Iron Fist [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

GeneChing

08-26-2010, 09:43 AM

Progress on Iron Fist

Marvel Forges 'Iron Fist' Deal With 'xXx' Creator Rich Wilkes (http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/marvel-forges-iron-fist-deal-with-xxx-creator-rich-wilkes/)
By MIKE FLEMING | Wednesday August 25, 2010 @ 2:31pm EDT

EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios is moving forward on a live action feature version of Iron Fist, hiring screenwriter Rich Wilkes to draft a movie based on a martial arts expert whose battle with a dragon--ended when he plunged his hands through the beast's molten heart--turned his fists into indestructible weapons.

Iron Fist was on the minds of many fanboys when Disney paid $4 billion for Marvel's 5000 superhero library and vowed to turn the less obvious comic book heroes into films and TV properties. Marvel tried to make an Iron Fist movie with Artisan nearly a decade ago, as a vehicle for X-Men villain and martial arts expert Ray Park. The Iron Fist comic book mythology was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in the 1970s, when the popularity of martial arts films was on the rise.

Iron Fist was among a bunch of Marvel superhero properties scattered around Hollywood. While tent poles like X-Men, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four and a handful of others remain at other studios, Marvel has recaptured rights to many wayward properties and Kevin Feige is hitting the reset button on a bunch of them. Marvel recently began work on Dr. Strange, hiring Conan scribes Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to generate a film from a superhero property that four studios tried to crack over the years. Both Iron Fist and Dr. Strange will be distributed by Disney. Marvel Studios has four more films under the preexisting distribution deal with Paramount, and those will include Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and the Robert Downey Jr.-starrer Iron Man 3. The final film will likely be the Joss Whedon-directed The Avengers, though Marvel is separately working on the youth-oriented Runaways and Ant-Man.

Wilkes is best known for writing the original XXX film that launched a franchise around Vin Diesel's extreme sports hero character. He also scripted the Motley Crue biopic The Dirt, which Paramount just put into turnaround, and he wrote Ballad of the Whiskey Robber for Johnny Depp and Graham King. Wilkes is repped by Verve.
http://www-deadline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ironfist.jpg

sanjuro_ronin

08-26-2010, 10:25 AM

Hope that it is modernized for the times, which means no cheesy green get up.

@PLUGO

08-26-2010, 10:27 AM

based on a martial arts expert whose battle with a dragon--ended when he plunged his hands through the beast's molten heart--turned his fists into indestructible weapons.

That's not quite how it happend. He gave that dragon the ultimate Bro-Hug, snuffing out the Dragon's er.. dragon shaped heart. The result left the young Danny Rand with that same dragon image branded to his chest, in black.

The training that allowed him to beat that dragon also allows him to focus all of that Dragon Qi he absorbed into his fists in classic hard qigong fashion. In theory he could focus that qi into his kick.... but Iron Toe does not make the best super hero name.

sanjuro_ronin

08-26-2010, 10:54 AM

That's not quite how it happend. He gave that dragon the ultimate Bro-Hug, snuffing out the Dragon's er.. dragon shaped heart. The result left the young Danny Rand with that same dragon image branded to his chest, in black.

The training that allowed him to beat that dragon also allows him to focus all of that Dragon Qi he absorbed into his fists in classic hard qigong fashion. In theory he could focus that qi into his kick.... but Iron Toe does not make the best super hero name.

You need to re-read what happened Bro, after he defeated the immortal Dragon ( chi shou or whatever the name was) Rand plunged his hands into the heart of the dragon that was NOT in the dragon but in a special "urn".
See the dragon's heart is OUtSIDE the body so when Danny blocks the chi of the dragon, basically blocking the "link" between the dragon and it's disembodied heart.

Zenshiite

08-27-2010, 02:21 PM

Hope that it is modernized for the times, which means no cheesy green get up.

Dude, Danny Rand hasn't been wearing the 70s outfit for quite some time. Check out Immortal Iron Fist!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/73/Immortal_Iron_Fist_22.jpg
That's Danny with the other Immortal Weapons from the other Heavenly Cities.

Let's not forget Danny's predecessor, Orson Randal:
http://spacelandpark.com/art/IMMORTAL_IRON_FIST_ANNUAL_1.jpg

And the sword hottie Iron Fist:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/Vaklam/IronFist7.jpg

The green and gold are Kun Lun's colors.

sanjuro_ronin

08-30-2010, 06:05 AM

Zenshiite, yes, that was my point, I hope they go AT LEAST with that "storyline".
Though I would prefer NO get up at all.

Zenshiite

08-30-2010, 08:51 AM

Without the get up it wouldn't be Iron Fist. It'd just be some white guy doing kung fu.

Sure, it's corny... but if Iron Fist is put into a world where there are superheroes and he adopts elements of his predecessor's outfit(a pretty cool Pulp noir deal) and the traditional colors of Kun Lun, Danny's going to look like a superhero when he's exiled in the mortal realm. He's got freaking super chi powers, after all. They could throw in an Avengers reference(and with this being developed by Marvel and their increasingly tied together movie universe they likely will) that's the perfect set up for why Danny dresses the way he does as Iron Fist.

My guess is the first movie will take elements of "The Last Iron First Story" and the origin story with Davos thrown in. Then somehow the 7 Immortal Cities will be told if the first flick does well enough. Maybe we can get a trilogy and get the Eighth Immortal City storyline out of it to boot. I could see an Immortal Weapons direct to DVD animated feature coming out of the deal to. Orson Randall animated stuff too as extras if he were to play a role. Heck, I'd like them to just start with Danny in NYC being pursued by Hydra just like "The Last Iron Fist Story" and give us the origin as flashbacks and all that.

Seeing as they are developing Luke Cage too, somehow they'll meet and end up in a team up movie... hopefully with the rest of the Heroes For Hire.

Iron Fist/Luke Cage could prove to be a pretty lucrative franchise and NOT do some of the more typical superhero things. Iron Fist and Luke Cage don't really have the kinds of villians that other superheroes do. What they've got is Hydra and stuff like that.

The whole Immortal Cities thing would play out kind of like Mortal Kombat, but without being hindered by a video game franchise.

GeneChing

11-14-2013, 09:52 AM

...along with a few others. Interesting play for Marvel.

Arts & Entertainment | 11/07/2013 @ 12:16PM |5,469 views
Marvel Bringing Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, And Iron Fist To Netflix (http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2013/11/07/marvel-bringing-daredevil-jessica-jones-luke-cage-and-iron-fist-to-netflix/)

Disney-Marvel and Netflix NFLX +2.16% today announced a joint venture to develop four new superhero series for Netflix’s streaming and DVD service. The characters included in the deal are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. The Marvel-Netflix deal guarantees 13 episodes of each series, and a final team-up miniseries The Defenders featuring all four of the characters together. Daredevil will kick things off as the first series to release.

Will these shows tie into Marvel’s current television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the cinematic Marvel universe? No word on that yet, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t tie into the movies — tying together series on different networks/distributors is a bit trickier, so they might just remain mum on that front.

The deal is part of a broader arrangement between Disney-Marvel and Netflix, granting Netflix exclusive first-run subscription rights to Disney and Marvel live-action and animation from Disney and Marvel. With the global popularity of the Marvel films, and with Netflix expanding into more countries while likewise expanding its library of content — including with exclusivity deals like the one it signed with Disney and Marvel — as well as a growing lineup of original programming, the financial implications of the deal are eye-popping.
Why Marvel Is Defining The Modern Superhero Film Genre Mark Hughes Mark Hughes Contributor

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has enjoyed strong overall viewership, hitting a five-week high this Tuesday and ranking #1 for the evening among males 18-49 years of age, and ranking second-most-watched scripted show overall Tuesday. Data for streaming and recorded viewership shows the program’s total audience is even higher than pure TV ratings demonstrate.

We could see budgeting for these Marvel superhero series in the $5-10 million or more range per episode, depending on the level of effects involved in each show. Netflix has been willing to spend money to make money, simply put, including investing in top talents and high production values for their original programming. Of course, Netflix won’t be financing the shows alone, so how much could Disney-Marvel kick in? Disney and Marvel have tried hard — and succeeded — to tamp down on budgeting and keep costs a little lower whenever possible, and this project no doubt will see the same sort of frugality from the studios.

The new shows will begin airing in 2015, and the deal will spread the release of all four series over several years, similar to the approach with the Marvel films leading into the big team-up movie The Avengers in 2012.

What do you think of this deal, dear readers? Are you happy to see Marvel jumping into streaming programming with their characters? And would you like to see these shows eventually lead into some big-screen Defenders productions?

http://b-i.forbesimg.com/markhughes/files/2013/11/Daredevil-cover-196x300.png
http://b-i.forbesimg.com/markhughes/files/2013/11/Luke-Cage-261x300.png
http://b-i.forbesimg.com/markhughes/files/2013/11/Jessica-Jones-195x300.png
http://b-i.forbesimg.com/markhughes/files/2013/11/Iron-Fist-191x300.png

@PLUGO

01-08-2014, 05:03 PM

“a bloody, revenge-fueled martial arts epic” is how writer/artist Kaare Andrews (http://herocomplex.latimes.com/comics/iron-fist-kaare-kyle-andrews-plans-martial-arts-epic-in-marvel-series/#/8)describes MARVEL COMICS' Iron Fist: The Living Weapon

http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/imglib/0/0/1/Marvel-IronFist-1-81b7b.jpgClick the pic for more! (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=50133)

sanjuro_ronin

01-09-2014, 07:29 AM

Sweet, must get this !

Vash

01-09-2014, 07:35 AM

So does this ignore the entire Immortal Iron Fist series, as well as the Defenders where the current Iron Fist

[SPOILERS

Get's engaged, has his girl preggers, and finds out the Prince of Orphans has been offing Immortal Weapons from the Heavenly Cities for a dog's age?

@PLUGO

01-15-2014, 12:16 PM

There was an Immortal Weapons series which followed the events you mentioned. There where also some re-cons regarding the baby and the now ex-girl-friend, in a handful of marvel series, most notably New Avengers and Heroes for Hire. That Defenders series crashed and burned (no book with that title lasts long) but if you liked IMMORTAL IRON FIST might want to check out HAWKEYE.

doug maverick

01-17-2014, 11:08 PM

who do you guys see playing him? im up for scott adkins in the lead.

Zenshiite

01-18-2014, 10:03 AM

Scott Adkins could be good.

After Immortal Iron Fist though, I would tend to see a more wiry guy in the role. Adkins is built, and I don't know if I see Danny Rand quite like that.

Vash

01-18-2014, 12:57 PM

I'd like for them to go with an unknown, preferably with acting chops close to their martial skills.

Scott Adkins would be awesome as the opiumed-out predecessor though.

GeneChing

02-26-2014, 11:49 AM

Marvel's Netflix Series to Film in New York City (http://marvel.com/news/tv/2014/2/26/22021/marvels_netflix_series_to_film_in_new_york_city)
New York City to serve as principal filming location for four series epic and one mini-series!

Published
Feb 26, 2014
Updated
Feb 26, 2014

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, The Walt Disney Company, Marvel and Netflix Inc. today announced that Marvel's landmark live-action television series, which will bring Marvel's "flawed heroes of Hell's Kitchen" characters to Netflix, the world's leading Internet TV network, will principally film in New York State. Produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Television Studios, this groundbreaking series is Marvel's most ambitious foray yet into live-action television storytelling and represents the largest film or television production project commitment in New York State history.

http://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/mg/6/60/527d507328afc/portrait_uncanny.jpg
Daredevil
Daredevil will be the first series from Marvel and Netflix to film in New York City

Filming is set to begin in the Summer 2014 and will create at least three thousand jobs in New York State including up to 400 full time jobs. The project will include nearly 60 one-hour episodes focused on the 4 Defenders characters: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

"New York is where the entertainment industry started, and this unprecedented commitment from Disney and Marvel is further evidence that we're bringing it back bigger and better than ever before," said Governor Cuomo. "And when the entertainment industry thrives, it fuels dozens of other industries and businesses. The competition for these projects is fierce and Disney could have chosen to film these shows anywhere, but they knew that shooting in New York means getting to work with the best in world. These shows bring New York's super heroes home where they belong--along with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in new business."

"Since 2008 Disney has directly contributed almost half a billion dollars to New York's economy through television and film production, along with approximately 9,000 jobs for New Yorkers," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. "The Governor's policies make this great state a more affordable and attractive location, opening the door for even greater economic investment and job creation for New Yorkers. Our Marvel series for Netflix will inject millions directly into the local economy and create hundreds of new jobs."

http://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/mg/1/03/527d534d80303/portrait_uncanny.jpg
Jessica Jones
"We thank the Governor and the great state of New York for helping us create the ultimate backdrop to this epic series. Setting our production in New York City truly underscores the authenticity and excitement we plan to bring to The Defenders and their 'flawed heroes of Hell's Kitchen' stories," said Alan Fine, President, Marvel Entertainment.

Last November, Disney and Netflix announced an unprecedented deal for Marvel TV to bring multiple original series of live-action adventures of four of Marvel's most popular characters exclusively to the world's leading Internet TV Network beginning in 2015. This pioneering agreement calls for Marvel to develop four serialized programs totaling 52 one-hour episodes culminating in a four to eight episode mini-series programming event. Led by a series focused on "Daredevil," followed by "Jessica Jones," "Iron Fist" and "Luke Cage," the epic will unfold over multiple years of original programming, taking viewers deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell's Kitchen, New York. Netflix has committed to a minimum of four, thirteen episodes series and a mini-series event in which the Marvel characters from the first four series team up as "The Defenders," much like "The Avengers."

http://x.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/mg/2/c0/527d524dc2140/portrait_uncanny.jpg
Luke Cage
This new original TV deal follows last year's landmark movie distribution deal through which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm.

"The Defenders are classic New York characters; smart, resourceful and tough enough to always stand up for what's right," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer. "We're delighted they're coming to life on their home turf thanks to Governor Cuomo and his team."

When Governor Cuomo took office in 2011, he made the attraction of the film and television production and post production industries, and jobs and the economic impact they bring with them, a key part of his overall strategy to grow New York State's economy. Since that time, he has signed into law several important changes to both programs to make New York more competitive in this global marketplace, and the results have been significant. Both programs enjoyed record-breaking years in 2013, bringing billions of dollars in new spending and thousands of jobs into the Empire State. The stability provided by multiyear funding has particularly encouraged the development of television series production work, like the new Marvel series, as well as long term investments in infrastructure, all of which creates thousands of jobs directly and indirectly related to the actual productions themselves.

http://x.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/mg/6/80/527d50b683df3/portrait_uncanny.jpg
Iron Fist
During calendar year 2013, applications for 183 film productions were submitted that included 124 films, 33 television programs and 26 pilots. These projects will:

-Generate a direct spend of $2.11 billion in NYS;

-Collect a projected $477 million in credits; and

-Hire an estimated 128,165 actors and crew for the 183 projects submitted.

John Ford, President, International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 52 said, "The men and women of the IATSE look forward to participating in this groundbreaking endeavor. Thanks to the vision of Governor Cuomo and the Legislature, the long term funding of the production incentives gives employers the comfort they need to invest in these new avenues of entertainment, which will provide thousands of new jobs with good wages and benefits."

Thomas J. O'Donnell, President Teamsters Local 817 said, "Theatrical Teamsters Local 817 is thrilled that Marvel's newest television series will be filmed in New York. This long-term commitment is an incredible accomplishment that will bring not just jobs, but also stability to our members work and family lives."

I totally poached this off Doug's fb page. :p

@PLUGO

05-12-2014, 05:29 PM

84418440844284438444

issue #1 had ninjas on helicopters, this issue heads back to the mystical city.

Vash

05-13-2014, 05:24 AM

I had to re-read the first issue three times to fully appreciate it. The series is now on my pull list.

@PLUGO

09-15-2014, 04:15 PM

Scott Glenn (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=55540), who you might remember from SUCKER PUNCH (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/index.php?p=article&article=954)) has been cast as Stick, Matt Murdock's mentor in the martial arts, in the upcoming "Daredevil" television collaboration between Marvel and Netflix.

GeneChing

01-28-2015, 09:17 AM

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
[UPDATED] Is Alain Moussi Joining Marvel/Netflix As IRON FIST? (http://filmcombatsyndicate.blogspot.com/2015/01/is-alain-moussi-joining-marvelnetflix.html)
UPDATE (1/28/15): It seems Moussi removed his Facebook post within the last several hours since the original article was published, and reposted a few more times later stating he was not in the running to play the character. We'll keep you posted.

In the wake of the current production of Kickboxer, you may have been wondering exactly what lies next for its debut lead actor, Alain Moussi. Well, we may already have an answer for that with the latest update now drawing some pretty tasty speculation relative to what is now happening for Marvel's currently brewing extension of their cinematic universe through Netflix, and if you're a kung fu fan, you definitely have reason to be excited.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UvCgiLYmMes/VMhMa3pu0SI/AAAAAAAARJg/gmjPLj0hY_k/s549/PicsArt_1422412868807.jpg

Iron Fist first appeared in the comics back in 1974 from creative duo Roy Thomas and Gil Kane with the story of Danny Rand, a young boy who acquires his extraordinary kung fu skills during his intensive training in the mystical city of K'un L'un and uses them to fight crime upon discovering his true destiny in a long-line of martial artists with his skills. The character was also once a contender for a potential feature film back in 2000 with Marvel and Artisan Entertainment courting Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace and Ballistic: Ecks VS Sever co-star Ray Park to lead with Kirk Wong directing. The project eventually withered away in the following decade before Marvel hired Rich Wilkes to provide a script for a feature film once more, which, of course, was long before Marvel hit the reset button with Netflix back in 2014.

While neither group have officially confirmed the plot for the new Iron Fist series, all roads currently point to a potential storyline involving the Heroes For Hire arc with actor Mike Colter currently tapped to portray superhero Luke Cage for Netflix with expected appearances in Netflix's A.K.A. Jessica Jones for a 2016 premiere date. In the meantime, if there is anything worth taking away from Moussi's post above, it's the promise of watching the career of a rising martial arts action star now in full-bloom for a new generation of kung fu and comic book fans. Alas, official news is pending beyond this write-up, so stay tuned for more Iron Fist news ahead of further developments on Kickboxer!

Posted by Lee Golden at 6:48 PM
I don't really know Moussi, although I've seen a lot of stuff he's been in. It's all stunt work, which tends not to be as prominent. Anyone know any standout roles he's had.

