MRC INTERVIEWS BLACK SALT PRODUCER

Q. MRCPROMO: Peace Mr. Owen Radliff, how are you and where are you from?
A. OWENRAD: I’m fine and I live in Las Vegas but born and raised in L.A.

Q. MRCPROMO: Can you explain to us what is Black Salt? Who came up with that concept?
A. OWENRAD: I created the Black Salt franchise. Black Salt is an action film project based on the critically acclaimed comic book franchise. The story is an epic thriller merging the world of modern-day espionage and political intrigue with the ancient world of martial arts. The franchise includes integrated branding opportunities for the following: Black Salt collectible items, Apparel Line, Comic Books, Trading Cards, Toys, Animated Series, Video Game, Soundtrack/Music Tour, TV series and Feature Film Trilogy. The short film is a precursor to the Black Salt feature film and TV series that are fully developed.

Q. MRCPROMO: How will this film be distributed?
A. OWENRAD: We’re working on distribution for the 30-minute mini-feature through distribution companies also you will be able go to the Black Salt website (www.blacksaltfilm.com) and download for it for $2.99.

Q. MRCPROMO: Will there be a soundtrack? Can an independant artist submit music for this project and How?
A. OWENRAD: Yes there will be a soundtrack. We’ll have a contest and the winner’s song will go on the website and they will perform a few dates on the tour. All the information is on the Black Salt websites.

Q. MRCPROMO: Describe a typical day in the office or on location for you?
A. OWENRAD: Get up at 5:30 am and answer all emails, develop the project and try to make connection to keep pushing the project forward.

Q. MRCPROMO: What are some of the obstacles you’ve had to overcome on your journey to releasing this project?
A. OWENRAD: The biggest obstacles has been funding. I’ve put up my own money and had successful crowd funding campaigns.

Q. MRCPROMO: Is there a fund raising campaign? Info?
A. OWENRAD: Yes I am doing a second crowd funding campaign to raise more funding for marketing and promotions. We have already shot the film and we are presently doing all the special effects and editing. The info for our crowd funding campaign is here.

Q. MRCPROMO: What does the next 12 months hold for you production wise?
A. OWENRAD: The next 12 months will be finishing the mini-feature and release, put the soundtrack and tour together, finish the Black Salt mobile video game and trying to get investors for the Black Salt feature film project.

Q. MRCPROMO: What advice would you give to anybody wanting to make an indie film?
A. OWENRAD: It’s a lot of hard work and cost a lot of money. If you are going to do a film you must have a team. Try and put a team together were you have different people that can do different things inside the movie business. Because the more your team can do, the less money you will have to spend.

Q. MRCPROMO: Last words or shouts?
A. OWENRAD: The reason I created this film was because I wanted to see more minority role models on the big screen with roles that had real social values behind them.

The Official Black Salt Behind The Scenes Video

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INTERVIEW: MRC Promotions
EDITOR: La Mont Reed
IMAGE: Black Salt Film

The teaser trailer for Donnie Yen’s upcoming remake to the 1989 action film THE ICEMAN COMETH has been unleashed. Yen plays the role originated by Yuen Biao in the 1989 original, a former Ming Dynasty official who has been frozen for four hundred years and awakens in modern-day Hong Kong. There, he is forced to continue the fight against his arch-nemesis from the past, played by Wang Baoqiang (BLIND SHAFT). Simon Yam, Daniel Wu, and Eva Huang are among the co-stars of the film, which was directed by former Johnnie To collaborator Law Wing-Cheong (RUNNING OUT OF TIME). Yen also served as the film’s action choreographer. ICEMAN 3D will be released in Hong Kong in Spring 2014.

DONNIE YEN ICEMAN 3D – TRAILER FIGHT TRIBUTE

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ARTICLE: Kungfucinema.com
EDITOR: Mike-Lee
IMAGE: Iceman 3D

The trailer to the remake of DISTRICT B13 has finally been unleashed and it’s gotten a lot of positive buzz.

