Apr 14 Day 2
Awards Ceremony
I was not able to hear everything, but here's what I got :D
The
things I was not sure of have a question mark. Aaron Norriswas
the emcee. The major award honorees were announced and came into a tent
in the parking lot one by one. Tent Admission was for VIP level Badge
Holders and above, but nearly everyone there had a badge, so there was
overflow all around and a great deal of excitement for the occasion.
When Gina Carano accepted her Award, the whole crowd had those
Puss-N-Boots eyes from Shrek. They were clearly smitten. As Aaron Norris
put it when he introduced her: "She could kick the ass of every guy
in here." Reels were
shown of the work of major honorees, and the Jury was on hand and
presented various awards. They were given out in this order:
• Trevor Habberstad Young Stuntman? Award
(on hand to accept. I could not hear what he said when he accepted.) • Courtney SolomonProducer of the Year
(not there. Sarah Finder, VP of Publicity & Promotions from After Dark
Films accepted on this behalf. He is in Bulgaria, shooting his next
film—not listed on IMDB. What an amazing list of movies to his credit in
2012! ) • Jack Gill Man
of Action Award
(on hand to accept. Thanked Aaron Norris for inviting him. Said the
digital realm will not surpass stuntwork, the upper echelon of the
Hollywood will recognize what stuntmen do for a living, and that
ActionFest is only going to get bigger and better.) • J.J. Perry
Fight Coordinator of the Year
(on hand to accept. There was a video from Chuck Norris
who said "nobody deserves it more". He seemed like a really
gracious and truly nice person and he thanked Mickey Gilbert for paving
the way.)
• Cung Le Rising Action Star
(on hand to accept. He thanked ActionFest, After Dark, God, his agent,
manager, "everyone", and USH, and
the crowd cheered "Ush!"
BREAK: Improv Comedy Performance with the line "Tell me where to
stand so I don't get killed." • Tim McGaren? :30 Seconds of Action Contest Winner for
____________?
(announced by Peter Kaplowsky. Couldn't hear title if that is
what he was saying. Sounded like "Operation Sneed?")
Some talk aboutor by?Jury MemberEric Vespe Best
? for ______________? as just part of the
introduction for . . . • Jason Lapeyre
Best Screenplay for I Declare War
(not there?) • James FrainBest Villain for Transit
• Best Spirit of Action Award toManborg (don't think Steven Kostanski was there. Colin? said they
want to have "him" back next year to do an Independent Creative Action
Films master class. Maybe he came an earlier year.)
• Cung Le Best Fight
(Street Fight #1) in
Dragon Eyes (this was Cung Le's first time as a Fight Choreographer. He joked
again about his new "Ninja Toe Kick" that he's been knocking out his
sparring partners with. Yikes! There's a more dangerous kick?!) Not sure if this was just talk or an introduction of Jury Member Mitch Davis Best Action Sequence for
_____________
heard something about . . . the alleyway scenein The Lost Bladesman
. . .
• ? Best Director
__________________? for The Lost Bladesman?
There are two Directors listed on IMDB for The Lost Bladesman, and I didn't hear either
name:
Felix Chong and
Alan Mak.
• Best Picture I Declare War
• Gina Carano
inaugural Chick Norris Award (on hand to accept.There was a video from Chuck
Norris who saidthat an award to honor women in Action
Movies was "long overdue". Gina said it was an honor to be there.
She thanked ActionFest, J.J. Perry, stuntmen and women, and said she
felt she had gotten more credit than she ever deserved. She then thanked
her mother who was in the audience and said "[she wouldn't
have known what a strong woman was unless she had shown her]." Then
Aaron Norris announced that Gina's birthday was on the 16th and we all
sang "Happy Birthday" to her.
• Tom Elliott Best
Action Sequence for _______________ ?
(on hand to accept. They
showed a reel and Aaron Norris called it the "Car Stunt of the
Decade". Tom Elliott was Stunts Unlimited
President 2010-11, and is now VP 2012. He said to Aaron Norris that
ActionFest "has the complete support of all 50 members of Stunts
Unlimited".) • Mickey Gilbert
Lifetime Achievement Award
[Aaron Norris said that Mickey Gilbert had done everything you can do in
the stunt business, and that he might be known to tell a story or two.
"I got stories" he said. The crowd applauded him and he
said the last time he was applauded was at 16 or 17(I think he said that
age) by his parents when
he left the house. It struck me at that moment that they do all
this life-endangering work and they never do hear applause! He called up
the four founders "the backbone" of ActionFest (Bill
Banowski, Dennis Berman, Aaron Norris, and Tom Quinn) who took the stage
with him and said that they were "going to see big things happen".
Mentioned the Festival being moved someday to somewhere like Vegas (please
no!), and that "'they're'
going to be jealous of this (motioned with award in hand meaning
someday the Academy Awards would be jealous of ActionFest Awards)".