GeneChing

10-22-2015, 09:59 AM

Marvel and Netflix’s Defenders Series Release Dates and News: Daredevil Season 2, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist (http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/58905/20151020/marvel-and-netflix-s-defenders-series-release-dates-and-news-daredevil-season-2-jessica-jones-luke-cage-and-iron-fist.htm)
By Mark Rollins (news@gospelherald.com) Oct 20, 2015 02:19 PM EDT

http://cdn.gospelherald.com/data/images/full/13327/marvel-defenders.jpeg
These Netflix/Marvel characters will all be getting together on "The Defenders", but what will they do?

It was no secret that Marvel wanted to put not one, but four separate series on Netflix based on its comic book characters. The first season of Daredevil turned out to be a huge hit, so now audiences have a lot to look forward to with the release dates of new series like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, not to mention Daredevil Season 2. This is what is known about the Defenders Series, but what will be the story that brings all these iconic characters together?

As far as the next page of the Defenders story, Jessica Jones is going to be the show that Netflix viewers get a chance to see. The entire Season 1 of Jessica Jones is just one month away from being released to subscribers as it will debut on November 20, 2015. That will be on a Friday, and you had better believe that it will be binge-watched by Marvel fans by the following Monday.

So far, what we know about Jessica Jones based on a plot synopsis post on The Metro: "Ever since her short-lived stint as a Super Hero ended in tragedy, Jessica Jones has been rebuilding her personal life and career as a hot-tempered, sardonic, badass private detective in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. Plagued by self-loathing, and a wicked case of PTSD, Jessica battles demons from within and without, using her extraordinary abilities as an unlikely champion for those in need... especially if they're willing to cut her a check."

The show looks to be even darker than Daredevil Season 1, and it looks like it will focus on a superhero who has ended their super-career rather than the usual origin story that starts at the beginning. Krysten Ritter will be playing the title character, and the pilot episode, which has already been previewed, will have David Tennant appear as the villain, The Purple Man.

The Inquisitr recently discussed the preview at New York Comic Con, and how the series is definitely not for kids. The Sexuality is very open and blunt, and it is possible that the character that Carrie-Anne Moss plays, Jeryn Hogarth, could be Marvel's first foray into ****sexual themes.

Considering that Jessica Jones is working within Hell's Kitchen, is there any possibility of her crossing over into the Daredevil's Season 2, coming around April 2016? Right now, we know that Matt Murdock (Daredevil's real name, played by Charlie Cox) is going to have his hands full dealing with the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Elektra (Elodie Yung), two fan-favorite characters plucked from the comic book source material. It's pretty clear that there would have to be some tie-in to Jessica Jones, as Marvel just can't seem to resist that crossover storytelling with its Avengers films.

Jessica Jones will have one character that will link to the Luke Cage as Mike Colter, the actor that plays the character on Jessica Jones, will have his own planned spinoff show, sometime in 2016. This character could get a lot of development on Jessica Jones, and then face his own foes. Very little is known other than the imdb description of "Given superstrength and durability by a sabotaged experiment, a wrongly accused man escapes prison to become a superhero for hire". It does have a cast that includes Misty Knight and other characters pulled from the comic book source material.

As for Iron Fist, the last of the Defenders shows (assuming Marvel doesn't spinoff other characters), the imdb description is just "a martial artist with chi based super powers fights crime", and there is no cast as yet for the show expected in 2016.

So perhaps the biggest question is how this team will become the Defenders, and what foe or foes will they face? If they are following the Avengers money-making movie formula, then different aspects of the story will be revealed in the individual series, and then will culminate into one big battle when the Defenders series finally happens.

Alas, Iron Fist has become the red-headed stepchild of Marvel/Netflix. :o

sanjuro_ronin

10-22-2015, 11:31 AM

Yeah, I have to admit that I kind of saw that coming.
Iron Fist CAN be a very good character IF you take into account what he CAN do ( super speed, super strength, super healing and even project his chi almost like lightning or use it as a projectile in a gun or a bow instead of bullets/arrows) - Think Jedi almost.
His torment is what makes him unique BUT it gets lost as a "supporting role".
It would be a more mystical type of thing.

@PLUGO

10-22-2015, 12:04 PM

Iron Fist may end up replaced by Moon Knight (http://comicbook.com/2015/10/14/moon-knight-reportedly-being-developed-for-netflix/).

The news comes from Heroic Hollywood’s Umberto “El Mayimbe” Gonzales, who was a guest on the Collider Heroes video cast. Around the 10 minute mark in the video below, Gonzales and the hosts are discussing what Marvel’s recently announced 2020 mystery movies may be. Moon Knight is mentioned as a possibility, but Gonzales says he’s heard they’re preparing the character for the “back door pilot” treatment on Netflix, similar to the Punisher in the second season of Daredevil.

Or better Yet Shang-Chi (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/10/21/some-wild-and-possibly-made-up-rumours-about-iron-fist-thunderbolts-and-the-marvel-civil-war/)!

It’s true that Iron Fist isn’t TECHNICALLY cancelled, but Netflix has plans to retool it as Shang-Chi if they can’t find a show runner to take up the part by the end of 2015, with it being another martial arts show like Marco Polo or Mortal Kombat Legacy since he lends to gritiness much easier than Iron Fist. Currently Iron Fists problem is that nobody’s got a solid series pitch beyond ‘magic guy who fights crime’. — Iron Fist might be canned/replaced since Netflix wants a 2016 release date but nobody can come up with an interesting/cost-effective pitch for the show and time is thiiiin to write, cast, film, and post-production in time since the Netflix shows take around a whole year from writing to distribution. That’s not a Feige/Perlmutter thing and more a ‘nobody really knows how to ****ing do it’ type thing, but Netflix signed a contract for 4 shows + Defenders so they have to have a show. Worse comes to worse it’d be rebranded as Shang-Chi and given a Raid-type treatment since that’d keep costs way down and could be finished before the end of 2016 since there would be no dragons or magic.

Or Punisher!

You were right about the problems with Netflix/Marvel TV’s Iron Fist. The fact that MCU has worked hard to have a good relationship with China. Marvel TV’s idea for Iron Fist would of hurt MCU China relations. The synopsis for Iron Fist was basically like Eddie Murphy’s Golden Child. Kung Fu is also one of China’s national sports. To tell the Chinese people that a young American is the best at Kung-fu, would be a slap in their faces. It’s very clear that Mr. Feige will not approve Iron Fist in its current state. Iron Fist will most likely be put on hold and be replaced by a Punisher series.

sanjuro_ronin

10-23-2015, 07:54 AM

I would prefer a Shang-chi to an Ironfist, simply because the Shang-Chi storyline writes itself almost.

GeneChing

10-23-2015, 09:45 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWHUjuJ8zxE

I'm not a comic nerd so I don't really know her tale (I'm sure DS can fill me in at some point). It amuses me that they poached the cross-legged hoodie (http://www.martialartsmart.com/martial-arts-hoodies.html) pose from The-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?56760-The-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo)

http://thescrambler.com/eng/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo_ver3.jpg

sanjuro_ronin

10-23-2015, 10:43 AM

Google is your friend Gene ;)

GeneChing

10-23-2015, 11:42 AM

So is DS. ;)

GeneChing

10-28-2015, 12:55 PM

See? See sanjuro_ronin? That's hecka better than the Goog could've provided me. Good ol' DS. He always gives me the straight **** when it comes to comics. ;)

That also explains the The-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?56760-The-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo) allusion. ;)

'Daredevil' season 2: Matt-Elektra's college romance; Punisher replaces Iron Fist? (http://www.ibtimes.co.in/daredevil-season-2-matt-elektras-college-romance-punisher-replaces-iron-fist-652241)
By Mangala Dilip
| Updated: October 28, 2015 23:00 IST

http://data1.ibtimes.co.in/cache-img-644-0/en/full/587233/imgmarvels-daredevil.jpg
Marvel's Daredevil Facebook/Daredevil

With solo TV shows for "Daredevil", "AKA Jessica Jones" and "Luke Cage", Netflix has become a haven for Marvel fans. We know that there will be four shows based on Marvel Universe characters on Netflix, but the presence of a sister show remains clouded with rumours.

It was earlier decided that "Iron Fist" series will debut on Netflix in 2016, but due to the rampant success of "Daredevil", the show's premiere has been pushed back. Now, with no news on the release date or cast, rumours are abuzz that the mystical martial artist may never make his debut, and he might be replaced by The Punisher.

Many theories suggest that the executive at Marvel are very pleased with Jon Bernthal's portrayal of Frank Castle in "Daredevil" season 2, which will premiere on 15 April, 2016. Although fans are yet to see him in action, Punisher is an anticipated character in the coming season, along with Elektra.

Meanwhile, time is running thin for "Iron Fist" and they are yet to lock down an actor for the lead role. It makes sense for Marvel to take a slight deviation from the originals plans settle on portraying the Punisher's story, seeing as he has already made an appearance in Hell's Kitchen.

In the season 2 trailer for "Daredevil" that was released at the New York Comic Con earlier this year, we saw glimpses of Elodie Yung's Elektra and Jon Bernthal's Punisher. They obviously have a huge role in the upcoming season, and their presence also means we might get flashbacks on Matty Murdock's (‎Charlie Cox) college life.

In the previous season, the show covered his childhood, and seeing as we are meeting Elektra for the first time, we might get to see their college romance. According to comic books she had left Matt and New York after her father got murdered, and joined The Hand as an assassin.

We will be regularly updating "Daredevil" archive as soon as new developments and updates hit, do not forget to check back here for the same.
Article Published: October 28, 2015 23:00 IST

@PLUGO

11-03-2015, 12:05 PM

Peel the Orange says the following: (http://peeltheorange.net/2015/10/31/marvel-to-make-iron-fist-into-a-feature-film-for-netflix/)

Well, as one of our sources pointed out last week, Marvel was considering replacing the Iron Fist series with a Punisher series. As it turns out, it could actually be a good thing for fans of Iron Fist, as we just received this email from a source who works within Marvel Creative but wanted to remain anonymous:

Marvel will be turning Iron Fist into a Netflix exclusive feature film. This will give Marvel extra time and a larger budget for this project. The Punisher will replace Iron Fist as one of the four Defenders.

Interesting. Take this with a grain of salt but that could be pretty cool. If you remember, this past summer the Netflix CEO said that they were open to making feature films for Marvel characters and this could be a way to start.

GeneChing

11-23-2015, 09:25 AM

Saw some good feedback on the social networks but didn't watch it myself. Let me know if y'all think it's martially-worthy to have its own thread here. Otherwise, we'll just leave it nested in Iron Fist.

Speaking of which:

JEPH LOEB SAYS THERE'S 'NEVER BEEN ANY CHANGE' ON "IRON FIST" (http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/jeph-loeb-says-theres-never-been-any-change-on-iron-fist)
Fri, November 20th, 2015 at 3:50pm PST | Updated: November 20th, 2015 at 3:55pm
Albert Ching, Managing Editor26

http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/imglib/250/0/1/ironfist-5c41e.jpg
"Iron Fist: The Living Weapon" #1 cover by Kaare Andrews.

Since Marvel Television announced its Netflix plan two years ago, it's been quiet, news-wise, for one of the four main series: "Iron Fist." In an interview with CBR, Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb made it clear: Don't mistake no news for bad news, as plans are continuing unabated.

"There was a lot of speculation about what was going on with 'Iron Fist,' because [fans] hadn't heard anything about it, but there's never been any change at all," Loeb told CBR. When asked if fans can expect news in the near future on a star or showrunner, Loeb responded, "The short answer is, 'Yes, there'll be news.'"

This past July, an unconfirmed report surfaced that Marvel was facing creative hurdles with "Iron Fist," with the difficulty stemming from how to balance the many mystical elements of the comic book character with the much more grounded world of Marvel's other Netflix shows. Earlier this month, a widely circulated rumor stated that "Iron Fist" may be reconceptualized as a made-for-Netflix film, with a "Punisher" series taking its place -- a claim Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada rejected this week at a "Jessica Jones" premiere event.

According to Loeb, Marvel has deliberately held off on "Iron Fist" because he wanted to give "Jessica Jones," which debuted on Netflix today, the spotlight; especially given that she's a character that was largely unknown to mass audiences.

"We knew exactly what we were doing at Marvel and at Netflix," Loeb said. "Let's get ['Jessica Jones'] out there, everybody knows that 'Luke Cage' is up and going. What I can say right now is we're very excited about 'Iron Fist.'"

Marvel's first Netflix show, "Marvel's Daredevil," launched earlier this year, and a second season is now in production. The 13-episode first season of "Marvel's Jessica Jones" is now on Netflix, which introduces Mike Colter as Luke Cage -- who will headline his own Netflix series, "Marvel's Luke Cage," currently filming and developed by Cheo Hodari Coker. No actors or creatives have yet been announced for "Marvel's Iron Fist."

Following the "Iron Fist" debut, all four of the Marvel/Netflix heroes are scheduled to star in a team-up miniseries, titled "The Defenders."

@PLUGO

12-07-2015, 03:55 PM

According to CBR (http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/netflixs-iron-fist-series-finds-its-showrunner), Heroic Hollywood (http://heroichollywood.com/home-1/2015/12/7/scott-buck-iron-fist-showrunner-marvel-netflix)and ComicBook.com (http://comicbook.com/2015/12/02/marvel-netflixs-iron-fist-lands-scott-buck-as-showrunner/) "Six Feet Under" and "Dexter" veteran Scott Buck will serve as showrunner on Netflix's "Iron Fist."

Marvel describes Iron Fist as follows: "Returning to New York City after being missing for years, Daniel Rand fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist."

Those two shows (Dexter, and Six Feet Under), both on premium cable, certainly carried the dark tone that’s been established by the first two series, Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but little is known about the plan for Iron Fist so far. The character is by far the most all-out “superhero” out of the four Defenders, with a background that includes a mystical city, a superpowered punch, and kicking a dragon in the face, all pretty far afield of the light use of superpowers and mysticism we’ve seen on the shows so far.

No new timeline has been given for Iron Fist’s debut. Daredevil season two is next, coming Spring 2016, with Luke Cage season one later that year. Jessica Jones launched a few weeks ago to critical acclaim, so it’s possible a second season could be on the way there, as well.

PS: Jeff Loeb is kind of a jerk!

GeneChing

12-14-2015, 10:54 AM

From THR no less.

DECEMBER 11, 2015 3:34pm PT by Rebecca Sun
Why Marvel and Netflix Should Cast an Asian-American Iron Fist (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/why-netflixs-iron-fist-should-847966)
The upcoming series has finally found its showrunner, ‘Dexter’ alum Scott Buck.

http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/nfe_square_383x383/2015/12/iron_fist.jpg
Courtesy of Marvel

The upcoming series has finally found its showrunner, ‘Dexter’ alum Scott Buck.
Iron Fist, the protagonist of Netflix’s fourth and final Marvel Comics series, is a martial arts warrior imbued with a mystical power known as the Iron First, which allows him to channel his chi to superhuman levels, giving him healing, telepathy and super-punching abilities. His alter ego is Daniel Rand, a native New Yorker raised in K’un-L’un, an alternate-dimension city where he attained those martial arts and supernatural skills.

In the comics, Daniel is portrayed as a blond Caucasian, but over the past year and a half, a grassroots movement has been growing online to urge Marvel and Netflix to cast an Asian-American actor as the titular superhero. (The idea first caught fire in March 2014 with a post by The Nerds of Color’s Keith Chow, who has continued to champion the cause on the genre blog and its Twitter feed.)

Sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that the clamor actually reached the ears of Marvel and Netflix, who met with Asian-American actors in consideration for the lead, but that the series, which finally revealed its showrunner on Monday (former Dexter executive producer Scott Buck), is now leaning toward keeping Iron Fist white. Marvel declined to comment on that detail.

Here are three reasons why an Asian-American Iron Fist would make more sense:

1) It would correct a legacy of cultural appropriation.

Iron Fist was created during the kung-fu craze of the 1970s, when Hong Kong film imports like Five Fingers of Death and, most notably, Bruce Lee’s canon — Fist of Fury, The Game of Death, Enter the Dragon, etc. — enraptured the American audience. (This trend is also responsible for turning the 1974 novelty single “Kung Fu Fighting” into a chart-topping hit and Hai Karate into a popular aftershave.)

So it was no surprise that the comic books would introduce new titles featuring chopsock-ing new characters of their own, such as Iron Fist and DC’s Richard Dragon. Both are white men trained by, and eventually surpassing, the Asian communities — or, in Iron Fist’s case, the heavily Orientalist fictional city — they found themselves in. It’s hard to know for sure whether the original writers ever considered creating lead characters native to the cultures whose traditions they were drawing from; perhaps they were concerned about “the problems [facing] a Chinese hero in an American series,” as television host Pierre Berton put it to Bruce Lee in 1971 (fast-forward to 17:00). “They think that business-wise it’s a risk,” Lee acknowledged.

“That is why The Warrior probably is not gonna be on,” he added, referring to a martial arts Western he was trying to develop with Warner Brothers Television. A year later, WBTV would premiere the ABC drama drama Kung Fu, starring David Carradine as a half-Chinese martial artist traveling through the Old West. Draw your own conclusions.

In the ensuing decades, white protagonists onscreen have continually been used to tell stories steeped in non-white culture, such as Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, The Last Samurai and even Avatar (the principal Na’vi characters were portrayed by minority actors). But ironically, the comics have gotten more diverse during that span. If Iron Fist was launched for the first time today, there’s a good chance that Daniel Rand would not necessarily be white. Marvel’s current print lineup includes a black/Latino Spider-Man, a black Captain America, a Korean-American Hulk, a female Thor and a Muslim Ms. Marvel. There’s no reason why an adaptation in 2015 needs to be restricted to the social norms of forty years ago.

2) It would provide a fresh story in a cluttered landscape.

By the time Iron Fist finally comes out more than a year from now (no release date has been announced), the combined Marvel Cinematic Universe on film and TV will contain more than 50 crime fighters in lead or major supporting roles. That’s an incredible amount of superhero saturation to cut through, and that’s before accounting for all of the X-Men, whose rights are owned by Fox, and rival DC Comics’ own rapidly expanding big- and small-screen empire.

Comic-book casting announcements are no longer as rare and unique as they used to be. With all due respect to Hemsworth, Evans and Pratt, a fourth Marvel superhero named Chris probably wouldn’t grab the same kind of attention that Marvel’s first Asian-American lead would. The MCU currently has four hero characters played by actors of Asian descent: Agents of SHIELD ensemble members Melinda May and Daisy Johnson, Daredevil’s upcoming love interest Elektra (played by Cambodian-French actress Elodie Yung) and Thor sidekick Hogun (Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano).