Entitled BRICK MANSIONS, the film was the last completed film from actor Paul Walker, who passed away on November 30 in a car crash. The actor was working on FAST AND FURIOUS 7 at the time of his passing. In BRICK MANSIONS, Walker plays undercover cop Damien Collier, who is assigned to go to the titular area, one of the worst ghettos in Detroit to find a weapon of mass destruction. There, he partners up with one of the locals, Lino, whose girlfriend is kidnapped by crime lord Tremaine, who (surprise!) has said weapon. Walker’s role was originally played by Cyril Raffaelli in the original 2004 film.

David Belle, the founder of parkour, reprises his role from the original film. The film is Belle’s English-language debut. The RZA plays Tremaine and model Catalina Denis plays Lino’s kidnapped girlfriend. The film was directed by Camille Delamarre, a protege of Luc Besson, who co-wrote the original film and serves as producer here.

To prepare for the film, Walker trained with Belle in parkour. From the trailer, it looks like Walker is going to shine here in what is his final completed film. Fans can check out BRICK MANSIONS in theaters on April 25 from Relativity Media and Europa Corp.

Brick Mansions Trailer Official – Paul Walker

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ARTICLE: kungfucinema.com
EDITOR: MRC
IMAGE: Iceman 3D

The Hong Kong cinematic world lost another legend when it was announced that Wu Ma had lost his battle with cancer on the morning of February 4, 2014 at the age of 71.

Born Feng Hongyuan on August 18, 1942, Wu started out as a machinist before leaving the mainland for Hong Kong at the age of 18. In 1962, Wu decided to become an actor and enrolled in the Shaw Brothers Acting School. After graduating a year later, he made his film debut in LADY GENERAL HUA MULAN (1964) as Hua Mu Di. He was a regular in many early Shaw Brothers films.

The wuxia pian WRATH OF THE SWORD (1970) would mark Wu’s first film as a director. A natural talent behind the cameras aside from in front of the screens, Wu directed or co-directed films such as THE WATER MARGIN (1972), THE MANCHU BOXER (1974), and SHAOLIN DEADLY KICKS (1976), starring superkicker Tan Tao-Liang. Wu directed Tan not only in that film, but the classic SHOWDOWN AT THE COTTON MILL (1978) and SNAKE-CRANE SECRET (1978). He would also direct two 90’s vehicles for Yuen Biao, KICKBOXER (1993) and CIRCUS KIDS (1994).

However, Wu gained a following in the West with his most famous film role, a Taoist priest who comes between the love of a scholar and a beautiful ghost in Ching Siu-Tung’s A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987). He would make many appearances in Jackie Chan’s films throughout the eighties, including a co-starring role in Chan’s homage to classic Hollywood cinema, MIRACLES (1989).

Last year, Wu was diagnosed with lung cancer and sadly, the Hong Kong world has lost another legend. Kung Fu Cinema sends its condolences to the family of Wu Ma.

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ARTICLE: kungfucinema.com
EDITOR: Mike-Lee
IMAGE: WU MA

WHAT IS FIST OF LEDGEND:

The title may seem similar to a famous Jet Li film, but this is not a remake. This is a really great mixed martial arts drama from Korea courtesy of director Kang Woo-Suk (PUBLIC ENEMY).

Noodle shop owner Lim Deok-Kyu (Hwang Jeong-Min) lives a quiet and unexciting life. This is a major difference from his high school days, when he was an amateur boxer. He is constantly berated by his mother-in-law and is ignored constantly by his daughter Soo-Bin (Ji Woo). When unscrupulous television producer Hong Gyu-Min (Lee Yo-Won) creates a show that shows former high school fighters taking each other on, she invites Deok-Kyu, who at first refuses. However, when financial strife hits him hard, he joins the show and soon becomes a star.

However, with his newfound fame comes a price. Two of his former friends, Lee Sang-Hoon (Yoo Jun-Sang) and Shin Jae-Seok (Yoon Je-Moon) have also joined the show for their own reasons. Sang-Hoon has lost his self-respect as the manager of a PR company when he is constantly harassed by his boss and former friend Son Jin-Ho (Jeong Woong-In). Jae-Seok has become a low level gangster who is constantly seen as a mere henchman and wants to become somebody. When the three former friends learn of a tournament that Ms. Hong has created called the “Match of Legends”, the prize is $200,000, they come face-to-face with what could be their destinies.

