Interview by Eric Jacobas for Kung-Fu Kindom. Part 2

05.07.2015FFI

The second part of Eric Jacobas' interview for the Kung-Fu Kindom resource.

The first part is located at this address.

Looking back, tell us a little about the process of making The Stunt People's first feature film, Outline.

Well, the story started back in 2002 when we made a movie called Teamwork 2 (this is a really old movie Stunt People, and I don’t advise anyone to watch it!), and Jeff Centory saw it (This was before YouTube). He introduced us to Stephen Reedywho helped us with "Undercut", which in turn brought us together Ro Sahibi, who gave us $5000, for "Circuit."I wrote a forty-page script in two weeks, while The Stunt People  about thirty people worked out in the gym on Sundays. We were all in college at the time, so we came up with the idea: “We have nothing to do anyway, so let’s make a movie!”

Yes, I remember seeing “Contour” around 2006, when I heard about you. You've come a long way in that time, now you go to San Diego Comic-Con every year, especially the last few years, you've also attended Rick Meer's Kung Fu Extravaganza with Cynthia Rothrock. How The Stunt People  made it to Comic-Con?

Comic-Con it was hard to conquer. We were first presented in 2004, and aroused the interest of viewers in our projects. Independent films were getting a lot of attention back then, and Comic-Con gave small companies the opportunity to express themselves. One day I met Larnell Stovall who later choreographed the fights in Mortal Kombat: Legacy, and I got into the project. Another time I met Johnny Yong Bosch, whom I invited to "Death grip"But this year we may not be there. Comic-Con no longer attracts such a crowd as before, its prestige is falling. I’ll explain with an example: every year I received about 200 business cards, but last year only ten. Comic-Con does not attract people working online. Half of our sales last year were on the online platform Rick Myers, where we exhibited "Rope-A-Dope." Which got me thinking, "Why am I paying $2100 for a booth and other expenses when I can make the same amount in half an hour?", so... Comic-Con will soon be left behind, and we must move forward.

Right off the tongue! Tell us more about "Death Grip". How did you manage to lure former “Power Ranger” Johnny Yong Bosch into the picture, and even as a villain?

It was quite simple. I remembered that I met Johnny on Comic-Con, and contacted him via email. He agreed to take part in the film. We also staged a fight scene for the Indiegogo campaign film. It was great to work with, he has a lot of stories about the period"Power Rangers" And "Alpha Stunts", and "Extreme Heist" And "Broken Path"Unfortunately, we were not able to accomplish everything we had planned, because I fell off the table and injured my shoulder, it unsettled me. We filmed the fight over two days, without rehearsals, everything was made up as we went along.

Well, going back to what we were talking about earlier, The Stunt People, your YouTube channel staged a knife fight with Krav Maga elements for the movie Die Hard: A Good Day to Die. How did you do this scene?

The goal isDeath grip"was to receive invitations to work on other projects, which we achieved. We staged the battle between Alvin Singh and me. It was probably the hardest fight scene I've ever done in my life, but the effort totally paid off because I saw it JJ Perry and he with Chad Stahelski hired us to stage a knife fight for "Die Hard"We spent five days in the gym 87eleven, developing the fight choreography. And they filmed it in three hours, Jeremy Marina was behind the camera, he also did the editing. We had heard a lot about Chad's habit of re-shooting everything a second time, and were surprised when he watched the fight and said: “Yeah, that's good!” True, the fight itself was not included in the film, I don’t know for what reason. I called JJ later and said, “Hey man, do you mind if I put this fight scene on YouTube?” since no one owns it right now, and he just said, “Yeah, man, I don't mind! Take it!

I really enjoyed this knife fight! I saw other videos on your channel that you recently made, in particular “Kicktionary”. Tell us about it?

Well, up to"kicktionary"there was Darth Vader, because no one had ever done a lightsaber duel in first person. And later the idea appeared"kicktionary". Now I have a problem, I'm trying to make a second part about hard knocks! kicktionary kind of my martial arts master class.

