights at the spa/fitness center. I opted for more or less giant sets to work several body parts so Chins, Goblet Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges and Push Ups anchored the sessions while a few bicep curls, triceps extensions and shoulder raises helped round it out.  After pushing it in March and April, it was time for a break. Guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vince Gironda used to advocate training hard for three weeks then backing off for one. That would give muscles and injuries time to recover as well as provide a mental break. Thinking about working out and eating can get tedious so focusing on other aspects of your life is always a good idea. After five days of relaxing and eating anything I wanted to, I'm back on the hunt, this time with a progression plan and everything.

Taking a page out of Vince, Cro Cop and Daniel Craig's circuit book, I just started a new program that starts and ends the week with full body workouts with upper and lower body sessions in between.

Day One: Clean & Press/Knee Up/Step Up/Chins/Incline Push Up/Dip
Six exercises completed in rapid succession for three circuits. With no extraneous forearm, neck, calf or cardio, it only took me 25 minutes or so to complete. I will implement a second workout on days where time affords to clean up with some cardio like shadowboxing, ab-aerobics, jump roping and swimming.

Day Two: Incline Dumbbell Press/Chins/Incline Push Up/Barbell Row/Incline DB Fly
I generally don't advocate working upper body two days in a row due to the stress it can put on your shoulders and elbows. My shoulders and back are a little sore already from working them in similar ways two days straight but the decrease in volume and shortness of workouts should prevail. Remember, if it hurts, stop. Here I'm only doing 15 total sets whereas my last program had me doing at least 12 per body part for 24 to 36 a session. Now I can cut that down significantly and see how I feel.

Day Three: Squat/Leg Curl/Deadlift/Lunge/Calf Raise
Pretty straightforward leg day to get them quates, glutes, lower back and calves in shape.

Day Four: Incline DB Curl/Bench Dip/Preacher Curl/Triceps Extension/Shoulder Raises
With chins, push ups, presses and dips part of the program foundation; your biceps, triceps and shoulders are already getting some solid attention. Throwing in curls, extensions and raises will help target them specifically for shape, size and definition.

Day Five: Total Body Circuit a la Day One.

Technically this leaves you the weekend to kick back but I'll be throwing in some swimming and cardio to work on the ol' summer shred. My plan is to use this program for six weeks, progressing every two weeks by adding another set. So two weeks at three circuits/sets then two at four and two at five to take me into Comic-Con. Food wise I'm working on eating three solid meals and two snacks a day. So say eggs and oatmeal for breakfast, meat and veggies at lunch, maybe a little brown rice then meat and salad for dinner. Snack wise looking at a protein shake and something like almonds or cheese with fruit for a fat and protein hit.

We'll see what happens! Until then, keep pushing!

Premiere! Pound of Flesh

Another night, another premiere. This time at The Grove in West Hollywood for Jean-Claude Van Damme's latest, Pound of Flesh. After making friends with Popular Press Media Group and interviewing producer Kirk Shaw and director Ernie Barbarash, I snagged an invite and a V.I.P. wristband, oh la la. We arrived around 6:00 PM as I was told the 400 person screening was overbooked. There was a fan line outside and the red carpet was all set up inside the lobby. During check in I excused myself past UFC fighter Michael Bisping and boxer Victor Ortiz showed up as well. Running back and forth from Morel for happy hour, I bumped into Chuck Zito again, I introduced myself to him at Skin Trade and we chatted a minute. He's a very dapper and strong looking man. Mr. Sheldon Lettich was meeting up with us and in the lobby I ran into Carl Weathers and Aki Aleong from Pound of Flesh and The Quest. It was a bit of a mad house in the lobby but I chatted with Ernie Barbarash then spent a while talking to Vladimir Kulich aka Buliwyf from The 13th Warrior! Kulich was with I Come In Peace's Mattias Hues and they all live on the westside with Kulich being Carl Weathers' neighbor! Kulich was super cool and fun to talk to, it probably helped that I knew his work from 13th, Smokin' Aces, Breach of Trust and other randomness. I'll have to get him for a Dammaged Goods chat but it was awesome to hear about his time working on 13th, how it shot for 9 months, the dual schedule with director John McTiernan and Michael Crichton, etc.

