Older black-and-white clips of various political events is interesting enough content for the first video, but the second song/video combo below goes a step further. Using a Soviet Russia era propaganda film, which opens with the claim that
This film, both in its theme and artistic treatment, was something new in the world's cinematographic art. It was the first film to be based on a revolutionary event, with the people as it's hero.
is a short silent film juxtaposed with a good underground hip-hop song. The video utilizes various early filmic avant garde and experimental techniques that make it an interesting watch in itself, especially if interested in the early Russian genius for the 'cinematographic arts' - Eisenstein (wiki here), anybody?
Babylon Warchild (Legitimate, Unknown Mizery, Rumpletiltz) - Call Of The Warchild (Prod. by Jordi Lafordi) [Video - with some mildly graphic content] (2011) off Babylon Warchild (2011).
Babylon Warchild Feat. Fresco P, Black, Symmetry, & BK The General (Prod. by Rumplestiltz) [Video] (2011) album (click here for iTunes) out by Gold From Straw Recordings.
The People's Verdict: Dope album with three guys from Toronto, who probably won't be confused for Drake. Babylon Warchild (2011) has that alien Annunaki revolutionary vibe with lyricism more reminiscent of an Immortal Technique. Rumplestiltz handles an MPC, looper, as well as wielding a cello in live performance, while Legitimate and Unknown Mizery handle the rhyming. Album features the cats witnessed in action aurally above as well as a song with Reef The Lost Cauze. Click here for the website.
The RZA continues to dish out wisdom via his Twitter for #WuWednesday such as "The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore." - Rumi; Put all your soul into it, play the way you feel! - Chopin; First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. - Epictetus; A man exists for a generation, but his name lasts to the end of time. - (from the samurai classic) Hagakure; and Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth. - Hemingway.
Although I can't find anything new from Wu-Tang's Abbot himself regarding his forthcoming martial arts flick starring himself, Lucy Liu, Pam Grier, Russell Crowe, and various other martial artists, I found the follow short interview with Eli Roth and you can download a free mixtape from The Kickdrums that the RZA recommended.
Eli Roth on making The Man With The Iron Fists (2011).
Oh and dig this Yuen Woo Ping martial arts epic. . .
True Legend (2011) Trailer [HD].
2011.05.18 12:08 PM EST *UPDATE* Actor Rick Yune (most recently acting in Ninja Assassin (2009); click here for the IMBd) has also signed onto appear in the RZA's forthcoming flick.
***
Also, I failed to mention that Quentin Tarantino has finished the script for his latest movie ("Django Unchained" click here for the IMBd), which will be a spaghetti western continuation of the Django Saga...
Reputedly the most violent film ever made up until that time, the graphic violent content of Django (1966) was responsible for its being banned in several countries (it was rejected by the UK until 1993 and not rated in the US). Click here for some of the related titles.
The movie also spawned hundreds of unofficial sequels and was so popular in Germany that nearly every subsequent western of Django star Franco Nero has Django in the title (Via.) If you're unfamiliar with the first two installments (most critical to understanding Tarantino's) watch the trailers below.
Django (1966) trailer. Click here for the IMBd (dir. by Sergio Corbucci).
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) trailer. Click here for the IMDb (dir. by Takashi Miike).
Below is a trailer for Miike's latest film, now in theaters.
13 Assassins (2010) trailer.
Click here for what a fansite has to say about Django Unchained.
Hero (2002) is one of my favorite films of its stylization, rich color saturation, and cinematography and the RZA has gotten cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Hero - click here for the trailer -, 2046) for the Man With the Iron Fists; not to (re-)mention wrestler Dave Bautistsa, MMA arena figher Cung Le, Lucy Liu, Russell Crowe, Quentin Taraninto, Eli Roth, - or the Abbot of Wu-Tang himself. (Via.)
Picture from Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997).
And now, legendary blaxploitation actress Pam Grier tweeted "returned from Shanghai film directed by RZA of Wu Tang." (Via.)
This movie is going to be dope.
. . . Unrelated, but awesome nonetheless - Rubik's Cube x a human brain . . .
Wikipedia says that "Hobo with a Shotgun, directed by Jason Eisener, was initially a fake trailer made for an international contest to promote the release of Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez's double feature Grindhouse. It won the contest, and was screened in Canada as part of the actual release of Grindhouse."