It's clear. Tell us about your other YouTube videos.

I have the pleasure of working with creative people. Our video"Wake up Juice"wasn't really my idea, it belongs to Brad Kelly. Not all the videos I post on YouTube are mine. For example, by the author "Sensitive 70's Turtleneck Tough Guys" was Jose Montesinos, and I asked him for permission to publish his film on my channel. Most of my channel is the ideas of others that I embody. These don't have to be my ideas.

Agree! Now tell us about the second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. You mentioned working with Larnell Stovall at Comic-Con, and your role as Kurtis Stryker. Describe what it's like to be part of such a franchise, with a huge community around the world.

Boy, do we have a time limit? (Both laugh) When I was a kid, I asked my mom for an arcade machine for Christmas. Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat was the first fighting game I liked, so I was happy to play Striker, especially with Mark Dacascos, Casper Van Dien, Dan Southworth. Working with Casper was amazing, he's a cool guy and perfect for the role of Johnny Cage. In addition, he performed most of the tricks himself. The final match was staged by Brian Tee (who played Liu Kang) featured Mark as Kung Lao. The fight took place near the cave in which the series was filmed"Batman"1960s. The fight was quite long. Filming took place in December 2012, besides, we started at 15:30, and the sun set at 17:00, and the director Kevin Tancharoen then said: “We are not going to film the whole fight, only 20% of it.” and I simply told him that it would be a waste of time, but I'm not used to it. Moreover, I pasted footage from this fight into my demo!

Brilliant story! I hope we eventually get to see the full finale fight, especially after the climactic Season 2 finale! Are there other Mortal Kombat characters you'd like to play if you weren't playing Stryker?

I'd probably be a good Jax, and maybe Sindel! (laughs). It was cool to be a Striker, because he had his own view of things and his own truth. Well, and because he's the guy who comes with a gun to a magic duel.

Speaking of magic, if you were a superhero or had a superpower, what would it be?

I've always loved Batman and Iron Man. What I like about Batman and Iron Man is that they are people without superpowers who rely on technology. They are just very smart guys who first of all think about how to solve a problem, and do not rush headlong into the thick of things.

It's clear. Tell us about the worst injury you've had during your career?

The worst injuries I received were not even during filming, what’s worse is that they were not documented! It was a herniation of the fifth disc of the spine. It was so bad, I can't even remember when I got it in 2003 or 2006! I did a front flip at the gym and got a hernia. This caused inflammation of the sciatic nerve in my right leg and I had to sleep on the floor for six months. I went through an incredible amount of therapy and thought my career was over. But finally I'm back in business! The worst injury on set was a dislocated shoulder while working on "Death grip"during the fight with Johnny. However, I have no fractures yet!

Gee, (shudders), that sounds pretty harsh, which prefaces my next question. What can you say about accidents on site?

Good question. Most people think daredevil stuntmen are incredible, well some are, but most only take risks on camera. "Some people tell me, 'Hey, do a backflip!' and I say, 'Okay, pay me a day's work in advance and I'll do it.'

Safety first, definitely! Before you became who you are now, you were involved with the Seasteading Institute. Describe your experience working there.

I heard about him on the week's podcast Econtalk and I offered them my voluntary help, and eventually got a full-time job. It was great, I found like-minded people there. I have used the help of many in my projects. I continue to contact many.

Your photographs also appeared on the pages of Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine. How did this happen?

The reason was Tiger Claw, official sponsor of many projects The Stunt People. They sponsored"Death grip" And "Rope-A-Dope 2" and are also going to sponsor my training videos. I can't wait to work with them in the future. They have all the weapons that Dope used, including the cane..

Tell us who are your heroes or people who inspire you to practice martial arts? Jackie Chan, obviously?