He mentioned the only person to receive an Academy Award for anything
Action related was
Yakima Canuttwho received anHonorary Academy
Award"for achievements as a stunt
man and for developing safety devices to protect stunt men everywhere"(from Wikipedia), and said he feels "for some reason 'they' are
against us". He interjected "Oh, I gotta tell you something!"
(so cute—he's got such a likeable personality) and the crowd laughed.Then he announced that in two weeks it would be he and his wife's
50th Anniversary.That got big applause. Then he went on to
explain how the buffalo 'went down' (which someone had asked) in the
reel of his work where it looked like they got shot with arrows and
speared with a lance. He explained what a "running W" was, and ended
with an anecdote that they called him to do the same thing on Dances
With Wolves and he said "No!" LMAO!]
• The last two Honorees
recognized were tireless ActionFest behind-the-scenes workers:
"Hope" (Branch, Director of Operations at Carolina Asheville) and
"Kelly"
(Sanders?).
When asked if he was going out drinking with
everyone, Aaron Norris replied: "God only gives you so many drinks in
a lifetime—I used all mine up in the '70s." He also said ActionFest
would be building up the blog and blogging throughout the year and that
he couldn't believe there wasn't a "major" Action Movie website out
there. Back when I started this site (2009), I saw that as well, but I
think of ActionFlickChick,
AllOuttaBubbleGum.com,
and OutlawVern are awesome, so if you haven't visited their sites, I highly
recommend them!
Apr 13 Day 1 was packed with excitement!
I saw Let The Bullets Fly, The Wild Bunch (with an
introduction by and Q&A after with Mickey Gilbert), Sinners &
Saints (with a big crew from them, including Director William
Kaufman, and stars Johnny Strong, and
Tom Berenger), and Transit.
Apr 12 Solomon Kane
The Rocket Man kicked off the festival by flying over the red
carpet in front of the Diana Wortham theater. (Dressed in a tux made it
another level of cool!) Although James Purefoy could not be there
to introduce Solomon Kane, he wrote an email that Colin read to the
crowd. I missed see Tom Quinn & Co. with swords and beers, though LOL.
The change of venue made it seem more intimate somehow (private party
feel). The movie was great!
Apr 11 Tomorrow, tomorrow . . .
Arrived a day early. Gives me time to decide which movies to see.
Apr 7 The (almost) Final List is out . . .
And it's way more than expected! Plus: they mention:
"Secret Screenings! TOP SECRET! One an upcoming action hit and the other
an action classic — not to be missed!"
Apr 4 8 days and
counting . . .
Here is the official ActionFest . . . I think I meant to put the
trailer but it wouldn't load for me. Guess I got interrupted on
that post LOL And I just noticed I had "Charlotte" instead of
"Asheville" on all 3 years. OMG.
Mar 26 Film List (partial)
Where was I? Apparently (it's dated March 23rd) I missed the film
list (so much for Google Alerts). It is partial, but I added the
films (with trailers, see below).
Mar 25 ActionFest Program .
. . ActionFest's first Festival Director Matthew Kiernan@HQ10 tweeted "Not
watching MAD MEN so I can work on
@Actionfest program guide notes, which, ironically enough,
will be filled with MAD MEN spoilers."
Mar 9 The 2012
ActionFest poster . . . Artwork
by
Kagan McLeod(self portrait and bio
quote from his website). "Kagan McLeod has been illustrating for
magazines, newspapers and design firms since 1999, after graduating from
Sheridan College's illustration program. He began work as a
staff artist for Canada's National Post
newspaper, and has since had work published in magazines around the
world. He lives in Toronto with his wife, two daughters and hound
dog, Buddy."
I'm loving that a woman is the largest character on the illustration.
Opening Film
It was also announced that Solomon Kane will
be the opening film (trailer below). In the same vein as
Centurion and
Ironclad, it's sure to pump up the crowd! I LOVE seeing movies
on the big screen that I would never otherwise have the chance to. The
star of Solomon Kane
The Closing Film
will beWu Xia
aka Dragon. Trailers of both moviesbelow
in the film list I started . . .
Mar 8 The early bird price
of $75 for a festival badge is over. The price is now $100, and still a
bargain! Colin Geddes said on his FB page that an announcement is
imminent as he has secured the opening and closing films. I am guessing
The Raid is the opening film. Probably all the lucky film career
people have already seen it at TIFF, but I am psyched to see it!
Feb 8
"Chick Norris" honoree
announced. . . HAYWIRE's Gina Carano! "The festival will
feature a lineup of action film from the U.S. and around the world, plus
stunt demonstrations in the Carolina Asheville parking lot. [Festival
Co-Founder Bill] Banowsky is also looking to have some ActionFest
involvement in downtown Asheville. 'We would love to show films
(downtown),' he said. 'Our goal is to outgrow the Carolina.' Early
ActionFest tickets will go on sale in a few days, with a film
lineup announced in several weeks, he said."
