It was a late night out seeing Fantastic Four so Sunday was a bit of relaxing before we headed to Pasadena for ScareLA, the convention for horror and Halloween. The convention center is in a great location with plenty of parking and a few restaurants nearby. It's just very quaint and clean then there was a giant pumpkin outside waiting to greet/eat you. Walking onto the exhibition floor you immediately realize that this ain't a comic-con. There's smoke, fake blood and skulls everywhere, on everything. But like a con, plenty of creative and imaginative folks were displaying their wares. Many booths focused on do it yourself make up and were holding demos showing you how to apply prosthetic facial features, wounds and the like. Several peeps in zombie cosplay complete with lumbering body movement, boils, dead eyes and clothes torn to shreds. I couldn't help but laugh at the level of dedication.
I was hoping for some horror themed treats and was not disappointed. Hollywood's Sweet! does custom chocolate bars with design it yourself wrappers. They had one dark chocolate bar with "blood" filling and the ScareLA artwork adorning it so I grabbed that. Not far was a vendor who did scary cakes, one with ribs and guts spilling out, yummy! There were several movie and memorabilia booths hawking old horror comics, posters and magazines like Fangoria along with toys and statues. Of course you can't go to a con without seeing a Funko and the guy was also selling lighters, two with Kurt Russell's likeness on them! We ran into the good folks at Whedonopolis and chatted for a few then continued to walk the packed if not super crowded floor. Next door on the main stage there were panels on voice over actors, Disney's Haunted Mansion, all of the big horror attractions around LA like the Haunted Hay Ride, Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm and a The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Retrospective. There were also several mazes and attractions set up and the lines weren't too long to get in. I didn't feel like being scared though so we didn't try one...
Across the street we wandered into the Pasadena Antique Mall where there was everything from old Image comics to Disneyland match books to dining sets and suitcase typewriters. I kind of wonder how places like that do in today's age of online shopping but hey, it was an interesting place to wander around. Thanks ScareLA and Pasadena for a lovely afternoon and screw you West LA and Ciclavia for closing down so many streets on our way home. See you at D23 expo!
After a fun morning in Sherman Oaks, it was back to the west side for McDonald's and a nap before a late night screening of Fantastic Four. Reviews have been horrible with the film garnering a sub-10% rating on kinda BS aggregator Rotten Tomatoes but audiences also gave it a C- Cinemascore so they can't all be wrong? Or could they. The drama behind the scenes has been more compelling than the actual film it seems as young writer-director Josh Trank biting the hands that feeds him with a Tweet declaring he had a better version of the film than what was being released. Throw in some awkward PR interviews and what was once an estimated $40 million dollar opening was falling into the mid-$20's. By Sunday, the reported $120 million dollar reboot had grossed $26 million bucks, losing out to the already released Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and scoring the lowest Marvel based opening in years. Fans cried victory, rejoicing in the failure as proof that studios shouldn't meddle with the source material.
So was Fantastic Four as bad as people were making it out to be? Was it truly some unwatchable train wreck? Honestly, no, it was not. It's not great but it's totally watchable and has some pretty interesting things going on along with a terrific score and some nice production design. The story starts in 2007 where we meet young inventor Reed Richards who has built a teleportation device out of junk. He befriends classmate Ben Grimm at the local salvage yard and the two grow up to be best pals (Miles Teller & Jaimie Bell) who develop a gate that transports physical matter across space. To where, we don't know. In steps Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) who along with adopted daughter Sue (Kate Mara) are working on their own teleportation device and think Reed has cracked the riddle. Recruiting the brilliant but non-team player Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell) and estranged son who can build stuff Johnny (Michael B. Jordan), a trans-dimensional portal is created. But when government stiff Dr. Allen (Tim Blake Nelson) wants to get NASA and the Army involved, Reed, Ben, Johnny and Victor decide to visit the other dimension and plant their flag before someone else gets the glory. The other dimension holds cosmic power, things go bad, they're all bathed in the other wordly goo but manage to get back to Earth where Sue gets some residual cosmic crap on her. Ben turns into rock monster The Thing, Reed gains the ability to stretch himself to impossible lengths, Sue can manipulate the light spectrum and Johnny becomes a living ball of fire while Doom spends more time in the dimension and becomes a super powered being who can blow stuff up and move things telepathically.
