Versus Pay Homage to Australia’s Cult Cinematic History in Party Dozen’s ‘Coup de Gronk’ Music Video
As the proverb goes, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” so when Kirsty Tickle and Jonathan Boulet from riotous musical duo Party Dozen were looking to create a music video for Coup de Gronk, the first release from their new album Crime in Australia, they immediately reached out to fellow Aussie duo Versus to rekindle the fruitful collaboration which brought us the delightfully cacophonous junkyard-set promo for Macca the Mutt. The creative output and common synergy between regularly featured on Dn directorial team Tanya Babić and Jason Sukadana and the band is immediately recognisable in this third gritty, loud and absorbing video they’ve made together. Coup de Gronk delves into Australia’s seedier underbelly while paying homage to the low-budget, cult world of Ozploitation films. A saxophone is wielded as a vicious weapon, fear follows in their wake and when Party Dozen come to collect forget your pathetic excuses,...
- 10/16/2024
- by Sarah Smith
- Directors Notes
Australian actor George Lazenby, who had a one-and-done moment playing James Bond in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” is retiring from acting. Lazenby had the shortest tenure as the world’s most well known secret agent, starring only in the one film as 007.
A Hulu docudrama from Josh Greenbaum about Lazenby’s life, “Becoming Bond,” was released in 2017. An auto mechanic turned male model, Lazenby was the second actor to play Bond on the big screen, following Sean Connery, who starred in seven Bond pics.
On July 24, Lazenby announced his decision to retire in a post on X. Although his career has “been a fun ride,” he feels “getting older is no fun,” he wrote.
“This hasn’t been an easy decision but it’s time to announce my retirement from work,” Lazenby wrote on X. “Therefore, I won’t be doing any more acting or making public appearances,...
A Hulu docudrama from Josh Greenbaum about Lazenby’s life, “Becoming Bond,” was released in 2017. An auto mechanic turned male model, Lazenby was the second actor to play Bond on the big screen, following Sean Connery, who starred in seven Bond pics.
On July 24, Lazenby announced his decision to retire in a post on X. Although his career has “been a fun ride,” he feels “getting older is no fun,” he wrote.
“This hasn’t been an easy decision but it’s time to announce my retirement from work,” Lazenby wrote on X. “Therefore, I won’t be doing any more acting or making public appearances,...
- 7/25/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety Film + TV
Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Who episode “73 Yards”.
Doctor-Lite stories have so far been very good, which raises the possibility that the thing that′s really holding back Doctor Who is Doctor Who.
As you may know, Ncuti Gatwa was finishing filming his last series of Sex Education for Netflix while “73 Yards” was being filmed, and so the episode was pushed onto the array of ′Doctor-Lite′ stories (put simply: ones in which the Doctor doesn′t appear very much). The idea of doubling up the filming of episodes and balancing the cast accordingly has been in place since the show returned in 2005, with it formally being named as a budget-saving strategy in 2007 with “Blink”. They may also be referred to as “double-banking” episodes where two episodes are filmed simultaneously and so the regular cast can’t substantially appear in both.
Doctor Who often gave its leads a holiday in the 1960s,...
Doctor-Lite stories have so far been very good, which raises the possibility that the thing that′s really holding back Doctor Who is Doctor Who.
As you may know, Ncuti Gatwa was finishing filming his last series of Sex Education for Netflix while “73 Yards” was being filmed, and so the episode was pushed onto the array of ′Doctor-Lite′ stories (put simply: ones in which the Doctor doesn′t appear very much). The idea of doubling up the filming of episodes and balancing the cast accordingly has been in place since the show returned in 2005, with it formally being named as a budget-saving strategy in 2007 with “Blink”. They may also be referred to as “double-banking” episodes where two episodes are filmed simultaneously and so the regular cast can’t substantially appear in both.
Doctor Who often gave its leads a holiday in the 1960s,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Grant Page, the larger-than-life Australian stunt performer famous for his jaw-dropping work in films including Mad Max, The Man From Hong Kong and Mad Dog Morgan, has died. He was 85.
Page died Thursday when the car he was driving near his home in Kendall on the coast of New South Wales hit a tree, his son Leroy Page told Daily Mail Australia.
Page worked with director Brian Trenchard-Smith on more than a dozen projects, including The Stuntmen (1973), King Fu Killers (1974), The Man From Hong Kong (1973) — where Page fights martial arts expert Jimmy Wang Yu in scenes using knives, cleavers and meat hooks — Deathcheaters (1976), Stunt Rock (1978) and Hospitals Don’t Burn Down! (1978).
And for the documentary Dangerfreaks (1987), Trenchard-Smith filmed Page standing on a ledge outside the perimeter fence on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in New York.
Page “successfully tampered with the laws of physics and probability,” Trenchard-Smith...
Page died Thursday when the car he was driving near his home in Kendall on the coast of New South Wales hit a tree, his son Leroy Page told Daily Mail Australia.
Page worked with director Brian Trenchard-Smith on more than a dozen projects, including The Stuntmen (1973), King Fu Killers (1974), The Man From Hong Kong (1973) — where Page fights martial arts expert Jimmy Wang Yu in scenes using knives, cleavers and meat hooks — Deathcheaters (1976), Stunt Rock (1978) and Hospitals Don’t Burn Down! (1978).
And for the documentary Dangerfreaks (1987), Trenchard-Smith filmed Page standing on a ledge outside the perimeter fence on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in New York.
Page “successfully tampered with the laws of physics and probability,” Trenchard-Smith...
- 3/15/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Taiwanese martial-arts film star Jimmy Wang Yu died on April 5 at a hospital in Taipei, his daughter, Linda Wong announced on Instagram.
‘With utmost sorrow, I inform everyone that our beloved father Mr Wang Yu, who battled the demon of disease these last six years, passed away peacefully this morning of April 5 at Taipei Cheng Hsin Hospital. He was 80 years old,” she wrote, according to translator Dylan Cheung. She did not indicate the nature of the disease.
She added, “I believe his [1967 film] One-Armed Swordsman — that image of a dashing great swordsman — will remain forever in the hearts of film history and film fans alike.”
Director Ang Lee told the China News Agency: “It’s with the deepest sorrow that we learned of his passing today. For many fans like me, he represents the vibe of a certain era. His films and his heroic spirit will be deeply missed.”
View this...
‘With utmost sorrow, I inform everyone that our beloved father Mr Wang Yu, who battled the demon of disease these last six years, passed away peacefully this morning of April 5 at Taipei Cheng Hsin Hospital. He was 80 years old,” she wrote, according to translator Dylan Cheung. She did not indicate the nature of the disease.
She added, “I believe his [1967 film] One-Armed Swordsman — that image of a dashing great swordsman — will remain forever in the hearts of film history and film fans alike.”
Director Ang Lee told the China News Agency: “It’s with the deepest sorrow that we learned of his passing today. For many fans like me, he represents the vibe of a certain era. His films and his heroic spirit will be deeply missed.”
View this...
- 4/7/2022
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Jimmy Wang Yu, a Taiwanese actor who was once one of the biggest stars of martial arts cinema, died Tuesday in a Taipei hospital from an undisclosed illness he battled for six years. He was 79 and his death was announced on Instagram by his daughter, Linda Wang.
Born in Shanghai, China, Wang moved to Hong Kong and made his name as an action star at Shaw Brothers Studio during the 1960s. His best-known film was One-Armed Swordsman, which, as the title suggests, was about swordplay, a hallmark of his combat skills. The film would become the first Hong Kong film to make HK1million at the local box office.
The action films made Wang one of the biggest stars in Asia, and popular in the U.S. underground grindhouses that specialized in low-budget films.
One-Armed Swordsman saw two sequels, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman in 1969, in which Wang reprised his role,...
Born in Shanghai, China, Wang moved to Hong Kong and made his name as an action star at Shaw Brothers Studio during the 1960s. His best-known film was One-Armed Swordsman, which, as the title suggests, was about swordplay, a hallmark of his combat skills. The film would become the first Hong Kong film to make HK1million at the local box office.
The action films made Wang one of the biggest stars in Asia, and popular in the U.S. underground grindhouses that specialized in low-budget films.
One-Armed Swordsman saw two sequels, Return of the One-Armed Swordsman in 1969, in which Wang reprised his role,...
- 4/7/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
"The natural landscape is a common setting and often a frightening place - one that functions by its own logic and is hostile to outsiders." Dive into this brief history of the Australian New Wave era of cinema thanks to a new video essay on YouTube. This was commissioned by Little White Lies and written / edited by filmmaker Will Webb (who has been making many video essays in addition to this one). Here's the intro: "How a government funding scheme gave rise to a cinematic revolution in 1970s Australia, featuring now iconic films such as Wake in Fright, Walkabout and Mad Max." It all kicked off in the early 1970s and lasted through the 80s, with other Australian classics like The Man From Hong Kong, Gallipoli, Mad Dog Morgan, Razorback, and Crocodile Dundee. Webb's essay covers the first few films and various themes of the era, including how the films...
- 8/3/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
I’m a fan of Hong Kong film maker Stephen Chow. There’s something about Chow’s cinematic sensibility that resonates with me. Dark humor, genre satire, social criticism, and off the wall ideas are common to all his movies. I enjoy Chow’s flawed, somewhat narcissistic, but redeemable characters. His action staging is always imaginative. He’s a genuine comedic auteur, so I’m offering some Chinese trailers of his movies in the hope that you will find his body of work worth exploring.
Stephen Chow grew up in a Hong Kong working class suburb. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol Bruce Lee, and study his style of martial arts, after seeing Lee’s break-out movie The Big Boss ( US: The Chinese Connection) when he was 11. But after his parents’ divorce, Chow could not afford the cost of tuition. Nonetheless, he studied acting, starting in...
