Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast

Scott Adkins is in a good mood. The response to his latest martial arts movie, 'Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday' - the sequel to his dream project, 2018's 'Accident Man', based on a cherished British comic book he loved as a kid - has been incredibly positive, with many fans claiming it to be one of his best movies. In a gruelling 22-day shoot, Adkins - as producer, story developer, fight choreogra...

When Jimmy Wang Yu died on 5 April 2022 at the age of 79, Jackie Chan took to his social media accounts to pay his respects, stating that "the contributions you've made to kung fu movies and the support and wisdom you’ve given to the younger generations will always be remembered in the industry." But Wang Yu's legacy is a complicated one. Despite being a huge Hong Kong martial arts star in the 196...

As a powerlifting champion, three-time ‘Miss Fitness’ winner in Japan and an action film star, Michiko Nishiwaki has been on quite a journey. When she left school to start working in human resources for the Mitsubishi bank in the 1970s, her life goals were similar to many other Japanese women in her position; to find a husband and have children. But for Michiko - obsessed with gymnastics, karate,...

There aren't many stunt coordinators and fight choreographers who can say they have helped to change the course of modern day action cinema like Jonathan Eusebio. His work on the 'Bourne' films alone sparked a movement in Hollywood into more realistic, grittier fight sequences, inspired by his background in Filipino martial arts. He took this style into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shaping the g...

The wait is over! Find out our favourite - and least favourite - martial arts movies of 2021 in Part Two of our End of Year Show, featuring  Life of Action author, Mike Fury. Join in the festivities as we take it in turns to reveal our top five fight films of the year over a few 'snowballs' - a cocktail of advocaat and lemonade. We also take the time to highlight some of the titles which narr...

Ho ho ho and happy holidays to all our listeners around the world. Welcome to the first part of our annual, end-of-year wrap-up podcast featuring the Life of Action author, Mike Fury. And, wow, what a year it has been for martial arts action movies! From manga to Marvel, Netflix to multiplex, low-budget indies to explosive Hong Kong thrillers, this year had it all. In Part One of our End of Y...

What a year it has been for the stunt coordinator, fight choreographer and second unit director, Kenji Tanigaki. Not only did he craft the action on two more 'Rurouni Kenshin' films - called 'Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning' and 'Rurouni Kenshin: The Final', both available now on Netflix - but he also worked as second unit director and fight choreographer on the Hollywood blockbuster, 'Snake E...

Daniel Bernhardt is a true renaissance man; a martial artist from Switzerland who went from being a professional model in Paris to a Hollywood action star. In the 1990s, he was a leading man in low-budget martial arts films - the star of slicker-than-your-average straight-to-video hits like the Bloodsport sequels, True Vengeance  and Perfect Target , working alongside fellow martial artists a...

It has taken six years for director James Nunn to bring his one-take, real-time action movie to the screen. During that time, 'one-shot' movies like 'Birdman' and '1917' have not only dominated at the box office, but they have also been lauded by critics. In many ways, Nunn's intense, relentless thriller, 'One Shot' - which is released theatrically and on VOD services in the USA on 5 November...

Brad Martin is one of Hollywood’s top stunt coordinators with a string of blockbusters to his name, including the 'Underworld' series, 'Live Free or Die Hard', 'Tropic Thunder', 'Gemini Man', plus the Emmy-nominated 2021 Marvel series, 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier', to name but a few. He has recently been in Northern Ireland shooting second unit and stunt coordinating on a big-screen adaptat...

Max Huang's turn as Kung Lao - the deadly, hat-throwing, Shaolin-trained kung fu cousin of Liu Kang - in the 2021 reboot of Mortal Kombat was a delightful surprise; a scene-stealing performance complete with comedy, drama, action, and an almighty 'fatality' which just about steals the movie. But the notion of Max being something of an 'overnight success' could not be further from the truth. The Ge...

Cynthia Rothrock - the undisputed 'Queen of martial arts movies' - never anticipated a career as an action film star. The Scranton-raised martial artist initially headed west in search of furthering her kung fu knowledge, often competing in men's divisions to become a national champion, and touring the world in the process. It was a portentous audition for the Hong Kong action director Corey Yuen...