Assuming Iron Fist doesn’t premiere before 2016, Marvel will have released 14 movies and five television shows by then. Audiences will have seen incredible martial artists (Daredevil, Black Widow, Agent May) and fish-out-of-water heroes (Thor, Captain America, Star-Lord). They will even already have seen the story of a white man who gains mystical powers from an Oriental realm: Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange, co-starring Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, written as a Tibetan male in the comics. An Asian-American Iron Fist would be the refreshing, progressive and surprising pick. (And not even a crazy risky one, given a television landscape where ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat and Dr. Ken are network hits and Daniel Wu is starring as — guess what? a martial arts master — on AMC’s new action drama Into the Badlands.)

3) If done correctly, it may rake in even more from an Asian market.

Anyone involved in or following the entertainment industry knows that China is a booming market. Its box office hit $6.3 billion in 2015 to date and is on track to overtake North America as the No. 1 movie market in the world within three years (just in time for Iron Fist to premiere!). And China has a huge appetite for American TV as well, turning shows like The Walking Dead and Netflix’s own House of Cards into hits abroad.

For the past several years, Hollywood movie studios have partnered with local counterparts to turn big-budget blockbusters into co-productions, and the financial transactions have proven to be less clumsy than the attempts at cultural exchange: Chinese audiences rolled their eyes at Transformers 4’s nonsensical product placement and at the insertion of China-only scenes in Iron Man 3. Yes, they still bought a lot of tickets to those movies — $320 million and $121.2 million’s worth, respectively — but don’t think that Chinese audiences can’t tell when they’re being pandered to.

Chinese entertainment executives and creatives know it, too. During the annual round of U.S.-China summits and meetings at the American Film Market last month, panelist after panelist spoke of the desire to find a story with Asian cultural elements that could be embraced by a Western audience. Iron Fist could be that story — although it’s doubtful they’d be as enthusiastic if it was fronted by the second coming of Steven Seagal.

Netflix in particular would be leaving money on the table if it fails to capitalize on such a ripe opportunity to court Chinese civilians, executives and officials. The company has been looking to expand into China, where an estimated 20-plus million people users are already accessing the service via virtual private networks. China’s massive online video market is expected to reach $14.5 billion by 2018, but heavy state regulation has made it arguably the toughest market in the world to crack.

Iron Fist could be just the hero it needs.

mickey

12-14-2015, 11:13 AM

Greetings,

There is room for several prequels of Iron Fist characters. Wasn't there an arc where there were several others who preceded Daniel Rand. Wasn't he the first who was not Asian?

mickey

Jimbo

12-14-2015, 11:27 AM

IMO, Iron Fist should be changed to an Asian-American character. It would make him much more interesting, IMO.

There have always been white characters appropriating East Asian cultures in movies, TV, comics, etc. Look at 'Kwai Chang Caine'. Even the character of Shang Chi had to be half-white.

DC comics once had the character Richard Dragon: Kung Fu Fighter, who was white.

Marvel's Sons of the Tiger were a mixed-race trio; one white, one black, and one Asian. But the white character seemed to predominate.

DC had The Karate Kid (which is no relation to, and preceded the movie Karate Kid, by a decade), and he was or looked Asian, but beyond that I don't remember much about him.

Remember Shogun? The Octagon? The Challenge? The Kill Bill movies? The Last Samurai? Or the Scott Adkins ninja films? And countless others...the list is actually mind-boggling.

The practice of white domination in American-made, Asian-themed stories continues to this day, though things seem to be changing slowly. Very slowly. Strides made by Asian-Americans (except for Asian Indians) in Hollywood are still decades behind African-Americans and Latino-Americans.

mickey

12-14-2015, 01:59 PM

Greetings,

I do see what you are talking about Jimbo. The origins of Daniel Rand was so well written that it really did not appear to be an appropriation thing. Interestingly, I was totally against Bruce Lee for the same reasons you mentioned. Never having seen him before and going by just the spelling of his name, I thought he was some white guy trying to cash in on the kung fu movies. I was blistering hot about that. So, I really do understand your viewpoints. I do think change is a necessary one.

EDIT: I do think THE CHANGE is a necessary one.

mickey

GeneChing

02-25-2016, 12:43 PM

Does this guy know any Kung Fu?

Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones to play Iron Fist (http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/25/finn-jones-iron-fist?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter)
BY JAMES HIBBERD • @JAMESHIBBERD

http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2016/02/25/finn-jones_0.jpg?itok=iZ_33J3J
(Steve Jennings/WireImage)

Posted February 25 2016 — 2:23 PM EST

Marvel has found its newest superhero: Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones has landed the coveted series lead of Iron Fist.

Jones, who plays Ser Loras Tyrell on the HBO hit, will take on the role of the martial arts master, EW has learned.

Iron Fist is set to be the fourth Marvel and Netflix collaboration, following Daredevil, Jessica Jones and the forthcoming Luke Cage. Scott Buck (Dexter) has been tapped as showrunner.

Netflix and Marvel had no comment.

Much more to come…

Vash

02-25-2016, 07:09 PM

Has he ever heard of martial arts?

sanjuro_ronin

02-26-2016, 06:36 AM

Has he ever heard of martial arts?

I don't think it matters anymore.
It seems that the way to go, at least in regards to caucasians playing a MA type role, is to get a good actor and then train him and let the camera work and choreography handle the rest.
This has worked very well with the jason Bourne series and well with movies like John Wick.
The issue is that Iron Fist is a fully MA character and not just a person that know MA in a military type way.
Of course we don't know if Jones has MA background or if he is naturally athletic.
Not sure if the actor that plays daredevil had a MA background either..
Look at Jason Statham as an example.
Point being that it may be better to get a good actor and train them ( especially if they catch on quickly) and get a great choreographer then getting a good MA that has the acting skills and charisma of a potato.

sanjuro_ronin

02-26-2016, 06:39 AM

Chris Brewster does the fighting in Daredevil:

http://variety.com/2015/tv/awards/daredevil-stunt-double-chris-brewster-charlie-cox-1201522194/

Jimbo

02-26-2016, 08:20 AM

I don't think it matters anymore.
It seems that the way to go, at least in regards to caucasians playing a MA type role, is to get a good actor and then train him and let the camera work and choreography handle the rest.
This has worked very well with the jason Bourne series and well with movies like John Wick.
The issue is that Iron Fist is a fully MA character and not just a person that know MA in a military type way.
Of course we don't know if Jones has MA background or if he is naturally athletic.
Not sure if the actor that plays daredevil had a MA background either..
Look at Jason Statham as an example.
Point being that it may be better to get a good actor and train them ( especially if they catch on quickly) and get a great choreographer then getting a good MA that has the acting skills and charisma of a potato.

This is true. The idea that Hollywood studios, directors and casting agents go out looking specifically for MAists to cast as leads is a thing of the distant past, at least since The Matrix. You can even count the original Kung Fu series. They want box-office or ratings bucks; they won't gamble on casting an even brilliant MAist with mediocre to crappy acting skills, and with no charisma when he isn't fighting, to lead a big-budget film or TV series. Choreographers like Corey Yuen, Yuen Woo-Ping, and others have become experts in taking non-MA actors/actresses and making them look passable, and sometimes even convincing, in MA fight scenes. Simply put, the general American (and international) public doesn't really care about MAists or MA ability; they want a name star they can recognize or identify with. Even if Bruce Lee were trying to make it in the industry nowadays, he likely wouldn't get too far, or would have gotten only limited success, and BL had acting chops and loads of charisma.

There are still plenty of low-budget (straight-to-DVD) American MA films being made featuring exceptional MAists and fight choreography, but with leading actors whose onscreen personas are as charismatic as drying paint when they're not fighting.

That said, I think I'll give this Iron Fist a miss.

GeneChing

02-26-2016, 09:13 AM

Chris Brewster does the fighting in Daredevil:

We know, we know...CHRIS BREWSTER: Super Stunts, Marvelous Martial Mayhem and NETFLIX’S DAREDEVIL (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1215) by Lori Ann White

;)

Vash

02-26-2016, 09:36 AM

I was hoping for Scott Adkins, but his acting is . . . Potato adjacent. But Daniel Rand is about the 2nd or 3rd best MA guy in Marvel, I think behind the Prince of Orphans, Shang Chi, and Karnak or whoever. His 'I'm so good at kung fu I don't need an iron suit to make Wing Chun work' ability is his thing. Having a good actor who can fight shouldn't be too hard an order.

But his mask and disco collar should hopefully make the substituting of a stunt man more viable, a la Daredevil.

I don't think it matters anymore.
It seems that the way to go, at least in regards to caucasians playing a MA type role, is to get a good actor and then train him and let the camera work and choreography handle the rest.
This has worked very well with the jason Bourne series and well with movies like John Wick.
The issue is that Iron Fist is a fully MA character and not just a person that know MA in a military type way.
Of course we don't know if Jones has MA background or if he is naturally athletic.
Not sure if the actor that plays daredevil had a MA background either..
Look at Jason Statham as an example.
Point being that it may be better to get a good actor and train them ( especially if they catch on quickly) and get a great choreographer then getting a good MA that has the acting skills and charisma of a potato.

GeneChing

02-29-2016, 02:53 PM

There's been plenty of backlash for sure. Here's just a taste for posterity's sake.

I don't really know the character very well so the white vs. Asian doesn't bum me out as much as the lack of martial arts background.

Marvel Commits To White Iron Fist Despite Racist Roots (http://www.hitfix.com/harpy/marvel-commits-to-white-iron-fist-despite-racist-roots)
We could've had it all, Marvel.
BY DONNA ****ENS @MILDLYAMUSED | THURSDAY, FEB 25, 2016 5:09 PM

Here we go again. Entertainment Weekly just announced that Marvel and Netflix have found their Iron Fist. Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) has been tapped to play Danny Rand in the upcoming series Iron Fist. I enjoy Jones’ take on Loras Tyrell but I’d be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by this choice.
Disappointed, but not surprised.
Marvel has made a stab at diversified casting when it comes to black characters — including changing Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Heimdall (Idris Elba), and Baron Mordo’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) race, adding Falcon to the line-up and the introduction of Luke Cage. They’ve even made attempts to include Latino culture with Luis (Michael Peña) and Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). But for some reason, they keep fumbling at the one-yard line when it comes to representation of Asian cultures. We have Skye (Chloe Bennet), Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) and Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho). But there have been several opportunities for Marvel to not only cast an Asian actor in a major role but to do so in a way that begins to repair some of the racist damage caused by the source materials 1960s and 1970s Yellow Peril.
I’ve talked at length before about how casting Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange was the easy way out for Marvel. Casting an Asian actor in that role would mean having to find a way write the character without crossing over into a racist stereotype. Now the same thing has been done again by casting a white actor as Iron Fist. Yes, Iron Fist has always been a white character. But looking back at both his origin and history through a modern lens, Danny Rand becomes a poster child for appropriation.
Created in 1974, Iron Fist first appeared in MARVEL PREMIERE #15. Co-creator Roy Thomas even attributed watching Bruce Lee movies as inspiration for Iron Fist’s inception. So straight out of the gate, you have a white character standing on the shoulders of a person of color. Then in his origin story, Danny Rand is the son of a wealthy American named Wendell Rand and Rand’s socialite wife, Heather Duncan. During a vacation when Danny is a child, shenanigans happened, and Danny was left orphaned in the Himalayas. The mystical K’un-Lun found and trained Danny, eventually bestowing upon him the title of the Iron Fist. Danny was 66th Iron Fist…and the first white person to claim the title. To recap: an ostensibly Asian — and alien — culture gifts a white boy with power. That’s the Mighty Whitey trope all over. Other than the standard operating procedure of defaulting stories to being about straight white men, there is no reason for Danny Rand to be white. But lots of reasons for him NOT to be.
You could dedicate whole articles to dissecting Marvel’s Asian-Land amalgamation from the mid-20th century, and the racism underlying many Asian comic book characters and settings. The source material definitely puts Marvel in a tough spot. Cast an Asian actor and risk being seen as racist…or cast a white actor and risk being seen as racist.
One would hope Marvel would err on the side of progress and find a way to simply write Asian characters that aren’t inherently racist. This was the idea behind #AsianAmericanIronFist movement on social media. Yes, Danny Rand has always been a white character, so casting Finn Jones’ isn’t whitewashing. But it IS a missed opportunity. I’ve been helping beat the drum to cast an Asian character as Iron Fist, not because the character is a martial artist, but because the character is steeped in Asian culture.
From Daredevil to Shatterstar, Marvel has a history of white martial artists. Which is fine. But imagine how much more layered Iron Fist would be had, say, Alex Wong, had been cast. He could still be the son of a wealthy American. Exploring the dissonance between a 2nd or 3rd generation Asian-American and their cultural ancestry would’ve added both a narrative angle and finally given Marvel an Asian superhero. And it’s not like Disney hasn’t dabbled in this plot structure before. Just take American Dragon: Jake Long and turn it into an adult show. Boom! Iron Fist. But no. Instead, we get another white guy.
Boring.

DONNA ****ENS
Mom. Wife. Geek. Gamer. Feminist. Writer. Sarcastic. Succinct. Donna has been writing snark for the Internet in one form or another for almost a decade. She has a lot of opinions, mostly on science-fiction, fantasy, feminism, and Sailor Moon. Follow her on Twitter (@MildlyAmused) for more of all these things.

Jimbo

02-29-2016, 03:11 PM

There's been plenty of backlash for sure. Here's just a taste for posterity's sake.

I don't really know the character very well so the white vs. Asian doesn't bum me out as much as the lack of martial arts background.

The #oscarssowhite thing was only about the lack of blacks' opportunities in Hollywood, and was not extended to include other nonwhite groups like Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, or anyone else. In Chris Rock's mind, and many others', there is only black and white, and only blacks are 'persons of color'. To those who boycotted the oscars, 'diversity' in Hollywood pretty much means black and white. The only person on the oscars show who included other groups in the need to diversify was one of the people Chris Rock was interviewing in Compton.

Now that I'm getting off of my soapbox, I don't see an Iron Fist movie or series as being anything special or worth looking forward to. It's just same old/same old. Plus, IMO there is a glut of superhero movies and the genre has been getting old for awhile now..

Vash

02-29-2016, 06:25 PM

1. Daniel Rand is the SECOND white Iron First. He's the first to not see his death coming and be so bummed out he goes on a decades long heroin binge to dull his chi.

2. They weren't on vacation, the elder Rand had his cheese slide off the cracker in a hunt for the City of Heaven. He and the mom died on the mountain before reaching the city.

3. Daniel was trained, but not expected to become the Immortal Weapon. The trainer's son was the presumed heir.

4. Why didn't the author get mad that only one woman was ever Iron Fist?

-----

From the tone of the article, the author had a mission to be offended. If, as they said, the Ancient One was asian or black, there would have been 'Song of the South' parallels drawn.

I'm not super happy, because there are other actors with MA background, who could do a passable acting job. But I'm not the author of the whinepiece, so I'm not going to say 'It Stinks' til I've smelled it.

Jimbo

02-29-2016, 06:53 PM

MA-wise, as long as an actor can be made to appear passable or convincing enough onscreen, that's considered good enough. His real-life expertise, or lack of it, matters little if he can meet those criteria. He'll likely be doubled for the more difficult scenes.

Oddly enough, there are times when a non-MAist actor can look better in onscreen fight scenes than some highly-trained MAists. Sometimes even great REAL MAists or fighters can look so-so screen fighting. Examples include Joe Lewis, Don Wilson, Bill Wallace, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, etc.

sanjuro_ronin

03-01-2016, 09:24 AM

The #oscarssowhite thing was only about the lack of blacks' opportunities in Hollywood, and was not extended to include other nonwhite groups like Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, or anyone else. In Chris Rock's mind, and many others', there is only black and white, and only blacks are 'persons of color'. To those who boycotted the oscars, 'diversity' in Hollywood pretty much means black and white. The only person on the oscars show who included other groups in the need to diversify was one of the people Chris Rock was interviewing in Compton.

Now that I'm getting off of my soapbox, I don't see an Iron Fist movie or series as being anything special or worth looking forward to. It's just same old/same old. Plus, IMO there is a glut of superhero movies and the genre has been getting old for awhile now..

Jimbo has ironfisted the correct.
There IS diversity in Hollywood and hollywood is not racist, It is ELITIST.
You have to belong to the niche group, if not you are simply not "in".
And no one likes or gives a rat's ass about the Smith's, they are tools.

sanjuro_ronin

03-01-2016, 09:29 AM

Vash

03-01-2016, 10:09 AM

I think you may a bit all over the place there...
According to the Immortal Iron Fist timeline/mythos, It was not daniel that went on a decades long heroin binge to mask his chi from the demon that kills Ironfists, it was Orson Randall.

Truthiness. I may have been spaced out when I typed that.

mickey

03-01-2016, 11:12 AM

Greetings

What many of you have been viewing could have been an event that was carefully controlled from both sides. Since when is Chris Rock any more than the tool that he has always been?

The problem arose a few years ago when the the criteria to award oscars included consideration of the nominees body of work. Motivating factors were Jennifer Hudson's oscar win for Dreamgirls and Gabourey Sidibe's Best actress nomination for Precious: both had a paucity of acting experience. So, the body of work criteria was economical, political, and racist. No one said anything against it, back then. Now, it seems the criteria has again been expanded to look at a person's body of work just to be considered for a NOMINATION. That affects everyone. And EVERYONE should have stepped forward about this matter from its beginning a few years ago.

mickey

boxerbilly

03-01-2016, 11:39 AM

Sucks and what do you do?

Always going to be someone that think I or he or she did a better job.

So this is becomes a nightmare. Everybody starts to stick up for their race. That's unfair. Next color yells back. This is unfair.

So we give out more Oscars. One for white? One for Black ? One for Asian ? Then the Asians my go ell he is freaking Japanese. Im not ! How come Cambodians don't have a freaking Cambodian on the panel ? So now we expand it further. Add some Cambodian Oscars for Christ sakes. You want a riot ? Then, The white or black or anyone else can use the same card. Well holycrap dude. Im Scottish. Where is my freaking award ? It is no longer about who is the best.

So now we should have Whites only Oscars. No Blacks allowed. And Blacks only Oscars and No Whites allowed. That's the only solution that will work. I don't see any possible problems with that situation. Well I do actually.