THE REVIEW:

Mixed martial arts films have been a dime a dozen. Most of the time, they have simplistic plots and rely only on the action. There have been some exceptions, notably Gavin O’Connor’s WARRIOR (2011). This film, based on an internet comic by Lee Jong-Gyu, is also one of those exceptions. Clocked in at 153 minutes, the film’s narrative is the driving force of the film.

The cast of the film give out great performances, notably Hwang Jeong-Min as Deok-Kyu. Deok-Kyu was an amateur boxer and Olympic hopeful who loses to a rigged contest and goes a downward spiral that nearly cost him everything. At first, he is seen as a loser to everyone, including himself. However, he soon makes a transition from zero to hero and back to zero only to eventually find what is right and does what he can not only to gain the respect of his daughter, but to seek redemption in himself. In fact, an emotional scene midway through the film made this reviewer shed a tear.

While it seems Lim’s story may be somewhat the focus of the story, we learn more about his former friends Sang-Hoon and Jae-Seok, two men who like their fallen friend, lack self-respect and are seen as losers to everyone. Through the use of flashbacks does the viewer fully understand what caused the three friends’ lives to change forever and the road to redemption for all three.

While there are a few antagonists in the film, none tend to come more reviled at times than Lee Yo-Won’s Ms. Hong. Lee plays the role as someone who cares only about the ratings of her creation. She constantly nags and even goes to some threatening to get what she wants when it comes to the talent of the show. At times, she is no better than a gangster who demands money especially when she poses a threat against one of the three guys if he doesn’t accept to go on the show. At least she doesn’t go as far as trying to rig the fights. She just wants a good show to earn the ratings.

Action director Jung Doo-Hong once again dazzles the screen with his choreography. Using mixed martial arts as the central force behind the action, he tends to use distinct styles for most of the film in terms of the characters. For instance, Deok-Kyu is a skilled Western boxer while Sang-Hoon is a skilled tae kwon do kicker. In a twist that may remind viewers of NEVER BACK DOWN 2 (2011), the three men, along with the other five competing in the big tournament that takes up the third act, train in mixed martial arts under Jason Kim, a MMA champion who is the technical advisor of the show. The editing of the tournament fights is nice for the most, amid a few extreme close ups, but for the most part, overhead and wide shots are nicely used as well as long shots to showcase MMA techniques. They really make the cast, who trained under Jung for the film, look quite nice in the action.

The film had four nominations at the 50th Grand Bell Awards in Korea. Hwang Jeong-Min was up for Best Actor. Yoo Jung-Sang was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Newcomers Park Jung-Min and Park Doo-Shik were nominated both for Best New Actor for their portrayals of the young Deok-Kyu and Jae-Seok.

If you liked the mixed martial arts film WARRIOR, then FISTS OF LEGEND is definitely Korea’s answer to WARRIOR. Note that the word “answer” and not “version” is used. FISTS OF LEGEND brings a good narrative that drives the action as well as some great performances by Hwang Jeong-Min, Yoo Jung-Sang, and Yoon Je-Moon as the three middle aged men who despite being past their prime seek redemption in themselves in the world of mixed martial arts. Definitely worth viewing.

STARRING: Jeong-min Hwang, Woong-in Jung ,Yu-won Lee, Jun-Sang Yoo, Je-mun Yun

Fists Of Legend – Trailer – Korean Action, 2013.