Dec 20
ActionFest 2012 dates announced
and this year's honoree is Mickey Gilbert, plus they
are adding a new
"'Chick'
Norris" Award "to be given to a woman working in film today
who best represents the spirit, attitude, athleticism and grit of
Hollywood legend Chuck Norris."
Solomon Kane (104 min.)
Action/Adventure/Fantasy
OPENING FILM
"A mercenary who owes his soul to the devil redeems himself by
fighting evil."
Writers
Michael J. Bassett and Robert E. Howard
(1906-1936) creator of "Conan the Barbarian in a series of short
stories and novels... . Born in Peaster, Texas, he was raised in
Cross Plains. His fiction was carried in pulp magazines of the
time such as Weird Tales, and
H.P. Lovecraft
was a friend and admirer of his. He committed
suicide
[at age 30] after holding vigil by his mother's deathbed."
Solomon Kane
OH: "Dude, man, what was that? That was so loud.
Rocket Maaaaan. No way! That's way cool!" Last night, downtown
Asheville heard @ActionFest knocking with the Rocket Man's
entrance . . . in a tux! The site of this year's
festival opener was the Diana Wortham theatre, right smack in
the heart of things. Hovering over the entrance, complete with red
carpet and velvet ropes, Rocket Man's jet pack read "ACTIONFEST" on
the back. That was exciting enough, but the crowd couldn't
wait to get inside for the opening film Solomon Kane (official site) starring
@JamesPurefoy. It was the another perfect, pump-em-up choice
from Festival Director@colingeddes. The intimate @dwtheatre
was the perfect setting, and it was packed!
James Purefoy was unable to attend, but sent an email (read by
Colin), which included a story about being injured on the SK set, and
Purefoy later 'accidently' putting his spear through the cheek of
that stuntman (who told him later he felt Purefoy's blade on his tongue). I watched for
that part but the Action was too awesome to be able to tell for sure
without slo-mo, and so plentiful that it might have been any of many
scenes. The movie was very good and the story fast paced. The
creatures were the stuff of nightmares. Everyone played their parts
well, and the "moveable feast" became a chase with a huge
killcount that kept your heart racing, while Purefoy's moving
performance and the character's situation kept you glued to the story.
"I am not yet ready for hell . . . " It captured a dark time of superstition and sorcery where a
man's speed and skill with a blade not only kept him alive but made
him the stuff of legend. A fascinating
character created by Robert E. Howard and published in
Weird
Tales magazine, there are other stories to tell,
and there was talk of a sequel :)!
from Wikipedia:
"Howard described him as a sombre and gloomy
man of pale face and cold eyes, all of it shadowed by a slouch
hat. He is dressed entirely in black and his weaponry consists
of a rapier, a cutlass, and a brace of flintlock pistols. During
one of his latter adventures his friend N'Longa, an African
shaman, gave him a juju staff that served as a protection
against evil, but could easily be wielded as an effective
weapon. It is revealed in another story, "The Footfalls Within",
that this is the mythical Staff of Solomon, a talisman older
than the Earth and unimaginably powerful, much more so than even
N'Longa knew. In the same adventure with N'Longa, Kane is seen
using a musket as well."
13 May 2011
(Cannes)
15 Apr 2012
(Actionfest)
21 Apr 2012
(Japan)
Dragon (Wu Xia)
(114 min.) Action/Drama
REGIONAL PREMIERE
CLOSING FILM
"A sinful martial arts expert wants to start a new tranquil life,
only to be hunted by a determined detective and his former master."
A Gang Story
(102 min.) Drama
REGIONAL PREMIERE " A look back at one of France's
most notorious crime syndicates, reminiscent of The Godfather and
Heat."
Bad Ass
( ___ min.) Action
WORLD PREMIERE "Danny Trejo plays a decorated
soldier who returns from Vietnam only to be shunned by society.
Forty years later, when he protects an elderly man from a pair of
skinheads, he becomes a hero, but his good fortune takes a turn for
the worse when his best friend is murdered and the police won't do
anything about it. Also starring Charles Dutton and Ron Perlman."
Comin' At Ya!
(91 min.) Western
SPECIAL SCREENING "Alamo Drafthouse
and Drafthouse Films bring us this newly restored 3-D funfest"
"Warning: The Management Is Not responsible For Where The
Screen Ends And You Begin! "
Dragon Eyes
(88 min.) Action/Crime/Drama
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE "In St. Jude, drug
dealers and corrupt cops have destroyed an urban neighborhood. But
newcomer, Hong (Cung Le), has the fighting skills and moral vision
to save this town from itself. " Stars MMA Superstar Cung Le (will be in
attendance), and Jean-Claude Van Damme and Peter Weller"in this modern version of Akira Kurosawa's classic Yojimbo."