For the first chunk of the film, I was into it, it moves pretty quick and you can forgive some of the under written and/or cheesier aspects like Teller and Bell aging 20 years in an alleged 7, Dr. Doom's nickname and montages of computer staring, etc. The low-fi approach mixed with some big sets and pretty decent CGI in the other dimension worked well enough. Marco Beltrami's score keeps things moving and I appreciated that the story wasn't a total retread of the 2005 version like The Amazing Spider-Man was of the original Sam Raimi trilogy. In a twist, the four aren't all hunky dorey in a dysfunctional family way, they're just young people with different motivations and end goals thrown together. While it's not action packed, I was never pining for a big explosion either. There's some real randomness in the film like Teller's pubic hair looking "beard" for a scene and Dr. Doom's kinda lame metal mummy look. By the end we get a pretty tame superhero showdown with the four needing to band together and take out Doom. It's all very shallow and quick moving with some visual flourishes and a few intriguing moments like when Doom walks the lab halls destroying innocents with his new found power.
Like John Carter, Battleship or Tomorrowland where bad press and reported behind the scenes turmoil had people judging the films on what they heard versus what they saw; Fantastic Four is the latest cinematic punching bag that's getting more crap than it truly deserves. It's not a genre changing masterpiece but I'm not sure who thought it was supposed to be. It was easier to sit through than Terminator: Genysis and loads better than Fox's big budget, high profile X-Men Origins: Wolverine debacle. I say if the trailers intrigued you at all, give Fantastic Four a shot and form your own opinion.
It was a pretty productive and busy Saturday as I started things off with a nice workout then my lady had a geek girl brunch thing at The One Up in Sherman Oaks. Enlisting a fellow arcade game loving friend we set out to do some brawling while the ladies did their thing. Jameson and Ginger Beer beside me, I hit Start on Capcom's Knights of the Round from 1991 and away we went. The game sees wizard Merlin sending King Arthur and his two knights Lancelot and Perceval on a mission to take out evil king Garibaldi in order to unite England. Like Final Fight you have three types of player to choose from. Arthur is like Cody, well rounded in the strength and speed department while Lancelot is Guy, being faster and a touch weaker while Perceval is your Haggar, big and slow but strongest of the trio. Opting for Lancelot with his beautiful mane of Fabio-esque hair, we mashed buttons taking out soldiers and thieves with hack and slash spin moves. Tigers are your enemy, sorry Tony while you can jump on horses and hack from above. Health replenishment comes in the forms of salads and cheese plates. Knights is cool because you level up after taking out so many baddies and picking up treasure so you gain a shoulder pad, a breast plate, a bigger sword, a gold suit of armor etc. After 7 levels of medieval mayhem, we defeated Garibaldi and united the realm.
Next up was another side scrolling beat'em up from Capcom, 1993's The Punisher. Here you can only choose Mr. P. himself Frank Castle or former Howling Commando turned head of SHIELD Nick Fury. Unlike Knights or Final Fight where each character is a little different, The Punisher and Fury are basically the same in the speed and strength department. While Punisher does a low spinning sweep special move, Nick Fury whips off his belt and goes around the world. What's great about this game is how violent it is, plus Fury smokes a stogie the entire time. Besides punching, kicking and jump side kicking, you can pick up lead pipes, samurai swords, throw knives and blast fools dead with pistols and M-16's. Oh yeah, you also grab flame throwers and set peeps on fire. You also pick up grenades and explode your enemies whenever necessary. Surprisingly violent, there's blood splatters from the sword slashes, bullet hits and in one scene, Punisher grabs a punk and shoots him under the chin! The food selection here is great, giant roasts, Swiss cheese, flan and hot dogs! This would have been prime time Jim Lee Punisher: War Journal days but I couldn't remember what villains he went up against there besides some ninjas and Bushwhacker. Luckily the blond buzz cut with gun hands Bushwhacker showed up as a boss before we fought the Kingpin. The cool thing about The One-Up is that games are on free play so who knows how many quarters it would have taken to beat these games otherwise. When we defeated Data East's Captain America and The Avengers in Salt Lake City, it took a good $10 for two of us if I recall correctly.
Still on the hunt for Capcom's brawler Alien VS Predator and Data East's run and gun G.I. Joe game. Until then, keep mashing!