When Philip Ng burst onto the scene in his 2014 leading-man debut, 'Once Upon a Time in Shanghai' - co-starring Sammo Hung and with fight choreography by Yuen Woo-ping - followed by his turn as Bruce Lee in the 2016 Hollywood biopic, 'Birth of the Dragon', the kung fu movie world was introduced to a wonderful new talent. In reality, of course, Philip's story of overnight success could not hav...

Over the last 15 years, French stunt performer and martial artist Brahim Chab has jumped, kicked and punched his way into the upper echelons of the fight film business. In 2021, he wrapped on 'Monkey Man' - the directorial debut of actor, Dev Patel, which has been picked up by Netflix. The film, described as 'John Wick in Mumbai', sees Brahim provide fight choreography as well as acting in a suppo...

Martial arts legend Ron Van Clief never wanted to be a movie star. Known as the 'Black Dragon' - a name originally given to him by Bruce Lee and adopted as his screen persona in a series of Hong Kong kung fu movies in the 1970s - Ron was dismayed at the lack of genuine martial artists he met when working in action movies. For the Brooklyn-born former US Marine and New York City cop, Ron's passion...

It has taken 10 years to get 'The Paper Tigers' onto our screens - a slow and at times painful process full of ups and downs for its director, writer and producer, Tran Quoc Bao. The film - which finally lands in cinemas and on digital platforms in North America on 7 May 2021, courtesy of Well Go USA - is a heart-warming and funny take on the kung fu genre, centring on three former childhood train...

Isaac Florentine is one of those rare directors who possesses a style of filmmaking all of his own. Within a few minutes of watching one of his many great action movies, you will quickly realise you are in the world of Isaac Florentine. He wears his love for spaghetti westerns on his sleeve, almost as much as his passion for the martial arts. As an expert martial artist and karate instructor,...

Born in Hong Kong and raised in New York, Tzi Ma is a genre-spanning actor who has dedicated his career to documenting the Asian American experience. With every acting decision - whether it be on stage, screen or television - he has sought to portray fully rounded characters, working in an industry where accurate representation has not always been high on the agenda. He has turned down roles he ha...

Put on your face-mask, pour yourself a drink and settle into our annual end-of-year podcast from your friends at Kung Fu Movie Guide. 2020 has been a particularly strange and challenging year for many of us, but the show must go on! Join your host, Ben Johnson, and the author of Life of Action Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Mike Fury, as they dissect the year's biggest stories from the world of martial arts m...

On 27 November 2020, the martial arts superstar and pop culture icon Bruce Lee would have celebrated his 80th birthday. To commemorate the occasion, we have put together this bonus podcast featuring a range of voices from across our five seasons, exploring the legacy of the 'Little Dragon' and the impact he continues to have in society, media, and the world of martial arts. Bruce Lee was only 32 w...

Martial arts legend Benny "The Jet" Urquidez was born into a fighting family. His father was a boxer; his mother, a professional wrestler. The second youngest of nine siblings, Benny had to fight to be heard, adapting quickly to the martial arts until, by the age of 14, he had received the first of many black belts across a number of different fighting styles. In the 1970s, he pioneered full-conta...

Joe Taslim always wanted to be an actor, even before he became a martial artist. Growing up poor in South Sumatra, Indonesia, his family only took him to judo lessons because they were free. With his dad as his coach, he would go on to become a national judo champion in a career spanning well over a decade. Ironically, it was his skills in the martial arts which would eventually lead him back to h...

When martial artist Larnell Stovall first saw the film Blade in 1998, it was a lightbulb moment. But it wasn't the actions of Wesley Snipes as the titular kick-ass vampire hunter which would spark a sudden interest in wanting to work in the movies; it was the actions of the people Wesley was beating up. Feeling inspired, Larnell took a bus from New Orleans to Hollywood armed only with his martial...

At 75, Rocky Taylor is known as Britain's oldest stunt performer. A day before this podcast was recorded, he was doing doughnut spins in his car and setting himself on fire. In the last year alone, his stunt credits include Spider-Man: Far from Home and Angel Has Fallen. Rocky has sustained his long career (six decades and counting) by being something of an all-rounder: high-falls, horses, cars, s...

The career of multilingual Chinese Canadian star Ludi Lin has gone from strength-to-strength over the last few years, with Ludi enjoying success across a range of genres in both China and the USA. Landing the role of the Black Ranger in Saban’s 2017 'Power Rangers' origin story helped to turbo-charge his reputation in Hollywood, followed by his work in James Wan’s underwater comic-book adventure,&...