Dragon Eyes "You've got two tigers inside you—the weak one, who doesn't
believe, and the courageous one who does—which one will win?" So
Jean-Claude Van Damme's character advises Cung Le's character.
This movie is an epic fight movie. It's almost hard to watch. In
the Q&A, Cung Le spoke of scenes that were almost 'fight porn'. This is
not necessarily a bad thing. It's just a little hard to watch because
it's that real looking. It's a great compliment to the
actors and stuntmen, but it's not for the faint hearted. The story
is fairly straightforward. It's a passing of the torch as both men
are talented kickers. Two things I didn't care for were the use of
an Asian actress whose body looked so plastic she might as well have
been a blow-up doll, and the way they cut/edited the scene she was in.
It was soft-porn/masturbation material—strictly for men. Any woman
watching would agree, guys would just be, well, guys. That aside,
I enjoyed the movie, especially Peter Weller's performance. Cung
Le's performance was touching, and a contrast to the brutality. I hope
we see much more of him!
Eastern Condors
This is one of those foreign
movies the average Action Movie Fan has probably never seen (or maybe even heard of) but,
which belongs on a Top Ten list with
Born to Fight(a brilliant choice from Festival Director
Matthew Kiernan shown at ActionFest 2010). The Action is creative and the story
is funny, unexpected, and moving, but thing that really stayed with me was that the
performances and skill level of the players continually surprises.
Even when you get to the end, it's like the keep on pulling out
surprise after surprise. You'll be shaking your head in
appreciation and disbelief!
The movie stars Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (also
the Director),
Biao Yuen,Corey Yuen
(both also stunt coordinators), Wah Yuen, and Woo-Ping Yuen.
Sammo Hung looks so young! If you're not already a huge fan, you
will be after this movie. When he screams while firing that cannon .
. . , his jumping up from the ground . . . Actually, the
thing about this movie is that everyone is good. Really good.
The three "Guerilla Girls" will win you over with superior ass
kicking and no fear. They are pretty but they are not bimbos. They
are Joyce Godenzi, ______________, and Ci Chung Ha, and
you will respect them!
The Action is acrobatic. You'll be wondering: Who
is that guy and why have I never heard of him? From IMDB:
"Yuen Biao is
regarded as one of the most acrobatic martial artists ever.
Unfortunately, he is still underrated and not as popular as other
contemporaries such as Jackie Chan,
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo,
and Jet Li
even though he is the most critically acclaimed out of all of them
and the most talented as well."
This movie features a few things I've seen
re-created in later movies. The Rundown came to mind
with the "Thunder and Lightning" scene, as well as maybe my all-time
favorite
fight sequence from The Chronicles of Riddick:
Riddick pulls off a flying two-fisted decapitation on one soldier,
and then lands both blades into the chest of another! While David
Twohy said if he'd seen it before he didn't want to use it in
Riddick, you have to wonder if that scene came from this one.
Great ending—they put a grenade in the annoying
guy's mouth. Bottom Line: It impresses!
Goon
( ___ min.) Comedy/Sport
REGIONAL PREMIERE "The most outrageous sports comedy in years stars
Seann William Scott as a bouncer labeled an outcast by his brainy
family. After overcoming long odds to lead a team of
under-performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory by beating the
crap out of everything that stands in his way, he must have a
knock-'em-down confrontation with a famous enforcer (Liev
Schreiber)."
Headhunters
(100 min.)
Action/Crime/Thriller
REGIONAL PREMIERE "Based on the international best-seller by Jo Nesbo,
Askle Hennie
stars as an accomplished corporate headhunter who moonlights as an
art thief. When he steals a valuable painting owned by a former
mercenary, he gets more than he bargained for, and must set off on a
heart-stopping race against time to save his reputation and his
life."
I Declare War
(90 min.)
Action/Comedy/Drama
IN-PROGRESS WORK
SCREENING "Stand By Me meets
Full Metal Jacket when two groups of 13-year old friends play 'war'
in a local forest. It's all fun and games until things get out of
hand as bullies, crushes, and popularity contests all come into play
on the battlefield."
Let The Bullets Fly
(132 min.)
Action/Comedy/Drama
REGIONAL PREMIERE "In 1920s China, a
bandit arrives in a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor,
where he faces off against a tyrannical local nobleman."
Let The Bullets Fly Colin Geddes, ActionFest 2012 Festival Director
introduced this movie as "the highest-grossing Chinese movie in
history". It's labeled as Action/Comedy/Western but the
emphasis is on Comedy. Chow Yung Fat was
great, as usual, in a double role. Seeing him be goofy was priceless!
The three actors were amazing together. If only I understood
Chinese to get their 'Buddy' dynamic (with three!) better with the
language.
