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Cannon Films weren’t satisfied with their 1988 martial arts tournament movie Bloodsport, but when they reluctantly sent it out into the world in 1988 it proved to be a big hit, launching Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career as an action hero. The film was followed by three sequels, none of which starred Van Damme – and for the last couple of decades, there have been rumblings about a revival. Twenty years ago, Bloodsport co-writer Sheldon Lettich tried to get a film called Bloodsport: A New Beginning off the ground, but the project fell apart. In 2011, Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm) was attached to direct a “reinvention,” working from a screenplay by The Karate Kid creator Robert Mark Kamen. In 2013, James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) replaced Noyce at the helm. The project never made it into production. In 2019, there was a rumor that John Wick directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski were considering making a Bloodsport remake.

While Bloodsport, the 1988 martial arts tournament movie, is widely considered by fans to be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best film, it almost never saw the light of day. Indeed, according to Nick De Semlyen’s book, “Last Action Heroes” (buy it here), the film was deemed unreleasable by Cannon Pictures head Menachem Golan. The film sat on the shelf for fourteen months and was considered so bad that Golan intended to release the movie direct-to-video. Things got so heated that Golan refused to go ahead with a proposed sequel to Lone Wolf McQuade, which would have featured Van Damme teaming up with Chuck Norris (who was an early mentor to Jcvd). He wanted Michael Dudikoff instead.

According to the book, Van Damme, who had returned to his old job as a limo driver when Bloodsport wrapped, convinced the studio to allow him to re-edit the film with Towering Inferno editor Carl Press.

Leah Ayres is best known for playing the sneaky Kumite reporter, Janice Kent -- who turns into Frank Dux's love interest played by Jean-Claude Van Damme -- in the kick-ass 1988 action movie "Bloodsport." Guess what she looks like now!

Bloodsport

Written by Christopher Crosby, Mel Freidman and Shedon Lettich

Directed by Newt Arnold

USA, 1988

Every year in Hong Kong, an underground martial arts tournament is held in secrecy. The Kumite (a term given to a specific type of karate) is where the world’s best fighters come together on invitation to prove their worth in full contact fights, no questions asked. United States Army captain Frank Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), having been trained under the auspices of Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao), has received his invitation to this year’s tournament and, against the orders of his immediate superiors, slips away from detection and travels to the Far East for the fight of his life. Once there, he meets fellow American fighter Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb) and nosy reporter Janice Kent (Leah Ayres), who wants a scoop on the action. Hounding Frank are two officers, Helmer and Rawlins (Norman Burton and,...