Shooting of ActionStar webseries started today

Below are some screenshots of the footage we shot today for the first episode of my new web-series Actionstar. This episode is about me trying Parkour for the first time, (can't join the club until February 11th) So using the internet and other material for advice, I gave it a shot with the basics, cat leaps, rolls, dash vaults etc, I failed a couple of times but overall a very fun day :)

Hoping to shoot more attempts tomorrow (had to stop due to the rain). I just wanted to share what you can look forward to seeing on my channel in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the screenshots :)

Photos from the last few weeks.

Hi team :),
I finally found where the battery charger was hiding so I can now upload pics from my camera into the computer, I just wanted to share a couple of pics of what I have been up to over the first 2 weeks of Jan. Nothing exciting really, but check out my food!! (pics 1&2)
It IS sort of healthy, then again, a smart observer will ask what food I'm NOT showing haha :)

(pics 3&4)There is nothing more self esteem boosting for a guy than putting together a DIY cabinet. As you can see above, assembling the thing (before) and it's new home (after) :) Also, I figure a new year, a new excuse for new shoes! Check em out, size 7 none of this size 12 business I wore for the last 6 months. My kicks will look swifter, quicker and tighter now on screen I hope. Nice right? I love that new shoe smell. If only it lasted JK :P

So 2012......I got a new haircut, new shoes, a new cabinet(lol) and a new attitude,
you ready for me? Lets do this! ;)

Kung Fu Hero Stare!

ps. Today I saw a city pigeon tearing off the bones off some leftovers of a KFC chicken wing. Its like when you see kids feed bacon to pet pigs. There's no moral, I'm just sharing cos It was so odd haha, Blog in a couple days, have a good week :)

First work of 2012, Shortland St extra again and Ad Audition

I've always wanted to draw stuff for my blog, but I don't. This year is about do's and not don'ts. So, now there are drawings. you're welcome :)

Shortland Street Extra, January 10

Every time I return to South Pacific pictures to do some extra work on Shortland St, we have to wait for anywhere from half an hour to an hour for the AD to let us know when they are ready for costume check then on set. I put my backpack down filled with spare clothes and pull out a book and then watch the minute hand race the second hand for like what seems like forever.

During this time I always feel like the GANTZ characters. For those of you who have never read/seen GANTZ, its basically about all these people who don't know each other who get transported and wake up in a room. All that's in the room is this black sphere (above) and the heavy silence as they wonder what will happen next. They end up hunting aliens for the sphere with alien weapons of their own but that's getting off track, what I'm trying to point out is the suspense always gets the best of me. (I highly recommend the manga/anime/movie adaption by the way)

ANYWAY, today's shoots were in the Cafe, my first job was facing the wall and having a coffee while the action took place. Though I am always happy for the opportunity to work on a live film set for a television series I couldn't help but feel pretty down. I traveled an hour by bus and walked another 20 minutes for this? I can imagine the discussion later...

Matt - "Look mom look, that's me, the guy with the black Tshirt! I'm on TV! :D"
Mom - "really? :S .... hmmm that could be anybody though... "
Matt -"no, but it is! it is! :("

In the second set of shots I got to talk to a young girl as we shared drinks at a cafe table in the background of the main action, which made the day totally worth it, I always figure, 'if you can see the camera, the camera can see you'. She asked me how old I was, I told her to guess. She said, "I don't know, 15, 16?" I told her I'm 25. Maybe that's why it's hard for me to get roles because I still look like a teenager? Well, this 15 year old thought so anyway. It was her first time miming in one of these scenes, which is great cos it gave me a turn to show someone what to do which is always a funny experience to have with someone, because you can't help but smile when you pretend to be puppets or mime some actions. You always burst out laughing (quietly or you'll take attention away from the main cast which isn't the background players job, our job is to be ignored, guess I'm good at that from real life experience lol) :)

I've come to the conclusion that the A in acting must be for Awkward, or I should be positive and think maybe ACTING is Absolutely Cant Think I'm Not Good? Good day anyway. Satisfied I walked to the bus stop, waited for an hour for it to arrive, then sat and pondered my next move as I traveled home for another hour, a long day but another notch I can add to film experience. I'm happy I have a good agent, as I'm getting more opportunities to do practical things.

First Audition, January 12

This was my first audition for a national beverage commercial, I can't tell you the brand cos of contract stuff but this was a big deal to me, Again with the GANTZ feeling as I finally found the place and walked into the waiting room. There was a guy with a bigger build and way more manlier than me and then there was this other guy who (small world) worked with me a couple days before on the Shortland St gig. As they both left the room to do their auditions, I was left alone with the measuring tape trying to figure out how big my chest was and how tall I was for the costume details on the audition form. Then came time to shake it out.

The audtioneer came in, shook hands, then I introduced myself to him and his partner, they had a camera next to their desk with the papers of the script and the casting details. Auditioneer took a photo of me, then using the camera checked my profiles and asked me some questions. I was happy and calm because I had seen Bruce lee's screen test for the original green hornet series many times, It's funny to see things haven't changed. Then we ran through some scenarios for the ad, which was pretty funny acting out the ad, whether or not I achieved the right look is up to them but fingers crossed it was. I get a call next week on whether or not I made the cut. We shook hands and I made the long trek home. Boy I can't wait to own a car again!