The opening was funny but also impressive as stuntwork. The bandits
put ax blades into the railroad tracks then pounded them in with
the butt of their rifles to de-rail the train. It didn't just de-rail
it, it stopped it dead short and flipped it over! (I wonder if the ax
thing is possible, metal into metal? It's a good question for Myth
Busters—how much force would that take?) Another cool gimmick in the
opening was the alarm clock as a timer on a confession. It gets
tossed into the air, and the way they shoot it to pieces is clever as
the metal ring that forms the outside of the clock goes flying into the
camera, as if the camera passes through the hole where the clockworks
used to be. The "hang loose" symbol wooden sculpture as a
headstone got a lot of laughs. According to Wikipedia "In
China this gesture also means '6.' " (the dead bandit was "Number 6"),
which I doubt that many of the ActionFest audience members knew. It just looked
funny with the Western meaning as well.
I prefer dubbing to subtitles—I know, I know, everyone disagrees, but I
feel like I have to look away from the action to read. This movie's
script was very funny and very fast. I
didn't get to read every line because it went off the screen too
quickly, and when it was white-on-white, the black outline was not
enough to make the words clear at times. As a
Comedy it was really funny. I can see why it was the
highest-grossing movie. It might be a little like Rush Hour (in
popularity for Action/Comedy) for us. I think there was probably
enough Action, but there was so much comedy in between and mainly, that
I would not think of this as an Action movie.
As an Action Movie Freak, it didn't have enough Action for me. I almost
fell asleep several times. I never do that in movies :-/. I did say
almost. That aside, it was a clever script and kept an English
language audience cracking up all the way through.
? Apr 2012?(Actionfest))
28 July 2012
(Canada)
Manborg
(60 min.)
Action/Adventure/Comedy
REGIONAL PREMIERE "A zany mix of sci-fi, action and
comedy, Manborg tells the story of a soldier brought back to life as
a cyborg to fight against demon hordes in a dystopian future."
Sidekicks
(60 min.)
Action/Adventure/Comedy
SPECIAL SCREENING "ActionFest
co-founder Aaron Norris hosts a special family matinee
screening of this 1993 favorite, starring his brother, Chuck
Norris." from IMDB: Barry is an
asthmatic kid ... who lives with his father, a computer programmer,
in Texas. Barry is struggling to get by in life, dealing with his
rough school life, bullies, as well as his health. Barry's only
source of enjoyment is fantasizing that he is with Chuck Norris.
Barry becomes sick of getting picked on by the bigger guys, and
decides to learn karate, in hopes of one day meeting the great Chuck
Norris."
Sinners and Saints
(104 min.) Action/Crime/Thriller
DOMESTIC PREMIERE "with star Tom Berenger in
attendance!) A tough New Orleans cop breaks in a
new partner while investigating a series of brutal murders with ties
to a crime war in the city's Ninth District."
Sinners and Saints
What a TOTAL bad ass Johnny Strong is! LOVED this
Super Cop
movie. His character NOLA Detective Sean Riley was a little out of control but reeled it in nicely at the
end. Described as a "band of brothers and sisters" there was a big group of people in attendance representing the movie:
Stars Johnny Strong and Tom Berenger, Director William Kaufman, and the
Producers (and writer?). In the introduction, the Director said
the movie was an "indie guerilla film shot for a fraction of what they
were told they needed." You should see this movie ASAP! I
don't want to spoil it for anyone, so if you don't want to know anything
(which is always better), don't read below until after you see it.
This was the best movie of the Festival for me.
The theme of this movie was "Ever done something
you wish you could undo?" The opening credits had a cool Instagram/gritty/color-filter look and they jumped right in with a major shootout—That was
only the beginning. In another major gun battle, a van full of men with
automatic weapons pulls up and it's just two cops with handguns,
and one of the the two is hesitant (maybe terrified). Johnny Strong destroys
the whole van of men and their barrage of bullets with just 3 clips and
being accurate as hell! If there was ever a scene to drive home the
importance of accuracy and not wasting bullets . . .
Kicking it up a notch, they put a timer on
the Action. I love when they do that!
The movie has some great lines but
I really loved "Do I look like a humorist motherfucker to you?"
The scene where Riley (Strong) is running while
shooting is so intense it makes him seem relentless, almost like a Terminator—the the most bad ass
character I've seen in years. He's so skilled and focused! There are
lots of payoffs in a good script. The characters are interesting and
what a cast! It's like a list of 'cool' (in no particular order)
Jürgen Prochnow,
Costas Mandylor,
Method Man,
Sean Patrick Flanery,
Bas Rutten, and more.
This movie has it all: hot lead, gun battles, street
shootouts, hand-to-hand body slamming fight, knife fight, major
explosion (They blow up a house!), fire (gruesome crime scenes), and
weapons . . .
WEAPONS!
