Keith W. Stranberg Interview ()

Keith W.Strandberg Interview:By Anthony Dawe

No 1.Keith, with movies like tom yum goong and sha po lang hitting asia by storm, can we see the same effect in the states like back when you made no reatreat no surrender?

At first I thought they would, but they are not sophisticated enough to make a huge splash in the US. That's not to say that NRNS was sophisticated, it certainly wasn't, but the days when a low budget, poorly scripted and poorly acted martial arts movie with great action can succeed solely on the action alone are long gone in the US. Nowadays, for a movie to succeed here in the US theatrically, it either has to be a huge blockbuster or it has to have something incredibly special going for it. In most cases, the American audience wants someone they know in the movie in order to go to see it.

No 2.At the moment there is a bit of a low in uk and us martial arts movies.There is nothing to get excited about, no great acton martial arts movies.All the action is in hong kong, thailand, korea.Whats going on?

To a certain degree, I think part of the problem is that it's very difficult if not impossible to make a really low budget action movie -- the action takes so long to do you need upwards of 30 days of filming just to get the action right. There have been a lot of movies made for less money that skimped on the action and they didn't succeed. For example, I heard of an action movie that was filmed where the director was allowed a maximum of two takes for every shot -- imagine that, in an action movie, where it's critical to make sure there are no "misses" or the action is unbelievable. If you don't have a big star or special effects, though, it doesn't make sense to make anything over $500,000 or you are probably going to lose money. And I wouldn't even attempt to make a quality martial arts movie for less than $1 million.After the glut of low budget martial arts movies, where there were so many made and so few good ones, it's now tougher to get a martial arts movie made without a star. And if a star is in the movie, it ends up making it too expensive to make, so it's a bit of a Catch-22.

No 3.Do you think its how the movies are cast? or the directors vision,just could be money as low budget films can be tough to make? but saying that shouldn't real talent shine through no matter the challenge?

I'd love to be able to go back to the time when it was enough to have great martial arts and great martial artists in a movie, but that time is long past. Now, for a movie to succeed, it has to have everything -- a great cast, a great script, a great look, great production value and something special.

No 4. With your great track record and good scripts. Would you be interested in working with Seasonal Films again? or another Hong Kong film company to make some more great action movies?

I would love to work with Seasonal again, or another Hong Kong movie company, but only if the budget was there to do something truly exceptional. I've made enough bad movies, I'd like to make something that would turn the industry on its ear.

No 5. I'm trying to get Scott Adkins, Darren Shahlavi and Gary Daniels interested in a no retreat no surrender 4. with myself...hahaha come on keith lets get the script ready =)

There was a time when I thought every movie I made was going to be called "No Retreat No Surrender." I even considered making a movie called "No Retreat No Surrender Never Again." I can't argue that it is a good title, however, and I understand why distributors wanted to cash in on the success of the first movie..

No 6.At the moment saying there is a low, their are some great low budget digital B-movies being made and sold all around the world, is it getting the balance right though so the movies can be sold world wide with big advertising?

Even though there are movies being distributed on digital, people still look down their noses at stuff shot on commercial digital video. That's too bad, but the bottom line is that because everyone has access to the equipment, that means there is so much crap out there that even the good stuff is getting lumped in with everything that is bad. There is still definitely a quality to film that cannot be captured on digital. As the technology evolves, however, that may change.

#No 7. Korea seems to be a promising movie industry as of late a lot of great movies and actors/actress's have showcased them selfs to the world. Why do you think they have become so noticed?

No answer.

No 8. Along with Korea, thailand has hit asia by storm introducing tony jaa to the world. What is the secret behind this keith or is it just luck and talent with great film making all mixed in?

They can do things in Thailand that no one else in the world can get away with. When I saw Tony Jaa's first movie, I was stunned because he was really hitting people. I called my good friend Chuck Jeffreys (fight choreographer for Blade and Blade Trinity and the star in two of my movies) and asked him about how they were doing the action. He told me that people would go to jail in America and Hong Kong for what he was doing. He was hurting people. It made audiences sit up and take notice, but it also put people in jeopardy.

No 9. What do you think of video game adaptations to movies? the best one iv seen to date was mortal kombat. But the new tekken movie sounds very promising. Would you ever be interested in doing a script for a video game then turn to movie? And how can you make it work?

The problem with video games is that the characters are all stereotypes and there are no stories, really, to speak of. Video games are is just a succession of fight or action sequences and that ultimately leaves the audience unsatisfied. What martial arts movies need are compelling characters and a great story.

No 10. How long do you think it could be until great martial arts action movies are at there peak again? And will we ever see new classics like enter the dragon for the 21st century?

I think there will be a resurgence in quality martial arts movies. I'd like to see companies like Seasonal Films partner with big Hollywood companies, letting both companies do what they do best. That partnership could result in a fantastic movie.

No 11. Casting can also be a problem for movies. I don't think directors or producers really look hard enough or study the arts. You can't always have the perfect cast and crew its impossible but you can try and maximize what you have out their and use it to your best efforts. What's your view?

Everything is a compromise when you are making a movie. Certainly, you want the best actors and the best fighters in the role, but usually you can't find both in person. Either you have to choose the best fighter so that the action isn't compromised, or you choose the better actor because you want the audience to believe the character and invest emotionally movie. There have only been a handful of real actors who are great on-screen fighters -- Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, Jackie Chan and Steven Seagal in his first movie, to name a few. I think with the right script, actors like Gary Daniels, Chuck Jeffreys, Scott Adkins and others could do a fantastic job.

No 12. Have you got any new movies or scripts that you are interested in making soon?

I am working on a project now with Chuck Jeffreys that we hope to be making within the next year. It will have to be a big budget movie or I'm not interested in doing it -- as I said before, I've made more than my share of bad movies. It's time to make something unique and different.

No 13. A-movies have big budgets and big name actors, but that does not help the action at all.charlies angles with all the wires and big budget still did not deliver.dare devil had stiff action that did not produce. And really the matrix was riding on all the new special effects not the martial arts action.Will we ever see a big budget movie with jaw dropping martial arts action less the wires and CGI???

I certainly hope so. I'm really tired of all the wires and CGI and I think audiences are ready for something different, and "old school" martial arts are decidedly different.

No 14.Tony jaa looks like the best thing to have come around for a long time.Would like to work with him on a movie keith?If so how can you make a movie with a star like tony with a limited budget? is it possible now he's in the lime light?

It's next to impossible to make a limited budget movie with a star. You have to have the money to do it right. So the bigger Tony Jaa becomes, and the more money he commands, the less chance that a low budget martial arts film maker will be able to work with him.

No 15.what are you plans for the future regarding action movies, directing and writing?Will we see a big hit from you again keith?

On the new project I'm writing, I would like to produce and co-direct. If the deal isn't right, I won't make the movie. I'm at the point in my career where I don’t have to make another movie, but I sure would like to if the situation is right.

Keith. Thanks for your time again, its been great talking with you.I hope that we can work on a movie together soon?

Anthony, thank you for your time. I would love to work with you sometime soon. Some of my favorite martial arts actors are Brits -- Gary Daniels, Scott Adkins, Darren Shahlavi and yourself. Cheers.