Stephen Chow grew up in a Hong Kong working class suburb. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol Bruce Lee, and study his style of martial arts, after seeing Lee’s break-out movie The Big Boss ( US: The Chinese Connection) when he was 11. But after his parents’ divorce, Chow could not afford the cost of tuition. Nonetheless, he studied acting, starting in...
- 3/19/2021
- by Brian Trenchard-Smith
- Trailers from Hell
Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played two iconic villains in the “Mad Max” franchise, has died, his representative confirmed to Variety on Wednesday. He was 73.
Keays-Byrne played the antagonist Toecutter in the 1979 original “Mad Max” film by director George Miller, and he was brought back for the 2015 movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” to play the evil villain Immortan Joe.
Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film “The Man From Hong Kong,” shared on Facebook that he had died in a hospital on Tuesday.
“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship,” Trenchard-Smith wrote.
As Toecutter, the leader of a biker gang, Keays-Byrne...
Keays-Byrne played the antagonist Toecutter in the 1979 original “Mad Max” film by director George Miller, and he was brought back for the 2015 movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” to play the evil villain Immortan Joe.
Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film “The Man From Hong Kong,” shared on Facebook that he had died in a hospital on Tuesday.
“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship,” Trenchard-Smith wrote.
As Toecutter, the leader of a biker gang, Keays-Byrne...
- 12/2/2020
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Hugh Keays-Byrne, most known for appearing as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road and Toecutter in the original 1979 Mad Max film, has died. He was 73.
Reps for the actor said he died peacefully on Tuesday morning. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who collaborated with Keays-Byrn on The Dragon Flies, paid tribute and confirmed the death on Wednesday.
“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship. Vale, Hugh,” Trenchard-Smith wrote in his Facebook post, which can be viewed below.
Born in 1947 in Kashmir, India, Keays-Bryne kicked off his acting career in Australia, where he earned his first credits in the 19687 TV series Bellbird,...
Reps for the actor said he died peacefully on Tuesday morning. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who collaborated with Keays-Byrn on The Dragon Flies, paid tribute and confirmed the death on Wednesday.
“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship. Vale, Hugh,” Trenchard-Smith wrote in his Facebook post, which can be viewed below.
Born in 1947 in Kashmir, India, Keays-Bryne kicked off his acting career in Australia, where he earned his first credits in the 19687 TV series Bellbird,...
- 12/2/2020
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Hugh Keays-Byrne, who portrayed Toecutter in Mad Max before returning 36 years later to play another villain for Australian director George Miller, Immortan Joe, in Mad Max: Fury Road, has died. He was 73.
Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film The Man From Hong Kong (also known as The Dragon Flies), reported that the actor died Wednesday in the hospital. No other details were immediately available.
Keays-Byrne also was known for his turn as the back-stabbing Grunchlk on the Australian American series Farscape and a 2004 miniseries.
Born in Kashmir, India, Keays-Byrne was a theater-trained actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company when ...
Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film The Man From Hong Kong (also known as The Dragon Flies), reported that the actor died Wednesday in the hospital. No other details were immediately available.
Keays-Byrne also was known for his turn as the back-stabbing Grunchlk on the Australian American series Farscape and a 2004 miniseries.
Born in Kashmir, India, Keays-Byrne was a theater-trained actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company when ...
- 12/2/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Hugh Keays-Byrne, who portrayed Toecutter in Mad Max before returning 36 years later to play another villain for Australian director George Miller, Immortan Joe, in Mad Max: Fury Road, has died. He was 73.
Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film The Man From Hong Kong (also known as The Dragon Flies), reported that the actor died Wednesday in hospital. No other details were immediately available.
Keays-Byrne also was known for his turn as the back-stabbing Grunchlk on the Australian-American series Farscape and a 2004 miniseries.
Born in Kashmir, India, Keays-Byrne was a theater-trained actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company when he remained ...
Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film The Man From Hong Kong (also known as The Dragon Flies), reported that the actor died Wednesday in hospital. No other details were immediately available.
Keays-Byrne also was known for his turn as the back-stabbing Grunchlk on the Australian-American series Farscape and a 2004 miniseries.
Born in Kashmir, India, Keays-Byrne was a theater-trained actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company when he remained ...
- 12/2/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
(Den of Geek will receive a portion of the sales from the links on this page)
On Saturday, August 1 at 9:15 Edt, 36 Cinema, the cinematic platform arm of lifestyle brand 36 Chambers, will host a special online screening of 1975 kung fu movie The Man From Hong Kong, which stars Jimmy Wang Yu (of the brilliant Master of the Flying Guillotine) and George Lazenby (the underrated James Bond who played the iconic role only once in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).
The virtual screening will be accompanied by live commentary by Dan Halsted (head programmer at the Hollywood Theater) and Man From Hong Kong director Brian Trenchard Smith. The screening will be moderated by Mustafa Shaikh, the co-founder of 36 Chambers.
Here’s the official synopsis for The Man From Hong Kong, courtesy of 36 Cinema:
“When Australian police discover a massive drug smuggling ring with connections to Hong Kong, they fly in master...
On Saturday, August 1 at 9:15 Edt, 36 Cinema, the cinematic platform arm of lifestyle brand 36 Chambers, will host a special online screening of 1975 kung fu movie The Man From Hong Kong, which stars Jimmy Wang Yu (of the brilliant Master of the Flying Guillotine) and George Lazenby (the underrated James Bond who played the iconic role only once in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).
The virtual screening will be accompanied by live commentary by Dan Halsted (head programmer at the Hollywood Theater) and Man From Hong Kong director Brian Trenchard Smith. The screening will be moderated by Mustafa Shaikh, the co-founder of 36 Chambers.
Here’s the official synopsis for The Man From Hong Kong, courtesy of 36 Cinema:
“When Australian police discover a massive drug smuggling ring with connections to Hong Kong, they fly in master...
- 7/31/2020
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
This Saturday, August 1st at 9:15 pm Edt, 36 Cinema presents the live stream of “The Man from Hong Kong” here. Dan Halsted—head programmer at the Hollywood Theatre—and Brian Trenchard Smith—film writer, author, and director of “Man From Hong Kong”—will provide live commentary during this special presentation.
“The Man From Hong Kong” is a rare success, both in terms of blending Eastern and Western action styles and of providing a snapshot of how no-holds-barred Aussie cinema was at the time. This movie is filled with non-stop excitement and wild stunt work.
Synopsis
Hong Kong cop and martial artist Fang Sing Leng travels to Sydney to extradite a drug dealer, but when the hood is assassinated on his way to court, everyone suspects Jack Wilton, an untouchable crime lord. (IMDb)
You can buy tickets for this event here.
“The Man From Hong Kong” is a rare success, both in terms of blending Eastern and Western action styles and of providing a snapshot of how no-holds-barred Aussie cinema was at the time. This movie is filled with non-stop excitement and wild stunt work.
Synopsis
Hong Kong cop and martial artist Fang Sing Leng travels to Sydney to extradite a drug dealer, but when the hood is assassinated on his way to court, everyone suspects Jack Wilton, an untouchable crime lord. (IMDb)
You can buy tickets for this event here.
- 7/28/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
This Saturday, August 1st at 9:15 pm Edt, 36 Cinema presents the live stream of “The Man from Hong Kong” here. Dan Halsted—head programmer at the Hollywood Theatre—and Brian Trenchard Smith—film writer, author, and director of “Man From Hong Kong”—will provide live commentary during this special presentation.
“The Man From Hong Kong” is a rare success, both in terms of blending Eastern and Western action styles and of providing a snapshot of how no-holds-barred Aussie cinema was at the time. This movie is filled with non-stop excitement and wild stunt work.
Synopsis
Hong Kong cop and martial artist Fang Sing Leng travels to Sydney to extradite a drug dealer, but when the hood is assassinated on his way to court, everyone suspects Jack Wilton, an untouchable crime lord. (IMDb)
You can buy tickets for this event here.
“The Man From Hong Kong” is a rare success, both in terms of blending Eastern and Western action styles and of providing a snapshot of how no-holds-barred Aussie cinema was at the time. This movie is filled with non-stop excitement and wild stunt work.
Synopsis
Hong Kong cop and martial artist Fang Sing Leng travels to Sydney to extradite a drug dealer, but when the hood is assassinated on his way to court, everyone suspects Jack Wilton, an untouchable crime lord. (IMDb)
You can buy tickets for this event here.
- 7/28/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Welcome back for Day 9 of Daily Dead’s fourth annual Holiday Gift Guide, readers! Once again, our goal is to help you navigate through the horrors of the 2016 shopping season with our tips on unique gift ideas, and we’ll hopefully help you save a few bucks over the next few weeks, too. For today’s gift guide, we’re showcasing several of the amazing Arrow Video releases of 2016, and we're also featuring the work of IBTrav Illustration & Design, the Mondo soundtrack release for Deathgasm, more enamel pins, a book celebrating Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Horror LEGOs, recent Monster High releases, and so much more!
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by several amazing companies, including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help get you into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently...
This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by several amazing companies, including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help get you into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently...
- 12/7/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The third week of September has a lot of fantastic horror and sci-fi home entertainment offerings coming our way, including an incredible pair of Criterion Blu-ray releases—Cat People (1942) and Blood Simple—as well as the 30th Anniversary Edition of Labyrinth and the Special Edition of Brian Trenchard-Smith’s Dead End Drive-In. Other notable titles being released on September 20th include the horror doc The Blackout Experiments (which premiered earlier this year at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival), Sacrifice, The Rift (1990), Beware! The Blob, and a Blu-ray set featuring all kinds of Twin Peaks goodness.
Beware! The Blob (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)
Newly Re-mastered in HD! The Blob returns... more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Robert Walker Jr. (Ensign Pulver), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Sid Haig (Busting), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), Godfrey Cambridge...
Beware! The Blob (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)
Newly Re-mastered in HD! The Blob returns... more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Robert Walker Jr. (Ensign Pulver), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Sid Haig (Busting), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), Godfrey Cambridge...