The weapons are outta
hand in this movie. (The link is to the Sinners and Saints page on
IMFDB Internet Movie Firearms Database—such a cool site.) The rifle with the light on it is
scary (must be the "DSA-SA58
OSW with Eotech holosight and Sure Fire M900A Vertical Foregrip
WeaponLight").
And there was another weapon (I would have to—and will—watch the movie
again to figure out which gun it is) that fired bullets so rapidly, the
sound it made put fear of God in me, like how the sound of helicopters makes
you
think of war. You just want to hide. Also obvious was the careful
thought and planning that went into the gun fights. The pacing and
strategy was evident. I love when they show you things like this and
don't chop and cut to take away from the flow of the Action. The
reloads are a part of what's happening. It all adds up to increasing
your fear (and appreciation) with the reality of it all.
The movie was touching for such a totally bad ass
film. It really drove home "don't do something you can't undo" and
explored the anger that is a result of feeling powerless.
Follow-Up Q & A Stop kicking yourself for missing this.
OMG what a lead character and what skills it allowed Johnny Strong to
showcase. In the opening he said "the last year and a half I have
expressed myself with knives" (what!) Tom Berenger told the
audience that Johnny made the knives for the movie. (He sure knows how to
use one.) When asked about working with Tom Berenger, Strong said
the first time he met him he thought to himself: "That's
Barnes! That's Sgt. Barnes!" When they joked about this movie being
"the prequel" Strong said "Tom, you're bulletproof" and Berenger
replied "yeeesch!" which got a big laugh. There is a
late-fall-production sequel in the works and the Director said "S&S II is like this one on
steroids". That's mind blowing to me because this one was so
in-your-face good. Johnny Strong said Director William Kaufman had a
roundabout way of getting him to star in the movie. Strong is also a
musician (!!), so Kaufman sent him the script to do some music for the
movie (the credit says Original Music by Johnny Strong and the closing
song is him singing). When he read it, Strong said "one thing led to
another and we both agreed I should star in the movie." LOL
They both praised the script writer (?Chad Law) There was a
question about how much it cost to make the movie and the Director said
the "cash in for production was $658K." The Fight Choreographer,
Stunt Coordinator, and Producer was Ron Balicki. I think he was there. They wanted to make the fighting look
"as dirty and simplistic as possible", to be "fast and technical
and push the boundaries of reality". The script was written
prior to Hurricane Katrina and had to be adapted because of Katrina.
Describing the cast as "World's most dangerous cast" they told us that
the mercenaries and contractors are real (there's a video segment). That
Delta operators from "the sandbox" were emailing Johnny about how cool
the film is. (high praise)
2012
The Aggression Scale
( ___ min.) Action/Thriller
REGIONAL PREMIERE "[I]ntense
thriller about four heavily armed hitmen and two unusual teenagers
who go to war over $500,000 of stolen cash. Starring Ray Wise,
Dana Ashbrook, and Derek Mears."
The Day
( ___ min.) Drama/Sci Fi/Thriller
REGIONAL PREMIERE "Open war against humanity rages. Five survivors are lost and on the
run. The pursuit is relentless, ammunition supplies are dwindling
and the battle is everywhere. This is a 24-hour look into their
lives. Fight or die. Starring Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Bell, Dominic
Monaghan, and Shannyn Sossamon."
The Lost Bladesman
( 109 min.)
Action/Biography/Drama
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE "From the director of Infernal Affairs (remade by
Martin
Scorsese as The Departed) comes the story of legendary hero
Guan Yu (Donnie Yen) in his journey
to slay six powerful generals."
The Raid: Redemption
(101 min.)
Action/Biography/Drama
SPECIAL SCREENING "A Badge-holders-only screening of The Raid: Redemption (opening at
the Carolina Asheville on April 13), from director Gareth Evans,
whose previous film, Merantau, swept the Actionfest Awards in 2010."
The Wild Bunch
( 145 min.) Action/Western
SPECIAL SCREENING "One of the greatest westerns of all time, hosted by this year's
Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Mickey Gilbert, who was a
stuntman on the film." (!)
Transit
(84 min.)
Crime/Drama/Thriller
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE "Jim Caviezel stars as a father on a
family road trip that's interrupted by a quartet of thieves who use
his family as a decoy to evade the police after a daring armored car
heist. James Frain (True Blood), Elisabeth Rohm and Diora Baird
co-star."
Trailer War
(120 min.)
Crime/Drama/Thriller
SPECIAL SCREENING "120 minutes of
non-stop action movie trailers."
10 Sep 1993
(USA)
? Apr 2012
(Actionfest)
True Romance
(120 min.)
Crime/Romance/Thriller
SPECIAL SCREENING "The all-time-favorite film of
'Chick' Norris Award recipient Gina Carano, who will introduce" it.