Then I spotted Van Damme's buddy Kamel, the majong parlor operator from Double Impact among many other VD films. Introduced myself to Peter Malota, a high kicking actor and stuntman who you'd know as the guard with spurs on his boots in Double Impact as well as popping up as The Spaniard in The Quest. Born in Albania, Malota has lived in Detroit for the last 20 years and was great to talk to. I didn't spend much time looking at the red carpet but noticed Terminator 3's Kristanna Loken at one point and then the man himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme, showed up with daughter Bianca. Van Damme was looking great, slim and built in a tight white top and trademark, trademark initialed ball cap. This is the 3rd time I've seen him in person and the 2nd time it's been a complete mob. After the taping of Jay Leno's Tonight Show, people rushed Van Damme's car and wouldn't back off so they sped away. It was more of the same here with security constantly yelling for people to step back. I was in the theater hallway when this happened and the man walked right by me in a huff. The next time I saw him, you could tell he was a little flustered from all the attention. The man has some really rude and pushy fans as a friend got shoved out of the way at one point. Inside the theater I spoke to Todd Senofonte, Van Damme's longtime stunt double who also worked on PoF as he mentioned it being a tough shoot. Former wife Darcy LaPier was there as well, not sure if their son Nicolas was in attendance or not.

Kirk Shaw and Barbarash introduced the film, talking about spending a couple of years securing the script and Van Damme, the difficulties of making modest budget action films and thanking everyone in attendance along with paying tribute to co-star and martial artist Darren Shahlavi who recently passed. Chinese producer Henry Luk expressed his satisfaction with the film and project and is looking forward to making more movies soon. In a funny moment Van Damme yelled "volume, please!" as the microphones weren't working which was followed by "focus!" shouted out by none other than Charlie Sheen! The night was running late of course and we all settled in to watch Pound of Flesh, the tale of JCVD's Deacon, a kidnap and rescue specialist who gets taken by some organ harvesters in Manila. Waking up without a kidney, Deacon and his peaceful brother George (John Ralston) set out to get it back as the vital bodypart was supposed to go George's daughter. Working with Kung (Aki Aleong), an old crime buddy, they crack open the lucrative business of casing targets using hospital information, drugging them and removing their organs. The movie did a nice job of mixing the drama with the action as Deacon is a self described bastard while George is the good guy. Once upon a time, this could have been another film where Van Damme played twins.

Fights by John Salvitti are a nice change of pace for Van Damme with elbows, knees, throws, grappling and high kicks all being mixed together. Mike Leeder gets punched in the face and Van Damme does the splits while holding onto the side of a car in an applause inducing moment. You also get lots of Van Damme nudity in the opening minutes, in fact, there's more male nudity in the film than female! The man is still in great shape though. Besides the action, Van Damme gets some nice dramatic moments, talking about his backstory and challenging brother George to do whatever it takes to save his daughter. Even if that included Damme'ing his soul. There's also a few bits of humor throughout which were a welcome touch. Darren Shahlavi did a solid job as the evil enforcer Goran, playing the role with plenty of charisma and physicality. If anything, the film could have used more fighting between him and Van Damme to show off their kicks and cinematic grace.

After the film I congratulated Kirk Shaw on the film and turnout, apparently they had to rent out a second theater! He told me they were developing another project with Van Damme so we have that to look forward to. We hit the after party for a few minutes where it was just too jam packed with people. Some friends waited it out and ended up meeting Van Damme closer to midnight. While I didn't get to meet the man, I know in my heart, my soul and my gut that it will happen some day. Hopefully for a screening of Lionheart, Bloodsport and JCVD in Hollywood...It was a great evening and congratulations to Michelle, Jessica, Ernie, Kirk and everyone involved.

Premiere! Skin Trade

It's been an interesting journey going from the guy sitting in the audience to the one helping put things together and standing up front with a microphone. Last night's premiere of Skin Trade was an educational experience as I watched how studios and PR firms handle their business. The courtyard to The Egyptian Theatre was set up with a red carpet and lights with security checking people in at Hollywood Boulevard. #ActionMovieBros David J. Moore from World Gone Wild and The Action Elite's Eoin Friel were there while news outlets like Nerd Reactor, Variety, The Arnold Fans and Starburst magazine had their spots on the red carpet. I ran into co-producer Craig Baumgarten who was on his way to Asia shortly after the premiere. Bloodsport co-writer and Double Impact director Sheldon Lettich was one of my guests for the night and in some near perfect timing, it had been a year and a day since the inaugural Dammaged Goods Presents event, The Van Damme Triple Dip at The New Beverly Cinema. Speaking of Van Damme, Pound of Flesh director Ernie Barbarash was in attendance and walked the red carpet.