- 9/20/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
It seems very strange to me that it took until 2016 for me to meet David Lowery face to face. Not because I expect I should meet every single working filmmaker. That’s just silly. I’ve met a staggering number of writers, directors, actors, and people working at every other level in film and television over the years, but there are are plenty of people I’ve never run into, and I’m fine with that. With David, though, I have a history. You see, he used to be a spy for me. More accurately, he was a regular reviewer at Ain’t It Cool under the name “ghostboy,” and his beat was the festival circuit. I edited dozens and dozens of his pieces over the years, and I came to rely on him as a guy with a very strong sense of what he does or doesn’t like,...
- 8/10/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
“I look back at childhood as an adventure,” director David Lowery says. In his latest film, what he calls “a Pete’s Dragon for a new generation,” he’s aiming to recapture that sense of wonder for audiences who may not have ever seen the 1977 movie. Last week, Disney invited me to the studio’s El Capitan Theatre in the heart of Hollywood to check out an early presentation of the new remake, including a look at some new footage and a conversation with Lowery and star Bryce Dallas Howard.
The director showed us a few quick scenes from the film that gave us a wide sample of the kinds of things he does in the film, from establishing the character of Howard’s pragmatic forest ranger and her more precocious father (an old storyteller, played by Robert Redford with a twinkle in his eye); to a big truck chase sequence teased in the trailers; to joyous scenes of Pete (Oakes Fegley) and his dragon Elliot playing, soaring through the sky, and hanging out together in the woods. The visuals look outstanding — the dragon riding is miles ahead of what we’ve seen from Dany on Game of Thrones so far — and there’s also a soulful tone here that should be an interesting break from the bombast of typical summer movie fare.
Read on for six things we learned about the new movie that you should know before you see it.
Bryce Dallas Howard Wanted This Job Because It Wasn’t A Straight-Up Remake
Howard, coming off Jurassic World in which she also starred opposite some large CG lizard creatures, said she actively chased this role as soon as she found out Lowery’s take on the material.
“Before I read the script, I had heard it was not a straight-up remake, and that was [why I said yes]. Because I love [the original] Pete’s Dragon — I have the little board book for my kids and I read it to them constantly — and with me loving it, I didn’t want it to just be a copycat. We’ve seen a lot of those, some of them are great, some of them don’t work, but I felt like the story and the themes within the original film was what the charm of that movie was…I think what has centered that film and what has made that film last was the central idea of friendship with an imaginary friend when you have no family. And then, voila, it’s not such an imaginary friend. So when I heard it wasn’t a straight-up remake, I was like, ‘yes, I’d love to be a part of that.’ Also, I can’t help it — I’m a parent and I want there to be beautiful films out there that have innocence, are timeless, and have really beautiful values without being didactic.” The Setting Was Key For The Film’s Success
Lowery, who co-wrote the script with Toby Halbrooks, talked about how the idea of setting the movie in modern day never appealed to him. He’s always aiming for a timeless feel in his films, and it seemed like he found an excellent way to achieve that:
“The movie is set somewhere vaguely in the Pacific Northwest. We never quite say where it is, we never quite say when it is. Sometime vaguely in the past. If any of you have seen my other movies, you know I really love to do the whole ‘timeless’ thing, and this movie definitely plays into that.I feel when you have a movie that has a fantastical concept in it, you can accept it more easily if it has the veil of time being over it. To set something in the past, you’re a little more accepting of the idea that there might be magic there that you might have overlooked in your own past. I also find that the movies I return to and the ones I love the most — there are films about a specific time and place, if you want to see a historical epic, great, I’m glad they’re so specific — but there are other films that endure because they don’t root themselves in a specific time and they don’t say ‘this is a film about here and now.’ I didn’t want this film to feel contemporary, because I felt if it was contemporary, if someone pulls out an iPhone, all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Ok, that’s an iPhone 4. This was made in 2010.’ And then you put that against a dragon and you kind of get this weird disparity that doesn’t quite work. So by setting it in the past and not making a big deal out of it — we never put a title card that says this is what year it is. That was part of the look of the film, the production design that we did. You pull some cars from the early ‘80s, pull some cars from the ’70s, kind of make everything congeal into this cohesive whole that doesn’t have a literal date on it but feels just yesterday.”
The era wasn’t the only important factor — finding the perfect place to shoot their forest sequences was a big deal. Turns out New Zealand had exactly what the production was looking for. Lowery explained:
“I just like things to be real, that’s just me, I’m always going to gravitate toward that. So when we were planning this, I was like, ‘Look, if we’re going to have a CG dragon, let’s make everything else real and use as little green screen as possible.’ So we went to New Zealand because it’s set in a slightly elevated, more magical version of the Pacific Northwest, and New Zealand has plenty of magic, had the forest we needed, had the weather we needed, and Weta Digital was there, which was very convenient.”
They’d go as far as to drive two hours into secluded forest every day to truly capture “the best version of being out in the woods.” It certainly shows; the footage we saw had a quiet, ethereal feel to being outside, and it truly did feel like we were seeing a place that hadn’t ever been inhabited by humanity.
The Dragon Had To Be Furry
Lowery spoke about how important it was to treat Elliot as a legitimate character, one who can emote and isn’t just a CG beast lumbering through the woods. The dragon is one half of the film’s most important relationship, so he had to be handled carefully in the design stage, and avoiding scaly dragons like the ones on Game of Thrones was a big priority for the filmmakers:
“One of the things we wanted to do with this movie was really sell the idea of friendship between a child and a creature, which really comes down to your favorite pet as a child or the relationship you have with a dog or something like that. The really close bond you have with an animal. We really wanted to try to hit home the heart of that, but with a creature that’s twenty times the size of a normal household pet…Even though he is a dragon — a magical creature that can turn invisible — we really wanted to treat him like a character, and really let that character come through.The very first hook I had when I met the producers of this film, we didn’t even have a pitch yet, but I was like, ‘I want the dragon to be furry.’ And that’s because I love my cats and I was probably petting my cat and saying, ‘I wish this guy was twenty feet tall’ or something. (laughs) They really are based on my cats. They have their own Instagram account if anyone wants to follow them. They’re 2orangeguys on Instagram. I was like, ‘Look, if you put a Game of Thrones dragon in this, he’s going to be scaly, kind of cold, he’ll be cool, but I want this to be the kind of dragon you really want to give a hug to and that I want to give a hug to and snuggle up with.’ There’s no reason dragons can’t be furry. I went through the design process of figuring out what design choices would break the idea of being a dragon. There are certain things we found we can’t do. When we tried to do different things with the wings, it started to feel like a chimera, or other various mythical beasts. A sphinx, sometimes. But if you kept the wings, kept the tail, kept the ridges on the back, you can kind of have fun with the rest of the design and it still feels like a dragon. The fur was an integral part to the design for me. That made the character.” Lowery Used an Unorthodox Method to Confirm He Had The Perfect Pete
When it came to finding the right Pete, Lowery knew he wanted a child actor that didn’t have the polish of an actor you might find on stage or on a Disney Channel show. “I wanted someone who was a little unvarnished and not perfect, who didn’t have that sort of trained quality,” he said. “I often find that if a ten-year-old can cry on cue, that is an amazing skill that I am envious of, but usually that’s not what I’m looking for.” His casting director did a worldwide casting search, and when Oakes Fegley walked in the room, Lowery knew he’d found his star. But he cemented that decision in an unusual way: he asked Oakes to build something with the chairs in the room, and he just sat back and watched. If Lowery and Howard’s stories about the young actor are accurate, Oakes sounds like a totally relaxed, normal kid, not at all pretentious or corrupted by weird stage parents, so when he started stacking a trash can on top of some chairs and Lowery could see him working things out and adjusting little details, he knew for sure he’d found his Pete. “He had a sensitivity, but also a resilience where you believe he could survive in the conditions his character has survived in,” Lowery said. “He’s really tough and scrappy, but also so quiet and sensitive, the perfect balance.”
Lowery Was Heavily Influenced By Foreign Films
Movies that are about children can often talk down to them or even have disdain for them, but Lowery took a lot of inspiration from foreign films about how to make sure the movie treated kids with respect and talked to them as equals:
“There is a great legacy of films about children, whether they are films like E.T., The NeverEnding Story, The Black Stallion, or other films like Ponette, the French film about the girl who lost her parents is really important to me. The Red Balloon is a wonderful story capturing the imagination of childhood in a very specific way. I could list off all the foreign films that I love that do a good job of that, but I think it’s important to think of those movies because I know a lot of teachers who show The Red Balloon in their classes to kindergartners because it’s the kind of thing kids respond to. Same with Miyazaki stuff, which I think is important to show kids. Obviously there’s a ton of great entertainment for children, but I love things that let kids see the emotional side of themselves.” You Won’t See (or Hear) References To The Original Film
When asked whether we’d hear an homage to the music of the ’77 film, Lowery gave perhaps the most refreshing answer of the day:
“No. We do have a song in the movie and you’ll find out how it plays into the plot when you see it, but we don’t [have any homages to the first movie]. I really wanted to sort of avoid the winks and the nods, not because the original is not great, but because I wanted this to really exist in its own realm. The best thing is for audiences who love the original to see this and say, ‘This is a great new film about a boy named Pete, and Elliot.’ And if kids haven’t seen the original, this will be the first time they’ve seen it. And there won’t be that moment where all of the adults go, ‘Oh, yeah,’ and the kids look over and go, ‘What? I don’t get it. What is it?’ So we avoided that. We talked about it, we talked about having references, but ultimately felt it was the purer tactic. I’ve seen a lot of remakes that do that and it always takes me out of a movie because it’s a little wink.”
As someone who thinks references like that can be distracting and often obnoxious, I find it incredibly promising that Lowery has the confidence in his movie to try to have it stand on its own as much as possible. Even with seeing the extra footage we saw, it’s still tough to tell whether this movie is going to be a new classic, a whiffed remake attempt, or somewhere in between, but at least it won’t be a deep dive into nostalgia for another film. (Nostalgia for childhood? Yes. For another movie? No.)
