news
expendables: call to arms
"Gentleman, while you've been at home noob tubing total strangers duct taping 40s to your hands, you've been handing the keys to Hollywood to teenage girls!"
If you weren't sure about The Expendables before, then this call to arms trailer will certainly sway you.
mortal kombat: rebirth
The Mortal Kombat movie franchise has been in limbo for a few years, with various reboots announced but no real action happening..until now! June the 8th saw a stylish promo hit the net, offering a new and very different take... Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen, who previously helmed the FAME remake and has openly discussed his love for martial arts movies, he put together this stylish promo offering a noir take on the characters and the worlds of Mortal Kombat, as part of his pitch to get the live action movie reboot jumpstarted.
The fight choreography for the promo is by Larnell Stovall (Undisputed 3: Redemption), and the cast for the promo includes Michael Jai White as Jax, Star trek: Voyager's Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade, Lateef Crowder (Warrior King/Tom Yum-gong) as Baraka and XMA champion Matt Mullins (Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight) as Johnny Cage.
While we're big fans of the original Mortal Kombat movie, the sequel and subsequent TV series didnt serve the concept as welll and we'd love to see the reboot go ahead with Tancharoen at the helm, and maintaining this feel.
comic books..kung fu...a little less conversation
Kick Ass? Ass Kick more like it! Hong Kong bid adieu at least for now to the maverick they call 'Digger T Mesch', the man who formed the Art Asylum and currently rules the roost at www.digdeepent.com Mesch made memorable appearences in such films as Twins Effect, Ultraviolet, the Counting House, The Bodyguard: A New Begining and Largo Winch during his time in Hong Kong. He also directed several acclaimed music videos for various artists including Blind Generation and Lot'of Luv. His final project before relocating to Los Angels to further develop his directing career and the Fistful of Blood project with Kevin Eastman, was the short film A Little Less Conversation.
The film captured Impact's attention from day one when we heard of a storyline that features comic books, kung fu, gunplay, Star Wars, Strippers, Star Trek and much more, including Impact's Eastern Editor Mike Leeder pulling a Double Impact as a set of identical twins. The film is currently in post production and we'll be hearing more about it and Digger's adventures in Hollywood shortly.
kick-ass out now
In case you haven't noticed, here at Impact we love Kick-Ass. It's been on the cover not once but twice (albeit a little smaller that time). Mark Millar's comic was adapted by Jane Goldman (perhaps more well known to most as 'Mrs Wossy') and a few of the mainstream media outlets have for some reason focused on this fact more than anything... yeah we don't understand it either. If you don't like the word c**t then just don't go and see it... simplez? If you haven't seen it already below is the 'red band' trailer. We suggest you sit back, watch it in all its glory and then get down to your local cinema and watch the whole thing... enjoy!
truely legendary
Acclaimed martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping makes a long overdue return to the director’s chair with True Legend. The film sees Yuen revisiting a character very close to his heart, 'Beggar So' the character made famous by his late father Simon Yuen (Yuen Siu-tien) but this time Yuen chronicles the events that turned a once prosperous man into the 'King of Beggars'. Yuen and producer Bill Kong have assembled an impressive cast including Vincent Zhao, Zhou Xun, Michelle Yeoh, Andy On, Jay Chou and the late David Carradine for the film which opened across Asia for Chinese New Year. Impact’s Eastern Editor Mike Leeder delivers the first UK review in our April issue. Check out the trailer below.
the tangled web unravels...
The future of Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Spider-man franchise is under close scrutiny with the news that the planned 2011 release has been abandoned, with both director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire quitting the project. The official confirmation came after weeks of rumours concerning disagreements between director and studio over the script for the fourth film in the superhero franchise. Spider-man 3’s mixed reviews suggested that there were too many characters involved and there were problems in deciding who the next main protagonist(s) would be. Some reports did not look favourably on existing versions of the latest script. Raimi, it is reported, felt he could not create the movie he wanted in the tight time-frame the studio was demanding, but in a brief quote wished the studio all the best with their controversial decision. A January 11th statement announced that the studio was ‘…moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.’ In other words, in a move not dissimilar to the comics, Peter Parker will be de-aged and certain parts of continuity junked for the film which now looks to be aimed for 2012. It is not known if this will be another ‘origin story’. Reboots for the likes of Batman HAVE proven successful, but usually only after severe mis-steps. Only time will tell whether the studio’s decision to retool an already highly successful franchise will pay off in the long run.