With Eli Roth working with The Abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan and Russell Crowe in China on The Man With Iron Fists and Hobo With A Shotgun showing at Sundance, that puts the filmic offspring of Grindhouse at two movies (Rodriguez's 2010 "Mexploitation" Machete), but Roth has been quoted as saying he would like to make his twisted Thanksgiving trailer into a feature picture! And like I mentioned above, Rob Zombie complained that it was painful for him to cut down what came pretty close to being a full-on movie, down to one trailer so maybe he still has the footage?
Click here for the Wiki article. Tarantino is always going in multiple directions at once, but he has said that Vernita Green's daughter may come after The Bride a.k.a. Kiddo Beatrice (Uma Thurman); actress Daryl Hannah. who plays Elle Driver may have evidently survived being blinded and left in a trailer in the desert (with a Black Mamba loose). A blind Zatoichi-type character (via) would be just the thing to tickle Tarantino's fancy. Although everybody seems to hate 3D (and although the above poster of unknown origin in no way makes 3D definite) - it might be interesting. Oh and IMDb (click here) confirms 2014. And the return of Elle Driver.
Rutger Hauer introduces Hobo With a Shotgun: "We Shoot Movies."
So Evidently They Made Canadian-Screened Grindhouse Trailer Hobo With A Shotgun Into A Movie...
"I'm just going to say that I'm looking to make a real good movie for us, yo. I want to make something that… They said the album, 36 Chambers, by Wu-Tang, was new, different, and they said it helped propel the hip-hop community. I would love to do that somehow on film. I would love to make the same mark or impact, and I'm striving to do it with this film as my first serious directorial debut. And I'm going to tell you that we put a lot of time into the script, a lot of energy into it, a lot of people were supporting me on it, and if the energy comes out right, it should be a classic film to have in your library" (Via.)
For those not in the know, the RZA produced the soundtrack of Kill Bill Vol. 1 for Quentin Tarantino and, while doing so, studied the auteur's craft in hopes of transferring the knowledge gained into making his own films. As previously featured on The People's Poseur, The Abbot of the Wu-Tang Clan directed and co-starred in his very own low budget Kung Fu flick Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix:
Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix (trailer).
Of course, I didn't bring you back here to tell you what you already know (at least if you've been following us here). While the above movie isn't currently slated for any kind of release (theatrical, direct-to-DVD or otherwise), his upcoming project The Man With The Iron Fists (2011!) is listed by IMBd (click here) as featuring Lucy Liu (as "Madame Blossom"), former pro-wrestler Dave Batista (as "Brass Body"), Byron Mann (as "Silver Lion"), Asian American rapper and actor Jin Auyeung (as "Chan"), and creator of the Wu-Tang Clan symbol Gano Grills (as "Thomas"). IMBd also lists as cast members Daniel Wu, Cung Le, RZA, and, now, . . . Russell Crowe!?!?
So what can you expect of The Man With The Iron Fists? A film set in feudal China where a blacksmith forges weapons and teaches local Chinese peasants and villagers to fight back against an oppressive lord and . . . Well, RZA wrote the script and then got help retreating it from Eli Roth, he's starring in it, he's producing it (along with Eli Roth and his production company; oh and evidently Quentin Tarantino is also producing it as well now), and he's going to be doing the soundtrack for it. Universal has picked it up (via) and given it a budget of 20 million; Eli Roth is currently on location with RZA shooting (right now!) in China (via), although Tarantino evidently isn't. Of the Chinese film crew Roth recently tweeted that they are "are so fast and efficient I feel like I’m watching an episode of Benny Hill" (via.)
And yes, Russell Crowe is a confirmed cast member (click here).
Oh, and if that isn't enough you can click over to here where RZA talks about a planned ODB biopic and his role in a remake of the cult classic The Last Dragon (1985), which I read somewhere is going to have Rihanna . . . as a dominatrix. Oh, and Samuel L. Jackson will be co-producing it together. He had this to say ""There's been a new script out already, but to me, they didn't nail it, so I sent the writer some books he should read, and I gave him a few pages. I'm not the writer, but I helped him out, gave him five pages of information, sent him some books so he could really make a story that'd resonate with today’s times for The Last Dragon. But I want to keep the martial-art integrity, parts that the first one may have lost, because the other guy was in love with Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee is still the master, still the greatest, but maybe his popularity in cinema is not the same as it was in the '80s, because in the '80s, you were still getting Bruce Lee releases."" (Via.)
