RZA & Eli Roth: 5 Must-Haves to Make a Kick-Butt Kung-Fu Movie
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Thursday, 01 November 2012 14:31
- Published: Thursday, 01 November 2012 14:31
- Written by Ashley Michelle
RZA and Eli Roth break down the five essential elements for making their first Kung Fu movie THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS.
Best known for horror movies, Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) co-wrote THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS along with director and former Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA. The musical mastermind and the horror film director approached their first foray into the action genre very carefully, referencing classic Hong Kong martial arts film. RZA tells CineMovie two 1978 cult films influenced him the most; Five Deadly Venoms and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is considered one of the greatest kung-fu movies around. A long-time fan of Asian action films, RZA grew up on Kung Fu movies for escapism.THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS, presented by Quentin Tarantino, blends astonishing martial arts sequences into an interesting story, providing a stylized and thrilling movie to watch. In addition to an original story line, the film includes a star cast made up of Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, David Bautisa, RZA, Rick Yune, Byron Mann, and Jamie Chung, who bring extreme action and extreme acting.
The first-time filmmaker and Hostel director/writer came up with a list of everything necessary to make a solid Kung-Fu classic! They break it down for CineMovie.
RZA and Eli Roth's 5 Must-Haves to Make a Kick-Butt Kung-Fu Movie:
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1. Kung-Fu
- "Kung-Fu would be number one!" Roth quipped!
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2. A Story
- "There has to be a story, that if the Kung-Fu wasn't in the movie, you'd still enjoy the story," RZA said.
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3. Diversity of Fights
- "Diversity of fights. One thing we talked about was fight fatigue... We really tried to change the style with every fight and introduce a new weapon and new villain," Roth said. "So, that by the time you get to the end, you wanna see the Blacksmith and Brass Body go at it, as opposed to just sitting there thinking, 'O.K., wrap this up!'"
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4. Humor
- RZA said, "You gotta have some humor. People gotta have a moment to laugh--feel that it's not taken 100% serious. That's important."
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5. Strong Mythology
- "I think it's great when you see people have a new weapon that you've never seen before--creativity in weapons," Roth said, "That's something RZA really had figured out...and it's fun! That's the fun, is coming up with that stuff and really creating a mythology and sticking to it. So, I'd say the last thing is creating a strong mythology and sticking to it!"