So hopefully they work on doing better but in the end, someone is always going to get f---ked.

I got a great idea. Don't allow anyone your color to decide on your color for best actor. No white judges for whites and same for everyone else. But someone will always say, that's not fair. What do they know about white people ? Maybe nothing but this is about best actor not color.

No matter what you do someone will always call foul.

boxerbilly

03-01-2016, 11:56 AM

Everything is stacked. We don't stand a chance !

mickey

03-01-2016, 11:56 AM

Greetings,

Much, much, laughter, Billy. :D:D:D

The Oscars recognized ability and talent in front of the camera and behind it. It should simply go back to that. The "body of work" stuff should be discarded. And if your best ability is outshone by someone in their first movie role, that is how things happen at times. Try harder next year. Grow and develop in your craft

mickey

boxerbilly

03-01-2016, 12:00 PM

mickey

03-01-2016, 12:46 PM

Yes, if only.

mickey

Jimbo

03-01-2016, 01:14 PM

TBH, no awards should be awarded just to ensure equality of representation due to skin color. And if you're not nominated, don't cry racism and take your ball and go home to your multi-million-dollar mansion. Be thankful you can make a living doing what you (supposedly) love doing; making more on one movie (even if it's a piece of crap) than most people who bust their butts every day make in a lifetime. The Smiths have nothing to ***** about. I'm betting their son has NEVER had to audition for anything IN HIS LIFE like every other aspiring actor is required to.

But to keep this thread from drifting completely OT: IRON FIST IRON FIST IRON FIST....

mickey

03-01-2016, 01:29 PM

TBH, no awards should be awarded just to ensure equality of representation due to skin color. .

Greetings Jimbo,

I agree with you on this.

Again, those pitchin' a beyotch now should have been doing so back in 2010 when Gabourey Sidibe got screwed. The Smiths nor anyone else was speaking up about it. Even though I do not watch TV, I usually see the oscars at my sisters house. I watch the dance and music performances. I have not watched the oscars since then. I saw what the ramifications of including the person's body of work in the mix achieved in 2010 and how it would affect nominations it the future; basically, the fix was in. Black, Asian and Latino hollywood were unconscious to the ramifications of the new selection criteria and so was everyone else.

There are quite a few who can see beyond the childish rants of hollywood players.

And YES: IRONFIST IRONFIST IRONFIST!!! :D

mickey

GeneChing

03-18-2016, 08:57 AM

Marvel confirms Finn Jones as Iron Fist: 'The perfect choice' (http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/14/marvel-finn-jones-iron-fist)
Marvel TV chief: 'Finn wonderfully blends confidence with vulnerability...'
BY JAMES HIBBERD • @JAMESHIBBERD

http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2016/03/17/finn-jones.jpg?itok=3kVyQEZO
(Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Posted March 17 2016 — 10:30 AM EDT

It’s finally official: Marvel is publicly confirming for the first time that Finn Jones will star in Iron Fist.

The Game of Thrones actor will take on the role of Daniel Rand, a New Yorker who learns an ancient form of mystical martial arts. EW first revealed the casting earlier this month.

“Danny Rand is a very complicated character,” said executive producer and showrunner Scott Buck. “He’s a billionaire New York Buddhist monk martial arts superhero who’s still trying to figure out what exactly that all means. Finn is able to play all these levels in such an honest, revelatory way that as soon as I saw him I knew he was our Danny.”

Added Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb: “Finn wonderfully blends confidence with vulnerability, making him the perfect choice as he struggles to find his place in the world. Now that we’ve found our Danny Rand, we’ve completed our principal cast for the upcoming Defenders on Netflix and we are thrilled to continue to show audiences unexplored corners of the Marvel Universe.”

In addition, Marvel said the series will open with Rand returning to New York City after being missing for years: “He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.”

Last weekend, Marvel TV head Joe Quesada teased that the magical devices in Iron Fist will allow for a different take on Hell’s Kitchen than the company’s other Netflix titles – like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. “The Danny Rand character himself will have a different perspective on the world than some of the characters that you’re seeing now – as will Luke Cage. I mean you guys haven’t seen that show yet, either,” he said. “Our goal is to provide four different shows that each have their own feel while, again, feeling like they are a part of a whole. It’s still the early stages of Iron Fist, so I’m a little hesitant to say too much more than that. But Danny Rand is a completely different character, and the world that he comes from, how he obtained his powers and his skills — all completely different. I think fans will be pleased.”

Jones will next be seen on season 6 of Game of Thrones, which debuts April 24.

Marvel also released this teaser image:
http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/1458224445/rand.jpg

...billionaire Buddhist monk...:rolleyes:

sanjuro_ronin

03-21-2016, 05:18 AM

I didn't think Rand was a buddhist...

Vash

03-21-2016, 05:19 AM

As I recall, Rand was so good at kung fu he beat a dragon to death, and in turn stole it's power. He's also, like, so rich.

I'm hoping he's a little bit happier than prison-experiment Power Man or Jessica Jones or Daredevil.

sanjuro_ronin

03-21-2016, 05:46 AM

mickey

03-21-2016, 07:07 AM

Greetings,

That teaser image is fantastic! I felt the jolt and gasp of Meachum (I thought his name was Harold) upon reading the note.It instantly triggered memories of reading that series.

The way the image was taken gives me the idea that Iron Fist may have been much better as a 2 hour cartoon.

mickey

Jimbo

03-21-2016, 07:55 AM

Not to go too far off of Iron Fist, but I have all the old Luke Cage, Hero For Hire/Power Man comics. Back in the day (early to mid-'70s), it was one of my favorite series, especially the really early ones. IMO, Luke Cage later went downhill when he was teamed with Iron Fist (after their initial fight, which Cage won, BTW).

mickey

03-21-2016, 09:07 AM

sanjuro_ronin

03-21-2016, 09:41 AM

Personally I always thought that Iron Fist was "wimpified" in the Hero's for Hire storylines.
I think that the Immortal Iron Fist storyline touched upon the true capacity of the Iron Fist BUT even in that, Daniel never really grasped the sheer power of that he had.
The power of the Undying Shou Lao is so immense that it can wipe out a city.
A master of that power can knock down a building, make themselves impenetrable, launch their chi like a projectile weapon even.

mickey

03-21-2016, 09:48 AM

Greetings sanjuro ronin,

When Iron Fist finished off the ninja and removed his mask, it was the end of the arc for me. There was absolutely no need to evolve story lines for him.

mickey

Jimbo

03-21-2016, 02:04 PM

Greetings Jimbo,

Luke Cage Hero for Hire #13, in my opinion, should have been worth some serious dollars: at least six figures. It may have been the first, is if not one of the first times profanity was used. I checked an online pdf of that issue a few moments ago. There was an edit. In the pdf, Lion Fang dies after saying. "son of a....). In the comic, the full B word was used. If there was a quick edit made when it was issued, the issues that have the word should have more value. Even though SOB is a soft now days. Back then; it packed a punch.

mickey

Interesting, mickey. I don't remember if my copy had that or not, and all my comics are in storage, so it's not available at hand to check.

I do remember once buying a Captain America and it had 2 covers on it. Guess what I did? I cut off the extra, outer cover, cut the back off and used it as a poster! Only much later did I find out that double covers add worth. D'oh!

GeneChing

04-04-2016, 09:03 AM

Check Out The Game Of Thrones Actress That Will Lead Marvel's Iron Fist (http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Check-Out-Game-Thrones-Actress-Lead-Marvel-Iron-Fist-128527.html)
BY NICK VENABLE 3 DAYS AGO discussion

While the feature side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still lacking when it comes to female characters, the company’s efforts on the small screen are far more applause-worthy. The upcoming Netflix action-drama Iron Fist just cast its first female lead, as Game of Thrones actress Jessica Henwick has been added as the titular hero’s ally Colleen Wing.

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/sections/128527/_1459554318.jpg

Jessica Henwick is currently best known for playing Nymeria Sand on Game of Thrones, which already gives her a step up on roles where badassery is a prerequisite. As the comic character Colleen, Henwick will be an important and invaluable asset to Danny Rand has he returns to New York City on a mission to take down all things corrupt and evil. We can probably look forward to seeing some heavy duty fight sequences involving these characters, as Colleen is also a martial arts expert. Marvel reports she runs her own dojo, too, so she probably knows quite a few people who wouldn’t mind throwing down in a kung fu brawl.

Interestingly, Henwick isn’t the first Game of Thrones cast member to get added here, as Iron Fist himself, Finn Jones, is well-known for playing the Knight of Flowers Ser Loras Tyrell on the HBO epic. Does that mean we’ll soon see actor Peter Dinklage cast as the villainous Steel Serpent or Lena Headey as a gender-swapped Lei Kung? Probably not, but that would make for some fun conversations.

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/sections/128527/_1459554327.jpg

Colleen Wing, who first appeared in the comics in 1974, grew up in Japan and learned the skills of the samurai from her grandfather. She connected with Iron Fist after her father discovered that the hero would be coming to New York to get revenge for his father’s murder, and the two characters worked together in kicking criminals’ asses ever since. Colleen doesn’t have any superpowers, but her fighting talents are numerous, and she knows exactly what to do with her centuries-old katana.

Born in England, Jessica Henwick is possibly familiar to British audiences for her work on the fantasy series Spirit Warriors and the legal drama Silk. Joining Game of Thrones as one of the Sand Snakes was her first big break here in the States, although she was also a small part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens as an X-Wing pilot. She’ll be seen in Season 2 of Fortitude later this year.

Iron Fist still doesn’t have a release date, or even a release window yet. After all, we just got Daredevil Season 2 and the wait is currently on for the freshman season from Luke Cage. But expect more casting news to surface in the coming weeks.
Wait...another Game of Throneser?

sanjuro_ronin

04-04-2016, 09:50 AM

Maybe IronFist is going to be more ironFISTTING than we think !
:eek:

GeneChing

04-08-2016, 08:15 AM

Of course, Chi is more of a Taoist thing than a Buddhist thing, but we won't quibble here. We'll leave that to the whiners that are bummed Finn isn't Asian. :rolleyes:

Finn Jones Studying Martial Arts and Buddhism for Iron Fist Training (http://comicbook.com/marvel/2016/04/08/finn-jones-studying-martial-arts-and-buddhism-for-iron-fist-trai/)
Lucas Siegel- 04/08/2016

http://media.comicbook.com/2016/04/finn-jones-iron-fist-178090.jpg

On Game of Thrones, Finn Jones had some fighting skills, but nothing quite like what he'll need to play mystical martial arts master Danny Rand in Marvel and Netflix's Iron Fist. The actor is naturally training for hours each day, then, in "kung fu and wushu mixed with a bit of tai chi," he told EW in this week's print issue. He's also doing extensive weight training "to bulk [him] up."

But there's another side to Iron Fist, as he channels his Chi for the source of his power. That means that alongside the physical training, he's undergoing mental, as well, studying Buddhist philosophy and meditation.

"I've always dreamed of a role that bridged spiritual discipline and badass superhero," he told the magazine. "There's a contradiction in those elements that's going to be very fun to play."

Iron Fist is in pre-production now for an expected (though not yet scheduled) 2017 release. It follows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage as the fourth out of four planned series collaborations between Marvel TV and Netflix, leading to a mini-series bringing the heroes together as The Defenders.

And Bollywood's Vidyut Jamwal has a comment on this trend that Finn should heed (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65816-Commando-2-starring-Vidyut-Jamwal&p=1292616#post1292616). :cool:

GeneChing

04-12-2016, 04:11 PM

"kung fu and wushu mixed with a bit of tai chi, and other stuff as well" Oooooh. insane. :rolleyes:

Finn Jones talks playing Marvel's Iron Fist (his training is insane) (http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/12/finn-jones-iron-training)
BY JAMES HIBBERD • @JAMESHIBBERD

http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2016/04/12/finn_612x380.jpg?itok=qiTmnyEv
(Todd Williamson/Getty Images)
Marvel's Iron Fist
Posted April 12 2016 — 11:40 AM EDT

Marvel’s newest superhero is undergoing round-the-clock training for the role of billionaire warrior-monk Iron Fist, aka Daniel Rand. Exceptional instruction is arguably needed to portray Rand, whose origin story is all intense training rather than supersuits or scientific breakthroughs. As fans of the comic know, after his family meets a tragic fate while on expedition in China, a young Rand is adopted by the people of the mystical lost city of K’un-Lun, where he’s taught a magical fighting style. Years later, he returns to New York to fight crime. Below the Game of Thrones actor talks for the first time about starring in the upcoming Netflix series…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your reaction to getting this part?

FINN JONES: I love the character. What really drew me was the character and the story. I really enjoy how he’s a superhero with a real heart but has spiritual elements as well. I think it’s going to be an exciting character to play because there’s this contraction of on one hand he’s from a very wealthy family, he’s a billionaire, on the other hand he’s been in this world of K’un-Lun for a long time where he’s learned kung fu and buddhist philosophy. There’s a contradiction in those elements that’s going to be really fun to play.

You’re in preproduction in New York. Have they let you try on a costume yet?

No. At the moment I’m in the physical preparation for the role. Every day for the last month, I start my day with about two and a half hours of martial arts – which is kung fu and wushu mixed with a bit of tai chi, and other stuff as well. In the afternoon I’ll do weight training with a trainer to bulk me up and get my physically right for the part. And in evenings I’ve been doing meditation classes and learning buddhist philosophies.

That sounds like so much fun.

It is! I’ve always dreamed of a role that bridged spiritual discipline and badass superhero. This is the kind of role I’ve been waiting for for a long time. Now that it’s happened, it’s like a dream come true. I’m super excited.

I remember when it was announced that Gwendoline Christie was cast in The Force Awakens. She said the first call she got was from you and you were just screaming and happy for her. So it’s great to see somebody who’s been so supportive of others get such a cool role.

Actually, Gwen reacted exactly the same when I got this. She called and was like, “Lots of emojis! Lots of really positive vibe emojis!”

Vash

04-12-2016, 05:49 PM

How will our minds cope with the deluge of martial mania?

@PLUGO

08-03-2016, 12:46 PM

Could be fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCSPda7xQ3s

sanjuro_ronin

08-04-2016, 09:35 AM

I have my serious doubts about this.

GeneChing

10-04-2016, 08:19 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYcmsfrI-U

Published on Oct 4, 2016
Fifteen years after being presumed dead in a plane crash, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) mysteriously returns to New York City determined to reclaim his birthright and family company. However, when a long-destined enemy rises in New York, this living weapon is forced to choose between his family’s legacy and his duties as the Iron Fist.

sanjuro_ronin

10-04-2016, 09:43 AM

I really hope the fighting is good and that they make him as powerful as they should make him.

GeneChing

10-10-2016, 08:04 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sEJeWB3RA8

GeneChing

10-10-2016, 09:32 AM

Lewis Tan Fought to Play Iron Fist Hero Instead of Villain (http://io9.gizmodo.com/lewis-tan-fought-to-play-iron-fist-hero-instead-of-vill-1787567445)
Beth Elderkin
Saturday 10:20am Filed to: IRON FIST

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--TNJ57ZM6--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/hkxmdqcvwuqnqb4xnbup.jpg
Credit: Lewis Tan / Instagram

Actor Lewis Tan will soon be hitting TV screens as one of the main villains in Iron Fist, but he actually fought to make the hero of the story Asian, instead of yet another bad guy.

Tan shared on Twitter that he “almost” played Danny Rand, but the role ultimately went to Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones. Instead, Tan was cast as Zhou Cheng, a servant of Ch’i-Lin who’s tasked with killing every iteration of the Iron Fist. Tan said he’s happy playing Zhou, even showing off some of his stunt choreography in an online video, but added that we need more Asian heroes in our media.

Lewis Tan (https://twitter.com/TheLewisTan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔ @TheLewisTan
I would have loved to of played Danny but I gave #Marvel everything I have for Zhou. I can't wait for you guys to see the show. #IronFist
10:41 PM - 7 Oct 2016 · West Hollywood, CA, United States
155 155 Retweets 279 279 likes

Tan has long been advocating for better roles for Asian actors. In an interview with His Style Diary, he talked about how Asian actors (especially Asian men) are rarely cast as lead characters—instead, getting stuck playing the computer geek or faceless ninja. He added Asian actors are pretty much required to know martial arts, because, otherwise they won’t get parts.

“The thing is, I want to be the lead, the hero, the love interest character,” Tan said. “I know kung fu, I’ve been doing martial arts for 15 years, and I love it. But I think there are these expectations. These are the roles they are comfortable with Asians doing. They aren’t comfortable in seeing you in lead roles– the ones I want.”

Lewis Tan (https://twitter.com/TheLewisTan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ✔ @TheLewisTan
There's a lot of work to be done to see more ethnic actors as the heroes in major Films/TV but the wall is coming down. We all have a voice
10:51 PM - 7 Oct 2016 · West Hollywood, CA, United States
99 99 Retweets 187 187 likes

Tan is not alone. Asian-American actors have been fighting for visibility for years, culminating in several hashtag campaigns over the past several months. In the case of Iron Fist, several people were upset when the role of the latest Marvel hero went to a white actor instead of someone of Asian descent.

They argued that, while Danny Rand is white in the comics, the character isn’t famous enough where a change in ethnicity would’ve been widely noticed. After all, we’ve already seen Marvel change the ethnicities of different characters in its movie and TV properties, for better and worse. They cast Idris Elba as Heimdall, a Norse god, in the Thor series, but they also turned Doctor Strange’s The Ancient One into a Celtic character so they could justify hiring Tilda Swinton.

Plus, casting Tan (or another Asian actor) would’ve further demonstrated Marvel’s push for diversity, as showcased in the Marvel NOW! initiative and the Luke Cage Netflix series. The way it stands now, Danny Rand is basically Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai or Matt Damon in The Great Wall. The role may be written that way on paper, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best portrayal for 2016.

"I know kung fu, I’ve been doing martial arts for 15 years, and I love it." Good on Lewis. :)

sanjuro_ronin

10-11-2016, 04:49 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sEJeWB3RA8

Interesting...

sanjuro_ronin

10-11-2016, 04:51 AM

"I know kung fu, I’ve been doing martial arts for 15 years, and I love it." Good on Lewis. :)

The only problem with this is that Daniel Rand IS white and is SUPPOSED to be white.
That is part of the story.
People should have issues when an Asian character is made white, NOT when a character is written white and played white.