It hasn't even been a month but San Diego Comic-Con seems like a distant memory. Fortunately there are several shows big and small in August to keep us busy. Sadly, I've already missed two of them! This past Sunday saw two shows on opposite sides of the city take place. The one closest to me that I somehow didn't know about, was Carson's inaugural YesterCon, a celebration of comics, movies and cartoons from the 80's and 90's. Exhibition space sold out while guests like Michael Bower (Salute Your Shorts), Hank Garrett (G.I. Joe), Larry Houston (X-Men Animated), Townsed Coleman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and several Power Rangers met the fans. It looked like a decent sized show with plenty of vendors, a mini arcade and panel space. I still can't believe I didn't know about the show and it was only a few minutes away! Over in Claremont by Pomona is the bi-monthly Packing House Comic Book & Collectible Show. There's free admission and parking with the next show scheduled for September 27th.
A show I won't be missing is this weekend's ScareLA: the Haunt, Horror & Halloween Convention. While I'm not a huge horror guy, it's always fun to check out a new show. Plus it's in picturesque Pasadena where Bot-Con was. In it's third year, ScareLA showcases local haunted attractions, make up and decorating classes, exhibition floor with 150 vendors, speed dating, hours of panels, screenings, nighttime concert and a live exorcism?! Also this weekend north of Los Angeles is Stocktoncon where Pop Culture will be celebrated through comics, gaming, exhibitors and guests like Ken Shamrock, Tone Rodriguez, Ron Lim and Koko. B. Ware?!
The weekend of August 14th - 16th will be a big one for Orange County as Disney's D-23 Expo takes over the Anaheim Convention Center. This will also be a first for us with awesome talent like George Lucas and John Lasseter attending, panels on attractions, Imagineering, The Muppets and A Goofy Movie 20th Anniversary Reunion! Now that Star Wars and Marvel are under the House of Mouse, expect some news and appearances for upcoming films like The Force Awakens and Captain America: Civil War. Unlike this year's WonderCon and Star Wars Celebration at the Anaheim Convention Center, it looks like you can't walk the exhibit floor with booze... Just up the street in Orange, you can hang out with Cable, Deadpool, X-Force creator and O.C. native Rob Liefeld at Big Red Comics on Saturday from 2:00 - 5:00PM.
If that weren't enough, the following weekend there's Nerd Con in Escondido north of San Diego while staple Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention welcomes Agent Carter Hayley Atwell on Sunday the 22nd near USC and downtown. It's been a while since I checked out the LA Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi Con so it will be interesting to see how things have changed or stayed the same. Past guests include Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Bolo Yeung, Jackie Chan, Vin Diesel, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger!
To wrap things up, Anaheim hosts Anime California on Friday - Sunday, August 8.28 - 30th. Anime and video games are the prime focus here with Artist Alley already sold out, fan-run panels lining up, concerts, cosplay and the SCR e-gaming tournament where video game athletes battle it out in Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and many more titles. While Sunday August 30th is the San Fernando Valley Comic Book Convention that touts $5 admission and free parking. Phew! See you at the show(s)!
It's already August, yeesh! Seems like yesterday it was May and Avengers: Age of Ultron was kicking off the Summer Cinema season and I was working the Skin Trade premiere and schmoozing at Pound of Flesh's. This weekend sees a pretty crowded line up of flicks hitting cinemas including Fox's $120 million dollar reboot of Marvel comic book franchise The Fantastic Four, low budget blast from the past reunion thriller The Gift, Aardman Animations Shaun the Sheep and Meryl Streep as an over the hill rocker in Ricki and the Flash all fighting for your movie going bucks.
Fantastic Four has been battling bad press since it's onset with the hardcore fans crying about the casting of Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch, previously played by Chris Evans. Those same fans lambasted the 2005 and '07 attempts which I enjoyed as they were basically action-comedies about a dysfunctional family with super powers. Not everything needs to be rooted in gritty darkness like Batman or taken with such self serious emptiness as The Avengers. There were rumors about young director Josh Trank losing control on set and the online vitriol being a main reason he opted out of a standalone Star Wars feature. The approach seems more lo-tech, grunge science-fiction and made for an interesting first trailer. I'm staunchly not a supporter of new Reed Richards Miles Teller so we'll see when I see this.
A film that cost less than 1/10th of Fantastic Four but looks surprisingly more interesting is Joel Edgerton's The Gift. The King Arthur, Smokin' Aces and Warrior standout had written and directed short films in Australia and co-wrote 2014's The Rover. Here he directs, produces, writes and co-stars opposite Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall. The trailers reminded me of 1992's Unlawful Entry, where yuppie Kurt Russell and trophy wife Madeline Stowe deal with an overzealous and creepy police officer played by one Ray Liotta. Word has been good on The Gift which sees Bateman and Hall's couple being slowly terrorized by former classmate Edgerton. Newly formed studio STX Entertainment is hoping to fill the market void on low to mid budget comedies, dramas and thrillers as the big boys focus on tentpoles, comic book adaptations and franchises.