A pack of papparazzi was stationed on the Walk of Fame and one by one, our guests for the evening started to arrive. Ron Perlman. Tony Jaa. Director Ekachai Uekrongtham. Celina Jade. Dolph Lundgren. They were joined by the likes of Chuck Zito, Victor Ortiz and Chin Han. An invitation to one Jean-Claude Van Damme was extended but I was told he was too busy with his own impending premiere the next evening. Earlier in the day it was said that Jason Statham planned on attending and we were hoping Michael Jai-White and Peter Weller would swing by if they were in town. It looked like Statham was a no show while Mr. White had just hopped on a plane to London and Mr. Weller must have been predisposed. Apparently Mr. Statham had already snuck into the theater and lo and behold when I went to the waiting area to do the night's introduction, there he was. After a quick hello and shake of hands, where I forgot to invite him to do a movie night, we waited as the cast filed in from outside.

Then it was showtime and after a quick introduction and mic handoff to Dolph, the co-producer, writer and star of the film talked about the origins of the film coming from real world events, having met Tony Jaa a couple of years ago on a Thai comedy, getting the cast, securing financing and then enlisting director Uekrongtham. Dolph got a little more serious in talking about the horrors of real world human trafficking where mostly young women are drugged, beat and raped then put to work. While it seemed like a third world problem, Dolph cited an example of it in nearby Brentwood where a woman was brought to the country and put to work as a nanny. After slipping a note to a fellow nanny and praying for help, a week later a dozen FBI agents arrived and pulled her out. Thanks to C.A.S.T., the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, the young woman was put into a shelter, found new work and eventually married and had a child. That young lady was also in attendance. A special auction to attend the premiere, meet the cast and work out with Dolph netted a whopping $40,000.00 bid the last time I checked. Attending co-stars Jaa, Jade and Perlman joined Dolph up front and then it was movie time.

Skin Trade is the tale of two cops, New Jersey based Nick Cassidy (Lundgren) and Thailand's Tony (Jaa). They're both working cases involving human trafficking and after Cassidy kills the son of drug dealer and trafficker Viktor (Ron Perlman), the Russian boss' remaining sons send a rocket into Nick's suburban house window, killing his wife and daughter. With nothing to lose and vengeance on his mind, Nick shows up in Thailand and tracks Viktor down with extreme interrogation methods including shotgun blasts, mangled joints, front kicks and letter openers to the throat. The two cops face off before realizing they're on the same side and they head into a gunfire and explosion filled confrontation with Viktor and his thugs. The script by Lundgren, Gabriel Dowrick and Steven Elder is pretty straightforward but the attention paid to trafficking is rightly sad and unsettling. Uekrongtham lingers a little long on the bad stuff to set up the world but the picture is extremely crisp, the locale used to great effect and action pretty Damme good.

Michael Jai-White shows up as task force member who gets to show off his meaty physique barely contained by a three piece suit and gets a nice fight with Jaa where he goes full Super-Shredder as he punches, kicks and breaks anything in his way. It's pretty impressive to see a man of his size move so fluidly and performing jump, spinning multiple kicks. Jaa of course whups all kinds of ass from his first scene involving a belt and a balcony and his fights with White and Lundgren are excellently staged. His bout with Lundgren showcases both of their styles, Jaa being smaller and faster, flipping, jumping and kicking 20 feet into the air while Lundgren gets to do a trademark step in side kick, show off some brute strength and his classic rough and tumble karate. The fight scenes were shot pretty wide so you could actually see what was going on and with each star being a lifelong martial artist in his own disciplines, showcased each of their styles. There's an old school harshness to action scenes with Dolph blasting a room full of thugs apart with a shotgun or bludgeoning another with the butt of an AK-47.

The cast is filled with familiar faces from the action genre as Peter Weller (Robocop) and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa (Mortal Kombat) have a few scenes with Lundgren, Jaa, White and Perlman. The ending sets up a sequel so hopefully Skin Trade has been killing it on VOD and will find more success on Blu-Ray. Overall a solid flick elevated by the cast and a handful of stand out action and fight sequences. Following the flick we hopped over to Sadie's across the street for the after party for a few small bites, thank yous and hand shakes before calling it a night. Great times but gotta do it all again tonight, only this time I won't be directing traffic, I'll be part of it.

Many thanks to Magnolia, Magnet, The Egyptian Theatre, Dolph and Craig's teams and everyone who attended. We'll see you on the next one.