True Romance
What a great choice by Gina Carano! Introducing the movie, Gina said
that she likes it that Patricia Arquette's character takes a beating. I
love that when the bullets are gone, she beats on him with the gun, then
pounds on him. As great as
Christian Slater's voice is, what
makes it all for me is Arquette's narration. Her voice really fits her
character. Brad Pitt steals the show though. For the very few minutes
he's in the movie, he's just hilarious. Genius writing and acting of
that character! The whole movie has a feeling of wonderment and
disbelief. Of unreality or hyper-reality. The ending is a blood bath. If
I had to pick one Quentin Tarantino scene, the shootout in the hotel
might be it.
The love story of Clarence and Alabama takes us
through the depth of their love as she'll do anything for him because he
proved he'd do anything for her. When he fights to free her, it's so
primal! It's the ultimate
All-For-Love Action Movie. What a cast! And what a script!
According to IMDB: "The
screenplay ofTrue
Romancewas
originally part of a very long screenplay written by
Quentin TarantinoandRoger
Avary.
The other half of it was used for the filmNatural
Born Killers."
WOW!! Natural Born Killers is a very underrated and underappreciated
Oliver Stone masterpiece.
Watching the
movie on the big screen again at ActionFest was a treat! Lots of people
came to see it—It's great that so many people love this movie. It was
bittersweet to see Dennis Hopper . . .
10 Mar 2012
(USA)
? Apr 2012
(Actionfest)
Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
( 79 min.)
Documentary/Fantasy/History
REGIONAL PREMIERE "A documentary about superheroines, particularly
Wonder Woman, a true icon of comics, and
an inspiration to feminism and to women of all ages."
PANEL:
Trailblazing Stuntmen:
Mickey Gilbert & Jack Gill From the ActionFest site: "Veterans Gilbert and Gill have done remarkable things in their journeys as
stuntmen and stunt coordinators,
from leaping from exploding fireballs, to turning cars into airborne missiles.
Now they'll be tackling the questions from
the audience in an up-close and personal discussion, along with clips of some of
their thrilling career highlights.
PANEL: WHAPP!
The Art of Fight on Film From the ActionFest site:
"Learn the ins and outs of depicting effective and realistic
fisticuffs for the camera in this exciting panel discussion
that includes ActionFest Fight Director of the Year J.J.
Perry (Warrior, Haywire), “Chick” Norris Female Action
Star Gina Carano (HAYWIRE) and Rising Star Cung Le
(DRAGON EYES)."
FREE
STUNT SHOW
Saturday, April 14th 2 PM From the ActionFest site: "John
Cann and his incredible stunt team will perform an
awesome live stunt show with some of the top stuntmen in the
movie business at The Carolina Asheville. John Cann is
president and CEO of Action P.A.C. Stunts, LLC, and a
veteran of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. He
has appeared in over 100 feature films and television shows,
and his specialties include stunt coordination, high falls,
air rams, fire gags, stunt driving, fights, swordplay,
rigging and more.
The ROCKETMAN returns! Rocketman is back at
ActionFest 2012 for three thrilling flights! He will be
appearing at Opening Night festivities and at The Carolina
Asheville as part of the Stunt Show."
from the Actionfest site:
2012
Jury
"When it comes to selecting the
best films of this year's fest, we knew we had to assemble a jury
who knows action cinema inside and out, and we are proud to present
this kick-ass jury for ActionFest 2012:"
Eric Vespe
“Quint” of the popular movie fanatic website Ain't It Cool News;
Mitch Davis General
Director of Montreal's legendary Fantasia Film Festival, the
largest genre film festival in North America;
Borys Kit Film
writer for The Hollywood Reporter and founder of Heat
Vision, THR‘s popular genre blog;
Dan Guando
Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at The Weinstein Company;
Marc McCloud
Owner of Orbit DVD and co-owner of TV Eye Video Emporium in
Asheville, NC;
Sadie DJ on
“Mountain Mornings With Carson & Sadie” and “Everything That
Rocks” on 105.9 The Mountain.
@StuntsUnlimited
From their website:
"consists of
Hollywood's premiere second unit directors, stunt coordinators, and
stuntmen in the industry today. STUNTS UNLIMITED is the best of the
best, the cream of the crop. If you want to push the envelope,
obliterate limitations, and go bigger, faster, higher, and more
spectacular than anyone else . . . you call STUNTS UNLIMITED. "
ActionFest 2012 Lifetime
Achievement Award Honoree
Legendary
Stuntman Mickey Gilbert has 116 Stunt titles to his credit.
He also has family in stunt work (as is common in the business).
Lance, Troy, and Tim Gilbert are listed as members of
Stunts Unlimited. Sons?
He doubled
Robert Redford and worked on so many of our favorites as
either Stunt Coordinator or Stuntman.
