Amy Johnston Vs 7 Man Amy Johnston Legs Martial Arts
Amy Johnston has been working in picture, idiot box, and video games since 2009, equally either an actress or performing stunts. She was a stunt performer on both Deadpool films, doubled Scarlett Johansson in Helm America: The Winter Soldier, and did move capture and stunts for popular video games like The Last of Us: Part II, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Johnston has appeared in popular fan films Batman: Dying is Piece of cake as Harley Quinn and every bit Android 18 in Dragonball Z: Light of Hope. She'due south also been the pb in Female person Fight Squad and in the criminally underrated Lady Bloodfight. That particular film was released on May five, 2017, in the United States, and then on home video on June 6, 2017. Information technology'due south of import to celebrate the five-yr anniversary of the moving-picture show and hopefully draw attention to the picture which is an updated version of the film Bloodsport with an all-female bandage.
Before delving into a commemoration of the moving-picture show, it's important to acquire a piffling about its star. Who better to tell anybody near her background than Amy Johnston herself. "My father was a five-time world kickboxing champion, he did that in the '80s, so when I was born, my blood brother and I grew up in the martial arts schools, my dad owned several. Martial arts was such a big part of his life, that information technology became a big part of our lives. My mom was an acupuncturist, she studied Chi Gong, Tai Chi, and Kung Fu in Communist china and then nosotros were a full martial arts family, that was our matter. We watched a lot of martial arts films because of it, and eventually, I figured information technology would be time to do something with everything I learned."
Along with martial arts, Johnston and her family unit bonded over action films, films that would later influence her career decisions. She explains, "Crouching Tiger, Subconscious Dragon is the one that really striking all the points for me. Honestly, I loved Kung Pow, Shaolin Soccer, those movies are so fun to me. Of course, I loved the Jackie Chan films, the Bruce Lee films, my dad was a huge Bruce Lee fan. I was into a few of the Shaw Brothers films and really into the Cynthia Rothrock films." Information technology would turn out that Rothrock (along with another highly influential extra) would be a major influence for very specific reasons. Amy elaborates, "Cynthia was the only one who looked like me and was doing something interesting. Michelle Yeoh, though, she's one of my favorites. On camera, she has a really nice presence. I don't commonly get star-struck, just there was one moment when I was at a premiere of ane of her films and I saw her. I freaked out so bad and I wanted to talk to her, only I couldn't. At some point, I hope to piece of work with her but I was really star-struck. I think she was eating a French fry or something. She was the start 1 I really looked up to and she was so strong, feminine, and svelte so all that was really inspiring to me."
As the bug slowly began to imbed itself in her heed, Johnston began taking steps towards her dreams. "I did theater in high school, I danced and liked to sing and so I was in choir, plays, and things like that. My brother and I would make these stupid little films, these videos, and I but really enjoyed performing. Later on seeing Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, as well as other women in film, I thought maybe it would be something I could do." As before long as she grew into a young adult, the decisions she knew were inevitable were brought to the forefront. Johnston continues, "Maybe effectually sixteen years one-time, I actually wanted to get into motion-picture show but I still looked into colleges and stuff considering that'southward only what you did. And so effectually seventeen, I realized I should just endeavour it, and then I took the trip from Wyoming to California in my little minivan and survived. It was something that always felt enticing to me and it was one of those things that if I didn't do information technology, I'd regret information technology for the rest of my life. It just felt correct for me, nothing else feels more than right."
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Never looking dorsum, Johnston began to banner herself into the world she so desperately wanted to be a part of. "I started out doing videos on YouTube, that was how I was introduced to stunt work and acting. When I came out to L.A., I was very shy, I however am, and information technology'due south difficult to be shy and lone in this city. I somewhen found a crew of people who did martial arts and similar to picture things. That's one of the most important things for people trying to become anywhere, you really need to detect your environment. I found mine with A One thousand Pounds Action Team, information technology was a bunch of people who liked action films, video games, anime, and martial arts. We all came together to moving picture concepts and ideas." Along with finding a place to belong, the rewards of making these little YouTube videos, both personally and professionally, were only around the corner. "Those were some of the most enjoyable moments of my life and I still try to practice it because it'southward what got the optics on me to be able to exercise what I'1000 doing at present. I ever attempt to go on putting those out considering I enjoy choreographing stuff, creating, and filming. Information technology's really fulfilling to do stuff out of passion and not just beingness part of a big arrangement," she states.