The rest of the summer looks like slim pickings with WB's update of TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E. starring Superman's cocked eyebrow and the Lone Ranger in Russian then Lionsgate's "stoner who's actually a spy" flick American Ultra being possible good times at the theater. Until then, see ya at round 2 of Ant-Man!
I had just come out of a hours long training session Friday when I saw the posts on Facebook about Roddy Piper. I honestly couldn't believe it. He was only 61. But the sad history of wrestlers has seen many pass before retirement age due to heart complications most likely brought on by drug use and lifestyle. While guys like The Ultimate Warrior and Bret Hart were my favorite wrestlers growing up, Piper was one of my favorite personalities. He transcended the sport that made him so famous, appearing in cult hit They Live and several other solid action flicks. Piper's death made me instantly sad as he seemed like the kind of guy who had been through a lot and wore his heart on his sleeve. When I first subscribed to Netflix a few years ago and found myself alone for a long weekend, I devoured hours upon hours of WWF/WWE documentaries, one of the first being Piper's. In remembrance we sat down for a viewing of They Live to see him in his prime.
Rowdy Roddy was born Roderick George Toombs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and grew up in Manitoba. A runaway from junior high age, Toombs traveled the country working odd jobs in gyms and for professional wrestlers. Being of Scottish heritage, Piper even played the bagpipes while becoming a Golden Gloves boxing champion and amateur wrestler. Toombs made his professional wrestling debut at age 15 against Larry Henning, being billed as Roddy the Piper. The business would take him to the states working in California, Kansas and Texas where he began crafting his Rowdy persona by insulting local communities and managing villains. By the 80's, Piper was a fan favorite and feuding with the likes of Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair and Greg Valentine. In 1984, Piper joined the World Wrestling Federation as a heel and given his own interview segment, Piper's Pit, where he would sometimes insult then attack guests like Jimmy Snuka who got a coconut to the jaw and crashed into the flimsy set. A feud with Hulk Hogan involving singer Cyndi Lauper, Captain Lou Albano and Mr. T. was shown on MTV. 1987's record breaking Wrestlemania III sold out over 93,000 seats, one of them being wrestling fan and Halloween and Escape From New York writer/director John Carpenter. Carpenter was doing low budget movies at Universal and thought Piper would be an excellent lead due to his weathered look and expertise on the mic. WWF owner Vince McMahon was having none of it, thinking that the company was based around himself and superstar Hulk Hogan. McMahon tried to offer Piper a lead in a WWF produced film but the wrestler passed, knowing that a director of Carpenter's skill would not be involved. This lead to McMahon and Hogan holing up in a hotel room for a week and coming up with the not great 1989 flick, No Holds Barred.
While Barred would actually end up grossing more than They Live, it's hardly remembered in the same regard twenty some years later. Piper plays Nada, a drifter from Denver who finds construction work in Los Angeles. While staying at a local shelter, he uncovers the truth that aliens have taken over society and placed subliminal messages on TV, printed money, magazines, etc. Armed with special sunglasses that let him see the messages and the faces of aliens hiding under human masks, Nada teams up with Frank (Keith David) as they battle the 1% alien threat. It's great stuff with some terrific dialog that was half written and half improvised along with shotgun flavored action and a ridiculously awesome alley fight that goes on for 6 minutes. Piper is pitch perfect as the drifter who can't believe what's happening and delivers a broad performance where he can be sad and mad in the same 90 minutes. The $4 million dollar movie would gross $13 million upon release and become a cult classic, prompting special edition DVD's and repertory screenings around the world. Subsequent acting roles in genre fare like Hell Comes to Frogtown and a slew of direct to video films with Billy Blanks would never rival They Live but showed Piper had some real acting chops. 1997's The Bad Pack showed his goofy sense of humor in the low budget Magnificent Seven update opposite Robert Davi and Ralf Moeller while he surprisingly delivered the best performance in 2007's street fighting flick Honor as spiritually wounded policeman and father figure LT Tyrell against Russell Wong.
Piper's outspoken personality and fractured upbringing created an adult who would give you the shirt off his back if asked but resented authority and did not take orders well. This lead to his in and out relationship with McMahon and WWF as Piper spoke out against the company several times and subsequently fired. I recall one interview where Piper claimed he wouldn't make it to retirement age to claim his pension. Sadly, he was right. Rowdy Roddy Piper was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and is survived by his wife and four children. Mixed Martial Artist Rhonda Rousey received Piper's blessing to use the Rowdy nickname and dedicated her Saturday night title defense to his honor.
