by Jean Lukitsh
Adventures of Johnny Tao, a new fantasy martial
arts movie aimed at kids recently wrapped production
with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stunt actor
Kenn Scott at the helm. KFC contributor Jean Lukitsh
made a recent set visit to witness stars Chris Yen and
Mike Mullins in action and talk with the crew.
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It 1:45 on a Monday morning in Los Angeles and in
a dark alley a young Asian woman battles two thugs in
electric blue suits. They want the briefcase she carries.
As they reach she whirls, swinging the briefcase left
and right at their heads. She continues in a single
blur of motion, first left and right to their knees,
then a high kick to one goon head before she drops
down into a slide step. Her foot strikes the other goon
ankle and topples him.
ut,?shouts Kenn Scott, director of Adventures of
Johnny Tao: Rock Around The Dragon. He looks up
from the video monitor and addresses the actors. eautiful!
Is everyone okay??Everyone is, or will admit to no injuries.
et do it again.?And they do it again and again, until
it time to move on to the next scene, and a whole new
set of moves.
Scott, a martial artist, stuntman, and actor, who played
a Ninja Turtle in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
film series, is living a dream. Johnny Tao is
his screenplay, as well as his first time directing
a feature film. The Ninja Turtle movies had ncredible
market penetration,?he recalls and it was obvious that
both parents and kids loved them. Why, he wondered,
were most action films marketed to adult audiences?
He began to kick around ideas for a story that would
appeal to younger martial arts enthusiasts. decided
to put everything I love into the screenplay: kung fu,
rockabilly, zombies!
In Johnny Tao, the title character (Matthew
Twining) finds that his best friend Eddie (Matthew Mullins)
has been possessed by an ancient Chinese demon and is
creating an army of kung fu-fighting demons to take
over the world. With the aid of Mika (Chris Yen), the
descendant of a Chinese warrior who once defeated the
demon with a magical spear, Johnny discovers that his
father's electric guitar contains the spear's power
and he battles Eddie for control of it.
Although Johnny Tao is aimed at a young audience,
delivering topnotch action is a priority for Scott.
To that end, he brought in rising stars Marcus Young
(fight coordinator on Elektra and xXx: State
of the Union) as action producer and Mike Gunther
(Catwoman, Elektra) as stunt coordinator,
and gave them free rein to recruit the best stunt crew
in the business. e had a great team,?says Young. t
was like a big budget team.
n a low budget project like this, I think you have
more creative control and youe allowed to push the
envelop a little further," adds Gunther. "We got to
do stunts that we normally don get to do on big budget
movies, because of the red tape.
And this is a film with plenty of parts for stuntmen,
as bikers and zombies and those sinister blue-clad thugs
in the alley. The leading roles, too, were cast with
an eye towards real-life ability. As Johnny, Matthew
Twining (One Life To Live) brought a gymnastics
background to the action, Matt Mullins (Xtreme Martial
Arts) has trained and competed extensively in the
karate and taekwondo circuit, and Chris Yen (Protege
de la Rose Noire, Dragon vs. Vampire)
learned kung fu from childhood. As Don Poquette, the
film producer, points out, he three main actors are
all skilled and do 90% of their own work, which gives
the director a tremendous amount of freedom.
e tried to create a certain style for each character
[in the fight choreography],?explains Young. ushu style
for Chris - she jumped right into that! And Johnny (Matthew
Twining) learned his moves from TV, so he more about
heart. Matt Mullins has very clean lines, he a forms
champion. We tried to make him a little grittier (as
the demon).
Chris Yen character, Mika, is a mysterious demon hunter
who enlists Johnny in her crusade to dispatch the sugar-craving
zombies. Yen has had experience working in the Hong
Kong film industry, but Johnny Tao marked her first
chance to do ire fu.?Pulling off the demanding wire
stunts, used to enhance a few of the jumps and spins
in the fight sequences, required precisely timed coordination
between the actor and the support crew.
arcus Young and J.J. Perry (the assistant stunt coordinator)
told me the best way is to ignore the fact that I being
yanked up in the air by my back and crotch about eight
feet or so, execute the movement as naturally and powerfully
as possible, then land with grace,?says Yen. ell, let
just say it was much easier imagined than done.
The former wushu medallist stepped into her first leading
role with style and poise, earning kudos from her colleagues
for the energy she brought to the film. Marcus Young
predicts the audience won be disappointed. hris kind
of reminds me of an M1000 - a little firecracker, but
when she explodes, she explodes!
The Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around The Dragon
wrapped principal photography in late May. It's now
in post-production with a release anticipated early
next year. For more information on Johnny Tao
visit the official site at http://www.johnnytao.com/
(site synopsis contains a spoiler).
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