News

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.

Jean-Claude Van Damme may not necessarily be considered a phenomenal actor, but it's hard to find another star who shows the same level of commitment when performing exciting fight scenes. Although Van Damme doesn’t necessarily have the range that contemporaries like Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger had, his actual experience in martial arts made him the ideal choice to star in many classic B-movies. Cult classics like Hard Target and Lionheart are praised as being among his best, but there isn’t another film within Van Damme’s filmography that is as important as Bloodsport. The simple story and blunt brutality of the 1988 martial arts film from director Newt Arnold launched a subgenre of fighting movies, and succeeded in turning Van Damme into an international star.

Countless incredible martial arts movies have heroes based on real historical figures. As the stories of notable martial artists were intrinsically linked with real history, long-standing myths, and iconic folk legends, its no surprise that many real-life people find their way into action-packed martial arts movies. One notable example was Donnie Yens portrayal of Yip Man in the Ip Man franchise, but there have been several more acclaimed instances of this across the length and breadth of martial arts cinema.

Some of the greatest martial arts movies ever made use real people as the basis for their stories. Classics of 1970s kung fu cinema have taken the iconic stories of Shaolin monks and blessed audiences with incredible, often heavily altered, representations of real stories. This historical context can add extra depth to martial movies, as the social and political circumstances of the eras they represent become even more resonant through...

At some point in his career, Jean-Claude Van Damme entered a curious state of constantly fighting his way back into the limelight. Van Damme burst onto the film scene in 1988 with the release of Newt Arnold's fight film "Bloodsport," and became one of the more notable action stars of the 1990s, appearing in "Kickboxer," Roland Emmerich's "Universal Soldier," John Woo's "Hard Target," sand titles such as "Timecop" and "Street Fighter." By the end of the 1990s, however, Van Damme's films seem to have fallen out of favor, and the Muscles from Brussels entered something of a fallow period that he...

The post How The Expendables 2 Made Jean-Claude van Damme Learn How To Love Film Again appeared first on /Film.

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,...

Hand to the action stars of the '80s: they certainly haven't let age get them down. Bruce Willis is still churning out explosive blockbusters, Stallone has his "Expendables," Robert Rodriguez finds ways to sustain Steven Segal's career and Arnold Schwarzenegger...well, he was inches away from a comeback.

Audiences can't get enough of their old school heroes.

So it's with open arms that we herald the return of Jean-Claude Van Damme, who returns to the world of contrived-plotlines-in-the-name-of-butt-kicking for the new movie "Six Bullets." The $10 million movie will be directed by direct-to-dvd maven Ernie Barbarash, reports Variety, and will star Van Damme as "an ex-mercenary kidnapping expert hired by a martial arts fighter whose daughter has gone missing."

Sure, that sounds fine. The article fails to mention if Van Damme will be dropping into a split in order to punch a bad guy in the balls, but for now,...

Producer Ed Pressman has confirmed with Screen Daily that he has closed a deal with 'Salt' director, Phillip Noyce to direct the upcoming 'Bloodsport' remake. Directed by Newt Arnold, the original starred Jean-Claude Van Damme as Frank Dux, an American martial artist who travels to Hong Kong, China to participate in a deadly martial arts tournament. Bolo Yeung played Chong Li, Frank's toughest and most ruthless opponent. The remake sounds to share a lot of similarities with the original -- as it should -- but the key differences seem to be the back-story and location. The protagonist of the film will once again be an American, but one who travels to Brazil in order to escape the violence he has faced in Afghanistan. From that, it sounds as though he was or is a soldier of sorts. Once in Brazil, he becomes aware of a martial arts tournament,...

By now, with an ever-growing horde of remakes and reimaginings en route, it should come as no surprise that no beloved, or even cult, 80s property is safe from remake fever. While some films, such as Stallone’s Expendables, have capitalized on the nostalgia-fueled trend without having to directly remake a beloved film – many other 80s projects have not been so lucky.

Today, another iconic action-flick is on the precipice of a modern Hollywood make-over, Newt Arnold’s Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Famous film producer Ed Pressman (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) is in Cannes shopping around a batch of new projects – which include the Bloodsport remake (in addition to the Crow remake).

According to Screen Daily, the remake project has attracted the attention (and subsequently director talents) of Phillip Noyce (Salt). Noyce ...

Click to continue reading Phillip Noyce Will Direct ‘Bloodsport’ Remake...

Warner Home Video has officially announced The Goonies 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on DVD and Blu-ray. Scheduled for release on November 2, the new edition will feature:

Cast commentary with Director and all seven actors The Making of the Goonies documentary Cyndi Lauper music video “The Goonies ‘R Good Enough” Outtakes Includes new board game, original movie storyboard reproductions, 1985 souvenir magazine reprint, and reprint of 2009 Empire Magazine article with cast photos and updates

The Goonies is one of my favorite films, and I’ll admit the new edition sounds cool. Check out the cover art and a new trailer for the Blu-ray after the jump:

The Goonies

Director: Richard Donner

Producer: Harvey Bernhard, Richard Donner

Writer: Chris Columbus

Actors: Lupe Ontiveros, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Martha Plimpton, Corey Feldman, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi, Kerri Green, Ke-Huy Quan, Anne Ramsey, Mary Ellen Trainor, Steven Antin, Newt Arnold

DVD Features:

Cast commentary...