"A M Pounds Activity Squad and I were doing this pre-visualization, proof of concept, for Stan Lee. Nosotros were going to create this female superhero, so we put together some ideas of how we thought this chick should motility and the project never went anywhere. Nosotros did release information technology on YouTube and it was called Amy vs. Many and I was just chirapsia the crap out of a agglomeration of people just the choreography and the cinematography was great, and the performers were amazing. Because of that video, a lot of opportunities came my mode and ane of them was auditioning for Lady Bloodfight," Johnston recollects. The opportunity she had been working towards was knocking at her door, and she was ready to ascension to the challenge. She proceeds, "The producers saw the video, I auditioned, and I got the role. It was my first big opportunity and I was doing what I'd e'er wanted to practise finally — acting and stunts. Plus, I was preparation with masters in Red china, it was definitely a life goal. In prep for the motion-picture show, I tore my ACL and I was really worried they were going to just cancel me. They let me heal and I worked really difficult to get it back, so I had an extra 6 months to prep mentally for that film. We started filming in Hong Kong and I was able to really relish that. Some of my favorite parts of working on that film were the off days exploring Hong Kong. Being out of the urban center, information technology was merely really cute. It really was incredible existence there and training with such terrific people."
Voltage Pictures was founded in 2005 by Nicolas Chartier, who is a former sales amanuensis. The company deals in the financing, production, as well every bit distribution of its shows and films. They're the company responsible for Kathryn Bigelow's Academy Laurels-winning film The Hurt Locker. The films they produce have crossed all genres and with Lady Bloodfight, they were all-in on their dedication to the movie with Johnston in the lead. She concurs, "Voltage Pictures is such a good production visitor and they waited for me to heal so I knew I had to deliver. They waited well-nigh an extra year for me, and so there was a lot of force per unit area. I did enjoy the pressure, information technology makes me work harder or ameliorate personally, and I only put a lot of piece of work into information technology. There were some things I simply wish could take turned out better, and there were so many things I wish I could accept done differently, but overall I call up it's a beautiful motion picture. I really enjoyed working with the director Chris Nahon, he was the almost incredible part of it."
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Chris Nahon is all-time known for directing the superb activeness moving-picture show Buss of the Dragon starring Jet Li and Bridget Fonda, and the opportunity to work with the acclaimed director would prove to be highly rewarding. "He's very different from directors in Hollywood, he's nevertheless passionate about what he'south doing. He did this thing where he would just grab a photographic camera, tell me to go walk across the street, get into a taxi, and he'd just follow me and become a few shots. Then it would be a gunkhole, or something else, he was just like a child in a candy store. It fabricated things and then fun every bit opposed to just existence told to stand on your mark and get. He just had this really nice free energy," Johnston gushes. The director and actress cemented a human relationship and trust before filming, which would later interpret to the screen. She explicates, "Nosotros had a lot of discussions together, he'd phone call or we Skyped, and we would become to know each other. Information technology was a cracking relationship and I hope to piece of work with him again. I'd watched Chris' brusque films, his behind-the-scenes videos of things, I actually watched as much as I possibly could to get a sense of his style."
In Lady Bloodfight, Johnston plays Jane, a immature woman with a past who has decided to travel to Hong Kong alone. Attacked by a group of thugs, she loses her bags just is rescued past Shu (Muriel Hofmann), a woman with her own past who sees the force in her. Shu allows Jane into her life where their human relationship takes the grade of teacher and educatee. Existence a Wudang champion, she trains Jane to properly fight with an terminate goal in mind. Shu enters Jane in The Kumite, a martial arts tournament featuring the toughest female fighters from around the world. The two women are both there for dissimilar reasons, but they'll have to trust i another if Jane is to have a chance confronting Shu'southward nemesis Wai (Kathy Wu) and her apprentice Ling (Jenny Wu).
The film is in many ways a reboot/remake of the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme archetype Bloodsport. It follows many of the same beats, but it's as well distinctly its own movie. For Johnston, being a function of this was something special. "I was a huge fan of Bloodsport and information technology was originally going to exist chosen Lady Bloodsport. I felt like it was everything coming full circle. I grew up on these films and it really meant a lot to me existence a part of information technology." Where Lady Bloodfight would differ from Bloodsport, bated from the gender reversal, would be in the portrayal of the martial arts. On i side, you have the fighting aspect, using the abilities to hurt. On the reverse side, they tin be used to show respect, empathy, healing, and forgiveness. This would exist something Johnston would be really proud to become beyond to the audition. "If I had information technology my mode, I would ever push it. But for Lady Bloodfight, I would say delving into real philosophies backside the martial arts for the motion picture came from Chris. He actually wanted to get into the light and dark, the yin and yang, and the residuum of information technology all. It'south e'er entertaining to show both sides similar that since anybody is unlike and has different philosophies in regard to martial arts. I definitely enjoyed and appreciated the fact he was so adamant to become that across in the picture."