GeneChing

11-02-2016, 11:02 AM

How Netflix/Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist’ will deliver another hit… (http://www.impactonline.co/television/12571-iron-fist/)
31 Oct 2016/Mike Leeder
News, Television

http://www.impactonline.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NEWIMPACT2-IRONFIST-750x330.jpg

The debut of ‘Luke Cage‘ was another big hit for the Netflix / Marvel partnership. So what can we actually expect from the next show ‘Iron Fist‘, due in 2017..?

If things had originally gone to plan, we’d have seen The Phantom Menace‘s Ray Park hitting the screen as Danny Rand, in an Iron Fist movie directed by Kirk Wong (The Big Hit, Rock N’Roll Cop) as part of the first wave of Marvel adaptations following the success of Bryan Singer’s X-Men. But that wasn’t to be and after languishing for several years in development hell it looked as if the adventures of Danny Rand aka Iron Fist were never going to make the move.

But 2017 will see the character finally hitting the screen as part of the ongoing Netflix / Marvel collaboration, the fourth in the series of shows that will lead to the formation of the superhero team The Defenders as a mini-series featuring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist working together.

Iron Fist, as fan know, focuses on Danny Rand (Finn Jones), a young man who returns to New York after being missing for 15 years, there to reclaim his family company. But when a threat emerges and starts tearing the city apart, Rand must choose between his family legacy and his duty as the holder of the ‘Iron Fist’. Finn Jones (from Game of Thrones) is not the only ‘Thrones‘ alumni- Jessica Henwick (who was given an earlier introduction to martial arts and choreography courtesy of Jude Poyer when she starred in the BBC’s Spirit Warriors) stars as Colleen Wing alongside David Wenham (from Van Helsing). Rosario Dawson and Carrie Ann Moss who reprise their roles from the earlier Netflix series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7y6_r4wxkw
continued next post

GeneChing

11-02-2016, 11:03 AM

I wanted to include the second video. :cool:

The first teasers for the show promise plenty of action and adventure that stays true to the spirit of the original comic, whose character was very inspired by the martial arts movie boom of the early 1970s. With action director Brett Chan and his Hitz International team working on the show’s fight and stunt action we can expect some very impressive action. Brett and his team have been responsible for the fights on both seasons of Marco Polo,and Outcast with Nicholas Cage, and know how to deliver a very cool mix of Eastern and Western flavoured action. Brett just posted a compilation of behind the scenes and rehearsal footage from the show, which shows the cast training and working hard with the action team and gets us very excited about what we have to look forward to.

Iron Fist: It’s a Wrap!

https://vimeo.com/189395437

GeneChing

01-27-2017, 09:49 AM

Looks like Iron Fist is poaching from Into The Badlands (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67844-Into-The-Badlands).

Iron Fist Episode Titles Inspired By Shaolin Kung Fu Moves (http://www.mymbuzz.com/2017/01/23/iron-fist-episode-titles-inspired-by-shaolin-kung-fu-moves/)
January 23, 2017 Dave Golder

http://www.mymbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/10/ironfist.jpg

Bleeding Cool has spotted on the BBFC website that the British Board Of Film Censors is currently rating the episodes of Netflix’s Marvel’s Iron Fist and revealing most of the series’ episode titles and directors in the process.
A lot of the episode titles themselves appear to be based in moves used in Shaolin Kung Fu, though on a more metaphorical level they could also possibly be spoilery as well.
1: Snow Gives Way (dir. John Dahl)
2: Shadow Hawk Takes Flight (dir. John Dahl)
3: Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch (dir. Tom Shankland)
4: Eight Diagram Dragon Palm
5: Under Leaf Pluck Lotus (dir. Uta Briesewitz)
6: Immortal Emerges From Cave
7: Felling With Tree Routes (dir. Farren Blackburn)
8: The Blessing Of Many Fractures (dir. Kevin Tancharoen)
9: The Mistress Of All Agonies (dir. Jet Wilkinson)
10: Unlisted
11: Lead Horse Back To Stable (dir. Deborah Chow)
12: Unlisted
13: Dragon Plays With Fire (dir. Stephen Surjik)
Iron Fist debuts on Netflix on 17 March.

Into The Badlands (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67844-Into-The-Badlands) Season 2 premieres March 19.

GeneChing

01-30-2017, 12:52 PM

Wu-Tang Clan's RZA Directed An Episode of Netflix's Iron Fist (http://comicbook.com/marvel/2017/01/28/wu-tang-clans-rza-directed-an-episode-of-netflixs-iron-fist/)
Jay Jayson- 01/28/2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVi4yXNWZf8

K'un-Lun ain't nuttin ta f--k with!

Most of the titles and directors for Marvel's Iron Fist series were revealed recently when the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) released their ratings for each of the episodes. The sixth episode, which is titled "Immortal Emerges From Cave," didn't have a director listed, but now, thanks to the show's star Finn Jones, we know that RZA helmed it.

"So before I started the role, I actually made a playlist on my iPod of songs that Danny Rand would listen to," Jones explained during an Extra live Q&A (via MCU Exchange). "It’s a lot of kind of '90s hip-hop like De La Soul, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang Clan. Like that kind of music is really what Danny’s jamming to. And we actually feature that in the series. And actually, one of our episodes was directed by the RZA himself. Episode 6. So, yeah, there’s very close ties to hip-hop music and the Iron Fist series."

What was it like working with RZA? "Oh, he's a dude," Jones said. "He's a complete dude. Actually really sweet but chill. He has a really good vision of what he wants. He understands that martial arts genre."

The former hip-hop producer and the frontman for the Wu-Tang Clan entered the film community in 1999, making his acting debut in Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. He went on to land small roles in some high-profile films like American Gangster, Funny People, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Inspired by his love for kung-fu movies, RZA made his directorial debut with The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)—which he also starred in and co-wrote.

http://media.comicbook.com/2017/01/rza-ironfist-netflix-marvel-228160.png

Danny Rand returns to New York City after being missing for years, trying to reconnect with his past and his family legacy. He fights against the criminal element corrupting his world around him with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.

The cast features Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) as Daniel Rand/Iron Fist, Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones) as Colleen Wing, David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) as Harold Meachum, Jessica Stroup (The Following) as Joy Meachum, Tom Pelphrey (Banshee) as Ward Meachum, and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) will be reprising her role as Jeri Hogarth for a guest appearance.

Uncover the secrets of the mystical K'un-Lun when Season 1 of Marvel's Iron Fist premieres with 13 one-hour episodes on March 17, 2017 at 12:01 am PT globally on Netflix.

Well this will be a little confusing given Man with the Iron Fists (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1062).

GeneChing

02-03-2017, 08:56 AM

New Iron Fist images show Danny Rand is a martial arts master ready to go to work (http://www.gamesradar.com/new-iron-fist-images-show-danny-rand-is-a-martial-arts-master-ready-to-go-to-work/)
By Connor Sheridan a day ago

How good is Iron Fist at kung fu? He's so good at kung fu that he doesn't even need to stand up for you to know that you definitely shouldn't mess with him, as this new promotional image from Netflix proves.

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KrGV2fTEvWg6YAwgUXtjSK-650-80.jpg

Do you think Danny Rand's chest is naturally that smooth or does he shave it so you can see his tattoo? Oh **** he's standing up -

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4Qk92yFBWgyjDU8wEtxkUK-650-80.jpg

Alright, alright, no more hairless chest jokes! No need to punch me through a door or anything.

Iron Fist is the last of the quartet of Marvel heroes planned for Netflix's upcoming Defenders series. He'll team up with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage to fight the grand designs of Sigourney Weaver's unnamed villain when Defenders debuts later this year.

Starring Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, David Wenham, Jessica Stroup, Tom Pelphrey, and Carrie-Anne Moss, Marvel's Iron Fist will hit Netflix on March 17, 2017.

Images: Marvel/Netflix

Hmmm, now why don't these work for me? :rolleyes:

sanjuro_ronin

02-03-2017, 09:20 AM

His stances is not very good and he has the physical presence of a washcloth.
I am not a happy camper.

GeneChing

02-07-2017, 10:04 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7nfhrTlmIY

@PLUGO

02-08-2017, 12:28 PM

Check out Jessica Henwick's cage fight (https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/829356976962490368) -

10230 (https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/829356976962490368)

GeneChing

02-23-2017, 09:33 AM

back to the comic...

IRON FIST #1 Packs a Mean Punch This March – Your First Look! (http://diskingdom.com/2017/02/23/iron-fist-1-packs-mean-punch-march-first-look/)
By Roger Palmer - February 23, 2017 0

This March, prepare for a hard-hitting, fist-flying, high-octane epic as Danny Rand faces a gauntlet of deadly kung-fu masters in the all-new IRON FIST #1! Creators Ed Brisson (Bullseye) and Mike Perkins (Deathlok) put the titular hero through the wringer as he squares off against foe after foe – each more lethal than the last!

http://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Cover.jpg

Danny has always straddled two worlds – Earth and the mystical realm of K’un-Lun. Now, with K’un-Lun in ruins, he’ll question his place in both more than ever. The chi fueling his fists is wavering, yet still he fights on. Fighting to prove his worth, he’ll push himself to his breaking point. But a bigger battle than he can handle may have found him first. Whisked away to the mysterious island of Liu-Shi, he’ll come face-to-face with the fight of his life! With nothing but his fists and his feet, the Immortal Iron Fist will step into the ring with the island’s deadly Seven Masters! Each possessing mystical power and each with their own vendetta against the Iron Fist, what hope does Danny stand against the Bull, the Bear, the Eel, the Rabbit, the Rat, the Snake and the Wolf?!

A trial of mythic proportions awaits, True Believer. Fists and feet will fly when IRON FIST #1 comes to comic shops and digital devices everywhere on March 22nd!

IRON FIST #1 (JAN170951)
Written by ED BRISSON
Art by MIKE PERKINS
Cover by JEFF DEKAL

Variant Covers by MIKE PERKINS (JAN170954) and ALEX ROSS (JAN170952)

Hip-Hop Variant by KAARE ANDREWS (JAN170955)
Alex Ross Black & White Variant Also Available (JAN170953)

FOC – 02/27/17, On-Sale – 03/22/17

http://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Ross_Variant.jpg
http://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Perkins_Variant.jpghttp://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Ross_Black_and_White_Variant.jpghttp://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Andrews_Hip-Hop-Variant.jpghttp://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Preview_1.jpghttp://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Preview_2.jpghttp://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Preview_3.jpghttp://diskingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Iron_Fist_1_Preview_4.jpg

GeneChing

03-07-2017, 12:35 PM

Finn Jones Leaves Twitter After Discussing Iron Fist / Whitewashing Controversy (https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03/06/finn-jones-leaves-twitter-discussing-iron-fist-whitewashing-controversy/)
Posted by Dan Wickline March 6, 2017

https://cdn.bleedingcool.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/000246618-600x445.jpg

On Sunday, actor Finn Jones engaged in a discussion with Asyiqin Haron about his casting as Danny Rand in the upcoming Marvel’s Iron Fist. The show is being accused of whitewashing, or casting white actors in non-white roles. One of the most classic examples is the casting of Mickey Rooney as Audrey Hepburn’s Japanese landlord in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, another being Lawrence Olivier as Othello. There are many, many more examples including Scarlett Johansson in the upcoming Ghost in the Shell. Though, in the case of Iron Fist, the character in the source material is white, but there had been a vocal presence pushing for an Asian-American to be cast.

Things started when Jones re-tweeted a post by Riz Ahmed with the message: “representation is important. and here’s why.

Follow
Riz Ahmed ✔ @rizmc
Here's speech I gave @HouseofCommons in full. Forget 'diversity' we need REPRESENTATION. Or things fall apart. https://www.facebook.com/rizmc/videos/10154393155118997/ … RT
6:01 AM - 3 Mar 2017
2,144 2,144 Retweets 3,382 3,382 likes

He was responded to by Haron, creative director for Geeks of Color. The response started with her asking Jones, “are you for real?” Though she didn’t expect him to, he actor responded, pointing out that while the main character stayed true to the source material, the show incorporates and celebrates actors from all different backgrounds. Now I would post the back and forth directly from twitter, but after the discussion was concluded, Jones deleted his twitter account. Haron made screen captures of the discussion and posted those images.

.@mercedesknights pic.twitter.com/MItyG8hWUz

— AsyiKinney �� (@AsyiqinHaron) March 6, 2017

This discussion, like the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, is a bit tougher than the more blatant examples like Ghost in the Shell. Where casting Johansson does seem like whitewashing, if you listen to Scott Derrickson’s commentary on Doctor Strange, a lot of though went into the Swinton casting including trying to avoid playing to stereotypes. When it comes to Iron Fist, Marvel chose to stay with the source material and Jones took a roll that could make his career.

What we ended up with is a civil discussion between two people that disagreed on the topic. It didn’t turn into name calling or hate speak. How that ended up with Jones leaving twitter and Haron being harassed for her views is a problem unto itself.

We were talking about representation in the Iron Fist series but people are interpreting it as me harassing him. I was being respectful. https://t.co/dolG0gEcpH

— AsyiKinney �� (@AsyiqinHaron) March 6, 2017

Nothing will ever get addressed if we can’t at least talk about it.

I would be more impressed if Jones didn't run away. Who deletes their twitter accounts in the face of scrutiny nowadays? And over this? He's going to be Rand? :rolleyes:

sanjuro_ronin

03-08-2017, 05:16 AM

Ah, so much sand, so many vaginas.

GeneChing

03-08-2017, 03:02 PM

THR's review just dropped...ouch.

'Marvel's Iron Fist': TV Review (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/marvels-iron-fist-review-984200)
12:01 AM PST 3/8/2017 by Daniel Fienberg

'Fist' full of doldrums. TWITTER
3/17/2017

After the successes of 'Daredevil,' 'Jessica Jones' and 'Luke Cage,' Marvel and Netflix have their first big misstep.
After three straight creative successes, three above-average character introductions, the partnership between Marvel and Netflix was due for a dud.

This isn't to say that Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage have been shows without flaws. Marvel or Netflix's insistence on doing 13-episode seasons in a format that demands no such rigidity has left each of the shows feeling strained at different points. Each show, though, has had virtues of tone and aspiration that made it feel like a complicated superhero TV code had been cracked.

Debuting on Netflix on Friday, March 17, Iron Fist feels like a step backward on every level, a major disappointment that already suffers from storytelling issues through the first six episodes made available to critics and would probably be mercifully skippable in its entirety if it weren't the bridge into the long-awaited Defenders crossover series.

Finn Jones stars as Danny Rand, heir to a multi-billion dollar business empire. Long thought dead after his family's plane crash in the Himalayas, Danny returns to New York City looking merely to reclaim his identity, but old pals Ward (Tom Pelphrey) and Joy (Jessica Stroup) Meachum have ascended to the top of Rand Enterprises and they aren't eager to accept that the unkempt, shoeless stranger is the Danny Rand they lost 15 years earlier.

It goes without saying that Danny isn't exactly the Danny who left. He's spent his time receiving training in stunt-doubled martial arts and also racially and culturally drained Asian mysticism, which makes him prepared to face down, with the help of poor lighting and fast editing, the nefarious forces that view him as both a business threat to the new Rand hierarchy and a general threat to the evils encroaching on the city. Despite a hand that glows with supernatural power at seemingly random intervals and with entirely random strength, Danny can't do this alone, and he finds support in dojo owner Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), a gifted fighter who still needs Danny to condescendingly explain spirituality and kung fu to her.

So many of the things that its Netflix-Marvel predecessors did well are lacking in Iron Fist, attributes that include:

Street-level authenticity. From Daredevil's Hell's Kitchen to Luke Cage's Harlem, these shows have thrived on location shooting in New York City, inhabiting neighborhoods and building characters that felt like they were spawned by their environments. Even if they were fictionalized versions of real parts of the city, they felt organic. For his wealth, Danny Rand is already instantly the least sympathetic of these new characters. His biggest decision in the early episodes is whether to accept a $100 million settlement or hold out indignantly for the slice of the company he deserves. Despite the austerity of his monastic training, his is a New York City of expensive brownstones and luxury apartments and, sadly, of uninterestingly designed opulence, as well as fleeting flashbacks to the Himalayas that aspire to neither accuracy nor flights of visual fancy. We may get an episode with real flashbacks eventually, but so far the mystical city of K'un-L'un is just styrofoam snow drifts that characters talk about while sitting around.

Subtext. Matt Murdock is driven by his Catholic guilt, Jessica Jones by traumatic assault and consent issues, Luke Cage by America's multi-century history of imperiled black masculinity. Iron Fist arrives in a deep hole amid concerns about its curly-haired, blonde protagonist appropriating Asian culture, but the bigger problem ends up being that he's barely even appropriating. There's no specificity to Danny's experience other than the most generic of identity crises — like the world needed another billionaire vigilante — and Jones is far too placid a leading man to give any sense of Danny's internal torment. He's not placid in a Zen way, just tepid like room temperature. Rather than being a man who found enlightenment through tragedy and disassociation from his upbringing, Danny comes across like a spoiled frat boy who took a comparative religion class and spends a few months picking up coeds by telling them he's totally into meditation and tai chi now.

A worthy adversary to our hero. The first season of Daredevil was elevated by Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk and the second season felt his general absence. David Tennant's Kilgrave was so integral to Jessica Jones that his presence became suffocating at times. Luke Cage worked best when Mahershala Ali's Cottonmouth and Alfre Woodard's Mariah Dillard were prominent. Iron Fist counters with petulant, spoiled Ward Meacham and the occasional domineering paternal presence of Harold Meachum (David Wenham), but the season's real villain is, I guess, The Hand, the organization that was responsible for the Too Many Ninjas monotony that eventually ran the second Daredevil season into the ground. An interesting bad guy with objectives central to the individual show feels important to the crafting of the hero, and Iron Fist/Danny suffers from the absence of exactly that.

With no single, well-performed adversary standing against Danny, showrunner Scott Buck and the writers are putting way more pressure on Danny and on Finn Jones than the character or actor can sustain. Jones, best known as Loras from Game of Thrones, finds no darkness in Danny Rand's internal struggle; the actor is actually at his best in Danny's occasional bits of fish-out-of-water corporate bumbling, which definitely aren't supposed to be the heart of the show.

It's unclear if Jones' lack of physical authority is dampening Iron Fist's ability to be an action show or if Iron Fist's lack of interest in being an action show has negated Jones' ability to display physical authority. For five episodes, Danny's fights are weakly staged and all-too-brief, without any effort to even pretend that the show's leading man is doing any of his own stunts. Danny's strength and his enhanced abilities are barely explained and inconsistently depicted, and an inordinate percentage of the early episodes is spent on Danny Rand, Generic Corporate Regulator, rather than Danny Rand, The Iron Fist. The sixth episode is the first time Danny participates in any sustained action, but even with renowned kung fu cinema aficionado RZA behind the camera, little in the choreography or presentation is memorable.