Today.
Did the last of the grocery shopping and also bought Yelawolfs album, even though I bought Watch the throne a couple of days ago I'm hungry for some fresh music. I want to finish my album this year and just focus on films from then on. Also watched Pursuit of Happyness again while having Tea, I love that film, it's shot really well, the acting is phenomenal and the story is so inspiring. Anyway I have school on Monday, as well as JKD classes resuming too. I hope to finish my logo finally and finish the shots needed for the Phonecall short film. All in all, a good start so far to 2012, my year of promise :)

New Year, New opportunities :)

Happy New Year Everyone! Time to eat last year's challenges :)

2012 Promises to be a defining year for me as I create more opportunities and finish projects that have long been gestating. So let me share with you all what to look forward to;

1) I graduate from SAE (knock on wood) March 2012 and then I can start work on my Indy no-budget feature, Chase. (completely rewritten from the original sci-fi action thriller I mentioned months ago which is now retitled Hunter).

Chase will be a 80 minute feature film and I aim to start shooting April 2012, hopefully to be edited and available off my website Dec 2012/Jan 2013. It's the story of a wannabe action-star (yes, loosely based on an exaggerated version of me) and his road to honesty. I've written 5 fights into it and plenty of comedic gags as well as some heavy drama to give my first feature some heart and soul.

2) Also in March I hope to have also finished Phonecall, the action/thriller staring Nazim Khan and myself. I hope to enter this in some low key festivals and spread the word about my style of film. All i have left to shoot are the 2 fight scenes, a flashback and some pick up shots.

3)Also in March I will also enter JOB 23 into film festivals too, this drama/action film is what I have decided to turn in for my SAE definitive project, though I had wrestled with shooting Bouncer or Maria, I have decided that budget and cast/time frame wise this is the safest and easiest option.

4)In order to become the film star I am aiming to be I need to work on my acting as well as getting exposure on national television and more views on YouTube. I will be chasing as much extra work as possible as well as trying for ads, student films etc, but I am hoping working on my own films will give me the exposure I seek. I don't want to start my website without something to sell to a fanbase I can grow, so I'm working hard on my Actionstar webseries....

5)I aim on learning Nunchuku and Parkour properly this year so I can feature them with my Jeet Kune Do in my movies, as all 3 very exciting to watch onscreen in my personal view, I want to be able to execute them as perfectly as possible.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to have some more videos or photo's to share with you over the coming year as I chase my dream of becoming New Zealand's first action star :)

Thanks for your support even though as an action hero I'm only in the beginner stages :)

Phone call Teaser 2 & New logo for Dark Pictures

The logline of my HK action/thriller PHONECALL, "When a job goes sour Craig is held accountable and goes to the big house for 15 years while the others remain free. He serves 5 years but gets out early on medical bail, now with only weeks to live Craig attempts to leave the planet with a few less people...."

Changed the story, no cops involved now :) Above is the 2nd Teaser I put together after shooting Victoria's contribution to Phonecall, SAE is on break now for 3 weeks so as soon schoool opens again I can borrow some equipment and finish this short film. I'm hoping it finishes good, as it already looks like my best work yet! Hopefully over the holidays I can get some basic parkour down so I can use it and choreograph the final fight scene. I haven't got photos yet but the railyard location I mentioned last blog fell through, the trains were moved and now there are roadworks going in the area over new year which sucks so I am thinking of setting it at a waterfront. Not sure yet but want it to be epic you see. (and safe, guns in public's a no-no)

Bouncer is going to be my end of year film, not Maria as I intended. Originally ' Bouncer' was going to be a Dead or alive tribute to my favorite character Jann Lee but since I am not ready to pitch for a feature YET, I will just change the names and the character. I decided to do Bouncer for budget reasons plus I want to have some cool stuff for my pitch when I try to do feature work after I graduate. This Bouncer has been in the pipeline for a while and I want to finish it before Streetfighter as Jann is my fav character and is probably why I do JKD for real now ;)

Below is a screenshot of my new logo, you like? Next year I will launch my website and make what I do all official as well as a couple of Web series, 1) showing off me in my favorite action stars shoes (eg transporter) and 2) another behind the scenes as I try to become an action star. Stay tuned as I work on the title graphics and finish the planning, I want to try get exposure through youtube as well as make some cash on the side to fund my independent features :)



Anyway happy holidays to everyone and a happy new year, make resoulutions worth fruition and a goal worth scoring :)

Phonecall - Teaser 1

Check out the teaser!!

Yes, The latest project I am working on is a short film I've written which is titled 'Phonecall' and is about 2 cops on different sides of the law settling their differences. It stars Nazim and myself. I wanted to keep testing my knowledge/creativity and see if I could create films like my favorite Hong Kong and Korean directors. Below are some photos from location scouting for the final fight scene.




It's forecasted to rain tomorrow so will have to try film the fight scene sometime this week, in the meantime i hope you enjoyed the little bits of behind the scene pics and the teaser above ;)

Catman/Dr Kill -News piece outtakes.

This is a compilation of some of the original news piece I had shot before abandoning the project. Enjoy it, the character might be used again in future ;)