Thanks to a tweet from Scott Adkins managed to get an interview with a film fan Ed Travis with a famous choreographer and stuntman Jordan Perry (JJ Perry) Further in the news is only the most interesting part of it, in which he talks about filming low-budget films, about Michael Jay White, Scott Adkins, Tony Jaa etc. Conversations from Skype or Whatsapp were optimized for reading, so please don’t kick too hard.
What is your ultimate goal or biggest dream that you strive for in your career? Or have you already achieved this?
Already achieved it. If you had asked me 20 years ago, when I just came out of the army, and 22 years have passed since then, what I would be doing in 22 years, I would never have said that I would be sitting here at the computer, and talk to you, brother. [laugh] So I’m already living my dream, that’s for sure, it’s real luck and nothing more, and it’s all thanks to her...
As for the opportunity to write my own script, or, say, be a director of the second cast of the film crew, maybe even direct a film to see what it’s like to work closer to the actors, then I really like to do action. Storytelling, as for me... yes, it’s cool, but it’s not for me, I like to recreate action on the screen, to be, for example, a director of the supporting cast, a production director. I think if I could do this full-time, that would be great. But the fact that what I do is a blessing from above, I can’t even believe that we get paid for what we do, and we are lucky enough to be in this business, understand. After all, I know what it’s like to earn your living, believe me. I served in the army for 5 years, and I understand that to get from there straight into business is very, very lucky. When I came out of the army, I only had $500 and a very well-placed roundhouse kick. [laugh]
Some of your recent low budget work is very impressive. For example, “Blood and Bone” and “Undisputed 2”. Can you tell us about how “low budget” films are filmed?
I will say that “Undisputed 2” became a turning point for me, it was somewhere in 2004-2005, after “Walker”. I worked on a movie that I thought was really cool called “Treasure of the Amazon.” I wasn't a coordinator, but I worked there as a stuntman, working on choreography in close proximity with the stunt coordinator. His name was Andy Cheng, we had worked with him for some time before, when he had to double for Jackie Chan. I’m very proud of this film, but I wasn’t very busy...
I got the call about Undisputed 2 from a guy I used to work with, his name was Isaac Florentine. And I was friends with Michael Jai White. Then when it came to meeting Scott Adkins and seeing what he could do... you know, it was an incredible experience for me, and it gave me a lot of confidence as a choreographer because Isaac gave me a lot of freedom. in what I would like. So I just used my two “trump cards” - Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins - probably a couple of the best guys on the planet, and just brought them together. And the rest can be watched on DVD, you'll see. I must say that for me it was just another low-budget film. I believe the budget, as such, was about $1 million. Maybe less. And we shot it in 32 days, or 33, working 6 days a week, in the winter in Bulgaria, in prison. We hardly had any days off, but it was one of my best jobs. I didn't have any help, I did everything myself, it was just me, Scott, Isaac and Michael... and Ross, the cameraman... we just came together. I think it’s great to dedicate your time and life to this, we were all eager to prove ourselves, and that’s what happened. By the way, I'm very proud of this film. Everything was great, but I think “Undisputed 2” was the one I liked the most out of all the low-budget films I worked on, and I worked on a lot. [laughs] That was my favorite, “Undisputed 2.”
It seems to me that in such excellent low-budget action films the main emphasis is on on-screen battles. And to achieve such a result you don’t need 100 million dollars, do you?
Here’s the rub: that’s why low-budget films pay for themselves. When you use guys like Adkins and Michael Jai White, you don't need to double them. You can place the camera where it belongs. There is no need to hide understudies. And at the heart of it all is action. Action is the main character of the film. Dot. That's all. The action is the star. If you follow this rule, then failure is out of the question. Let’s say we take an actor who waved his arms/legs [laughs], and they tell you: now you need to hide the double... But you don’t have the opportunity to place the cameras where they would properly cover everything that’s happening. That is why the viewer does not have time to follow the action as such. Again, you need good qualifications to work on such low-budget films as the time for preparation is limited.
Take, for example, the film “Wolverine”. I worked on it for almost six months. Yes, six months. I am also proud of this film, since I was the fight coordinator there. Scott Ekdins was there again. We had a great team, both Sam Hargrave and Dan Stevens. But no matter how hard you work, you are limited in terms of the physical or athletic abilities of the main characters. They can be replaced with doubles, but you yourself will be aware that these are doubles. Take guys like Adkins, Tony Jaa, Donnie Yen, Michael Jai White or Gary Daniels, etc. There's no problem making them look great on screen. They look good on their own. You just need to put the camera in the right place, that's all...
Author: Ed Travis
Source: actionfest.com
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Tags: Undisputed 2, Isaac Florentine, JJ Perry, Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins
Tags: Undisputed 2, Isaac Florentine, JJ Perry, Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins
Chuck Norris congratulates Perry:
It’s nice to look at Stuntmen, fighters such as: Tony Jaa, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Van Damme, Scott Adkins, JJ Perry and many others, but once they were ordinary guys doing martial arts, dreaming, setting goals for themselves and Now that they have achieved a lot, how nice it is to remember their youth and be proud. It was the films of these guys that once inspired me to become interested in martial arts and I did not even suspect that this would become my life. Of course, it’s not the same time, it’s not the same films, but the most important thing is that it’s not the same people anymore.
OK, here are two more parts:
And here is a separate old one (for 2010): http://dobanevinosti.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
I remember him from his role in Bloodsport 2 with Daniel Bernhard
His character had this nickname - JJ Tucker)))
EvilDollaR, give all the interviews in English or a link - some understand English
He definitely has the gift and talent of a choreographer - we are reaping the benefits of it today.
I still remember him as Sub-Zero MK:conquest.
Is this from a budomat? How to get into action films?
No, from an author from Poland. Mike Leader's article is a bit longer.
Thanks, but not enough :)
I have another interview, 6 pages long. You just need to translate it.
Cool guy)
Thanks for the interview, it was interesting to read)