Steven Ho's Blog - Deconstructing Fighting and Stunts for your enjoyment

Not sure about his decision to use the kid in 0:42…but this is pretty cool, historic footage from the thirties.

In “The Expendables,” Sylvester Stallone’s latest guns-blazing return to the multiplex, the actor/director assembled a dream team of action stars to assist him with the very important work of blowing up everything in sight. Most notably, he recruited onetime big-screen rivals like Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Dolph Lundgren for his latest cinematic mission. An impressive collective of talent, to be sure, but the all-star roster of shoot-’em-up heroes has at least one glaring omission: Jean-Claude Van Damme. Whither the “Muscles from Brussels,” star of “Hard Target,” “Timecop,” and “Universal Solider”?

Van Damme, it turns out, did get a call from Stallone to join his team of Expendables, but he wasn’t thrilled with the pitch. He told TotalFilm, “Stallone gave me a part in his next movie. [He] said, ‘You’re gonna make lots of money.’ I don’t want to hear that, I want to hear what was my character. He was unable to tell what it’s going to be.” So Van Damme, showing admirable dedication to the purity of his craft, passed.

In a 2009 press conference, Van Damme recounted pretty much the same story, adding that he’d advised Stallone that, instead of doing “The Expendables,” Stallone should make a movie where Sly plays a “tough priest.” According to Van Damme, Stallone found this “insulting.” If nothing else, Van Damme does do a pretty nifty Stallone impression.

At this year’s Comic-Con, Stallone addressed the casting offers, including two other high-profile no-shows that were not meant to be. His take differs slightly: “I talked to Van Damme. I talked to [Steven] Segal. I even talked to Chuck Norris.” He then added, “But there are certain considerations, like insanity.”

In fairness to Van Damme, the actor does seem to have a somewhat more introspective take on his career of late. In 2008, he starred in the independent film “JCVD,” playing a fictionalized version of himself: an out-of-work action star who finds himself at a bank while it’s being robbed. Of course, Van Damme’s newfound introspection doesn’t explain why he starred in 2009’s “Universal Soldier: Regeneration.”

“The Expendables,” opening this weekend, tells the story of a group of mercenaries who attempt to overthrow the government of a small South American island. In addition to the aforementioned line-up of Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham join in on the mayhem.

Mike Ryan · August 13, 2010 | Yahoo Movie Talk

TRAIN FOR IT. Do lots of crunches, supplemented with plyometrics — exercises that help you contract muscles quickly. Lie on your back and have someone drop a medicine ball onto your abs.

PICK THE RIGHT TARGET. Have the hitter aim at the center of your abdomen. If the blow lands too high or too far right, it could rattle your liver. To the left, it could squish your spleen. Too low? Busted bladderville or no more children.

EXHALE. When the incoming haymaker is just about to connect, tighten your tummy muscles to help absorb the impact and exhale hard so it can’t knock the wind out of you.

ROLL WITH THE PUNCH. Whatever you do, don’t try to hold your ground — let the force of the slug push you backward.

I initially assumed this residual check was a personal low for me….but then I recalled actually getting a negative amount before - that production company had apparently made an erroneous overpayment on a previous check. I’m afraid that the days of fair residuals for stunt performers and actors may be coming to an end. With free internet usage and the phasing out of dvd rentals, here’s to hoping that SAG and AFTRA figure something out with the production companies for our next generation of performers…

This is a pic of the neck portion of the Donatello costume I wore in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. I only have this and the actual head left and unfortunately it’s all beginning to crumble rather quickly (especially the bottom portion of the neck piece). The costume is made of foam latex - so it is what it is. But rather than let that part of it turn into dust, I thought it would be more fitting to cut off a small portion and offer it to a TMNT fan (through Facebook page competition).

The original plan was to award two winners: one winner according to the most “like” votes they received on their entree….and then determine the second winner based subjectively on which other entree I liked the most.

But in the spirit of the Turtles and teamwork, I’m going to give EVERYONE who entered the competition by yesterday’s deadline a small piece of that neck (I even snuck in a few people who didn’t enter, but posted TMNT content).

They’ll just be small pieces, but enough to pull Donnie’s DNA from and claim a part of history. Congratulations to everyone below and thanks for taking the time to put in your submissions and contribute to the page.

WINNERS:
Igor Filjušin
Michele Ivey
Erica Foster
Timothy Lee
Steven Robert Murphy
Jeremy Wimmer
Cate Sippel
Christopher Mejia
Elaine Englund
Anna Hernstrom
Aurora Dizon
Daniel Mizrahi
Jay Bale
Waldo Winston
Matt Skaggs

MAKE FAKE BLOOD

One of the highlights of my elementary school years was putting on Gene Simmons makeup, walking on homemade Kiss coffee-can platforms, and biting into ketchup filled plastic baggies while I waggled my tongue. So feeling nostalgic, I thought we’d up the ante from ketchup to the real thing.

Here are some recipes for true blood…

NON TOXIC

Most professional-quality fake blood uses toxic compounds like antifreeze. And as you know antifreeze = bad. So we’ll start with the non-toxic variety of fake blood. It may not be the choice of indie horror film directors, but it’ll get the job done.

Start with about 1 tablespoon of Arrowroot powder or Corn Starch in a large bowl. Either one of these will do, though Arrowroot powder is better for avoiding lumps. Now add about a cup of White Corn Syrup and mix it up with the powder. The results will be rather thick, so once you have it mixed, start thinning it down with water until you get something close to the consistency of blood — about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water should do the trick.