I would say Jackie my number one. Also this Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, and in America - Van Damme. In the late 80s and early 90s, martial arts were quite trivial and people were obsessed with a good spin kick, and if you could pull it off, you were a star. Bringing personality to martial arts is a high skill, and Van Damme и Jackie Chan were able to do this.

What are your top 10 favorite martial arts movies?

1. "Drunken Master 2", my favorite Hong Kong film overall
2. "Dragons Forever", my favorite movie with the lucky three"
3. "Drive"with Mark Dacascos
4. "Mad Monkey Kung Fu"favorite Shaw Bros movie
5. "In the Line of Duty 4"This is my favorite Donnie Yen movie
6. "Death Duel of Kung Fu" from Taiwan
7. "City of Violence"from Korea
8. "Gerd Ma Lui"I love Panna Rittikrai's old films.
9. "Black Belt" from Japan
10. "Big Trouble In Little China"is our best martial arts movie here in America

A complete classic! What are your favorite styles of martial arts, and what difference does it make in your approach to training?

I love taekwondo with its counter kicks, and hapkido for its kicks at unusual angles. Dennis teaches these kicks. I have never studied Kali, but I want to because I like the philosophy of this style. I also respect Krav Maga and boxing. I'm not very good at it (laughs), but I love watching it.

Amazing! Tell us about your training?

If there is no specific program, I try to train three days a week with weights, one of which is dedicated to squats and deadlifts. When it comes to tricks, I devote two days a week to them, and usually spend an hour practicing kicks.

What do you like/dislike most?

I hate mustard. I can smell her from across the restaurant, so keep her away! Otherwise, I eat everything, even tendons and offal. I love a good White Russian and also shoot a shotgun with my wife at the Richmond Rod & Gun Club. I have a large collection of PC games, and I like Rene Girard's books, which are recommended for screenwriters. I consider Black Mirror to be the best science fiction in modern history.

So moving forward into 2015, what are the plans for you and The Stunt People?

I have three projects in the editing process that will be released on YouTube in the coming months. One of them is the long-awaited one"Zombie Defense 101"where I teach people how to fight zombies without weapons. I would also like to do"Beard Off 2"Clayton and I are working on an idea that will be an homage to a very famous fight, we'll start as soon as he's done with"Rocky 7".

What is your favorite military quote?

Nothing ends a fight faster than Matthew 5:39: “Whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Great choice! Well, we unfortunately have to end, what would you like to say finally to the readers of Kung Fu Kingdom?

If you want to do what I do, just start. It's completely doable. It took me twelve years before I got a role in Mortal Kombat. Boris Karloff spent twenty years before playing Frankenstein. I think it's easier to achieve this now because there are social networks and the Internet, but you still have to train hard.

Wise words! Where can readers learn more about Eric Jacobas and The Stunt People?

For more details, readers can visit:

Official site The Stunt People: thestuntpeople.com

The Stunt People on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thestuntpeople

Twitter: twitter.com/Stuntpeople

Official YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/stuntpeople

It's been an honor and a pleasure, Eric. Thank you for your time!

Thank you Brad! Thank you and the team, Kung Fu Kingdom for the opportunity!

Source: Kung-Fu Kingdom
Translation: Maxim Kovalishen

Home » The Interview » Interview by Eric Jacobas for Kung-Fu Kindom. Part 2
Tags: 87eleven, Contour, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, Rope-A-Dope, Rope-A-Dope 2, The Stunt People, Zombie Defense 101, JJ Perry, Jackie Chan, Jeff Centory, Johnny Yong Bosch, Larnell Stovall, Stephen Reedy, Eric Jacobas

Related materials:

Announcement of the final season of "Cobra Kai"

MovieBlitz: Mortal Kombat 2, The Karate Kid 2, Furious, Day Job

ACTION: Documentary series about stuntmen

"Contour" - a full-length action-comedy from Eric Jacobas in 4K

Sammo Hung and his life achievements. Part two

He is not a “Karate Kid” to you, but a “Karate Kid”. Details