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Another intriguing aspect of the production was how diversified the bandage a crew was. For example, director Nahon hails from France, Johnston is from Wyoming and the stunt team from Hong Kong. It brought together people from unlike parts of the world, different nationalities, and races to unite as a team with a common purpose. Johnston concurs, "It was very cool to have such a diverse cast and crew. It's a bit of a goal to bring all these different people together for many reasons. It was actually overnice to see the choreographers try to put in all the unlike styles of martial arts from the different countries of each fighter in the pic. I retrieve they did a really good job in doing that. It was really squeamish to have all the girls on set, a lot of female empowerment, and we were all very supportive of each other. It'south so absurd when art brings people together."
"I still talk to several of the girls from the movie. I'm still in touch with Jet Tranter, Mayling Ng, Jenny Wu, Kathy Wu, and Muriel Hofmann. They were all and so corking, fun to be around, humble, and they all worked so incredibly hard," Johnston states. Every bit in a plethora of modernistic action films, not all of the fighters in the moving picture knew how to fight. She gain, "A lot of them had never done whatever martial arts before in their lives. I don't think Kathy or Jenny did, maybe something small in the past. Most of them had no fighting experience and they trained every day, sometimes for eight hours a day. I was really impressed with how defended they all were."
The fight and action team was world-renowned and some of the best in the concern. If yous're a fan of Hong Kong activity pictures, and so the proper name Xin Xin Xiong should be very familiar to you. In add-on to doing choreography, he'southward also an actor that's highly regarded as the character known as Clubfoot in the Once Upon a Fourth dimension in China motion picture and idiot box series. Johnston was excited to work with the Hong Kong legend as well equally accept the opportunity to contribute. "Xin Xin was and so cool and amazing, I could but talk nigh him for days. I did have to opportunity to make some suggestions in regards to the choreography merely really the team just took it and ran with it. There may have been a few things I would accept done differently, but overall the team really did a nice job." Having an opportunity to appear in this type of action moving-picture show with a cast predominantly female person, goes to bear witness just how the mural has changed for women in activity films. "I think the earth is opening up and are more accepting of mitt-to-mitt combat and female action heroes so we'll simply keep pushing," she says with pride.
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Once the film was completed, there would be a small premiere for the cast and crew. Even though Johnston was excited to complete the film, it turns out that watching it would be a bit difficult. She describes why, "I tin't stand up watching myself just it was a individual screening and my friends were at that place, my mom, the cast, the people from Voltage, and some of the producers. It'south difficult to not hate everything about it simply because I'm always judging myself merely after watching information technology a second time, I really enjoyed information technology. I was always proud of it and the piece of work we all did, it just took some fourth dimension for me to enjoy information technology for what it was and not critique myself." Information technology's not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable seeing themselves on a screen for a variety of reasons. Equally time passed by, she would eventually come to appreciate it all. "I remember afterward that first screening when i of the producers came up to me and said, 'It'due south not bad, we did pretty skilful!' I was simply like, 'It's okay.' I retrieve he was taken aback by my response and I probably should have given him a meliorate explanation as to why I said it that way. It was only how I was feeling about myself. I am truly proud of that film, though I would have liked to change some things. For all of the things that went on backside-the-scenes, for my outset film, I'm really proud of the message and some of the performances."
Afterward Lady Bloodfight, Johnston found herself committed to another project, Female person Fight Squad . This one was much smaller, merely the benefits were difficult to ignore. "Information technology was a really quick shoot for manager Miguel Ferrara who was actually nifty to work with. We didn't have many rehearsals just the procedure was fun and knowing Dolph Lundgren would be in the film, even if only for a day, made me really happy. He got to hold the pads for me and then I just thought that was really cool. It was a fun procedure to go into a darker space and different blazon of character compared to Lady Bloodfight." No shoot is without difficulties, and this was no exception. There would be such a positive vibe for her that those were easy to overlook. "Every moving picture has bug but I was working with a bunch of friends. It was filmed in Los Angeles, shut to habitation, and working with my friends was probably the best part."
Filmmaker Jesse 5. Johnston has been wowing audiences with his make of action pictures for over two decades (equally a stunt performer, much longer). In a two-year time period, Jesse had seven characteristic films released, each one of them completely dissimilar than the next. Five of those features starred 1 of the greatest action stars working in the business today, Scott Adkins. I of those films was Accident Man , a comic adaptation that was a passion project for Adkins. Amy Johnston was cast as the villainous Jane the Ripper and the feel proved to exist highly enjoyable for her. "I first met Jesse Johnson on set, but he used to do stunts and he was always working on multiple things at once. He was doing stunts, he was directing, then I knew I wanted to work with him. I enjoy working with directors who sympathize activeness and he definitely does. He gave me a lot of freedom and, obviously, working with Scott Adkins was a dream. He's so skillful, so talented, a swell presence, and he really knows what the audience wants which is really important. I hope to go a run a risk to work with them again in the time to come."