Now that you have a base, it’s time to add the dye. Start with the red and add a few drops at a time, mixing thoroughly until you have a nice red color. But of course, real blood isn’t bright red. That’s where the blue and green dye comes in. Add a couple of drops of either color until it looks more like actual blood.

Once it looks like blood, set your mixture aside and let it thicken a bit before applying it to your costume. If you’re looking for something a bit more edible, add a few drops of peppermint extract for that minty blood flavor.

CAUTION: This mixture will stain your clothes and might temporarily discolor your skin as well.

SEMI-TOXIC

It won’t leach lead into your skin or do anything else truly frightening, but you definitely don’t want to let this fake blood near your mouth, eyes, nose or any other orifices.

Here’s the recipe:

1. Water-soluble hair gel
2. Water-soluble personal lubricant
3. Red food coloring or liquid dye
4. Blue or green food coloring or liquid dye

Pour alcohol-free, water-soluble hair gel in a bowl. We’re going to add some other liquids so you only need to use about three-quarters of what you want the total amount of blood to be. Now add some water-soluble personal lubricant (Astroglide works well here). You want the lubricant to thin the hair gel down so that it’s just slightly thicker than water — start with a small amount and add more if you need it.

Now it’s time to color the mixture. As with the non-toxic version, start with red dye and then add blue or green to shift the color to something more bloodlike. Chocolate syrup can also be used to create a bit more maroon color.

The advantage of this blood is that it’s not sticky and, if you experiment a little bit, you’ll find that flinging it around creates very realistic splatters.

But, as with the other variety, use caution since this mixture will stain just about everything it touches.

Here’s the recipe:

1. White corn syrup
2. Red food coloring
3. Water
4. Blue or green food coloring
5. Arrowroot powder or Corn Starch

Wiki recipes based on work by samhunt2, amyatwired and snackfight.

Big thanks to Francis Pineda of Jhoon Ree Tae Kwon Do in Arlington, Virginia for finding this in his VHS drawer. I believe this was the first 540 kick I ever through on the East Coast. The watermark is dated June 2, 1990 and it was a demo in either Washington D.C. or Boston.

If you think that Rochambeau is a game of chance … you’re wrong. If you study your opponent carefully enough and are able to get in their head, it’ll just be a matter of time before you dominate this game.

I knew I wasn’t alone in this after stumbling upon Douglass and Graham Walker’s The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide.

Here are a few tips they suggest…

1. Play paper first. Rookies tend to lead with rock, so paper is the safest opener (a savvy opponent will try the same, causing a tie). If you win, claim victory; if not, start the next throw right away, because of course it’s two out of three.

2. Exploit copycats. Casual players often switch to the object that just beat them. You can encourage them to do this by shouting, “Paper wins!” when you defeat their rock. Then throw scissors on the next round.

3. Watch for doubles. People rarely throw the same hand three times in a row; if they play scissors twice, your next move is paper. Also, keep up the pace so they have less time to think and instead fall into patterns.

Filmed in super high-speed at 70,000 frames-per-second and played back in slow-motion. Can golf balls deform that dramatically? What you see in this clip is happening in less than 1/1000 th of a second. Tht’s too fast for the human eye to perceive in detail, but a super-slow motion camera can capture it. Originally shot for BBC.

I had the pleasure of doing all the stunt sequences for Donatello in TMNT 2 & 3.

My pal Ernie Reyes, jr. did the stunts for the original film and Lief Tildon was the actor turtle in all three installments. The legendary Rick Lyon (from Sesame Street fame) was the puppeteer responsible for the mechanics of the “animatronic turtle” and Corey Feldman came in during post production to record Donatello’s voiceovers. So, there was a lot to Donnie.

Unfortunately I do not have my entire suit — it was hanging at the now defunct Planet Hollywood in Bevelry Hills at one point, but I have no idea where it is now…maybe Arnold gave it to one of his kids?

But I do have the head and a neck/shoulder/upper chest piece — sorry not for sale or lend — my future kids would kill me if I lost it before they were born.

The suits were made of foam latex, so they weren’t made to last forever. At some point it will either completely crumble to dust…leaving me the decision to restore it, permanently encapsulate it in acrylic, or preserve what’s left of it in it’s original state by air locking it. I’m leaning towards keeping it “worn” and zen.

At the moment, there are pieces of the neck/shoulder/upper chest that are severely crumbling. Instead of sweeping them up and trashing them, I thought a TMNT fan might really appreciate it for their collection. There’s not going to be much (similar to the very small pieces of the Berlin Wall that were once available) . Just about an inch of the costume really - but I can tell you it’s coming from the actual costume that I used in The Secret of the Ooze. I’m happy to authenticate it with a certificate and autographed a TMNT behind the scenes photo for a fan.

OFFICIAL RULES:

Here’s how it’s going down:

1. No fee to enter.

2. On my Facebook Page, post a PHOTO, a VIDEO, or ARTWORK created by you that pays homage to Donatello and/or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 - The Secret of the Ooze.

3. Winner #1: The entree that has the most “like” votes at the end of the competition period wins the “Piece of Donnie” package.

4. Winner #2: The entree that I subjectively choose to be my favorite entry also wins a “Piece of Donnie” package.

5. Contest ends and winners will be determined on July 1, 2010 at 5pm Pacific Time.

ENTER FACEBOOK CONTEST HERE