The Egyptian Theatre is three nights in to it's awesome Night of the Living '80s: A New Wave of Horror series celebrating zombies, slashers and evil spirits. Re-Animater and From Beyond kicked things off Thursday night with an appearance by director Stuart Gordon. The Changeling and Poltergeist followed Friday with director Peter Medak while Saturday was the big one, the 30th anniversary of horror-comedy zombie classic Return of the Living Dead and alien slugs invade a college town cult favorite Night of the Creeps. It's not even Halloween but this ended up being an incredibly strange evening as I dealt with road raging drivers on the way there then spotted a first, a guy trying to find a vein and shoot up in a trash can off Hollywood Boulevard. Before the film, you had people in costume showcasing scary clown from IT, Tar-Man from Living Dead and some chick with a bloody ax and racoon tail while funny clips screened discussing Satanism, the music video for Big Trouble In Little China, a funny teaser for upcoming Beyond Fest and much more. Creepshow Cabaret started things off with some tantalizing peekaboo action with one scary clown disrobing, one sad clown doing a show, the ax wielding lady gripping and grinding it seductively and finally a lap dance for unstated guest of honor, Clu Gulager.
The Return of the Living Dead takes place in Louisville, Kentucky where Uneeda Medical Supply provides skeletons, cadavers and taxidermied animals to local schools and hospitals. Frank (James Karen) is breaking in new hire Freddy (Thom Mathews) and we learn that the zombie movie Night of the Living Dead was based on true events and that Uneeda has some of the creatures in storage downstairs. The dim witted duo go to take a look at the frozen subjects, housed in Army Corp. of Engineers designed tombs but they end up springing a leak. Trying to contain the situation, owner Burt (Gulagher) doesn't want to call the police or army and decides to ask neighbor Ernie (Don Calfa) to incinerate a resurrected cadaver in his mortuary. Unfortunately the resulting smoke goes into the clouds, comes back down with rain and raises a cemetery's worth of brain hungry zombies where a bunch of Freddy's friends are waiting to pick him up after work. 80's greatness follows as the surviving humans barricade themselves in, try to find a way to kill the zombies and escape. There's laughs, scares, brains, blood, tits and synth galore from writer/director Dan O'Bannon with story assists by Rudy Ricci, John A. Russo and Rusell Streiner.
At roughly 90 minutes, Dead moves fast and uses it's few locations economically where you don't feel closed in or that the low budget production couldn't afford to do more. The cast throughout is great with Clu playing Burt big, serious and near rabid while James Karen and Thom Mathews make a terrific team of bumblers, Miguel A. Nunez Jr. gets to say Fuck a lot and call Gulager a honky while Linnea Quigley's sole purpose is to be naked for the duration of her screen time. Mark Venturini is hilarious as the angst ridden, taken advantage of Suicide, Beverly Randolph gets to play cute and shrieky as Freddy's girlfriend Tina while John Philbin and Jewel Shepard play the not to be couple Chuck and Casey. Don Calfa as embalmer Ernie comes off just creepy enough you think he'll turn on our survivors but does not. Matt Clifford's synth and rock song score is fantastic and great at pumping up a crowd. Zombie shenanigans are laugh out loud funny while also gory and disgusting with brains being eaten, heads knocked off with bats and the like all gloriously done practically with prosthetic limbs, costumes, fake blood and cow brains. All in a really enjoyable time capsule that was great to see for the first time on the big screen with a packed and enthusiastic audience.
After the film a MAMMOTH panel was introduced by our film historian moderator David Del Valle that included actors Clu Gulager, Beverly Randolph, John Philbin, Thom Matthews, Brian Peck and Jewel Shepard, production designer William Stout and I believe documentary producers/authors Gary Smart and Michael Perez as well as make up artist Kenny Meyers. It was a bit of a warbled affair as Del Valle didn't introduce anyone or their role in the film then asked the 10 person panel how they met Dan O'Bannon and what it was like to work with them.
- Clu found O'Bannon very smart and praises Living Dead as having a near flawless last 10 minutes.
- Thom Mathews auditioned a couple of times and calls Living Dead the best experience he ever had on a project.
- Meyers was brought in last minute as previous f/x man was fired. O'Bannon screamed at Perez not to tell him "no problem". As that what was the last guy kept saying.
- Stout believes that O'Bannon and George Lucas changed cinema by finding production designers who came from other arenas of art and not just architecture.