In any case, Lowery’s enthusiasm is certainly evident, and regardless of how the film turns out, his heart is clearly in the right place here. His vision for the film sounds great, so I’m hoping he’s able to translate that vision to audiences in an enjoyable way. “I want you to get a sense of the scope and action and fun and adventure this movie has,” he beamed before showing off a new clip, “because ultimately it really is an adventure.” The adventure begins when Pete’s Dragon flies into theaters on August 12, 2016.
The director showed us a few quick scenes from the film that gave us a wide sample of the kinds of things he does in the film, from establishing the character of Howard’s pragmatic forest ranger and her more precocious father (an old storyteller, played by Robert Redford with a twinkle in his eye); to a big truck chase sequence teased in the trailers; to joyous scenes of Pete (Oakes Fegley) and his dragon Elliot playing, soaring through the sky, and hanging out together in the woods. The visuals look outstanding — the dragon riding is miles ahead of what we’ve seen from Dany on Game of Thrones so far — and there’s also a soulful tone here that should be an interesting break from the bombast of typical summer movie fare.
Read on for six things we learned about the new movie that you should know before you see it.
Bryce Dallas Howard Wanted This Job Because It Wasn’t A Straight-Up Remake
Howard, coming off Jurassic World in which she also starred opposite some large CG lizard creatures, said she actively chased this role as soon as she found out Lowery’s take on the material.
“Before I read the script, I had heard it was not a straight-up remake, and that was [why I said yes]. Because I love [the original] Pete’s Dragon — I have the little board book for my kids and I read it to them constantly — and with me loving it, I didn’t want it to just be a copycat. We’ve seen a lot of those, some of them are great, some of them don’t work, but I felt like the story and the themes within the original film was what the charm of that movie was…I think what has centered that film and what has made that film last was the central idea of friendship with an imaginary friend when you have no family. And then, voila, it’s not such an imaginary friend. So when I heard it wasn’t a straight-up remake, I was like, ‘yes, I’d love to be a part of that.’ Also, I can’t help it — I’m a parent and I want there to be beautiful films out there that have innocence, are timeless, and have really beautiful values without being didactic.” The Setting Was Key For The Film’s Success
Lowery, who co-wrote the script with Toby Halbrooks, talked about how the idea of setting the movie in modern day never appealed to him. He’s always aiming for a timeless feel in his films, and it seemed like he found an excellent way to achieve that:
“The movie is set somewhere vaguely in the Pacific Northwest. We never quite say where it is, we never quite say when it is. Sometime vaguely in the past. If any of you have seen my other movies, you know I really love to do the whole ‘timeless’ thing, and this movie definitely plays into that.I feel when you have a movie that has a fantastical concept in it, you can accept it more easily if it has the veil of time being over it. To set something in the past, you’re a little more accepting of the idea that there might be magic there that you might have overlooked in your own past. I also find that the movies I return to and the ones I love the most — there are films about a specific time and place, if you want to see a historical epic, great, I’m glad they’re so specific — but there are other films that endure because they don’t root themselves in a specific time and they don’t say ‘this is a film about here and now.’ I didn’t want this film to feel contemporary, because I felt if it was contemporary, if someone pulls out an iPhone, all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Ok, that’s an iPhone 4. This was made in 2010.’ And then you put that against a dragon and you kind of get this weird disparity that doesn’t quite work. So by setting it in the past and not making a big deal out of it — we never put a title card that says this is what year it is. That was part of the look of the film, the production design that we did. You pull some cars from the early ‘80s, pull some cars from the ’70s, kind of make everything congeal into this cohesive whole that doesn’t have a literal date on it but feels just yesterday.”
The era wasn’t the only important factor — finding the perfect place to shoot their forest sequences was a big deal. Turns out New Zealand had exactly what the production was looking for. Lowery explained:
“I just like things to be real, that’s just me, I’m always going to gravitate toward that. So when we were planning this, I was like, ‘Look, if we’re going to have a CG dragon, let’s make everything else real and use as little green screen as possible.’ So we went to New Zealand because it’s set in a slightly elevated, more magical version of the Pacific Northwest, and New Zealand has plenty of magic, had the forest we needed, had the weather we needed, and Weta Digital was there, which was very convenient.”
They’d go as far as to drive two hours into secluded forest every day to truly capture “the best version of being out in the woods.” It certainly shows; the footage we saw had a quiet, ethereal feel to being outside, and it truly did feel like we were seeing a place that hadn’t ever been inhabited by humanity.
The Dragon Had To Be Furry
Lowery spoke about how important it was to treat Elliot as a legitimate character, one who can emote and isn’t just a CG beast lumbering through the woods. The dragon is one half of the film’s most important relationship, so he had to be handled carefully in the design stage, and avoiding scaly dragons like the ones on Game of Thrones was a big priority for the filmmakers:
“One of the things we wanted to do with this movie was really sell the idea of friendship between a child and a creature, which really comes down to your favorite pet as a child or the relationship you have with a dog or something like that. The really close bond you have with an animal. We really wanted to try to hit home the heart of that, but with a creature that’s twenty times the size of a normal household pet…Even though he is a dragon — a magical creature that can turn invisible — we really wanted to treat him like a character, and really let that character come through.The very first hook I had when I met the producers of this film, we didn’t even have a pitch yet, but I was like, ‘I want the dragon to be furry.’ And that’s because I love my cats and I was probably petting my cat and saying, ‘I wish this guy was twenty feet tall’ or something. (laughs) They really are based on my cats. They have their own Instagram account if anyone wants to follow them. They’re 2orangeguys on Instagram. I was like, ‘Look, if you put a Game of Thrones dragon in this, he’s going to be scaly, kind of cold, he’ll be cool, but I want this to be the kind of dragon you really want to give a hug to and that I want to give a hug to and snuggle up with.’ There’s no reason dragons can’t be furry. I went through the design process of figuring out what design choices would break the idea of being a dragon. There are certain things we found we can’t do. When we tried to do different things with the wings, it started to feel like a chimera, or other various mythical beasts. A sphinx, sometimes. But if you kept the wings, kept the tail, kept the ridges on the back, you can kind of have fun with the rest of the design and it still feels like a dragon. The fur was an integral part to the design for me. That made the character.” Lowery Used an Unorthodox Method to Confirm He Had The Perfect Pete
When it came to finding the right Pete, Lowery knew he wanted a child actor that didn’t have the polish of an actor you might find on stage or on a Disney Channel show. “I wanted someone who was a little unvarnished and not perfect, who didn’t have that sort of trained quality,” he said. “I often find that if a ten-year-old can cry on cue, that is an amazing skill that I am envious of, but usually that’s not what I’m looking for.” His casting director did a worldwide casting search, and when Oakes Fegley walked in the room, Lowery knew he’d found his star. But he cemented that decision in an unusual way: he asked Oakes to build something with the chairs in the room, and he just sat back and watched. If Lowery and Howard’s stories about the young actor are accurate, Oakes sounds like a totally relaxed, normal kid, not at all pretentious or corrupted by weird stage parents, so when he started stacking a trash can on top of some chairs and Lowery could see him working things out and adjusting little details, he knew for sure he’d found his Pete. “He had a sensitivity, but also a resilience where you believe he could survive in the conditions his character has survived in,” Lowery said. “He’s really tough and scrappy, but also so quiet and sensitive, the perfect balance.”
Lowery Was Heavily Influenced By Foreign Films
Movies that are about children can often talk down to them or even have disdain for them, but Lowery took a lot of inspiration from foreign films about how to make sure the movie treated kids with respect and talked to them as equals:
“There is a great legacy of films about children, whether they are films like E.T., The NeverEnding Story, The Black Stallion, or other films like Ponette, the French film about the girl who lost her parents is really important to me. The Red Balloon is a wonderful story capturing the imagination of childhood in a very specific way. I could list off all the foreign films that I love that do a good job of that, but I think it’s important to think of those movies because I know a lot of teachers who show The Red Balloon in their classes to kindergartners because it’s the kind of thing kids respond to. Same with Miyazaki stuff, which I think is important to show kids. Obviously there’s a ton of great entertainment for children, but I love things that let kids see the emotional side of themselves.” You Won’t See (or Hear) References To The Original Film
When asked whether we’d hear an homage to the music of the ’77 film, Lowery gave perhaps the most refreshing answer of the day:
“No. We do have a song in the movie and you’ll find out how it plays into the plot when you see it, but we don’t [have any homages to the first movie]. I really wanted to sort of avoid the winks and the nods, not because the original is not great, but because I wanted this to really exist in its own realm. The best thing is for audiences who love the original to see this and say, ‘This is a great new film about a boy named Pete, and Elliot.’ And if kids haven’t seen the original, this will be the first time they’ve seen it. And there won’t be that moment where all of the adults go, ‘Oh, yeah,’ and the kids look over and go, ‘What? I don’t get it. What is it?’ So we avoided that. We talked about it, we talked about having references, but ultimately felt it was the purer tactic. I’ve seen a lot of remakes that do that and it always takes me out of a movie because it’s a little wink.”
As someone who thinks references like that can be distracting and often obnoxious, I find it incredibly promising that Lowery has the confidence in his movie to try to have it stand on its own as much as possible. Even with seeing the extra footage we saw, it’s still tough to tell whether this movie is going to be a new classic, a whiffed remake attempt, or somewhere in between, but at least it won’t be a deep dive into nostalgia for another film. (Nostalgia for childhood? Yes. For another movie? No.)
In any case, Lowery’s enthusiasm is certainly evident, and regardless of how the film turns out, his heart is clearly in the right place here. His vision for the film sounds great, so I’m hoping he’s able to translate that vision to audiences in an enjoyable way. “I want you to get a sense of the scope and action and fun and adventure this movie has,” he beamed before showing off a new clip, “because ultimately it really is an adventure.” The adventure begins when Pete’s Dragon flies into theaters on August 12, 2016.