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Performers as heady as Johnston and Adkins don't come forth very often and when they practise, the films unremarkably debut directly to video. The age of activeness stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, or Steven Seagal is long over. In the modern earth of action, popular actors are trained to fight as opposed to hiring actors who were fighters first. It's not that these actors aren't giving their all just it's a different presence and dynamic that's sorely missed on the big screen and Johnston knows how hard it can exist. "It's so frustrating, and it'south a weird balance between action movies and the superhero films compared to the indie or B-action moving picture. There'south this weird gap and Scott'south kind of stuck in between. He's fully capable of and then many different roles, and I hope that Scott gets to go on making his own films and is able to piece of work in bigger projects likewise," she declares. Every trend goes in cycles and things once idea dead and gone tend to go resurrected and at some signal, hopefully, the action star will be no different.
In 2018, Johnston cocky-published the volume, How to Stunt in Hollywood: Insight and Advice from World Class Stunt Professionals , a book aimed at enlightening people on how to get started in the business. "Coming up in this industry was very confusing for me, being an actress and stunt performer, trying to understand how to become into both professions and not step on toes. There'due south just so much yous acquire from experience, and how practice you go experience without having information technology? Information technology's just and then hard. One of the biggest questions I get from people is how do I get into the business? I never have a direct answer for them, so I thought I could get as many professionals as I could and become them to answer for me so they could meet the unlike approaches that could guide them into the business so they would know what to await."
Johnston enlisted the help of friends like the aforementioned Jesse Johnson, Luke Lafontaine, Heidi Moneymaker, Natasha Hopkins, and many others to offering their insight into their arts and crafts. She elaborates, "I wanted to create something to help people get where they desire past learning through all the different perspectives. Another question I hear all the time is in regards to the craziest stunts I've e'er done, or they'll want to know if stunt people are adrenaline junkies so I try to respond that besides. There's a lot that goes into what nosotros practise, action pattern, and it was really important to cover that, too. I was too hoping information technology would inspire people to brand a living out of what they love."
While continuing to work on studio projects, Johnston has managed to find the time to participate in several fan films which were previously mentioned. These projects come from a different identify for the performer, a place she is happy to discuss. "Fan films today are not coming from a place of turn a profit but passion. People who grew up on this stuff are actually passionate about it, and I would love to see more than fan films on a much bigger scale in this industry. It is, nonetheless, really hard to balance the profits and production side of things, but hopefully, more and more people who are passionate almost existing I.P.'s (intellectual properties) and new ones can accept the chance to be office of something like that."
After the popularity of her pic Never Back Downward: Revolt, director Kellie Madison may try pursuing a characteristic-length version of the popular brusque The Gate , which Johnston starred in. "I remember Kellie has started pitching it again and I actually promise information technology goes somewhere. I enjoyed working with Cecep Arif Rahman from The Raid, he'south like the most humble badass I've e'er met. He also had the best flow of choreography of anyone I've ever worked with. It just takes and so much fourth dimension to go projects like this off the ground, lots of dorsum and forth, but hopefully one day we'll become the chance to practice something else with information technology."
In the concurrently, Johnston has enough to keep her busy. Whether it exist film, telly, or video games, at that place's always something in the pipeline. "There are a lot of things in progress. I do a lot of motion capture for video games, like virtually female action in video games I've been a office of, I'm very heavy into motility capture. There's a film called Day Labor which is coming out soon, I also did some stunt doubling for Jennifer Lopez in a project. There are TV shows similar Magnum P.I. and lots of other fun things to look forwards to." One thing for sure, Amy Johnston isn't the blazon of person to sit around and wait for something to come her way, she creates opportunities. "I go tired of waiting for people, so I effort to exercise equally much as I tin can past myself."
If you've never seen Lady Bloodfight, it'southward a breath of fresh air in a sea of interchangeable superhero flicks. Johnston gives an electrifying performance and proves she's ready to step up and atomic number 82 the way for more women to have over the action genre with their bare duke. Lady Bloodfight is currently streaming on Amazon Prime as well as bachelor to rent from on diverse VOD platforms. Amy'south volume, How to Stunt in Hollywood, is bachelor to purchase on Amazon.
To go on up-to-date on Amy Johnston and her career, you can visit her official website.
Source: https://www.horrorgeeklife.com/2022/01/29/amy-johnston-lady-bloodfight/
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