Michael Jai White

New Images of Saoirse Ronan in THE HOST and Christian Slater in FREAKY DEAKY

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 3rd, 2012 at 1:45 pm

We’ve got a couple of new images to share with you today. Briefly:

• The Host – A new image of star Saoirse Ronan in director Andrew Niccol’s (Gattaca) adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi book. Ronan stars as a young girl whose body has become host to an alien invader.  The film opens on March 29th, 2013
• Freaky Deaky – Images of Christian Slater, Andy Dick, and a very creepy Crispin Glover from the Elmore Leonard adaptation.  Story centers on two radicals in 1974 who plan a scam using their bomb-making skills.

Hit the jump to check out the images.

Comic-Con 2011: BLACK DYNAMITE Animated Series Pilot Review

by Hunter Daniels    Posted: July 23rd, 2011 at 4:50 pm

Black Dynamite is one of the strangest and most enjoyable movies of the last few years and in spite of featuring DTV luminary Michael Jai-White as its biggest star, the blaxploition homage/spoof has caught on with mainstream audiences well enough to warrant a comic book series, an upcoming live action sequel and an Adult Swim Cartoon.

Today, White, Carl Jones, Scott Sanders and Kym Whitely presented a panel on the upcoming cartoon and showed the audience the pilot. It was every bit as raucous and un-PC as you would hope.  Read on for a review of the show.

MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY Episode Two

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 19th, 2011 at 9:09 am

The second episode of director Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy has been released and if you were worried the web series would be PG and not show any blood, this episode will make you happy.  Also, this is the first one to use a “fatality.”  While I wasn’t sure how Tancharoen would portray a fatality in a real world setting, I think he figured out a great way to do it.  After all, it would be very weird to all of a sudden hear an announcer scream “finish him!”

While each of the nine episodes will focus on the different characters in the Mortal Kombat universe, this one continues where the first one left off and it’s got Michael Jai White as Major Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs, Jeri Ryan as Lt. Sonya Blade and Darren Shahlavi as Kano.  Hit the jump to watch.

Exclusive: Michael Jai White Talks MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY, Directing NEVER BACK DOWN 2, and BLACK DYNAMITE 2

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 12th, 2011 at 8:44 pm

With Warner Premiere’s nine part Mortal Kombat live–action digital series premiering today (a new episode will launch every week), the studio held a press junket yesterday in Beverly Hills and I got to speak with Jeri Ryan, Michael Jai White, director Kevin Tancharoen and game creator Ed Boom.

As most of you know, Tancharoen and the same cast filmed Mortal Kombat: Rebirth last year and the success of the short led Warner Premiere to offer Tancharoen the job helming the new series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. While the short film was a tease at what Tancharoen wanted to do with a feature, the web series is being released in conjunction with the new Mortal Kombat video game and it’s goal is to offer gamers the history of the warriors they know and love.  Obviously if the new series is a success, I’m sure we’ll get more installments.  But I’m still hoping that Tancharoen will get the keys to a hard R feature…

During my interview with White we talked about how the project came together and the reaction to the short film, how much freedom they had making the web series, the action scenes, what was it like to direct Never Back Down 2, what’s up with Black Dynamite and a sequel, and, of course, I asked what’s his karaoke song.  Hit the jump to watch.

The First Episode of MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY Is Online

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 12th, 2011 at 8:38 am

The first episode of director Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy has been released.   While each of the nine episode web series will focus on different characters in the Mortal Kombat universe, the first one features Michael Jai White as Major Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs and Jeri Ryan as Lt. Sonya Blade.

While I was nervous that Warner Premiere might neuter what Tancharoen did in his short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth and we’d see a PG version of Mortal Kombat, I’m happy to report the first episode has a few scenes of extreme violence.  Of course the big question is…will any episode feature a “fatality”?  Hit the jump to watch the first episode and if you missed my video interview with Ryan for the series, watch it here.

Exclusive: Jeri Ryan Talks MORTAL KOMBAT: REBIRTH & MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY, ABC’s BODY OF PROOF and Karaoke

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 11th, 2011 at 7:13 pm

With Warner Premiere’s Mortal Kombat live–action digital series premiering tomorrow on Machinima.com (a new episode will launch every week), the studio held a press junket today in Beverly Hills and I got to speak with Jeri Ryan, Michael Jai White, director Kevin Tancharoen and game creator Ed Boom.

As most of you know, Tancharoen and the same cast filmed Mortal Kombat: Rebirth last year and the success of the short led Warner Premiere to offer Tancharoen the job helming the new live-action web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. While the short film was a tease at what Tancharoen wanted to do with a feature, the web series is being released in conjunction with the new Mortal Kombat video game and it’s goal is to offer gamers the history of the warriors they know and love.  Obviously if the new series is a success, I’m sure we’ll get more installments.  But I’m still hoping that Tancharoen will get the keys to a hard R feature…

Anyway, during my interview with Ryan we talked about how she got involved in the project, what was it like to film all the action, is she signed for more Mortal Kombat series or even a feature, and we talked about Body of Proof on ABC and what’s her karaoke song. Hit the jump to watch.

First Clip From MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011 at 3:32 pm

If I didn’t tell you the first clip from the upcoming web-series Mortal Kombat: Legacy (based off last year’s popular short Mortal Kombat: Rebirth) was from Mortal Kombat: Legacy, you would likely never figure it out.  There’s no special moves, no gore, or any other trademark the Mortal Kombat video games are known for.  It looks like a scene from the world’s most generic action movie so I assumed at some point a person would break the fourth wall and ask me to please silence my cell phone.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, but if you’re expecting bionic arms or heart-ripping fatalities, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.  Mortal Kombat: Legacy premieres April 12^th on Machinima.com.

Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan Cast in MORTAL KOMBAT Web-Series

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 14th, 2011 at 3:15 pm

In round one, we brought you the announcement that Warner Premiere would be developing a live-action Mortal Kombat web-series based off of director Kevin Tancharoen’s popular short, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. In round two, we’re bringing you news that the series will feature both Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) and Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite) reprising their roles as Lt. Sonya Blade and Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs, respectively. Joining them will be Darren Shalahvi (300), playing the protagonists’ common enemy, Kano.

Tancharoen is returning to direct the series and promises to keep the gritty and brutal storytelling that made the original short so popular. The series will look to deepen the backstory of the Mortal Kombat universe and give fans a whole new perspective of their favorite characters.   For more info about the project from Tancharoen and a look at the next video game incarnation of Mortal Kombat, GET OVER HERE! and hit the jump.

Sequels to SALT and BLACK DYNAMITE in the Works

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 14th, 2010 at 2:32 pm

It appears (though far from definitively) that we could see sequels for both the Angelina Jolie spy thriller Salt and the blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite in the near future.  According to 24 Frames, all the creatives behind Salt are all up for round two.  Writer Kurt Wimmer has a few ideas for the continued adventures of Evelyn Salt.  Director Phillip Noyce is on board, though Salt 2 may need to contend with the love story Dirt Music (starring Russell Crowe) and fellow spy thriller Wenceslas Square for a spot on his schedule.  Perhaps most importantly, Jolie reportedly said she was “keen” on the idea.  (Jolie, of course, has her own scheduling issues with Tim Burton’s Maleficent and the Kay Scarpetta franchise on the docket.)  The word on the street is that Sony is waiting to see how Salt performs internationally before it moves forward with a sequel — the film crossed $100 million domestic after four weeks in release.

While promoting the UK release of Black Dynamite, writer/star Michael Jai White revealed that he has started work on a sequel.  Read what he had to say after the jump.

Interview with MORTAL KOMBAT: REBIRTH Director Kevin Tancharoen; Talks About What He Wants to do in a Feature Version!

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 9th, 2010 at 7:31 pm

If you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, yesterday was Christmas.  That’s because an awesome short film called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth hit the net and it featured a gritty, real world approach to the material.  Featuring Michael Jai White, Jeri Ryan, martial artists Lateef Crowder, Ian Anthony Dale and Matt Mullins, the short film has been getting nothing but positive write-ups across the cyberspace.  You really should check it out.

But the big story was what was the purpose and who made the short.  Some guessed it was for an unannounced feature film, and others thought it might be for a new Mortal Kombat game.

When word got out it was directed by Kevin Tancharoen (Fame), I was kind of stunned. After all, who would have thought the guy who made Fame would have directed an awesome Mortal Kombat short.  Thankfully, I had Tancharoen’s email and reached out to see if he wanted to talk about how the short came together and why he wanted to make it.  If you’d like to know a lot more, hit the jump to either read or listen to our interview.  I’ve also included some highlights as bullet points:

Is This MORTAL KOMBAT: REBIRTH Viral Video Trying to Sell a Hard-R Adaptation to Warner Bros?

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 8th, 2010 at 3:11 pm

An impressive short film entitled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth hit the web earlier today.  It centers on Jax trying to convince a shadowy figure to enter the Mortal Kombat tournament and kill vicious psychopaths Baraka, Reptile, and other murderers that are participating.  It’s a “real-world” approach so Reptile is actually the victim of a rare hereditary disease and Baraka is a doctor who went mad and inserted giant blades into his arms (but not in the stupid Deadpool way from X-Men Origins: Wolverine).  Basically, no one has superpowers beyond freakish behavior and martial arts.

Hit the jump to check out the short and learn more about the project and what it’s trying to accomplish.

UPDATE: We landed an exclusive interview with director Kevin Tancharoen.  He talks about how the short came together and what he’d like to do in a feature version.  Click here to read it.

BLACK DYNAMITE Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: February 15th, 2010 at 6:56 am

The blaxploitation genre saved Hollywood. More so than the film school revolution, it was in the early 70′s that low budget films like Shaft, Superfly and The Mack were revitalizing the ailing studio system, which hadn’t fully recovered from the bust of the expensive musicals. The genre has some great films but mostly it’s loaded with cheap terrible films, and is so ripe for parody that Black Dynamite can follow the mostly funny I’m Going To Get You, Sucker in its retro refitting of the clichés of the genre and not feel like a rip off of Sucker. What Black Dynamite has is a lead in Michael Jai White who deserves to be a leading man. My review of the Black Dynamite Blu-ray after the jump.

New Trailer for BLACK DYNAMITE Plus Three PSAs

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 9th, 2009 at 4:51 pm

I wonder if the greatest success of “Black Dynamite” will be of marketing.  It debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to lukewarm reviews and since then, it’s been relatively quiet.  And yet the video we’ve seen is so appealing and if the first trailer never landed online, it may have not received any attention at Sundance.

BLACK DYNAMITE Set To Explode In Theatres This October

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: August 24th, 2009 at 10:33 pm

Of the hundreds of films that screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival only a handful created any real buzz – and only a few of those left Park City with a distribution deal.  One such lucky indie was “Black Dynamite”, the insanely bad-ass blaxploitation flick directed by Scott Sanders and starring Michael Jai White.  “Dynamite” was originally picked up by Sony but today comes word that the film will see a limited theatrical release through Apparition.  Find out exactly when you will be able to stick it to the man after the jump.

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