- 6/14/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
Sammo Hung is regarded as one of the greatest Kung Fu performers of his generation. His high tempo, hard htting fight sequences have captured audiences all over the world. Future generations will look back and watch in amazement, witnessing one of the very best in world cinema.
Peking Opera Days
The Peking Opera school was run from a small theatre by Master Yu Jim Yuen, this was where Sammo Hung would begin his journey. In them days, the stundents would normally enroll for around 10 years, each day performing gruelling tasks for up to 18 hours a day which included training in the Martial Arts, weapons training, acrobatics, acting and singing. The Peking opera of course brought together Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Corey Yuen, Yuen Tak and Yuen Mo, who would eventually be known as the 7 Little Fortunes. They took the first name “Yuen” in a sign of...
Peking Opera Days
The Peking Opera school was run from a small theatre by Master Yu Jim Yuen, this was where Sammo Hung would begin his journey. In them days, the stundents would normally enroll for around 10 years, each day performing gruelling tasks for up to 18 hours a day which included training in the Martial Arts, weapons training, acrobatics, acting and singing. The Peking opera of course brought together Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Corey Yuen, Yuen Tak and Yuen Mo, who would eventually be known as the 7 Little Fortunes. They took the first name “Yuen” in a sign of...
- 2/2/2016
- by kingofkungfu
- AsianMoviePulse
During the filming of Australia’s first martial arts movie, director Brian Trenchard-Smith set himself on fire to prove a point. Starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby, the Man from Hong Kong holds up well
The song jazzing up the opening credits of the director Brian Trenchard-Smith’s highly energetic 1975 action movie The Man from Hong Kong is British pop group Jigsaw’s disco tune Sky High. The chorus crescendos with the words “you’ve blown it all sky high,” which might as well be an anthem for the film-maker’s colourful career – forged in the fire of SFX-laden genre pics of the ’70s and ’80s, including Turkey Shoot, Dead End Drive-In and Stunt Rock.
Continue reading...
The song jazzing up the opening credits of the director Brian Trenchard-Smith’s highly energetic 1975 action movie The Man from Hong Kong is British pop group Jigsaw’s disco tune Sky High. The chorus crescendos with the words “you’ve blown it all sky high,” which might as well be an anthem for the film-maker’s colourful career – forged in the fire of SFX-laden genre pics of the ’70s and ’80s, including Turkey Shoot, Dead End Drive-In and Stunt Rock.
Continue reading...
- 1/16/2016
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
In Australia for the premiere of The Hateful Eight, Tarantino – who coined the term ‘Ozploitation’ – discusses some of his favourite local films
Quentin Tarantino has championed a great many films from across the globe over the years, with a famously impassioned shouty zeal. When the superstar auteur gets excited he tends to flail his arms, as if feeling around for invisible airborne punctuation marks, while spraying his sentences with words such as “alright!” and drawing from a gallingly encyclopaedic bank of trash-and-treasure knowledge.
Few Australians – and I’m including critics in this – have seen or championed as many Australian films (particularly older ones) as Tarantino. He’s credited several Australian productions for directly influencing his work, including schlock-tastic 1978 thriller Patrick, which inspired some of Kill Bill. On countless Australian DVD dust jackets, the writer/director/uber film nerd’s name appears underneath an effusive quote, from classic surfer drama Summer City...
Quentin Tarantino has championed a great many films from across the globe over the years, with a famously impassioned shouty zeal. When the superstar auteur gets excited he tends to flail his arms, as if feeling around for invisible airborne punctuation marks, while spraying his sentences with words such as “alright!” and drawing from a gallingly encyclopaedic bank of trash-and-treasure knowledge.
Few Australians – and I’m including critics in this – have seen or championed as many Australian films (particularly older ones) as Tarantino. He’s credited several Australian productions for directly influencing his work, including schlock-tastic 1978 thriller Patrick, which inspired some of Kill Bill. On countless Australian DVD dust jackets, the writer/director/uber film nerd’s name appears underneath an effusive quote, from classic surfer drama Summer City...
- 1/15/2016
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo, restored and presented in 70mm, will be shown at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland on July 17, 18, and 19. I’ll be there, because this film has a special place in my heart. In 1959 we lived in the small English village of Odiham in Hampshire. 3000 people, 7 pubs, one picture palace—The Regal. I was 13 years old, and for the first time I was allowed to go to the movies on a winter’s night by myself. (My mother was a little over-protective, hence my later flirtation with stunts.) To get to the Regal on the outskirts of town, I had to walk through the cemetery of the Norman-era church. Dark shadows. Wisps of fog. Knowing I was going to see a film crafted by a director dubbed the Master of Suspense made the graveyard all the spookier. Vertigo was on its re-release, making its way through the...
- 7/15/2015
- by Brian Trenchard-Smith
- Trailers from Hell
Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road..
.
Pre-release tracking in the Us suggests Mad Max: Fury Road will rev up a B.O. tally of upwards of $US40 million next weekend, possibly behind fellow opener Pitch Perfect 2. That prognostication may seriously underestimate the drawing power of George Miller.s action-adventure, judging by the first batch of glowing reviews, social media chatter and high praise from one director who attended the premiere in Los Angeles. BoxOffice.com analyst Phil Contrino told Variety, .It.s poised to be the kind of movie where Thursday shows happen and people go nuts for it and it snowballs into a huge weekend.. The fourth movie in the franchise follows Mad Max (Tom Hardy) as he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the wasteland in a war rig driven by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). The mob has escaped a citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe,...
.
Pre-release tracking in the Us suggests Mad Max: Fury Road will rev up a B.O. tally of upwards of $US40 million next weekend, possibly behind fellow opener Pitch Perfect 2. That prognostication may seriously underestimate the drawing power of George Miller.s action-adventure, judging by the first batch of glowing reviews, social media chatter and high praise from one director who attended the premiere in Los Angeles. BoxOffice.com analyst Phil Contrino told Variety, .It.s poised to be the kind of movie where Thursday shows happen and people go nuts for it and it snowballs into a huge weekend.. The fourth movie in the franchise follows Mad Max (Tom Hardy) as he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the wasteland in a war rig driven by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). The mob has escaped a citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe,...
- 5/10/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
All the Warwick Davis Leprechaun movies are coming out in a new Blu Ray combo pack. The commentary tracks offer some memories of my two contributions to the guilty pleasure franchise. Here are a few more.
I grew up enjoying the absurdist humor of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus TV series. So why not Absurdist Cinema? I loved the 1941 Hellzapoppin’, an early iconic example. The concept of the mid ’90’s Leprechaun franchise was proudly ludicrous – pint sized Jason/Freddy/Chucky amalgam with an Irish twist terrorizes and kills most of the supporting cast. But he was never really scary. I decided to embrace the absurd and make it as much fun as the formula allowed.
Blue Rider Pictures, for whom I had made Night Of The Demons 2, were asked by Trimark to produce the third and, at that stage, the intended last in the series. Send the little guy to Vegas,...
I grew up enjoying the absurdist humor of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus TV series. So why not Absurdist Cinema? I loved the 1941 Hellzapoppin’, an early iconic example. The concept of the mid ’90’s Leprechaun franchise was proudly ludicrous – pint sized Jason/Freddy/Chucky amalgam with an Irish twist terrorizes and kills most of the supporting cast. But he was never really scary. I decided to embrace the absurd and make it as much fun as the formula allowed.
Blue Rider Pictures, for whom I had made Night Of The Demons 2, were asked by Trimark to produce the third and, at that stage, the intended last in the series. Send the little guy to Vegas,...
- 9/27/2014
- by Brian Trenchard-Smith
- Trailers from Hell
Brian Trenchard-Smith has been a director for 40 years and has made around the same amount of movies, from 1975’s George Lazenby-featuring action film The Man from Hong Kong through 1986’s cult film Dead End Drive-In to last year’s straight-to-dvd thriller Absolute Deception, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr. “I’ve never met a green-light I didn’t like,” chuckles the urbane auteur.
Trenchard-Smith is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite filmmakers and a frequent contributor to Joe Dante’s fantastic Trailers from Hell website, alongside such fellow Tfh “gurus” as Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, and John Landis, and...
Trenchard-Smith is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite filmmakers and a frequent contributor to Joe Dante’s fantastic Trailers from Hell website, alongside such fellow Tfh “gurus” as Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, and John Landis, and...
- 7/30/2014
- by Clark Collis
- EW - Inside Movies
Producer David Hannay will be remembered as one of the pioneers of the modern Australian film industry, a passionate cinephile, mentor and loyal friend.
The Nz-born filmmaker whose career spanned seven decades died on Monday, aged 74, after a long battle with cancer.
He entered the film industry at Artransa Park Studios in 1958 as an extras casting assistant on Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.
As a producer and executive producer he was involved in more than 50 film and television productions. His feature film credits include Stone, The Man From Hong Kong, Solo, Death of a Soldier, Emma.s War, Mapantsula, Shotgun Wedding, Gross Misconduct, Dead Funny, Savage Play, Love in Ambush and the feature documentary Stone Forever.
He was Head of Production for Gemini Productions (which merged with the Grundy Organisation in 1977) from 1970 to 1973 and again from 1975 to 1976, and general manager of the Greater Union production subsidiary The...
The Nz-born filmmaker whose career spanned seven decades died on Monday, aged 74, after a long battle with cancer.
He entered the film industry at Artransa Park Studios in 1958 as an extras casting assistant on Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.
As a producer and executive producer he was involved in more than 50 film and television productions. His feature film credits include Stone, The Man From Hong Kong, Solo, Death of a Soldier, Emma.s War, Mapantsula, Shotgun Wedding, Gross Misconduct, Dead Funny, Savage Play, Love in Ambush and the feature documentary Stone Forever.