Tell Me A Question: Kirk Shaw and Pound of Flesh

The highest compliment Dammaged Goods can pay a person is to say that they're a Doer. Not talking about it, criticizing it from afar or wishing for something to happen. But to do something about it. Kirk Shaw is a Doer. He's also a producer. With over 200 credits to his name over television and film, it's easy to see the man likes to stay busy. His most recent film is the Jean-Claude Van Damme action-thriller, Pound of Flesh. When Deacon (JCVD) attempts to help a woman in distress, he wakes up the next day missing his kidney and sets out for revenge utilizing his fists, feet, guns and a bible. I recently had the chance to chat with Mr. Shaw as he prepares for the world premiere taking place on Thursday, May 6th at The Grove in Los Angeles before Pound of Flesh hits the market on Friday the 15th. Based in Canada, Shaw has been working in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. As a movie loving child, Shaw originally wanted to be a writer but realized he was better at business. Plus, he enjoys editing other people's scripts more than writing them himself. As his career evolved, Shaw's financial savvy led to Insight Film Studios, Canada's largest independent production house. These days, Shaw is heading up Odyssey Media and more interested in packaging stars with scripts to secure financing in an ever changing marketplace.

For Pound of Flesh, the script by Joshua James caught his eye years ago. Shaw liked the story, heart and action of it and spent two years acquiring the rights. During that time, Shaw embarked on a mission to meet Jean-Claude Van Damme, who in recent years has become somewhat reclusive and elusive as he lives in Hong Kong and doesn't do many movies. Shaw had already worked with the action hero likes of Dolph Lundgren, Steven Seagal and Wesley Snipes but thought Van Damme would bring an extra dimension to the role of Deacon. More so than any actor of that era and genre, Jean-Claude Van Damme has always wanted to be an "actor" over an action star. His blend of sensitivity and honesty mixed with a powerful physical grace was displayed in darker performances in films like In Hell, Wake of Death, Until Death, The Expendables II and the mockumentary JCVD. Shaw doesn't think Van Damme gets enough credit for his range of emotion and I wholeheartedly agree.

After burning out on the Hollywood lifestyle and feeling blacklisted, Van Damme seems slow to trust new would be collaborators. Shaw flew to Hong Kong and Belgium just to meet the man, investing and building their relationship. Now friends with a level of trust, Shaw has a great appreciation of Van Damme's character and personality, citing how much JCVD gives to everyone he meets. Whether it's a crew member or a fan; Van Damme takes the time to talk, pose for photos and sends them off with his blessing. Van Damme's agents at Gersh also reacted to the Pound of Flesh script and thought it would be an ideal leading role for their client. After years of cameos, villainous turns and supporting parts, Pound of Flesh sees Van Damme bleeding emotion as well as giving audiences plenty of ass kicking. Hong Kong based producer Mike Leeder introduced Shaw to martial artist and choreographer John Salvitti to give PoF a raw, realistic viciousness while utilizing Van Damme's trademark karate kicks.

Shooting took place in mainland China, partially because of the script and partially because of Shaw's never ending quest to stay relevant. Always hearing about China being the next big market with resources aplenty, the producer did his homework and partnered up with Henry Luk to find out if all the chatter was true. Under director Ernie Barbarash, PoF shot for 36 days and resulted in a positive experience with the producer and director eager to return. The film is also receiving a solid theatrical release in China on 3,000 screens. This is Barbarash's 3rd time out with Jean-Claude and I asked what Shaw saw in him as a director. Shaw described Barbarash as a man you could throw any problem at and he would never become dejected or negative, always remaining positive and able to think on his feet creatively to finish the day.

It sounds like Shaw is very proud of the film and it could mark the start of a new era in his already impressive career. In the last year alone he's shot films in Cuba, Romania, Bulgaria, China, Brazil, Australia, Canada and the United States. Shaw is eager to learn the economics of regions, maximize budgets and show off the best parts of the countries to bring in business and expose them to the world. Speaking with Shaw, it was evident he was a very smart man who has had great success in his career yet never came off with arrogance or an attitude. His quest to reach the top and always be learning was insightful, inspiring and pretty funny when he mentioned seeing dollar signs anytime he watched a movie. What it costs for the actors, location, action, extras...the real economics of filmmaking. The knowledge off the top of his head was impressive as he spoke about wanting to make a film in South Korea with local actors in the Korean tongue as over half the films released there are S.K. productions. In India something like 94% of films are domestic versus imported so it's important to keep an eye on emerging markets and experiment.

If everything goes well with Pound of Flesh, Shaw would love to do more modest budgeted action movies with strong casts as the international brands of the Lundgrens, Seagals and Van Dammes still carry plenty of weight in the market. It's like the old saying goes, a joke can play differently in any given country but a punch to the face is still a punch to the face in any language. Many thanks to Mr. Shaw for taking the time to speak with me and to Popular Press Media Group for making the inroads. Check back soon for my chat with Pound of Flesh director Ernie Barbarash.