- Brian Peck had a agent horrible who wouldn't put him up for a role, went in multiple times then heard nothing. One day reading Variety sees the film was ramping up for production and he was listed as part of the cast.
- Jewel Shepard met O'Bannon in a strip club where she worked and was offered role of Trash. But Shepard was tired of playing the naked girl and ended up as Casey instead.
- John Philbin auditioned half a dozen times, didn't think O'Bannon liked him.
Things got crazy when Gulager reminisced about his early career when someone told him, "walk softly and carry a big dick", not knowing what that meant, the actor unveiled a giant penis and said he carried it around town until realizing it was stick, not dick. So here's an 86 year old actor in front of 500 people, talking to a giant penis, asking it questions then answering in a falsetto voice. That was a moment of greatness before things took an awkward segue with much of the panel talking about the differences of making films in the 80's compared to today. Back then you could be an unknown and land a leading role while today you need a demo reel and credits to even get an agent. Shepard remarked that it was easy for her, she just got naked. Thom Mathews didn't seem to appreciate that advice as his 11 year old daughter was in the audience. Beverly Randolph got things back on track as there were two copies of documentary More Brains! up for grabs and Brian Peck asked a couple of trivia questions. There was still Night of the Creeps to screen but already pushing 11:00 PM it was time to go home. After a quick chat with filmmaker Larry Brand we hit the road and one of the weirdest, oddest, realist nights in my Hollywood experience came to an end.
Welcome back to Tell Me a Question, where we chat with fascinating individuals living lives in the movie, martial arts and comic book worlds. Today we're joined by New York based martial artist and actor Paul Mormando. Born in Brooklyn, Mormando took up combat sports at a young age, eventually becoming a grandmaster and earning the nickname "Mr. Karate". Mormando is the creator of the Real Life Defense course, has performed in over 150 martial arts demonstrations and featured in over 200 magazines and newspapers. After bit parts on television and in film, Mormando was preparing for his leading man vehicle Double Fist with a young Mark Wahlberg lined up to co-star. Unfortunately Mormando was struck by a drunk driver and suffered terrible injuries. Like the best comeback and underdog stories; Mormando never lost hope, persevered and after much rehabilitation, is back on the road to action movie nirvana. We caught up over e-mail:
How did you get into martial arts? What lead you to creating your own style?
When I was young I was extremely small
in stature, a perfect target for bullies...then it happened,
I was 7 and I watched this little Chinese man beat up people twice his
size. Bruce Lee provided hope for me and I begged my parents into letting me take lessons to protect myself. Eventually I enrolled in my first art, Tae Kwon Do. After getting into a street fight I realized TKD's limitations. What I had practiced in the dojo wasn't going to work on the street. So I experimented with many arts and used Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do philosophy fused with different styles. Lee was an inspiration but his style of teaching seemed too abstract for the average person. I experimented with different arts and ranges but wanted a more systematic approach. That's how I came up with the Cha Ki Do system.
You've been active your whole life, what's your approach to staying fit today?
At the moment I'm getting back into shape for some film projects. I lift weights and love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Boxing constitutes much of my current regimen.
After countless demonstrations, being featured on television and appearing in numerous publications, what lead you to acting?
I never even thought about
it, as a matter of fact, I never even did a school play....so acting was
far from my mind. One day I was doing a martial arts demo and I
decided to do a dive roll over a bunch of swords as the finale. That got the attention of the local newspaper editor who put me on the front page. The legendary entertainment agent Ruben Malaret contacted me and wanted to make me the next Chuck Norris. Once I got a taste of the acting bug, I became passionate. Ironically enough I ended up guest starring on Broadway in Tony n' Tina's Wedding. That was a thrill, being the first martial artist on such a big stage.
Who are some of your favorite actors? Favorite films?
Of course I love Bruce Lee, he is my idol. Jean-Claude Van Damme really inspired and motivated me. His kicking ability is unsurpassed. Jason Statham is really good, great screen presence. My favorite films are Enter the
Dragon, the Rocky Franchise and No Retreat, No
Surrender.
You were involved in a terrible car accident, how did you stay positive and keep moving forward?
That was at the beginning of my film career, I had just performed a demo at Shea stadium in front of nearly
20,000 people. And a few nights later it all got taken away from me. I was hit by a drunk driver. As hurt as I was, there were people around me even worse off. That kept me positive. The martial arts taught me discipline and gave me an indomitable spirit that helped me bounce back. During rehab I was inspired by those less fortunate; people who couldn't walk because their legs were amputated. If they can stay positive, I wasn't going to let a few injured disks set me back.