He was Head of Production for Gemini Productions (which merged with the Grundy Organisation in 1977) from 1970 to 1973 and again from 1975 to 1976, and general manager of the Greater Union production subsidiary The...
- 3/31/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
10. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Written by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson
USA, 1969
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is a wildly acclaimed 1969 American drama directed by Sydney Pollack that went on to receive nine Academy Award nominations. Like most of the films to appear on this list, it is based on a novel, a 1935 tome by Horace McCoy. Penned by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson, the film is an allegorical drama set amongst the contestants in a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression.
So how does a movie revolving around a dance competition relate to The Hunger Games? Much like The Hunger Games, the participants (all teens) are broken down into couples in hopes of winning and taking home the prize money, cash that’s much needed during such hard economic times. There is even a sleazy opportunistic Mc who urges...
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Written by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson
USA, 1969
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is a wildly acclaimed 1969 American drama directed by Sydney Pollack that went on to receive nine Academy Award nominations. Like most of the films to appear on this list, it is based on a novel, a 1935 tome by Horace McCoy. Penned by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson, the film is an allegorical drama set amongst the contestants in a marathon dance contest during the Great Depression.
So how does a movie revolving around a dance competition relate to The Hunger Games? Much like The Hunger Games, the participants (all teens) are broken down into couples in hopes of winning and taking home the prize money, cash that’s much needed during such hard economic times. There is even a sleazy opportunistic Mc who urges...
- 11/17/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
Image Entertainment has nabbed the U.S. rights for cult director Brian Trenchard-Smith's Drive Hard, starring John Cusack and Thomas Jane. The film was bankrolled by Vancouver based production company Odyssey Media Inc. Odyssey has a track record that includes such gems as Avalanche Shark Attack, Fire Quake, Dracano and Uwe Boll's Suddenly. Yep. Quality. Brian Trenchard-Smith is, of course, a very much beloved director of cult films like BMX Bandits, Turkey Shoot (aka Escape 2000) and The Man From Hong Kong! Here's more from the official press release: Image Entertainment, an Rlj Entertainment (Nasdaq: Rlje) brand, has acquired all U.S. rights at the American Film Market to the action film Drive Hard starring John Cusack (The Number Station, 2012) and Thomas Jane (The Punisher). Drive...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 11/8/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Writer/producer Trevor Howis is assembling a new creative and international sales team for his thriller Weekend Warriors.
Howis has parted company with David Hannay and the UK.s The Spice Factory, who were to co-produce the film with his firm Vincero Productions.
As a result, director Brian Trenchard-Smith is no longer involved. In a related move, Howis has resigned as head of development for David Hannay Productions after more than three years.
Howis' screenplay is set in a remote forest valley where an inexperienced junior officer endeavours to save his men and his brother from his battle-hardened psychopathic former mentor who is hell bent on revenge.
.Ultimately we have decided it's better for us and our project to pursue other opportunities on our own and move away from the .Ozploitation. brand, . Howis told If.
.It is the toughest decision I have ever had to make but I feel it's the right one.
Howis has parted company with David Hannay and the UK.s The Spice Factory, who were to co-produce the film with his firm Vincero Productions.
As a result, director Brian Trenchard-Smith is no longer involved. In a related move, Howis has resigned as head of development for David Hannay Productions after more than three years.
Howis' screenplay is set in a remote forest valley where an inexperienced junior officer endeavours to save his men and his brother from his battle-hardened psychopathic former mentor who is hell bent on revenge.
.Ultimately we have decided it's better for us and our project to pursue other opportunities on our own and move away from the .Ozploitation. brand, . Howis told If.
.It is the toughest decision I have ever had to make but I feel it's the right one.
- 8/27/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Anglo/Australian filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith is developing Sword Point, a drama about an injured Chinese gymnast who takes up fencing in a bid to realise her dream of representing China in sport.
The Los Angeles-based filmmaker and his producing partner Marty Fink are shopping the project to Chinese companies with a view to a mounting it as an Australian/Chinese co-production.
The sports-themed drama may seem far removed from the usual milieu of the writer-director whose credits include the action adventures BMX Bandits, The Man from Hong Kong and Stunt Rock, horror movies Turkey Shoot and Dead End Drive-in, and TV.s Flipper.
.I have no usual milieu if you look at my resume, GenresRUs; this will be a sports movie,. said the filmmaker who is on the Gold Coast shooting Hard Drive, an action comedy that stars John Cusack as a mysterious American who arrives in Brisbane, goes looking...
The Los Angeles-based filmmaker and his producing partner Marty Fink are shopping the project to Chinese companies with a view to a mounting it as an Australian/Chinese co-production.
The sports-themed drama may seem far removed from the usual milieu of the writer-director whose credits include the action adventures BMX Bandits, The Man from Hong Kong and Stunt Rock, horror movies Turkey Shoot and Dead End Drive-in, and TV.s Flipper.
.I have no usual milieu if you look at my resume, GenresRUs; this will be a sports movie,. said the filmmaker who is on the Gold Coast shooting Hard Drive, an action comedy that stars John Cusack as a mysterious American who arrives in Brisbane, goes looking...
- 6/23/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Brian Trenchard Smith will direct Australian action film Weekend Warriors.
The Spice Factory, Hannay Productions/Vincero Productions and Stealth Australia are on board to produce.
Stealth is handling sales.
Trevor Howis writes the script, about an army reserves officer who is disgraced and plots his revenge on his psychopathic former mentor.
The writer is Dhp head of development Trevor Howis. The producers are Michael Cowan, Jason Piette, David Hannay, and Trevor Howis.
Casting is underway with Maura Fay Casting.
Trenchard Smith’s credits include The Man From Hong Kong, Dead End Drive-In and The Quest.
The Spice Factory, Hannay Productions/Vincero Productions and Stealth Australia are on board to produce.
Stealth is handling sales.
Trevor Howis writes the script, about an army reserves officer who is disgraced and plots his revenge on his psychopathic former mentor.
The writer is Dhp head of development Trevor Howis. The producers are Michael Cowan, Jason Piette, David Hannay, and Trevor Howis.
Casting is underway with Maura Fay Casting.
Trenchard Smith’s credits include The Man From Hong Kong, Dead End Drive-In and The Quest.
- 6/18/2013
- ScreenDaily
John Cusack and Thomas Jane are set to star in.Hard Drive, a thriller that starts shooting in Queensland on June 4.
The writer-director is Los Angeles-based Brian Trenchard-Smith. It.s his second film to be shot on the Gold Coast following last year.s Absolute Deception, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Emmanuelle Vaugier and was acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in the Us..
Cusack will play a mysterious American who arrives in Brisbane and goes looking for a getaway driver. He hires a driving school instructor and washed-out Formula One driver (Jane). There follows a chase along the Gold Coast as the duo is pursued by the cops and the Mob.
Casting is underway for the supporting roles including the lawyer wife of Jane.s character, a no-nonsense female Australian Federal Police Officer, a ruthless businessman and a corrupt cop.
The producers are Odyssey.s Paul O.Kane and Pam Collis,...
The writer-director is Los Angeles-based Brian Trenchard-Smith. It.s his second film to be shot on the Gold Coast following last year.s Absolute Deception, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Emmanuelle Vaugier and was acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in the Us..
Cusack will play a mysterious American who arrives in Brisbane and goes looking for a getaway driver. He hires a driving school instructor and washed-out Formula One driver (Jane). There follows a chase along the Gold Coast as the duo is pursued by the cops and the Mob.
Casting is underway for the supporting roles including the lawyer wife of Jane.s character, a no-nonsense female Australian Federal Police Officer, a ruthless businessman and a corrupt cop.
The producers are Odyssey.s Paul O.Kane and Pam Collis,...
- 5/22/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
John Cusack and Thomas Jane are set to star in The Hard Drive, a thriller that starts shooting in Queensland on June 4.
The writer-director is Los Angeles-based Brian Trenchard-Smith. It.s his second film to be shot on the Gold Coast following last year.s Absolute Deception, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Emmanuelle Vaugier and was acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in the Us..
Cusack will play a mysterious American who arrives in Brisbane and goes looking for a getaway driver. He hires a driving school instructor and washed-out Formula One driver (Jane). There follows a chase along the Gold Coast as the duo is pursued by the cops and the Mob.
Casting is underway for the supporting roles including the lawyer wife of Jane.s character, a no-nonsense female Australian Federal Police Officer, a ruthless businessman and a corrupt cop.
The producers are Odyssey.s Paul O.Kane and Pam Collis,...
The writer-director is Los Angeles-based Brian Trenchard-Smith. It.s his second film to be shot on the Gold Coast following last year.s Absolute Deception, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Emmanuelle Vaugier and was acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions in the Us..
Cusack will play a mysterious American who arrives in Brisbane and goes looking for a getaway driver. He hires a driving school instructor and washed-out Formula One driver (Jane). There follows a chase along the Gold Coast as the duo is pursued by the cops and the Mob.
Casting is underway for the supporting roles including the lawyer wife of Jane.s character, a no-nonsense female Australian Federal Police Officer, a ruthless businessman and a corrupt cop.
The producers are Odyssey.s Paul O.Kane and Pam Collis,...
- 5/22/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
British singer Adele has yet again proven herself to be a family friendly version of Amy Winehouse by recording a theme to a James Bond film, by (unlike the late Ms. Winehouse) actually getting the song recorded. And yeah, the song Skyfall (from the new James Bond film, the name of which I’m drawing a blank on…) sounds like the same kind of bland crap that normally gets made for these films. Just when I thought they’d maybe turned a corner with the Jack White-performed theme song from Quantum of Solace (perhaps the theme songs are inversely correlated with the quality of the films), which was so catchy that I could actually slap the meat curtains to it, as the common phrase goes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOoPjeh_vkE&feature=player_embedded
Although, as everyone knows, no song will ever topple A-ha’s theme from...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOoPjeh_vkE&feature=player_embedded
Although, as everyone knows, no song will ever topple A-ha’s theme from...