Dolph, Van Damme and Arnold Week: Skin Trade, Pound of Flesh & Maggie

It might have been May the 4th and Revenge of the Fifth but this week is all about the action, baby! Tonight marks the Los Angeles red carpet premiere of Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa's Skin Trade, tomorrow is the world premiere of Van Damme's Pound of Flesh in Los Angeles and Friday marks the limited release of Arnold's zombie drama Maggie. In case you missed it, here's a quick recap of all things international action stars:

Dolph Lundgren spent Tuesday in Beverly Hills talking Skin Trade where he took part in a press conference and did a Twitter Q&A for IMDb. Co-stars Tony Jaa and Michael Jai White showed up on KTLA in the morning while Lundgren and Jaa also sat down for some interviews together. Dolph and Tony are expected to attend tonight's premiere at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. TONIGHT!

Van Damme has been hanging out in Los Angeles for what seems like the longest spell in sometime. Hitting the gym, speaking at private dinners and popping up in music videos...with Charlie Sheen?! It was only a couple of weeks ago when I heard Van Damme was doing a music video and I watched the completed version last night while on an airplane. It's got everything you need, Matthew McConaughey's chest thumping from Wolf of Wall Street, chicks in bikinis, Charlie Sheen being The Sheen and JCVD yelling at an alligator, arm wrestling and showing off his famous Muscles From Brussels. Thursday night at The Grove, you can check out the red carpet for the Pound of Flesh world premiere.

Speaking of premieres, Arnold unveiled his low budget zombie drama Maggie to a tiny audience of 120 at the Sundance Cinema on Sunset a couple of Monday's ago. Made for under $10 million bucks and headed for the festival circuit, Lionsgate quickly snapped it up before letting it play at the Tribeca Film Festival. As Always, Arnold is a one man hype machine and videos of him crushing things with a tank for a charity auction, promoting Maggie and acting out all of his movies in only 6 minutes on late night. The King of Kings never rests apparently.

Summer Cinema: Avengers Age of Ultron

It's not technically summer but according to Hollywood, it sure as heck is as Avengers: Age of Ultron hit theaters last night to the tune of $27 million bucks and an anticipated $200 + million weekend. After a surprisingly substantial happy hour at P.F. Changs, we joined the legions of graphic tee clad movie goers for a 7:00 PM showing in 3D. Trailers for Batman Vs Superman, Jurassic World, Ant-Man and Tomorrow Land got us going even though there were 3D trailers mixed in with no warning, come on Arclight!

Age of Ultron opens up at Baron Von Strucker's secret castle lair out in the woods where he's used Loki's alien powered scepter to enhance European twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Now Wanda (Scarlett Witch in the comics) can do crazy stuff with her mind while Pietro (Quicksilver) is super fast. The Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, The Hulk and Hawkeye) have been looking high and low for the scepter and finally retrieve it but not before they're all mind jacked by Wanda. They have individual visions of their past and futures, not all of them sunny. Back in NYC, science bros Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to unlock the power of the scepter before it's returned to Asgard. They're also working on some artificial intelligence to create a "suit of armor" for the world which goes haywire and becomes Ultron, a huge robot with a twisted sense of humor who wants to destroy the Avengers and then the world. Lots of banter, action, hero team up smash moves, a little romance and world trotting follows. It was nice to see all of the characters getting things to do (Hawkeye becomes a much more central character) and there's some nice bromance between Cap and Thor and even Iron Man. New characters The Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver and The Vision are used to various degrees, basically there to fill a function and add some special f/x mayhem.

I had conflicted feelings watching Avengers, it was big and entertaining but it just wasn't that engrossing? Between the non-stop quips and jokes, as is Marvel's style to provide laughs but also cuts any tension, then the random stopovers and realizations (they get beat up then go to a farm house a la Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Splinterrrrrr!) or the ending where they fight a bunch of Ultron Storm Troopers and...direct civilian pedestrian traffic. Hmmmm. Thor goes on a random side mission while Quicksilver was used to much more effectively in X-Men: Days of Future Past. There's something very unheroic about a gearing up scene where a guy grabs a pair of Adidas sneakers..."Do you know karate? You do karate, man?" Double hmmm. We also get an Asian character! Who doesn't do much then goes away...Anyways, I was also pulled out of the movie by the absolutely sub-par 3D non-experience the Arclight provided. Their glasses are heavy and bulky and it was so dark with the glasses on I literally kept flipping them up to see people on screen with actual skin and flesh tones instead of a gray haze. Just another reminder that Hollywood hasn't figured it out. I'd like to see the flick again on a bigger screen and in 2D.