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ARTICLE: kungfucinema.com
EDITOR: Mike-Lee
IMAGE: Fist of Legend

Run Run Shaw in 1978 with his wife and daughter. Mr. Shaw and his older brother were movie pioneers in Asia, producing and sometimes directing films and owning cinema chains

Sir Run Run Shaw, the media tycoon who helped bring Chinese martial arts films to an international audience, died at his home in Hong Kong on Tuesday at the age of 106, the television station he founded said on Tuesday. Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) said in a statement that the centenarian would be sadly missed: “Although we knew this day will come, no words can adequately express our sorrow and lessen our sense of a profound loss,” it said. With his elder brother, Run me Shaw co-founded one of the world’s largest film studios, Shaw Brothers. The company has produced around 1,000 movies since 1958, and helped launch the careers of star actors and directors from across Asia. At its peak, in the 1960s and 1970s, the studios were making more than 40 films a year, according to a biography by film history writers Zhan Youpeng and Lan Chao. “The Shaw brothers — they created the martial arts action genre and made it huge. And it’s been copied ever since,” said Patrick Frater, Asia bureau chief at industry publication Variety. Shaw also has credits on several U.S. films, including Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner.”

MORE: China’s Hollywood dream gets lots in translation.

He was born in 1907 in the city of Ningbo, near Shanghai in China, although there is some confusion about his exact date of birth, Frater said. He was the youngest of six children fathered by a successful textile merchant. In the 1920s, he joined his brother Runje in Singapore in an effort to establish a market for Chinese-language films in Southeast Asia, according to a Hong Kong Film Archive chronology. By 1939, they had opened 139 cinemas across the region. “Run Run Shaw was there at the beginning of the century when cinema first took off,” Frater said. After World War II, Shaw moved to Hong Kong and began concentrating on film production, opening a world-class studio called Movie Town in 1961. Six years later, he co-founded Hong Kong’s first free-to-air station, TVB. The network remains one of the world’s most influential Chinese-language broadcasters. Shaw was a generous philanthropist, especially in the education sector. The Shaw Prize, an international science award that he established, has become known as the “Nobel of the East.” The media mogul was knighted by the Queen in 1977. Shaw received Hong Kong’s highest honor award, the Grand Bauhinia Medal, in 1998, after the territory returned to Chinese rule. He remained involved in Hong Kong’s media industry well into his later years, retiring as chairman of the television station, TVB, only in 2011 at the age of 104. Shaw is survived by his wife, Mona Fong, and four children.

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ARTICLE: CNN.COM
EDITOR: Mike-Lee
IMAGE: Run Run Shaw

About The Artist: From New York City, the artist known as P.H.A.S.E. 2. is a first-generation writer with roots in the subway art movement and the larger hip hop culture that developed in the Bronx in the 1970s. He pioneered the “softie” bubble letter in 1972, which made up the earliest subway masterpieces, and provided the foundation for many other letter styles introducing arrows, curls, twists and other connections. As an innovator of what he calls “wild lettering,” P.H.A.S.E. 2 was prolific on the New York trains. He was also an important cultural connector, and he designed many of the flyers for the early hip-hop events that brought together the top DJs, MCs, breakers and aerosol artists from the South Bronx.

Before becoming a writer, P.H.A.S.E. 2 was also an early b-boy or innovator of “breaking,” which he describes as a freestyle movement that took dance beyond the norm. He feels a heartfelt connection to Asiatic culture and has a love for martial arts, its physical dynamic, spirituality and discipline, as portrayed in the choreography of the kung fu movies that were popular among young African Americans and Latinos in the 1970s. “Martial arts movies came on TV every Saturday in the ’70s and ’80s—you got a good dose of them through kung fu theater and VHS tapes,” P.H.A.S.E. 2 recalls. “In a certain respect it was part of us through our embracement of movies like Five Fingers of Death and Bruce Lee’s movies as well, like his character Kato in The Green Hornet.”

P.H.A.S.E. 2 has always drawn, and he remembers portraits were some of the first serious drawings he got into. For the Wynwood Doors in 2010, he used markers to paint kung fu stars from the 1970s. “It was my symbolic and due homage to the art and the movies,” he says. Among the figures we see are the faces of Angela Mao, who was the first great female action star in Hong Kong films, Gordon Lui, Ti Lung and Sammo Hung. In contemplating, finally, the tribal warrior sculptures of the artist’s design, we may discover themes of inner strength and self-discovery in his work.

Source – The Wynwood Walls

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ARTICLE: The Wynwood Walls
EDITOR: Noiseman
IMAGE: P.H.A.S.E. 2