With all of the initial concerns about appropriation and the whitewashing of Asian themes at the center of the story, it isn't surprising that Henwick is exactly good enough to make you wish that Colleen Wing were the focus of the series. At the very least, her fight scenes are more convincing, even as she's constantly having her autonomy and areas of expertise second-guessed by a protagonist who looks like, and exhibits the urgency of, the missing Masterson brother.

The number of basic character archetypes missing in Iron Fist is baffling. There's no villain, but there's also no comic relief or voice of wise authority and well-delivered exposition. There's nobody you like spending time watching. Ward is whiny, and his every decision is worse, and less motivated, than the one before. Joy's skepticism toward Danny is well-earned, but too all-encompassing. Harold's circumstances are strange, but not compelling, and Wenham is part of at least half the cast struggling to hold onto American accents. Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple pops up and, after five seasons of four Marvel-Netflix shows, nobody has yet figured out what her role in this universe is other than "continuity."

Through six episodes, in addition to failing to introduce a main character I care about at all, Iron Fist hasn't given me any season-long arc/objective that I could describe for you, much less one I'm curious to see resolved — and that's before it hits that wall between episodes seven and 12 that none of the Marvel shows has been immune to. For heaven's sake, Iron Fist has already wasted the "Is our hero actually crazy?" gaslighting episode, a structural conceit that doesn't work when you ask the audience to question everything we think we know about a character before we actually know anything about the character.

With a big four-hero mashup allegedly unfolding out of Iron Fist, this misstep couldn't have come at a worse time for Marvel and Netflix. It's a good thing I really like Daredevil, Jessica and Luke.

Network: Netflix
Cast: Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, David Wenham, Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey
Creator/Showrunner: Scott Buck

Premieres Friday, March 17 on Netflix

mickey

03-08-2017, 04:50 PM

Greetings,

There is very poor understanding of the Marvel Universe. It is completely nonlinear and is multidimensional. There can always be other representations and other arcs of Iron Fist.

One of the better show that played on TV was Quantum Leap. This show was very nonlinear and that was one of it's charms. I think it fared very well because of that

Within the Marvel Universe, there is opportunity for everyone.

mickey

sanjuro_ronin

03-09-2017, 06:11 AM

Seems like the reviewer has no idea about the IF mythos or that "white washing" comment would not be there ( in Kun Lun there are all nationalities and Daniel was not the first white guy of course).
Also seems the reviewer had issues with Season 2 of DD with The Hand plot line that, according to him, sunk season TWO BUT according to everyone else I have spoken too about DD is what made season 2 better than 1 ( that and the Punisher of course).

Reviewer are entitled to their views and some of his comments SEEM on the mark from what I have seen on the trailer and spots BUT what they are not entitled to be is wrong about the FACTS of the story line or character.
He should have reviewed the story line in the comics if he wanted to address the issue of villains and history and supposed "white washing".

GeneChing

03-10-2017, 09:50 AM

For me, this Iron Fist whitewashing issue is akin to what happened with Doctor Strange (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1324) and what is happening with Power Rangers (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69253-Power-Rangers-reboot-movie). With Strange, the original Ancient One character was a racist caricature. Marvel dodged the same bullet with the Mandarin in Iron Man 3 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?63555-Iron-Man). With Power Rangers, the original series was the ultimate whitewashing when you think about it, except for the Yellow Ranger. So how do you update that? With Rand, well, I didn't read the comic, but y'all kind of batted that around in the Iron Fist vs. Shang Chi - Who'd win? (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?5158-Iron-Fist-vs-Shang-Chi-Who-d-win). Rand is a little like Kwai Chang Caine in the comic world - again it's whitewashing in the original source, but you must take into consideration the time in which it was originally distributed. It's quite different than Ghost in the Shell (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68356-Ghost-in-the-Shell) (but I am looking forward to that because I'd spend my celebrity exception on ScaJo and the trailers look cool). But as to loyalty of the MCU to the original comics, well, I'm out on that discussion - take away my nerd card there if you want.

I was in Hollywood yesterday on business and L.A. is littered with Iron Fist billboards. I saw at least three of them between LAX and my meeting there.

GeneChing

03-10-2017, 12:25 PM

Iron Fist isn't just racially uncomfortable, it's also a boring show (http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/8/14848336/iron-fist-review-netflix-show-marvel)
by Kwame Opam@kwameopam Mar 8, 2017, 3:01am EST

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hwv0mkHfAQMNYJz6uLywF6cyh2E=/0x0:3000x2000/920x613/filters:focal(1115x216:1595x696):format(webp)/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53586987/0428_KICK_106_Unit_06274R.1488933104.jpg
David Giesbrecht/Netflix

With the debut of Netflix’s Iron Fist now imminent, Marvel is on the defensive. The studio is in an uncomfortable position: its three earlier streaming series, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, all received plenty of buzzy reception ahead of their respective launches. But Iron Fist was met with scrutiny and criticism before it even went into production. That criticism centers mainly on the optics of a white man starring in a series rooted in Orientalist stereotypes, which collides directly with the ongoing conversation about the diversity in Marvel’s superhero properties. Given the company’s self-appointed position as a champion for inclusion in comic book storytelling, Marvel has had no choice but to meet the backlash head-on.

“There needs to be more diversity in television and film, especially for Asian actors,” series star Finn Jones told BuzzFeed last month. “With this instance in particular, what I struggle with and what frustrates me is that people are commenting on the headline without understanding the full picture, without understanding the full story.”

‘IRON FIST’ HAD THE CHANCE TO BE CURRENT AND RELEVANT

Fair enough, Mr. Jones. With any property that touches on the politics of the day, there really is a rush to judge its merits before it comes out, when patience might better serve the would-be critics. After all, Marvel has earned enough goodwill since Daredevil premiered in 2015 to hope that wrestling with its inherently problematic source material might give its latest series a charge, and make it current and relevant. The sad truth, however, is that Iron Fist is the weakest of Marvel’s Netflix series to date. As far as diversity, representation, and appropriation go, the series fails in a number of ways. But, over the course of its first six episodes, it also manages to fall short on basic levels like storytelling. Its creative laziness bankrupts the entire show. Marvel’s new series is a disappointing case study in studios needing to try harder to tell difficult stories well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OKL5no-S0

Spoilers ahead.

Iron Fist, created by Dexter writer Scott Buck, follows Danny Rand (Finn Jones), a Buddhist monk and martial arts master who vanished in a plane crash when he was a boy. Fifteen years later, he returns to New York City to reclaim his family’s legacy and its billion-dollar enterprise. Soon, he must face the Hand, the shadowy ninja organization first introduced in Daredevil — and the same threat he trained his entire life to defeat. The series is Arrow redux: a wealthy superhero caught in a web of corporate intrigue and dark forces must take down enemies linked to his past and newfound purpose. However, the show is unique among Marvel properties thanks to its focus on Danny as the titular Iron Fist, a supernatural kung-fu warrior and the mystical protector of the ancient, Eastern society known as K’un-Lun.

DANNY RAND IS THE SERIES’S CHIEF FAILING

Comparisons to other comics-based TV series aside, the story sounds compelling on paper. But Danny Rand is the series’s chief failing. Much has already been written about Danny’s status as a white savior. The title of Iron Fist doesn’t just make him a superhero; he’s the latest in a long line of protector warriors for his stereotypical Orientalist culture. That’s true to the character’s comics origin, as told during comics’ so-called Kung-Fu Craze of the mid-1970s. But the story doesn’t fly in 2017, so the show took some steps to correct that past, by making K’un-Lun at least nominally diverse. (Or so we’ve been promised. The episodes Netflix released don’t include any expository sequences in K’un-Lun.) However, the show never interrogates Danny’s questionable position. He’s still a privileged white member of the 1 percent drawing power from a fictionalized Asian culture, destined to save his corner of New York from evil. Given that he’s still the one person capable of taking up the Iron Fist mantle, it’s hard to decouple his whiteness from his elevated position.

But the show’s race problems are intertwined with other nagging issues. Jones, whose blandness in the role might be read as Zen-like in another, better series, is miscast as Danny Rand. We learn over the course of the season that he’s wrestling with his identity and the fear that he’s unworthy of his title. But Jones’ performance is lacking, and he can’t believably project the character’s inner turmoil. He fails to make Danny’s reality resonate. Daredevil’s Charlie Cox, while never exactly one of Marvel’s finest leading men, conveys an almost palpable Catholic guilt in his turn as Matt Murdock. Jones, by comparison, seems flat, lacking that crucial gravitas.

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BBlgSVh6h1QnTH8SAU5-S37WHSo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8115845/0409_KICK_106_Unit_02800R.jpg
Patrick Harbron/Netflix

Worse, he paints an unconvincing portrait of a martial arts expert, which is the basic draw for a superhero show about martial arts. Yet again, Marvel devotes a whole hallway fight scene to its new hero, but instead of the bruising chaos that came with past Netflix series, Iron Fist gets a stiff sequence, complete with hatchet-wielding Yakuza fighters, where it feels like no one is in any real danger. To be clear: Iron Fist is a hero whose main power is punching people really hard. Buck and company have done a decent job of making Jones’ hand glow in the dark and punch through walls. But more often than not, Danny comes across as a college student come home from studying abroad, perplexed as to why no one gets his newfound love of yoga.
continued next post

GeneChing

03-10-2017, 12:25 PM

THE SHOW IS HAMPERED BY FAULTY LOGIC AND BAD STORYTELLING

Jones certainly can’t be blamed for the show’s faulty internal logic, though, which has Danny, a born-and-bred New Yorker, walking into the midtown Manhattan office building he ostensibly owns dressed like a vagrant, then wondering why he’s treated poorly. The flaws are foundational. Danny has devoted his life to training hard enough to become the Iron Fist, which involved plunging his fists into the molten heart of an immortal dragon. And yet somehow he still has room in his life for self-doubt? Multiple scenes show Danny grappling with the hardship and trauma that came with living in K’un-Lun, as the show is ultimately about how he forges his own path. But the show tries to portray him as exceptional, while also exploring the theme of unworthiness, and the concepts never mesh meaningfully.

The rest of the core cast isn’t immune to the incongruity. Danny’s childhood friends Ward and Joy Meachum (Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Stroup, respectively) are the current head executives at Rand Enterprises. They’re disturbed when their long-dead friend returns to life (understandable, even in a city filled with superheroes). But Ward has Danny followed and attacked in the street, and Joy has him drugged and institutionalized, which the show insists isn’t a poorly justified overreaction. The Hand, represented by Daredevil transplant Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho), is a compelling story element, since it represents a larger-than-life power in New York. That much shows in its influence over the always over-the-top Harold Meachum (300’s David Wenham), the former Rand head who lurks in the background with his own agenda. But any viewer investment in the group is lifted mainly from Daredevil, instead of being rooted in Iron Fist’s narrative. That isn’t inherently bad — the shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are linked, giving Iron Fist a chance to build on the Hand’s established mythology and explore how it works. But since we already know the organization’s true endgame is being saved for The Defenders, its importance to Danny’s solo series feels stunted, especially since his bid to win back control of his family’s company makes for a boring throughline for the series as a whole.

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZeoImSNyP1lzcD93dpYgjFGKvmI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8114043/0120_KICK_113_Unit_05398R.jpg
David Giesbrecht/Netflix

And then there’s half-Chinese, half-Japanese badass Colleen Wing (Game of Thrones’ Jessica Henwick), fellow martial-arts expert and Danny’s would-be partner in his fight against the Hand. Colleen is tough and intelligent, and Henwick gives her a grit that makes Colleen more watchable than her bland counterpart. But the series repeatedly undermines her in the name of establishing Danny as special. In the first episode, Danny breaks into unsubtitled Mandarin upon learning she’s a martial artist, apparently assuming Asian women he casually meets on the street are happy to speak Mandarin with a white stranger. Two episodes later, he mansplains kung-fu to her, all to better illustrate how she needs his protection. At no point does Colleen call him out for this. Instead, she reacts with little more than gentle bemusement toward his better handle on language and his skills as a fighter, when she ought to be kicking him to the curb.

‘IRON FIST’ IS A BORING, CONFUSED, AND OFFENSIVE MESS OF A SERIES

Recently, Finn Jones quit Twitter after getting into a heated debate about representation in general, and Iron Fist specifically. He returned yesterday to release a statement: “We have gone to great lengths to represent a diverse cast with an intelligent, socially progressive storyline.” In truth, whatever he, Scott Buck, and Marvel attempted in getting this series right doesn’t go far enough. The end result is more often a boring, confused, and offensive mess of a series, one that’s as bad at diversity as it is telling a story that superhero fans will enjoy. It lacks the impact it so desperately needed after the successes of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. And that’s a shame. Fans feared the worst when the series was announced, and all their fears came true.

Iron Fist premieres on March 17th.

The initial buzz so far is bad. If Netflix blows this, I will be so disappointed.

GeneChing

03-10-2017, 12:28 PM

I'm preparing for disappointment. Hopefully all the reviews are fake news and I'll be pleasantly surprised. That being said, I'm going to leave that first review to you all.

Iron Fist review round-up: what does everyone think of Marvel and Netflix's kung-fu tale? (http://www.gamesradar.com/iron-fist-round-up-what-does-everyone-think-of-marvel-and-netflixs-kung-fu-tale/)
By Sam Prell 2 days ago

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It's almost time for Danny Rand to join the likes of Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage as a critically-acclaimed Marvel hero with a home on Netflix. Or is he? Review embargo for the show's first six episodes have lifted, and critics are letting their thoughts be known. And so far, Netflix's newest venture is receiving a bit less love than its predecessors.

The Verge on Iron Fist's casting of Finn Jones

"Jones, whose blandness in the role might be read as Zen-like in another, better series, is miscast as Danny Rand. We learn over the course of the season that he’s wrestling with his identity and the fear that he’s unworthy of his title. But Jones’ performance is lacking, and he can’t believably project the character’s inner turmoil. He fails to make Danny’s reality resonate. Daredevil’s Charlie Cox, while never exactly one of Marvel’s finest leading men, conveys an almost palpable Catholic guilt in his turn as Matt Murdock. Jones, by comparison, seems flat, lacking that crucial gravitas."

Nerdist on Iron Fist's pacing

"Iron Fist‘s biggest issue sits with the aforementioned dragging plot, and unfortunately, the victim who suffers most from it is Danny himself. When the show doubles down on showing the same flashback three episodes in, you start to wonder if there’s anything new you could possibly learn at that juncture. Given that all the other supporting characters are driven forward in the story by their choices and underlying issues, it appears as if Danny Rand, by comparison, is the only one standing still."

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The Hollywood Reporter on Iron Fist's (lack of a) villain

"Iron Fist counters with petulant, spoiled Ward Meacham and the occasional domineering paternal presence of Harold Meachum (David Wenham), but the season's real villain is, I guess, The Hand, the organization that was responsible for the Too Many Ninjas monotony that eventually ran the second Daredevil season into the ground. An interesting bad guy with objectives central to the individual show feels important to the crafting of the hero, and Iron Fist/Danny suffers from the absence of exactly that."

Polygon on Iron Fist's fight scenes

"The fight scenes in this martial arts hero show are, well, bland. Nothing in these episodes approaches what Luke Cage or either season of Daredevil did by combining choreography, cinematography and emotional stakes into scenes that riveted the viewer. An entire episode about Danny fighting Themed Assassins was barely worth sitting forward in your seat for."

ScreenRant on Iron Fist's messy focus

"The presumption that the audience would care about a company as vaguely defined as Rand Enterprises, to the degree that an outsider assuming control of it would be of immediate interest, speaks to the issue of uncertainty by the writers in what the story of Iron Fist is really about. … Rand Enterprises … is a vaguely sketched monolithic empire; it represents nothing more than a want for a pair of secondary characters, since Danny’s interest in the business, or even knowledge of it, is nebulous at best. What’s most frustrating about Iron Fist throughout the first few hours is how the lack of definition surrounding Rand Enterprises extends to nearly every other aspect of the show."

Iron Fist season 1 arrives on Netflix on March 17, 2017. Stay tuned for GamesRadar+'s full season review.

Jimbo

03-10-2017, 01:20 PM

TBH, even way back in early-to-mid-'70s, I never cared much for Iron Fist. For some reason (or various reasons) I never could get into the character or the comic.

IMO, they ruined Luke Cage when they teamed him up with Iron Fist in the late '70s.

MarathonTmatt

03-10-2017, 05:13 PM

It would be cool to see some of the Valiant Universe on the Big Screen or having their own TV shows: Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior, Solar Man of the Atom, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, Shadow-Man, Rai and the Future Force, etc. I am a fan of those comics from the early-mid 90's, but haven't bothered to get into any of the newer stuff they are now publishing.

sanjuro_ronin

03-13-2017, 04:30 AM

The 2000's version of IF was better than the 70's, of that there is no issue.
They could have gone there, but didn't.
It irks me that the call him a Buddhist monk when he is from Kun Lun.
I didn't expect great writing to be honest but they SEEMS worse than I though.

That said, it also seems the the vast majority of the issue is the "whitewashing" and lack of "diversity" and that is basically tainting the reviews ( a youtube reviewer pointed that out).

Look, lets be honest here:
Marvel had a choice to be TRUE to the character or make **** up and they decide to be true and are getting penalized, much like they do when they stray from the original stories ( ****ed if they do, ****ed if they don't).
I think they could have casted better and from some of the clips i have seen, more training would also have been better.

The reality is that IF has the power to be the most powerful defender ( outside of Doc, Strange) as the Immortal Iron Fist storyline tells us but it seems that Marvel dropped the ball on this part and THAT to ME is the worse part.

GeneChing

03-13-2017, 08:17 AM

It'll be St. Patrick's Day. So if it sucks, at least we can all drink. :D <-note the Irish green. ;)

I literally laughed out loud reading the Rolling Stone review below. As a self-identified Kung Fu Hippie (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?14402-Kung-Fu-Hippie-Rant), this is exactly the kind of journalism that reaffirms my love of Rolling Stone reviews.