Gano Grills ("Thomas") was also featured in a Jim Jarmusch film - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), which starred Forest Whitaker and which the RZA again did the soundtrack for:
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (trailer; IMBd here).
Early on, Roth said of The Man With Iron Fists: "Yes, it is true. RZA's script is amazing. He has been studying directing with Tarantino for years and he's really ready to get behind the camera. His impact on rap music and hip hop culture cannot be measured, and he's ready to add his own unique style and vision to the world of film. This movie will have everything martial arts fans could want, combined with RZA's superb musical talent. This project has been his dream for years, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. And fans should know that yes, there will be blood... This ain't no PG-13" (Via.)
The Cure starring RZA.
Early on Roth also said that "While I was away shooting Inglourious Basterds, RZA went to China to shoot test footage on his own, with all the choreography. It was very visual and I think he will bring to life a script that mixes kung fu with a spaghetti western mindset and a hip hop influence. RZA has imagined every tribe, every fighting style, every costume. He knows kung fu like I know horror" (Via.)
Chi Kung by RZA [Wu-Tang Clan].
Bong, bong!
The RZA On The Man With The Iron Fist Shooting + ODB Biopic + The Last Dragon Remake
The official movie trailer for RZA's Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix, which is different from "The Man With Iron Fists" - learn about it here - above. Shaw Bros.
The film shoots in Hong Kong this September with a budget of less than $20 million. The Man With Iron Fists will be financed and distributed by Universal with RZA playing the title character (a blacksmith who forges weapons for the inhabitants of a village in fedual China), as well as directing and producing the soundtrack.
"Ode To O-Ren Ishii" from the Kill Bill Vol. 1 soundtrack (produced by RZA).
Roth said,
"He hooked me on his dream of directing and reinventing the Kung Fu movie genre. It reminded me of my love of horror. RZA went to the set of Kill Bill, and got a master directing course from Quentin. Nothing was happening with the script, and I formed this company, Arcade, with Eric Newman, that made Last Exorcism, a film that comes out in August through Lionsgate. We were looking for projects and I suggested RZA's script. I wrote the latest draft with him. While I was away shooting Inglourious Basterds, RZA went to China to shoot test footage on his own, with all the choreography. It was very visual and I think he will bring to life a script that mixes kung fu with a spaghetti Western mindset and a hip hop influence."
"RZA has imagined every tribe, every fighting style, every costume," Roth said. "He knows kung fu like I know horror."
(I need to reconfigure The People's Poseur to better fit embedded HD videos, but if you click on any video that isn't displaying the whole picture it should open in a new window.)
“The word ‘inglorious’ refers to being in a state of utter shame and disgrace…I reflected on all of the trials and tribulations of my life, and searched for perspective through reading, meditating etc. It helped me understand that shame is [a] tool with which many build hiding places. Creating this album has helped me lift up the rug and expose all of the dirt underneath." - K-Beta
Keepin' it surreal.
K-Beta Inglorious Beta - Reel hip hop!
Tracklist
01. Inglorious Intro [prod. Mark Henry]
02. Black Business [prod. Overok]
03. Surrender (ft. Sketch) [prod. Grussle]
04. That Black Man (ft. Soulful!) [prod. Soulful!]
05. Suicide (ft. Sketch) [prod. J-Scrilla]
06. Come Closer (ft. Mina) [prod. Grussle]
07. Another Day 2 (ft. Illa Ghee) [prod. J-Scrilla]
08. Soul Cry (ft. B Sheba) [prod. Grussle]
09. DTLR (Down the Line Rhyme) (ft. Diamond District) [prod. Kev Brown]
10. Burn Through the Journal [prod. J-Scrilla]
11. I’m Bleeding [prod. Team Demolition]
12. With the Family [prod. Kevlar]
13. Infinite Possibilities (ft. Mina) [prod. Judah]
14. Life of Crhyme [prod. J-Scrilla]
15. Smoke with Me (ft. Laelo Hood) [prod. J-Scrilla]
16. Outchea (ft. Midian) [prod. Kokayi]