What's the key to staying hungry? What's next on your list?
I continue to set goals and higher standards for myself. My last goal is to become the next action star. My 7 year old daughter motivates and inspires me. I'm making it happen. Twenty years ago after the accident I thought my career was over. Now I'm booked through 2016. I'll be in Ohio shooting a film with director William Lee, sharing the screen with Mel Novak (Enter the Dragon) and Joe Estevez. I'll play the villain in Andre Joseph's Vendetta Games and then there's sci-fi web series Sons of God with my friend Leonard Sanderson.
Many thanks to Mr. Mormando for taking the time to chat with Dammaged Goods. Keep up with Double Fist on Facebook.
It was a lovely Monday night with an early screening of Paramount's 5th chapter in their successful spy franchise Mission:Impossible. The globe trotting espionage thrillers have dealt with classified lists, world threatening viruses, arms dealers and bombing of the Kremlin. This time out, Rogue Nation deals with The Syndicate, an anti-IMF or the Impossible Missions Force, Ethan Hunt's (Tom Cruise) gang of world saving super spies that now includes computer whiz Benji (Simon Pegg), hacker Luther (Ving Rhames) and younger agent Brandt (Jeremy Renner). Spies thought dead from all over the world have seemingly banded together to fight the authorities and governments that created them. Hunt keeps running into Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), a mysterious woman running in the same dangerous circles.
Written and directed by The Way of the Gun and Jack Reacher's Christopher McQuarrie with a script assist from Drew Pearce, it's unsurprising that Rogue plays things pretty straight in a surprisingly character and simple plot driven piece. While the story takes place in Vienna, London and Morroco, things are far from the slick and shiny previous chapters. The action is limited to a few giant set pieces that are more for showing off some harrowing and incredibly well executed stunts involving planes, motorcycles, cars and crashes than showing off explosions. Cruise gets to mix it up a bit in a few tactical meets near unbelievable ninja jumping fights and does more than a couple standing drop kicks. There's bits of humor sprinkled throughout and the supporting cast is terrific. Alec Baldwin shows up as a CIA official in a bit of a throwback to his role as Jack Ryan from The Hunt From Red October. Cruise is his usual dependable self, the guy doesn't give shabby performances or turn up in bad movies. Newcomer to me Ferguson was an excellent mix of beauty and strength while I was left trying to remember if Renner did any action in Ghost Protocol because he doesn't do anything physical here.
While Rogue Nation played out low key, I was a little thrown off by the poor quality of some of the digital shots looking very fuzzy, dusty and blurry. There was less action than I expected but the film keeps you interested as twists, turns and reveals are made in the slow burning summer thriller that seems more oriented for adults than teens on a Friday night. It's like the Jack Reacher version of Mission: Impossible. Now I feel like going back and rewatching the series...put on some coffee.
Please help me welcome author and #ActionMovieBro david j. moore to Dammaged Goods as he reviews Jian Bing Man, the Chinese superhero comedy that features one Jean-Claude Van Damme in a cameo role as the villain. Translated to Pancake Man, Jian Bing has grossed an astounding $125 million dollars in China and The Middle Kingdom. It's currently playing in AMC's across America so check your local listings. Moore and I met at San Diego Comic-Con last year and have been working together since. His first book, World Gone Wild: A Survivor's Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Movies has been a hit around the world with over 800 reviews and over 60 exclusive interviews with cast and crew. Moore's next work, the action film focused The Good, The Tough & The Deadly: Action Movies & Stars 1960's - Present hits shelves this holiday season. Yours truly is featured briefly with a couple of reviews and the Carl Weathers interview. Take it away David:
Let's just get this
out of the way: Despite being heavily featured in the trailers, marketing, and
posters, Jean-Claude Van Damme is neither the star nor the co-star of the new
Chinese megabomb known as Jian Bing Man
(English translation: Pancake Man). His name is spoken once early on in the
film as a teaser that he might show up at some point, and you're sitting there
waiting for your favorite action star to show his face in some capacity, and in
the last five minutes he at last
appears to add the only star quality this hopelessly immature and lost in
translation motion picture has going for it. He does the splits (why wouldn't
he since that's what he was paid for?), throws a butterfly kick, gets thrown on
his face by the star who's wearing a yellow cape, and in the last seconds of
the film before the credits roll Van Damme gets the last line: "Iron Man
didn't kick my ass!" as if that's supposed to validate The Pancake Man's
awesomeness. I'm telling you, guys, I really hope Van Damme got a million bucks
for this garbage because if he didn't then there's no justice.
