New episode alert. In this week’s entry, it was a tragic coincidence that our planned topic was “The American Rise of Jackie Chan.” This was to focus heavily on his films in the 90’s, culminating with the release of one of our all time favorite movies- ‘Gorgeous’. With the passing of legendary martial artist, fight choreographer and co-star of the movie, Brad Allen, we weren’t sure if we wanted to continue with our planned discussion or talk about something else. However, we decided in the end that we would continue on and do our best to pay homage to one of the all time greats. Australian born Brad Allen was groundbreaking in more ways than you could count. Aside from being a phenomenal martial artist with abilities that seemed out of this world, he was also the first foreign member of the legendary Jackie Chan stunt team, being involved in numerous Jackie Chan pictures as a stunt performer, coordinator and choreographer. He would forge his own path as one of the most prolific stunt/fight choreographers in recent memory, being involved in some of the best and most fun action pictures of the past twenty years, including: ‘The Kingsman’, ‘Kick-Ass’, ‘The World’s End’, and the upcoming ‘Shang Chi’. However, what he will probably be best remembered for, are his fight scenes against Jackie Chan in ‘Gorgeous’. This includes the incredible finale, which is one of the last, truly great, extended one-on-one fights in the style of classic Hong Kong Cinema. He was loved by many and seemed to be a very humble, kind and hard-working individual who took his craft seriously, loving what he did. His memory will live on and hopefully he will continue to inspire future stunt performers and film makers alike. Our condolences go out to his family and friends at this time. RIP good sir.
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