- 10/10/2012
- by Liam Jose
- Boomtron
Get a brief glimpse at Ubisoft's mentally unhinged island shooter before it makes its debut next week.
What madness does Ubisoft have in store with their latest installment in the Far Cry series? Each game is very different from the last, hopping from island to jungle to, well, back to an island again, but with an international waters twist.
Here's the game, synopsized:
Beyond the limits of civilization lies an island, a lawless place ruled by piracy and human misery, where your only escapes are drugs or the muzzle of a gun. This is where you find yourself, trapped in a place that’s forgotten right from wrong, a place that lives by the principles of violence. Discover the island’s bloody secrets and take the fight to the enemy; improvise and use your environment to survive. Beware the beauty and mystery of this unexplored paradise and live to outwit its roster of ruthless,...
What madness does Ubisoft have in store with their latest installment in the Far Cry series? Each game is very different from the last, hopping from island to jungle to, well, back to an island again, but with an international waters twist.
Here's the game, synopsized:
Beyond the limits of civilization lies an island, a lawless place ruled by piracy and human misery, where your only escapes are drugs or the muzzle of a gun. This is where you find yourself, trapped in a place that’s forgotten right from wrong, a place that lives by the principles of violence. Discover the island’s bloody secrets and take the fight to the enemy; improvise and use your environment to survive. Beware the beauty and mystery of this unexplored paradise and live to outwit its roster of ruthless,...
- 5/29/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
Motion control eight years of Harry Potter adventures on the Xbox 360. Screens and cover art after the jump.
Motion and voice control are coming to the Harry Potter universe with Eurocom-developed title on the way from WB Interactive for the Kinect. Harry Potter for Kinect is on the way this fall for the Xbox 360 and looks to be the answer to Sony's own well-crafted magic-n-waggle game for their own console, Sorcery (my review).
Eurocom's bread and butter is licensed adaptations, and in addition to Harry Potter for Kinect, they're also producing 007 Legends for Activision.
Here are the official details from the release:
Based on all eight Harry Potter films, Harry Potter for Kinect allows players to join Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as they embark on an unforgettable journey through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and beyond. With Kinect's scanning technology, for the first time ever in a Harry Potter game,...
Motion and voice control are coming to the Harry Potter universe with Eurocom-developed title on the way from WB Interactive for the Kinect. Harry Potter for Kinect is on the way this fall for the Xbox 360 and looks to be the answer to Sony's own well-crafted magic-n-waggle game for their own console, Sorcery (my review).
Eurocom's bread and butter is licensed adaptations, and in addition to Harry Potter for Kinect, they're also producing 007 Legends for Activision.
Here are the official details from the release:
Based on all eight Harry Potter films, Harry Potter for Kinect allows players to join Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as they embark on an unforgettable journey through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and beyond. With Kinect's scanning technology, for the first time ever in a Harry Potter game,...
- 5/25/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
By Jeffrey Matulef
Despite not being due until at least July, Sega has released a launch trailer for Platinum Game's third-person brawler/fighting game hybrid, Anarchy Reigns.
Anarachy Reigns represents something of a departure from the studio that brought us Bayonetta, Vanquish, and Madworld. Where all those games were primarily single player experiences, Anarchy Reigns' focus is on the multiplayer. At least that's what one would wager given that the launch trailer doesn't even acknowledge the game's story mode until three minutes and 24 seconds in.
As thrilling as this trailer is, I wouldn't get too excited just yet as Anarchy Reigns' release date is up in the air. While the Japanese release date remains July 5, 2012, the North American and European releases previously slated for the same week have been changed to "Tbc" by Sega. The Platinum Games blog reports that Anarchy Reigns will still be released in July in the West,...
Despite not being due until at least July, Sega has released a launch trailer for Platinum Game's third-person brawler/fighting game hybrid, Anarchy Reigns.
Anarachy Reigns represents something of a departure from the studio that brought us Bayonetta, Vanquish, and Madworld. Where all those games were primarily single player experiences, Anarchy Reigns' focus is on the multiplayer. At least that's what one would wager given that the launch trailer doesn't even acknowledge the game's story mode until three minutes and 24 seconds in.
As thrilling as this trailer is, I wouldn't get too excited just yet as Anarchy Reigns' release date is up in the air. While the Japanese release date remains July 5, 2012, the North American and European releases previously slated for the same week have been changed to "Tbc" by Sega. The Platinum Games blog reports that Anarchy Reigns will still be released in July in the West,...
- 5/25/2012
- by MTV Video Games
- MTV Multiplayer
The teaser's now live while Capcom's mech combat game for Kinect gets a demo.
The short is called Gosha and will be released closer to Steel Battalion's June 19th release date. Director Mamoru Oshii has plenty of animated film and television work under his belt including GiTS and its 2008 follow-up, even helming a sequence in the Halo Legends anthology. But he's also been mixing in some live-action work, most recently with his Mmo-as-war feature Assault Girls.
The Gosha short was shot in Poland, but other than that, no details about the film are available.
As for the game's demo, you can grab it now on Xbox Live for free, of course as a 1.01 Gb download.
[Source: CapcomUnity]
Related posts:
Crimson Dragon Flies to Japan. Shocking Footage Within
Sega's "Vintage Collection 3" Brings "Wonder Boy" and "Golden Axe" Collections to Psn, Xbla
--
Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter and be sure to "like" us on...
The short is called Gosha and will be released closer to Steel Battalion's June 19th release date. Director Mamoru Oshii has plenty of animated film and television work under his belt including GiTS and its 2008 follow-up, even helming a sequence in the Halo Legends anthology. But he's also been mixing in some live-action work, most recently with his Mmo-as-war feature Assault Girls.
The Gosha short was shot in Poland, but other than that, no details about the film are available.
As for the game's demo, you can grab it now on Xbox Live for free, of course as a 1.01 Gb download.
[Source: CapcomUnity]
Related posts:
Crimson Dragon Flies to Japan. Shocking Footage Within
Sega's "Vintage Collection 3" Brings "Wonder Boy" and "Golden Axe" Collections to Psn, Xbla
--
Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter and be sure to "like" us on...
- 5/25/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
By Jeffrey Matulef
Skyrim has always let you kill things and ride horses, but regrettably never let you kill things while riding a horse. This will cease to be an issue shortly as Skyrim developer, Bethesda Game Studios, has announced that the upcoming 1.6 free update will add mounted combat.
No release date has been given yet, but if you're an impatient PC gamer you can check out this new feature today by opting into the latest Steam Beta Update.
"Thanks again to all our fans, we remain committed to supporting the game through our free updates, mod tools, and more," says the official Bethesda blog. "And yes, we’re still working on our first add-on, Dawnguard – some great stuff to show you soon, stay tuned!"
In addition to mounted combat, the 1.6 update will include several more bug fixes. Here's a comprehensive list of what that entails:
General stability and memory...
Skyrim has always let you kill things and ride horses, but regrettably never let you kill things while riding a horse. This will cease to be an issue shortly as Skyrim developer, Bethesda Game Studios, has announced that the upcoming 1.6 free update will add mounted combat.
No release date has been given yet, but if you're an impatient PC gamer you can check out this new feature today by opting into the latest Steam Beta Update.
"Thanks again to all our fans, we remain committed to supporting the game through our free updates, mod tools, and more," says the official Bethesda blog. "And yes, we’re still working on our first add-on, Dawnguard – some great stuff to show you soon, stay tuned!"
In addition to mounted combat, the 1.6 update will include several more bug fixes. Here's a comprehensive list of what that entails:
General stability and memory...
- 5/25/2012
- by MTV Video Games
- MTV Multiplayer
Deadly Shaolin monks, legless fighters perched atop the shoulders of armless fighters, goofy cartoon sound effects, flying guillotines, black-clad ninjas, villains with long white beards laughing with voices that don.t quite seem to match their lip movements. Welcome to .70s Kung Fu. Bruce Lee may be dead, but the martial arts action films he helped popularize with American moviegoers will never die. Though Kung Fu movies were actually around long before the 1970s, emerging as a popular genre in China soon after the end of World War II, the decade of the 1970.s was the Golden Age of Martial Arts cinema, when the genre was an international phenomenon.
Dan Halsted has been called .The Indiana Jones of Film Archivists.. Dan is an avid collector of 35mm films with an interest in exploitation, horror and grindhouse, but his primary passion is Kung Fu Cinema of the .70s. Dan is the...
Dan Halsted has been called .The Indiana Jones of Film Archivists.. Dan is an avid collector of 35mm films with an interest in exploitation, horror and grindhouse, but his primary passion is Kung Fu Cinema of the .70s. Dan is the...
- 4/10/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
6- The 10th Victim (La Decima vittima) (The Tenth Victim)
Directed by Elio Petri
Written by Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni, Ennio Flaiano and Elio Petri
Italy,1965
The 10th Victim was the first film to offer up the concept of a TV show wherein people hunt and kill one another for sport and to expand the idea into a satire on gameshows. Set in the 21st Century, the government and the private sector have joined forces to create a solution to crime by giving it a profitable outlet titled “The Big Hunt,” a popular worldwide game show in which contestants are chosen at random to chase one another around the world in a kill or be killed scenario. The winner of the first round moves on to the next. After ten wins, a player is retired from the game and gets a cash prize of one million dollars, but very few make it that far.
Directed by Elio Petri
Written by Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni, Ennio Flaiano and Elio Petri
Italy,1965
The 10th Victim was the first film to offer up the concept of a TV show wherein people hunt and kill one another for sport and to expand the idea into a satire on gameshows. Set in the 21st Century, the government and the private sector have joined forces to create a solution to crime by giving it a profitable outlet titled “The Big Hunt,” a popular worldwide game show in which contestants are chosen at random to chase one another around the world in a kill or be killed scenario. The winner of the first round moves on to the next. After ten wins, a player is retired from the game and gets a cash prize of one million dollars, but very few make it that far.