A quick backstory
of my appreciation and devotion to Van Damme's work: The first time I saw one
of his films in a theater was Timecop
in 1994. I've been a fan ever since, seeing all of his theatrical releases any
time he's been given one. I was there for everything from Maximum Risk (twice) to Knock
Off and Universal Soldier: The Return,
and I've sought out every screening of his latest film at every nook and cranny
festival if it was playing in a theater within a hundred mile radius. I saw JCVD in a theater, I went out of my way
to go see Welcome to the Jungle, Swelter, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning,Dragon
Eyes, Enemies Closer, Pound of Flesh, and I even went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 because he did the voice
of an alligator in it. If the powers that be decide that Van Damme gets a
theatrical release, I make sure I'm there no matter what. So when I found out
that Jian Bing Man was getting a
theatrical release - playing at the Puente Hills Mall AMC Theater, I made sure
I was there for the preview night on Thursday at 7:00 PM before opening night.
I figured I'd be the only guy in the theater (same as I was when I saw Universal Soldier: DoR, Dragon Eyes,
and Enemies Closer), but I was
absolutely floored when I entered the auditorium - it was packed! Almost every single seat had been taken by a crowd of young
Asians (Chinese, I'm guessing educationally), and I had to find a seat in the
last row in the back. After four or
five trailers for exclusively Asian films, Jian
Bing Man started.
The crowd went wild
for this garbage, including the guy sitting next to me who kept looking over to
me, wondering why I wasn't as thrilled as he was. From the first frames, the
audience laughed uncontrollably, clapped, cheered, and had a great time. The
guy next to me kept ribbing me, trying to get a response out of me, but it just
wasn't happening. I almost wanted to run to the foot of the auditorium to take
a photo of everyone in the theater having a such a good time because not only
was I the only gweilo in the place,
but I was also the only person not laughing. As in Chinese opera and theater,
almost everything in these modern films from that region takes great pains to
oversimplify drama, mystery, and comedy to the point of nullifying any sense of
personal gratification for going on a cinematic journey along with characters
you're supposed to care about. Silly characters are ridiculously broad, with
massively broad strokes coloring their temperature when they're in comedic
situations. Gay characters (forget subtlety) are parodies of gay characters, and
romantic, leading characters are hopeless romantics with melodramatic subplots
who are sometimes allowed long, drawn-out (and in slow motion, no less)
flashbacks to childhood for no good reason. To top off all of this cinematic
ineptitude, the main character (played by the film's director Da Peng, who is
just cute enough to play the lead, but just nerdy enough to have everyone in
the film consider him a loser) dreams of becoming a superhero known as Pancake
Man, whose sole superpower is to throw raw eggs at bad guys. We get slow-mo
shots of eggs crashing on grimacing faces, and Pancake Man (who sort of looks
like Cyclone from He-Man and the Masters
of the Universe) flips around and zooms off into the ether from whence he
came. For me, this was not a superhero movie, a comedy, or a spoof of any sort.
It is a sad and confounding state affairs to realize that this is what millions
of Chinese people are eating up, and to know that this has made over a hundred
million dollars and broke every record in its native country just bewilders me.
As for Jean-Claude
Van Damme, he plays himself playing a nameless villain Pancake Man fights at
the very end of the film. The fight lasts maybe two or three minutes at most.
If you saw and were disappointed by Van Damme's appearances in Welcome to the Jungle and Swelter, you'll be glad (I guess) to
hear that he kicks more and does more of what you're hoping he'll do in this
thing. It's just over so quickly. It's not worth the price of admission,
frankly, unless you're a diehard fan (like I've always been). A funny thing
about the film is that a Chinese pop band (four dudes with ultra stylish hair
and make-up) shows up immediately after Van Damme gets knocked out by Pancake
Man, and their purpose in the film was simply to upstage him for the
bigger-and-better cameo (at least to the Chinese audience, who cheered when
these guys came into the picture), and one of their songs plays on the
soundtrack to highlight their gorgeousness. When Pancake Man greets them (they
have no purpose in the film other than to simply appear and disappear), they
smile and chat with him for a second, and that's when I noticed their teeth.
The true mark of Communism is bad teeth, and that's when the film got my first
and only laugh. I dunno, guys. This movie's the pits, but if you feel you need
to go there, then go there. I did. And I'll never forget the experience.