'Iron Fist': Why Netflix's New Marvel Show Is a Kick in the Head (http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/rob-sheffield-iron-fist-kicks-superhero-tv-in-the-head-w471575)
Latest addition to rapidly evolving Superhero-TV landscape feels surprisingly old-fashioned – and more of a miss than a hit

http://img.wennermedia.com/article-leads-horizontal/iron-fist-sheffield-read-d122fbbb-3d4c-4f7d-92d2-c04725828994.jpg
'Iron Fist' rounds out Netflix's superhero roster with a kung-fu hippie – Rob Sheffield on why this latest Marvel show is more of a miss than a hit. David Giesbrecht/Netflix
By Rob Sheffield
3 hours ago

A stranger wanders the streets of New York. To everybody, he just looks like another hairy, barefoot slob who got lost in the parking lot between sets at a Spin Doctors gig in 1992. The man walks into the Rand Tower skyscraper and claims to be the long-lost heir to the family's corporate empire. But everybody knows Danny Rand got killed 15 years ago, at the age of 10, when his parents' private plane crashed in the Himalayas. So who is this hippie dude with the mysterious power to punch through walls, jump over speeding cars and kick ninja assassins in the face? Is it a miracle? Or a scam? Danny can't seem to give anyone a straight answer, declaring, "If you wish to see the truth, hold no opinions. That's a Zen saying."
That's the starting point of Iron Fist, the first misfire from the Netflix galaxy of the Marvel universe. It takes place in a New York City where superheros are spreading faster than Starbucks' shops, on a network where Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Daredevil are already in full effect, with The Defenders and The Punisher on the way. It comes at a time when superhero TV is innovating at warp speed, to the point where men-in-capes fantasies are as multifarious as the rest of TV, too complex to get lumped together as a genre anymore. The show follows in the Netflix Marvel house style, a world away from other adaptations like FX's excellent new Legion or ABC's durable Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., darker and more brooding than the CW's zesty pop-flash squad of DC crimefighters like Arrow. It's also, unfortunately, way too tedious to keep up the pace. This hippie tool wouldn't last five minutes in a cage match with the Young Pope.
The secret to Danny Rand is revealed in the tattoo on his chest: He's the inheritor of the fighting legacy of the Iron Fist. When that plane crashed in the Himalayas, Danny was rescued in the snow by kindly Buddhist monks who raised him in the mythical city of K'un-L'un, training him in ancient martial-arts secrets and turning him into a noble warrior. Now he's returned, another orphaned aristocrat ready to seek revenge. The Rand Corporation has gotten mixed up with a global criminal empire called the Hand, and Danny goes up against them with help from local fight-club master Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), who hides him in her dojo. So many scowling henchmen whose faces need kicking, so little time. But only Danny has the chi for the job. He also enlists lawyer Carrie-Anne Moss, who asks him a sensible question: "Do you have any money for new clothes? Because this homeless hipster thing isn't working for you."
Finn Jones, a.k.a. Margaery Tyrell's brother Loras from Game of Thrones, plays Danny as a case of a secret identity that might be just too well disguised – because he's so totally devoid of charisma, more cub than lone wolf. With his scruffy beard and dazed "who, me?" eyes, Jones could be one of the twinkling boy-men who populated Hollywood comedies a decade ago, except now the party's over and he can't understand why bad hombres keep trying to kill him. It might have been shrewd to play the hippie hacky-sack man-child angle for laughs – a kung fu avenger trapped in the body of a schlub from The Hangover Part IV: Return To Vegas. But Iron Fist has no humor either, so it ends up just looking like a superhero drama where they forgot to invite the superhero.
There are connections between all the Netflix Marvel shows – like Rosario Dawson, who returns as nurse Clare Temple. But unlike its urban do-gooder brethren, the series has no personality. Where Jessica Jones digs into sexual trauma and Luke Cage plays off the historic agony and glory of Harlem, Iron Fist's hero can't seem to muster any inner turmoil beyond the occasional harshed vibe. There doesn't seem to be much of anything going on his skull. His mystic Zen quotes go over like a Wayne's World set-up minus the punch line. Jones' Danny has a unintentionally comic way of walking away from a Daredevil-style combat scene with a hurt expression that says "Whoooa, I hate when that happens." In a perfect TV world, he'd get a Broad City crossover episode where Danny and Abbi have a romantic date with some cosmic brownies and Phish bootlegs.

sanjuro_ronin

03-14-2017, 04:24 AM

I really hope that it isn't that bad.
It would suck that marvel first fray into a MA character would flop worse than a fat guy in a belly flopping contest.

Seems like a case of crappy writing and messed up casting...

GeneChing

03-15-2017, 03:12 PM

From there, other folks on Twitter replied with jokes about other instances of white actors playing Asian characters, like this reference to how Iron Fist actor Finn Jones briefly quit Twitter (they always come back) after scathing criticisms.

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VIA TWITTER

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VIA TWITTER

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VIA TWITTER

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VIA TWITTER

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VIA TWITTER

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VIA TWITTER

(Via Paramount Pictures, Screen Crush, ValerieComplex, helpmeskeletor, Maria_Giesela, Nice_White_Lady, DLohRidah, IWriteAllDay_, gleebix, and ZweiXross)

Whatev about Danny Rand being originally white - these Ghost in the Shell (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68356-Ghost-in-the-Shell&p=1300873#post1300873) meme spoofs are pretty funny.

sanjuro_ronin

03-16-2017, 04:22 AM

Just another example of SJW not having any clue about what they are actually "protesting".

Sure there is white wash in Hollywood, there has always been BUT not in the case of Iron Fist.

GeneChing

03-16-2017, 09:33 AM

The real question here is the source material. The source material was whitewashing. So should filmmakers stay loyal to that or update it for modern times when whitewashing is a sin? Here's the reply from the show producers and cast.

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2017/03/15/the-iron-fist-white-savior-controversy-creator-and-stars-discuss-the-mounting-backlash/jcr:content/image.crop.800.500.jpg/49653736.cached.jpg
MYLES ARONOWITZ/NETFLIX
CULTURE WARS
The ‘Iron Fist’ White Savior Controversy: Creator and Stars Respond to the Backlash (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/15/the-iron-fist-white-savior-controversy-creator-and-stars-discuss-the-mounting-backlash.html)
‘Iron Fist’ stars Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick, along with showrunner Scott Buck, address concerns over casting and cultural appropriation in Marvel’s latest Netflix show.

MELISSA LEON
03.15.17 1:21 AM ET

Marvel’s Iron Fist doesn’t premiere on Netflix until Friday, but the show’s racial politics have already sparked debate for years.
As far back as 2014, a vocal contingent of fans have called for the traditionally blond-haired, blue-eyed martial-arts superhero, created by comic book writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane, to be realized onscreen by an Asian-American actor. The website Nerds of Color published a plea for Marvel to consider the change that year, and helped launch an online movement in the hashtag #AAIronFist.
The piece, by writer Keith Chow, laid out the case: By casting an Asian-American lead, Marvel and Netflix would avoid the uncomfortably dated tropes of the character’s 1970s origins. Orientalism, cultural appropriation, and the “white savior” fantasy (in which a displaced white foreigner comes to a new land, adapts to its ways, often surpasses the natives in skill, and becomes their leader or last hope/samurai/Mohican, etc.) would go poof.
The parts of Iron Fist’s backstory integral to his identity, meanwhile, could be preserved: his parents’ tragic deaths, his New York billionaire upbringing, his gift for martial arts, and his difficulty fitting in. Even his training in the mystical Asian city of K’un-Lun would be lent more depth, as writers like Comics Alliance’s Andrew Wheeler argued: “A white American Danny Rand has to appropriate Asian heritage; an Asian-American Danny Rand gets to reconnect with it.”
Still, Netflix and Marvel chose to stick to the character’s comic-book depiction, casting Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones for the part. Onscreen, little about comic book Danny has changed. He’s still orphaned in a plane crash and raised by the monks of K’un-Lun, where he defeats a dragon and becomes the latest in a long line of Iron Fists. He returns to New York 15 years after his supposed death and becomes a chi-harnessing, Buddhist-quote-dropping, kung fu-wielding superhero. With blue eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OKL5no-S0

Yet Jones, for his part, asserts quite passionately that he sympathizes with fans’ frustrations at Hollywood’s penchant for white saviors. While Iron Fist comes at an awkward time—so soon after the debacle of Matt Damon’s Great Wall and just before Scarlett Johansson’s manga-originated role in Ghost in the Shell—he insists this story is different.
“I am the first to stand up for more diversity in television shows, especially when it comes to Asian actors,” he says, sitting beside his Iron Fist co-star Jessica Henwick (who plays Japanese martial artist Colleen Wing) on a wintry afternoon in New York. “I get that and I stand up for it. But I think people will find that what we’re doing with the show addresses those issues intentionally. We actually talk about those issues and we try to address them, rather than just being the white savior and coming in and going, ‘Oh, Danny’s gonna take care of everything!’”
“Well, actually,” he continues, breaking into a chuckle, “he tries, but that’s one of his flaws. We don’t celebrate that. Danny may come in and be like, ‘I can fix this!’ But it’s not something the show celebrates.”
In the first six episodes released to critics, Danny does exude a kind of childish naivete. He’s earnest, idealistic, and often overly confident. He waltzes into complicated situations with what he believes are easy solutions, whether at high-stakes business meetings or in Colleen Wing’s dojo. He’s immature, a bit of a mansplainer, and severely lacking in self-awareness.
“Danny Rand can’t even save himself, let alone an entire race of people,” Jones says. “And I think that really is what runs through the storyline. So I understand the issues, I respect them, and I stand up for what people are shouting against. But I just wish that people would see the whole picture before commenting on the headline, you know?
“I understand it,” he reiterates. “We live in a world right now which is incredibly unequal. Incredibly unequal. That knee-jerk reaction is because of a much wider injustice politically, economically, and culturally. So I get where that comes from. I just think, in the world there’s a larger picture right now that people need to see before they just comment on the headlines.”

https://media.giphy.com/media/3oEjHXYRXVMMZx3qdq/giphy.gif

No explicit acknowledgment of cultural appropriation issues comes in those first six episodes (there’ll be 13 total this season). But both Jones and showrunner Scott Buck (Dexter, Six Feet Under) say a key change to the demographics of K’un Lun, the city where Danny trains and which is only accessible through a secret portal in the Himalayas, helps diffuse the situation.
“What you may not know about K’un-Lun yet is that in our version of the story, K’un-Lun isn’t predominantly an Asian culture,” Jones says. “K’un-Lun is a diverse place with people from all over the world—South America, Europe, Asians, and Caucasian people all reside in this place.”
“It’s a celestial city that exists in another dimension and because of that there’s nothing that we felt made it specifically Chinese or Tibetan,” says Buck, in a later phone conversation with The Daily Beast. “We certainly modeled it after Tibetan monasteries, but it felt like we just naturally wanted to open it up to make it a little more diverse just because it gives us a lot more options in writing about it, I believe.”
“The entry to the city is somewhere in Asia but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an Asian city, wholly,” he concludes.
On the issue of casting, Buck says he wasn’t aware of fans’ calls for a nonwhite lead until after Jones was cast—despite early reports that Marvel and Netflix did meet with several Asian American actors, before ultimately deciding to keep Danny white.
“To me it was just about finding the best actor for that,” says Buck. “It wasn’t until after we cast Finn that I became aware that there had been, you know, some controversy over that.”
“I understood where it was coming from,” he says, “but we just weren’t thinking in that way, at least I certainly wasn’t. I was just concentrating on the story and who would be a great actor to play this character.”
Buck says he and his writers “certainly wanted to avoid any stereotypes” in their treatment of Danny and Colleen, but their No. 1 priority was always to write simply “the best story we possibly could about these two complicated characters.”
“For me at least, that was part of the reason I wanted to make Colleen such a strong character,” he says, “because here we do have an Asian lead who is a martial arts expert and is every bit the match for Danny Rand. Even without that added pressure, I would have done the same thing because it was a character I found really compelling and fascinating.”
continued next post

GeneChing

03-16-2017, 09:34 AM

http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1444/14446008/3204490-colleen.gif

Jones goes a step further: “Danny needs Colleen I think more than Colleen needs Danny,” he says. “Danny is in complete pieces and he needs the strong women around him to kind of hold him up and help him get through this adjustment in his life, this transition of coming from boy to man and taking hold of his responsibility.”
His first point, at least, rings true. In the first six episodes, Colleen Wing is the show’s real street-level hero: she’s steel-tough, complicated, and invested in her community. While Danny breaks into luxury brownstones and strolls through Midtown high-rises trying to take back his family’s billions, Colleen runs a dojo that keeps at-risk youth off the street.
Like Danny, Colleen’s life is also split between two cultures, in her case Japanese and American. For Henwick—best known for her roles on Game of Thrones (she plays Nymeria, one of the Sand Sisters) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (as rebel X-Wing pilot Jessika Pava)—this is something of a departure.
“I’ve always made a point to play roles that aren’t specified by their ethnicity,” she says. “With [Colleen], it was the first role in quite a while that was defined by her culture. She was raised in Japan and now she lives in New York, and those are two polar opposite cultures.”
Henwick has heard fans’ concerns about cultural appropriation in Iron Fist, she says. It’s an issue she broaches delicately.
“Look,” she begins, slowly. “I am Asian.” (Jones bolts up next to her in faux-shock at this, making her laugh: “Whaaaat?”)
“I am Asian and I am an actor,” she continues. “If anyone understands, it’s me. I have faced it in my career. I’ve been working eight years and I’ve experienced it firsthand, the disparity when it comes to Asian representation—even more than that, Asian misrepresentation.
“But I also have seen what Finn’s done in this role and I honestly, honestly think that he smashes it out the park.”
Jones promises that, as Iron Fist progresses, new characters from “all over the globe” join the action. “Like, we have a very diverse cast,” he says, to nodding agreement from Henwick: “I think we have the most diverse cast out of all the Netflix Marvel shows,” she says.
“I remember just working with [the actors], thinking, ‘**** me! This is great!’” Jones says. “Like, look at all these powerful female roles. I think this is essentially a feminist ****ing show.”
He then turns to Henwick, eyes wide and gesticulating. “I think it’s also really important that people can identify with roles like yours,” he tells her. “With female roles or Asian roles, so people can look at television and be inspired by what they see because they’re being represented in a very strong and not-stereotyped way.”
“I really think the show is gonna, hopefully, transcend all of the noise that is out there at the moment,” Jones says, a touch of Danny Rand-style earnestness in his voice. “Because that was the intention. The intention was never to create something that didn’t represent people, that didn’t represent cultures.”
Henwick nods again, this time adding an emphatic “Yeah.”
“The intention has always been good,” he says. “So I just hope people will understand that.”

Personally, I don't really care. I mean I do, I hear the cries of Asian actors in Hollywood, but I sided with the swaps for the Mandarin (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?63555-Iron-Man-3) and the Ancient One (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69097-Doctor-Strange) because the actors (Kingsley and Swinton) that replaced the old racist characters were great and totally elevated what both films were doing. And I'm probably going to watch Ghost in the Shell (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68356-Ghost-in-the-Shell) because nekkid asskicking ScarJo ('nuf said, right? Maybe I'll try to see the Japanese dubbed version to be more PC (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68356-Ghost-in-the-Shell&p=1300682#post1300682)....eh, that's probably too much hassle). The bottom line for me will be if the show is any good. The pre-press buzz is pretty bad, but so was the talk before the presidential election. We'll know tomorrow.

Jimbo

03-16-2017, 09:44 AM

And I'm probably going to watch Ghost in the Shell (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68356-Ghost-in-the-Shell) because nekkid asskicking ScarJo ('nuf said, right?

Not to be a killjoy, Gene, but you do realize that Scarjo is most likely body doubled (or CGI'd?) in any nude scenes? :( :D

GeneChing

03-16-2017, 09:49 AM

Not to be a killjoy, Gene, but you do realize that Scarjo is most likely body doubled (or CGI'd?) in any nude scenes? :( :D
spoiler.

;)

sanjuro_ronin

03-16-2017, 11:12 AM

I don't agree that the source material was whitewashing, I mean, how was it?
Daniel Rand was the son of Wendall Rand, a white orphan in Tibet:

Daniel Rand is the son of Wendell Rand, who had, as a youth, visited the mystic city of K'un-Lun, which materialized in the Himalayas once a decade; founded roughly a million years ago by extraterrestrials, K'un-Lun was co-ruled by the aliens' descendants and powerful beings called the Dragon Kings, who were themselves subject to the godlike sorcerer Master Khan. Rand had saved the life of K'un-Lun's ruler Lord Tuan, who adopted Rand as his heir, to the resentment of Tuan's son, Yu-Ti. During his time in K'un-Lun, Rand married a woman named Shakari and fathered a daughter, Miranda Rand-K'ai. At some point, Rand won ritual combat against Davos, son of K'un-Lun's greatest warrior, Lei Kung the Thunderer, which entitled him to claim the power of Shou-Lao the Undying, a man transformed into a mystic serpent over a thousand years ago by the Dragon King Chiantang; however, although great K'un-Lun warriors had periodically wielded Shou-Lao's power as the Iron Fist, Rand declined the power. Ten years after coming to K'un-Lun, Rand was showing Shakari the restored nexus when Yu-Ti's men attacked them. Shakari was slain, and the grief-stricken Rand returned to Earth. Within a year, he became a successful businessman and married Heather Duncan. In his absence, Lord Tuan died and became ruler of Feng-Tu, abode of K'un-Lun's departed spirits, leaving Yu-Ti to rule K'un-Lun, while Lei Kung, shamed by Davos' defeat, banished his son to Earth.
When Daniel Rand was nine, at roughly the time K'un-Lun was scheduled to materialize, his father decided to bring him and Heather to K'un-Lun. Accompanied by Rand's business partner Harold Meachum, they traveled to the Himalayas, but Wendell fell from a mountain ledge; clutching the edge, he called to Meachum for help, but Meachum, hoping to control Rand's business shares, caused Wendell to plunge to his death. Shortly afterward, Heather sacrificed her life to protect Daniel from a wolf pack, and her spirit ascended to Feng-Tu. The denizens of K'un-Lun found Daniel and took him in, while a frostbite-crippled Meachum learned of Daniel's survival and spent the next decade preparing elaborate defenses against future attack.

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/universe/Iron_Fist_(Danny_Rand)#ixzz4bVx3yWyv

Where is there whitewashing in this?

sanjuro_ronin

03-16-2017, 11:17 AM

And that whole "white saviour" thing is just simply ridiculous !
IF may be many things but he is most certainly NOT a saviour.
Seems people are actively LOOKING for things to complain about and when they are not there, they make them up.