seagal: the lawman
The tall guy makes his official TV debut as the star of A&E’s new reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman, which chronicles Seagal’s previously unknown side career as a long-time deputy sheriff in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The first two episodes of the show gave the network its highest rated season opening ever, and it’ll be interesting to see if the show maintains the ratings. The show begins with an inane voiceover as Seagal introduces himself, ‘I’m Steven Seagal, that’s right Steven Seagal Deputy Sheriff’, and explaining how dedicated he is to upholding the law in real life and showing us Seagal in action alongside other members of the Sheriff department., although you wonder how dedicated he is when you consider his increasingly prolific filmography of DTV releases., how much time can he really devote? Now it sounds like a great idea, but then the show begins and you’re left wondering if this is meant to be some kind of spoof as Seagal is portrayed as having almost ‘Spidey-sense’ like abilities, as he looks at passing cars and pedestrians and is able to pinpoint hidden weapons and misdeeds occurring! Combined with moments of Seagal encouraging his seemingly infuriated partner to ‘chase em, man! Chase em!” and explaining the finer points of Zen archery and claiming he can ignite matches by firing bullets at them! It’s essential viewing, although perhaps for all the wrong reasons, and here’s hoping that someone in the UK picks the series up shortly.
van damme: ‘karate’ becomes ‘the tower’
While the world still waits for The Eagle Path, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s much anticipated full blooded martial arts project, originally announced as Karate, looks to be undergoing some changes and may well be retitled as The Tower. Long-time fans of Van Damme will remember that Jean-Claude had developed a project called The Tower some years previously, which focused on a man undertaking both a psychological and physical journey following a near death experience. And while there’s been no official confirmation, it could be that this new project is a new take on this concept. In a recent press conference, Jean-Claude also spoke of several TV projects connected to the film which would include a reality show following the entire casting process for the film, through first auditions, call backs, training for the movie and finally shooting. Jean-Claude will next be seen in Universal Soldier: Regeneration taking on Dolph Lundgren and MMA champion Andrei Arloski.
‘the phantom’ returns in new mini series...
Lee Falks’ creation for King Features, The Phantom, aka Kit Walker or ‘the ghost that walks’, began life as a comic character in 1936. Kit Walker is the 21st in a line of crimefighters that began in 1536, as the only survivor of a pirate attack, he swore an oath on the skull of his father’s murderer to dedicate his life to the destruction of piracy, greed and cruelty. The character’s last appearance was in the 1996’s adaptation starring Billy Zane, which failed in every department despite the directors Simon Wincer best efforts. Now the character returns in 2010 to the small screen in a new mini-series which sees a young man discovering his true identity, as the son of the Phantom. Joining the Phantom’s team, he trains under his guidance to assume the mantle of the Phantom, and do battle with the Singh brotherhood. The cast includes Ryan Carnes as Walker, Sandrine Holt (Once A Thief TV series) as Guran, the Phantom’s ‘right hand-man’, Jean-Merchand as the mysterious Abel Vandermaark, Cameron Goodman as Renny Davidson, Cas Anvar as Raatib Singh, and Isabella Rossellini as Lithia. The classic Purple outfit appears, but is replaced by a modern armoured outfit.
andy lau is detective dee
Tsui Hark is wrapping post production on his first genre project since Seven Swords with the star-studded costume detective thriller Detective Dee & The Mystery of the Phantom! The film is a fictional take on the exploits of famed Tang Dynasty official Di Renjie, Andy Lau plays the title role, called into action to investigate a series of deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu Zetian. The film also stars Carina Lau, Li Bing-bing, Tony Leung Kar-fai, Richard Ng & Lau Ching-wan, while the film’s action scenes are choreographed by Sammo Hung. Guy Ritchie’s take on Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jnr, features fight scenes based around the Wing Chun and Jujitsu styles, practised by both leading man Downey and Director Ritchie respectively.