Bruce Almighty,
Liar Liar, A Time to Kill, The Nutty Professor, Apollo 13, City Slickers
I and II, Striking Distance, The Last of the Mohicans (photos),
Freejack, Barton Fink, Above the Law, Little Nikita, The Fall Guy
(TV series), Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Stir Crazy, Brubaker, The
Blues Brothers, The Concorde... Airport '79, Buck Rogers in the 25th
Century, Every Which Way But Loose, Hooper, Silver Streak, Rooster
Cogburn, The Wind and the Lion, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake,
Blazing Saddles, The Sting, Westworld, Cleopatra Jones, Little Big Man,
Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The
Wild Bunch, and Ben-Hur.
As Second Unit Director on
Liar Liar, he must have
been there when Jim Carrey hit his head on the bathroom
floor. I heard that it was so loud, they left the actual
sound in the movie. Owch!
Mel Gibson's personal stunt double (Dec 1997-Present)
Sons of Anarchy (TV series stunt double: Kim Coates - 1 episode),
Priest, Fast Five, S.W.A.T.: Firefight, Drive Angry, Takers, The Final
Destination, T3: Rise of the Machines, xXx, Black Hawk Down, The
Fast and the Furious, Pearl Harbor, The Patriot, Gone in Sixty Seconds,
End of Days, Universal Soldier: The Return, Lethal Weapon 4, Titanic,
The Long Kiss Goodnight, A Time to Kill, The Nutty Professor, Heaven's
Prisoners (watching Alec Baldwin sweat), From Dusk Till Dawn, Waterworld,
True Lies, Striking Distance, Last Action Hero, Cop and ½ (starring Burt
Reynolds and Tom Kouchalakos from my high school :D), Under Siege, Hero,
The Last of the Mohicans, Freejack, Point Break, City Slickers,
Barton Fink, Tremors, Freeway (brilliant film on juvenile justice
Written & Directed by Matthew Bright), Above the Law
The Event (TV series) (stunt
coordinator - 21 episodes)
Heroes (TV series 2008-10 stunt coordinator - 44 episodes)
The 40 Year Old Virgin, Collateral, Catwoman, Bruce Almighty, xXx,
Windtalkers, Rat Race, The Patriot, End of Days, Mystery Men, Universal
Soldier: The Return, Lethal Weapon 4, Starship Troopers, Liar Liar,
Striking Distance, The Last of the Mohicans, Cyborg, Tequila Sunrise,
Above the Law, Heat (1986), Invasion U.S.A., Fletch, The Fall Guy
(TV series), Up the Creek (LOL!!), Fast Times at Ridgemont High
ActionFest 2012 Man of
Action
"Jack will be honored at ActionFest 2012 with the
Man of Action Award for both his incredible body of
work, and for his noble quest to secure recognition for stunt
professionals at the Academy Awards."
Read the 2-part story on actionfest.com:
Part 1 and
Part 2.
Jimmy Halty
Logan Holladay
Buddy Joe Hooker
ActionFest 2011 Lifetime
Achievement Award Honoree
Kanin Howell
Norman Howell
Jeff Imada
Brian Keaulana
Henry Kingi, Sr.
Hiro Koda
Gene Lebell
Jalil Jay Lynch
Mike Massa
Dustin Meier
Matt Taylor Jim Vickers Scott Waugh G. Scott Wilder Glenn Wilder Dick Ziker
Not Listed on STUNTS UNLIMITED website:
Craig
R. Baxley Stuntman / Actor 2nd Unit Director Assistant Director Director
Predator,
I Come In Peace,
Diamonds Are Forever,
The Long Riders,
The Warriors,
Logan's Run ,
Planet Of The Apes movies,
Action Jackson, Rollerball, Mannix (TV series), The Dukes of Hazzard (TV series), The A-Team (TV Series)
(Kitty O'Neil
and Janet Brady first stuntwomen admitted to SU in 1976)
T2: Judgment Day, Die Hard and
Die Hard 2, The Rock, Sally Field's double in
Smokey and The Bandit, Scarface, Blade Runner, Star Trek II:
Wrath of Khan, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape From L.A., Action
Jackson, The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, The Last Boy Scout,
Lethal Weapon 2 and 3, Money Train, Con Air, Titanic, Gone In 60
Seconds, Eraser, Airport '77, Silver Streak, Hooper, SO MANY MORE . . .
Drillbit
Taylor, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Flight of the Phoenix, Torque, Bad Boys II,
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Windtalkers, Outta Time, Rat Race, The Fast and the Furious, Pearl Harbor, Spy Kids, Get Carter, The Extreme Adventures of
Super Dave, Inspector Gadget, Deep Impact, Recoil, Titanic, Mimic,
Spawn, Jingle All the Way, Last Action Hero, Batman Returns , Hook , T2: Judgment Day, Rescue 911 , Masters of the
Universe , The Lost Boys, Stand by Me , The Goonies
action movie freak
Artwork
by 