- 3/26/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Randy fights for justice. And wine.
“The Man From Hong Kong” is cited as the first Australian/Hong Kong production in cinematic history, as well as the first Australian martial arts film. Trailers From Hell guru Brian Trenchard-Smith got his directorial start with this film, and he has some nice tidbits to offer in his Tfh clip.
A martial arts movie with fists a-flying and kicks a-plenty, The Man From Hong Kong stars Jimmy Wang-Yu and George Lazenby. Lazenby plays a bad guy, as opposed to the good guy he played in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. You may have heard of that character before. Bond. James Bond.
The co-stars apparently had some bad luck doing their own stunts. Lazenby’s arm was burned while trying unsuccesfully to remove a flaming jacket in one scene. The experience probably left him shaken, not stirred. Wang-Yu was knocked silly in...
“The Man From Hong Kong” is cited as the first Australian/Hong Kong production in cinematic history, as well as the first Australian martial arts film. Trailers From Hell guru Brian Trenchard-Smith got his directorial start with this film, and he has some nice tidbits to offer in his Tfh clip.
A martial arts movie with fists a-flying and kicks a-plenty, The Man From Hong Kong stars Jimmy Wang-Yu and George Lazenby. Lazenby plays a bad guy, as opposed to the good guy he played in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. You may have heard of that character before. Bond. James Bond.
The co-stars apparently had some bad luck doing their own stunts. Lazenby’s arm was burned while trying unsuccesfully to remove a flaming jacket in one scene. The experience probably left him shaken, not stirred. Wang-Yu was knocked silly in...
- 1/5/2012
- by admin
- Trailers from Hell
Some may recall that when Frank Brittain's The Set was released in Australia in the seventies, it outraged many with its uncompromising look at teenage sexuality and identity at a time when homosexuality was not only taboo, but also illegal. While the film went on to become a cult classic, the book, upon which the film was based, remained unpublished. That is, until now. The Set's author, Roger Ward, decided it was time to finally publish the novel. An established actor, particularly of the "Ozploitation" genre, Ward has enjoyed roles in a slew of legendary Australian films including Mad Max, Turkey Shoot, The Man from Hong Kong and Young Einstein, and a clutch of television series such as Division 4, Matlock Police and Homicide.
- 6/9/2011
- FilmInk.com.au
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Cinematical
Last week saw the release of the '80s Australian gem 'BMX Bandits' on Blu-ray here in the States. Thanks to Severin Films, this allowed Cinematical the opportunity to chat with the film's prolific director, the British-born Brian Trenchard-Smith. And what a chat it was...
There's no point sugar coating it, this is a monster of an interview. But even if you know nothing about Brian Trenchard-Smith, even if you've never seen 'BMX Bandits' or 'Stunt Rock' or 'The Man From Hong Kong,' Bts is a filmmaker worth listening to. He's been around the film industry for decades, making movies the world over and his love for cinema and frustrations with Hollywood make him an absolutely fascinating film figure to listen to (it's just one of many reasons Quentin Tarantino openly calls Bts one of his favorite filmmakers).
So,...
Last week saw the release of the '80s Australian gem 'BMX Bandits' on Blu-ray here in the States. Thanks to Severin Films, this allowed Cinematical the opportunity to chat with the film's prolific director, the British-born Brian Trenchard-Smith. And what a chat it was...
There's no point sugar coating it, this is a monster of an interview. But even if you know nothing about Brian Trenchard-Smith, even if you've never seen 'BMX Bandits' or 'Stunt Rock' or 'The Man From Hong Kong,' Bts is a filmmaker worth listening to. He's been around the film industry for decades, making movies the world over and his love for cinema and frustrations with Hollywood make him an absolutely fascinating film figure to listen to (it's just one of many reasons Quentin Tarantino openly calls Bts one of his favorite filmmakers).
So,...
- 3/21/2011
- by Peter Hall
- Moviefone
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Cinematical
Last week saw the release of the '80s Australian gem 'BMX Bandits' on Blu-ray here in the States. Thanks to Severin Films, this allowed Cinematical the opportunity to chat with the film's prolific director, the British-born Brian Trenchard-Smith. And what a chat it was...
There's no point sugar coating it, this is a monster of an interview. But even if you know nothing about Brian Trenchard-Smith, even if you've never seen 'BMX Bandits' or 'Stunt Rock' or 'The Man From Hong Kong,' Bts is a filmmaker worth listening to. He's been around the film industry for decades, making movies the world over and his love for cinema and frustrations with Hollywood make him an absolutely fascinating film figure to listen to (it's just one of many reasons Quentin Tarantino openly calls Bts one of his favorite filmmakers).
So,...
Last week saw the release of the '80s Australian gem 'BMX Bandits' on Blu-ray here in the States. Thanks to Severin Films, this allowed Cinematical the opportunity to chat with the film's prolific director, the British-born Brian Trenchard-Smith. And what a chat it was...
There's no point sugar coating it, this is a monster of an interview. But even if you know nothing about Brian Trenchard-Smith, even if you've never seen 'BMX Bandits' or 'Stunt Rock' or 'The Man From Hong Kong,' Bts is a filmmaker worth listening to. He's been around the film industry for decades, making movies the world over and his love for cinema and frustrations with Hollywood make him an absolutely fascinating film figure to listen to (it's just one of many reasons Quentin Tarantino openly calls Bts one of his favorite filmmakers).
So,...
- 3/21/2011
- by Peter Hall
- Cinematical
Here at HeyUGuys, we aim to provide you with an all-encompassing look into the world of film. Whether you’re a fully-fledged cineaste, or just possess a casual interest, there’s something for anyone with our alternative A-z of cinema, which starts today and runs through the week.
If you’ve ever wondered just what it is an Executive Producer does, or maybe if you’ve heard the ambient sounds of Tangerine Dream in an 80’s film favourite without knowing who you were listening to, this is the list for you!
Here are the letters K-o…
King Vidor (1894 – 1982) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He resides in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest career of any film director (it began in 1913 and ending in 1980). In 1979 he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award, having been nominated five previous times for a Best Director Oscar.
If you’ve ever wondered just what it is an Executive Producer does, or maybe if you’ve heard the ambient sounds of Tangerine Dream in an 80’s film favourite without knowing who you were listening to, this is the list for you!
Here are the letters K-o…
King Vidor (1894 – 1982) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades. He resides in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest career of any film director (it began in 1913 and ending in 1980). In 1979 he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award, having been nominated five previous times for a Best Director Oscar.
- 2/23/2011
- by Adam Lowes
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The turbulent career of Jimmy Wang is about to open a new chapter.
Once one of the biggest stars in all of Asia - and certainly the biggest action star in Hong Kong prior to the arrival of Bruce Lee - Jimmy Wang starred in a number of hit films for the Shaw Brothers, notably The One Armed Swordsman, before breaking his contract with the Shaws in 1970 and being black listed from working in Hong Kong.
Wang had dreams of international stardom but gained a reputation for being difficult on films such as The Man From Hong Kong and ended up working dominantly in Taiwan, where he was charged with murder in 1981 - the charges dropped due to lack of evidence - after which his career petered out. Wang would appear in only six films in the 1980s before experiencing a brief resurgence with another six between 1990 and 1993. But for the last seventeen years,...
Once one of the biggest stars in all of Asia - and certainly the biggest action star in Hong Kong prior to the arrival of Bruce Lee - Jimmy Wang starred in a number of hit films for the Shaw Brothers, notably The One Armed Swordsman, before breaking his contract with the Shaws in 1970 and being black listed from working in Hong Kong.
Wang had dreams of international stardom but gained a reputation for being difficult on films such as The Man From Hong Kong and ended up working dominantly in Taiwan, where he was charged with murder in 1981 - the charges dropped due to lack of evidence - after which his career petered out. Wang would appear in only six films in the 1980s before experiencing a brief resurgence with another six between 1990 and 1993. But for the last seventeen years,...
- 11/4/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Time to receive the aural pleasure of another Mouth Off podcast and taken to task this week are Neil Marshall’s Centurion, Gurinder Chadha’s It’s a Wonderful Afterlife and the first of this summer’s Men on a Mission movie, The Losers.
Joining me to prove that careless talk costs lives, HeyUGuys writers Craig Skinner and Emily Breen and Brendon Connelly from /Film.
We review the films named above and each champion a long lost film in Ripped from the Crypt – the esoteric movies we love and want to share with you. As always you can see the trailers for the films below.
As always do leave your comments and suggestions below, we want to make this podcast as good as it can be so please do get involved.
You can listen in your browser below, or click here to subscribe to the MouthOff feed in iTunes, where...
Joining me to prove that careless talk costs lives, HeyUGuys writers Craig Skinner and Emily Breen and Brendon Connelly from /Film.
We review the films named above and each champion a long lost film in Ripped from the Crypt – the esoteric movies we love and want to share with you. As always you can see the trailers for the films below.
As always do leave your comments and suggestions below, we want to make this podcast as good as it can be so please do get involved.
You can listen in your browser below, or click here to subscribe to the MouthOff feed in iTunes, where...
- 4/23/2010
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Forgotten Films [1] is a semi-regular feature on Film Junk where we explore interesting movies that have fallen off the radar or slipped through the cracks over the years. If you've seen the recent documentary Not Quite Hollywood, about the history of Australian b-movies and exploitation flicks, then you're probably familiar with the name Brian Trenchard-Smith. Trenchard-Smith directed some of the most beloved cult classics from down under including The Man From Hong Kong, Turkey Shoot, and Dead-End Drive In, before eventually going on to helm some of the later installments of the Leprechaun series. To the average person that might not mean much, but for hardcore genre fans, that basically makes him royalty. Back in the '80s, he also took some time away from the carnage and blood-soaked mayhem to direct a family-friendly film of sorts called Bmx Bandits. The movie has an interesting claim to fame in that...
- 11/11/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
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