I never had much faith in this for other reasons BUT I didn't really think that the issue would actually be that the character was actually the same is the source material !

I mean, if we really want to address diversity then:

Marvel missed a great chance at showing diversity.
They should have made Luke Cage white, or perhaps Asian ( and by Asian I don't just mean Chinese obviously, he could have been Indian for example).
They should have made Daredevil Filipino or perhaps Turkish and Janet Jones should have been at the very least Native something or other. So disappointing...why Marvel? WHY ?!?!?!?!?

Zenshiite

03-19-2017, 04:56 AM

I'm enjoying the show, so far. My only real complaint is Finn Jones..... he needs more training. Like, seriously needs to spend a ton of time between seasons falling in love with martial arts to look more competant akin to what Keanu Reeves did on The Matrix. His anterior pelvic tilt really bothers me while he's going through his qigong routine...

I have a hard time with the whole argument that Iron Fist is whitewashing(not sure how that works in this case, since Danny Rand has never been Asian) or cultural appropriation. My understanding of cultural appropriation has been that it is A) using another culture's iconography as decor(a huge example of that would be how frequently I go into a home in the course of my job and see a Buddha statue sitting atop a toilet tank lid or elsewhere in a bathroom) or taking some element of a culture and erasing it's origin or significance or B) taking elements of someone's culture and using them disrespectfully(the classic example of the "sexy American Indian girl") or as mockery. Is adopting a different religion and training in martial arts "appropriation?" Because that sort of puts the last 17-18 years of my life into a problematic category having converted to Islam and trained a few different martial arts....

sanjuro_ronin

03-23-2017, 06:13 AM

Jimbo

03-23-2017, 07:26 AM

Ok, so I have watched 3 episodes so far.
The 3rd was by far the weakest in terms of MA skill for ALL involved.

Now, I knew the MA was going to be sub-par but the first couple were OK.

It is obvious that Jones and the female lead ( sorry I forget her name) should have had far more training ( not sure why they rushed this series).
The writing is OK and at times very chessy.

Pretty much everything I though was going to be an issue, IS an issue with this series.

That said, and maybe because my expectations were so low, I don't mind the series at all and kind of like it.

I knew that the IronFist character was going to have issues, especially since I realized they were not going the "immortal IF" route in terms of power and skill ( they may go there yet, not sure).

Look, IF is one of the most powerful fighters in all of marvel, he can quite literally, demolish pretty much anything and can heal pretty much everything short of a mortal injury and even project his chi.
Even in the comics they made him weak ( lets not forget that Steel serpent, who is LESS powerful than IF, matched up with Spider-man) and the weak link with Powerman, even though IF is actually MORE powerful than Luke Cage.

If Marvel really wants the Defenders to work they HAVE to fix IF.

If I remember right, in the comic when Iron Fist first met Luke Cage and fought him, IF ended up losing the fight by being overpowered and choked(?). And this was AFTER blasting Luke Cage with his big chi punch. Even back in the '70s, and IF not being one of my favorite characters, I thought it was an odd way to end their fight. Even though Luke Cage was one of my favorite Marvel characters (until he was teamed with IF).

*Edit to add:
In modern times, it's imperative that actors doing MA scenes be thoroughly trained for it. Because the days of a Chuck Norris, Cynthia Rothrock, Joe Lewis, Don Wilson, etc., are over. That is, being some kind of champion in MA with very limited acting ability is no longer a path to breaking into the movies. Now, it's established actors who are given some training to look like MAists, especially since The Matrix. And it needs to be done right. Otherwise, their MA performances are no better than Chuck Norris' acting (especially his early acting). Done right, a good actor with some athletic ability can be made to look as good or better onscreen than many actual fighters or MAists, *with the right choreography*.

The only American movies still being made starring MAists (or MA fighters) specifically are the straight-to-DVD, $5 bin at Wal-Mart movies starring current or former MMA fighters that probably few people even watch (I know I don't).

sanjuro_ronin

03-23-2017, 11:55 AM

Jimbo

03-23-2017, 12:12 PM

I'll probably have to check out Immortal IF at some point. Back in the '70s, I bought IF mainly because I was a completist and used to collect the entire Marvel Universe.

I wish chi development really were capable of developing such powers as you listed. I'd be on board (within reason). :)

sanjuro_ronin

03-23-2017, 12:40 PM

GeneChing

03-24-2017, 04:32 AM

Granted I'm only 2 eps in, but this is muthafeckin Iron Fist. The martial arts must be on point for me to enjoy this. I'm not a comics guy so I don't really care about authenticity to the source. It's all about the martial arts for me. I watch a ton of really bad cinema if the martial arts are good. But when a martial arts superhero has crappy choreography, I just can't buy into it.

However there's growing dissent about this amongst many of my martial arts cinema buff friends, and many are watching this through just because they are enjoyed dissing it. I might have to watch more to stay in those conversations. I might just skip to the RZA ep.

SimonM

03-24-2017, 08:07 AM

The tl;dr is that you don't get good kung fu action out of a creative team who have no experience with kung fu. (https://simonmcneil.com/2017/03/23/i-watched-iron-fist-so-you-dont-have-to-watch-these-instead/)

SimonM

03-24-2017, 08:09 AM

I might just skip to the RZA ep.

RZA seems to know how bad at action Finn Jones is, so his sets are not that well lit. It's still the second best episode in the whole run.

Zenshiite

03-25-2017, 04:46 AM

Jimbo,
The original IF was pretty weak as he was written, which didn't make much sense considering the source of his power.
The Immortal IF story changed that, but even then, at times, he was weaker than he should be.
Things OTHER IF have done ( or others with the power of the IF like Steel Serpent):
Use chi to substitute a lost limb.
Mind control.
Heal extensive wounds.
Defeat super powered beings.
Project their chi with the same effect as Armour piercing explosive rounds.
To name only a few.

Yes, I agree that I prefer to see a movie with a good actor with some fight skills ( Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Keanu for example), then great fighters with crappy acting.
That said they need great choreography AND decent athletic ability to "sell" the performance.
Jones doesn't seem to have that right now, BUT it wasn't as noticeable in the first 2 episodes and was VERY noticeable in the 3rd.

A huge part of what they did in Immortal Iron Fist to explain the relative weakness of Danny's abilities is that his predecessor, Orson Randall, was still alive and using the Chi of Shou-Lao the Undying. When Orson was in close proximity to Danny and used the Iron Fist, it hurt Danny. And Orson had taken The Book of the Iron Fist when he fled Kun-Lun in the early 1900s. The Book has a complete record and writings of every previous Iron Fist and the various abilities they innovated using the power. So, it wasn't until Danny was able to take Orson's chi upon his death that his power was much higher, and then he learned more abilities reading the Book of the Iron Fist.

The show seems to be taking elements of that part of The Immortal Iron Fist, and also merging some of Danny's story with his father Wendell's(remember, Wendell had been a kind of kid sidekick to Orson Randall and had also gone to Kun-Lun and trained to be Iron Fist.... and chickened out as he approached the cave of Shou-Lao the Undying, simultaneously ****ing off Davos causing Davos' hatred of Danny decades later).

I don't think Finn's skill will look any better in Defenders, and that sucks. Hopefully they can fix that by season 2 of Iron Fist.

I'm hooked on the show though, despite those deficiencies.

sanjuro_ronin

03-27-2017, 04:21 AM

GeneChing

03-28-2017, 08:44 AM

I liked the animated .gifs. ;)

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/c3/0c/4c/74/9cb0/4551/87e0/852482fcfe0e/way-of-the-dragon-1972.gif?rect=0%2C0%2C852%2C426&auto=format&w=1800&gifq=35

Bruce Lee Would Hate 'Iron Fist' (https://www.inverse.com/article/29405-marvel-iron-fist-finn-jones-kung-fu-bruce-lee)
'Iron Fist' has exactly the martial arts action Bruce Lee didn't want.
Eric Francisco March 23, 2017

Marvel’s Iron Fist has been engulfed in criticism since it was first announced. The series adapts a comic book about a white expert in the culture and martial arts style of a fictional Asian culture, and though that setup is outdated and based on the belief that only a white man can be an effective protagonist, Marvel and Netflix kept that intact in 2017. Aside from the ethnicity of its hero, the series had just one thing to achieve in order to prove itself worthy: Show off some badass kung fu. A cleverly-choreographed action show would have given it some leeway among critics, but unfortunately, the action is where Iron Fist fails the hardest.

If Captain America is the perfect soldier and the Hulk is a big green monster, then Iron Fist should be the avatar of hella sick martial arts. (At least until Shang-Chi shows up.) But the action in Iron Fist is, for a variety of reasons, as bland as Danny himself. Given how Marvel’s properties act as homages to whole genres, Iron Fist stumbles as Marvel-branded kung fu cinema.

Roy Thomas and Gil Kane created Iron Fist in the 1970s. At that time, kung fu movies were a phenomenon spurred on after the passing of Bruce Lee. Though no one could fill Lee’s shoes, many tried. Roy Thomas doesn’t remember the movie that inspired his creation; he insists he saw it pre-Bruceploitation, but Lee’s influence in martial arts cinema is indisputable.

Bruce Lee — and later stars like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and choreographers like Yuen Woo-ping — understood how martial arts and filmmaking worked in harmony: The action must be clear, crisp, and most importantly, it must tell a story. Whether the fights are graceful and fluid (Jackie Chan, Jet Li), or no-bull****, tactical ass-kicking (Bruce Lee), how it’s filmed matters. Otherwise, it’s just people beating each other up. Imbuing both characters in a fight with separate objectives beyond their emotions is just basic storytelling.

Brett Chan, choreographer of Iron Fist and Netflix’s other exoticized series, Marco Polo, told Comicsverse that showrunner Scott Buck wanted Wing Chun and “all the animal styles of kung fu” like dragon, crane, and tiger. The goal, it seemed, was to make Danny Rand well-versed in combat, as if his skills were fueled by primal instinct. But onscreen, Jones looks uncomfortable, like he’s held by puppet strings.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/15/01/e7/ea/10f2/4a74/9179/efd9b199846f/mar-22-2017-17-21-13gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35

The crimes of Iron Fist can’t be blamed on just one hand in the cookie jar. The lackluster fight scenes are a team effort between stuntmen, editors, cinematographers, directors, and more, which means things can easily fall apart. So it’s not Chan’s sole responsibility, and he told Comicsverse as much: “[W]ith the action that we have … I hope that the edits come out as action packed with style, that will leave the audience wanting more and more.”

After Iron Fist premiered, a scene from Episode 4 went viral because it showed over 50 — 50! — editing cuts. This problem is rampant throughout the show. Even the simple hallway fight isn’t immune: The constant cutting renders all of Finn Jones’s punches and kicks awfully limp.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/e1/b5/71/fe/54fa/42f2/aa52/9c9c37da4fb9/mar-22-2017-17-22-46gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
This hallway fight from 'Iron Fist' was a confusing mess.

When you juxtapose Danny Rand’s hallway up with Matt Murdock’s, or even Choi Min-sik’s in Oldboy, Rand doesn’t come out looking great.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/fa/81/2f/3a/6a54/4f41/a04d/e17dc9e24aae/when-daredevil-premiered-its-stunning-hallway-fight-scene-fans-immediately-compared-it-to-olboy.gif?auto=format&w=550&gifq=35
When 'Daredevil' premiered its stunning hallway fight scene, fans immediately compared it to 'Oldboy'.

That many edits crammed into such a short scene isn’t dazzling; it’s dizzying. Worse, it’s an affront to the way Bruce Lee constructed his scenes. Despite being over 40 years old, Lee’s fights are still mesmerizing today. Compare any fight scene from Iron Fist to Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury below, which has far fewer cuts and a clearer sense of space.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/b8/08/f9/08/f6c6/4e89/acd8/039ac046fa82/mar-22-2017-17-27-05gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
Bruce Lee in 'Fist of Fury' (1972).

And it’s not a matter of Bruce Lee having all that space to work with either. The filmmakers of The Raid: Redemption also used tight hallways to their advantage.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/d3/82/5c/b8/ce1f/4c06/bcac/939b9ad6390d/mar-23-2017-00-10-46gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
'The Raid: Redemption' (2012)

Constructing and showcasing martial arts in movies, again, is a joint effort between actor, choreographer, and filmmaker. But despite rigorous training and effort on the part of Jones, who trained in wushu and tai chi “two and a half hours” a day, Jones is not a lifelong martial artist, and it shows. Daniel Wu, the star of Into the Badlands, argues it’s not important to be a master to look like a star. “You’ve gotta understand camera angles, camera movement — a kick that may not be very powerful may look very powerful from a certain angle,” he said in a 2015 GQ interview.

But no camera angle in Iron Fist made Jones look like the unstoppable force he’s supposed to be. Below is a portion of the 35-second scene that’s received immense criticism from cinematographers and fight choreographers alike:

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/77/a8/f5/a5/15e7/4ab4/9e3a/c08a494d775d/mar-22-2017-22-54-04gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
Danny Rand killed a dragon. Why is he scared of a knife?

Compare what’s happening above to Jet Li and Michael Ian Lambert in 2005’s Unleashed. Once again: the scene is set inside a confined space like Iron Fist, but there’s still not as many cuts or confusing camera work. In fact, Unleashed pretty much does the exact opposite, and uses the environment to its advantage.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/fb/73/1e/73/4676/426f/aba3/8bbc68e30ab2/mar-22-2017-17-24-35gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
'Unleashed' (2005)

continued next post

GeneChing

03-28-2017, 08:45 AM

Another thing working against Iron Fist is how an overwhelming amount of fight scenes are cloaked in shadow. The tournament in Episode 6 and the fight with Davos in Episode 12 are almost unwatchable, which wouldn’t be bad if Finn Jones wore his snazzy green or white costumes from the comics instead of all black. Watching this isn’t cool, it’s just frustrating.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/11/30/59/27/3e00/4f99/be2d/455c418710d6/mar-22-2017-23-55-41gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
Can you see anything?

Dark atmospheres can still be achieved even with intense lighting, like in Ip Man. Each move is illuminated, but the cinematography remains stark.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/40/f2/8e/a1/dd88/4257/9055/2af999a53fd5/mar-23-2017-00-12-31gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
'Ip Man' (2008)

Consider this scene from Into the Badlands, in which the actors are clearly supposed to be fighting in a dark dungeon, though their movements have been illuminated for the viewer’s sake.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/9b/c6/82/d6/fca7/4ed0/b912/be0cc1e3df38/mar-23-2017-00-15-30gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
'Into the Badlands' (2015)

Perhaps Iron Fist’s most obvious mistake is making the fights in its own story feel low-stakes. Danny Rand is only motivated to beat up each person to get to his next scene like he’s in a video game. But in good kung fu movies, characters fight with high stakes, no matter what point they’re at in their narrative. Jackie Chan is a master of portraying this; so often in his fight scenes, Jackie’s characters have an objective, like surviving a dangerous environment:

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/f2/36/44/56/edd8/41b7/9a4b/345da48f6f9e/mar-22-2017-22-27-09gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
'Operation Condor' (1991)

Or drinking as much booze as possible while evading capture:

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/d5/f3/c0/0d/128f/46fe/a553/676a73a94cef/mar-23-2017-00-28-16gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
'Legend of the Drunken Master' (1994)

Iron Fist doesn’t have any of this. The show just goes from one scene to the next, treating the fights like an obligation to fulfill.

As the so-called Immortal Weapon, the Iron Fist should be one of the greatest fighters in the MCU. But he lacks both pizazz and charisma. This was Bruce Lee’s true legacy: More than 40 years after his passing, Bruce Lee still feels alive when you watch his no-nonsense style — his signature Jeet Kune Do, which is all about practical fighting — with careful camera movement and cuts that emphasize the action. Iron Fist hides it, perhaps because the production team knew Finn Jones’s fighting ability wasn’t up to par.

Bruce Lee set and still maintains the gold standard of kung fu cinema. He was a champion dancer, but he didn’t fight like he had strings pulling him. The same can’t be said for Iron Fist.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/48/80/34/6e/69a4/4dc6/a978/c0157e1b5b1f/mar-23-2017-10-34-01gif.gif?auto=format&w=700&gifq=35
Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, in 'The Way of the Dragon' (1972).

Iron Fist is currently available to stream on Netflix.

I haven't gone back to watch more. When I get the chance, I'll watch the RZA ep. Any other eps standout that I should check out?

Jimbo

03-28-2017, 08:51 AM

Perhaps the Iron Fist fights are in the dark to hide Finn Jones' lack of MA skill (or perhaps that he's being doubled)?

mickey

03-28-2017, 10:44 AM

Perhaps the Iron Fist fights are in the dark to hide Finn Jones' lack of MA skill (or perhaps that he's being doubled)?

Greetings,

This was done in Musketeer. When they walked around in daylight with dialogue, they were 6'2'. When they fought in the dark shots, they were @ 5' 6" tall.

mickey

sanjuro_ronin

03-29-2017, 05:24 AM

Jimbo

03-29-2017, 07:27 AM

The fighting has gotten worse, painfully so.

This is because of the obvious lack of skill of Jones BUT more so because the fight choreography is simply bad.
IF should be head over heels above everyone else in terms of MA skill, with only Davos being able to match up in terms of fighting skill, but no match for the actual IF of course.
The choreography should reflect that high level of skill and that would actual mask Jones lack of skill, how so?
Simple:
High level of skill means LESS moves needed to defeat attackers, more simple moves ( since the advanced stuff is used VS the master fighters) and more "one shot kills".
With Jones' lack of skill, doing forms is the WORSE thing he can do and yet they have him doing them almost every episode and painfully so !

Quite simply, this is a case of bad choreography for the story and the lead actor.

Great point, SR.

I suspect that point is probably lost on most people, though. Especially among many American/Westernized choreographers, and when it has to do with kung fu. Meaning, such MA choreographers probably think that flashier/more difficult and complex=higher skill level. Or they think that's what the audience believes.

Obviously, I give old-school HK/Taiwan kung fu movies a big pass on this, because they had people who were either skilled MAists or non-MA actors/performers who, with the right choreography, were capable of pulling off difficult sequences. Plus, the concept was different than IF.

IMO, IF's choreographers should have taken a page out of the old Japanese samurai movies instead of HK/China productions. For example, Mifune was not a MAist, but looked like one through simple, direct, realistic choreography. And his strong charisma/screen presence played an even bigger role in it, too.

sanjuro_ronin

03-29-2017, 08:30 AM

On the button Jimbo.

Another way is to slow down the action with slo-mo hand moves with special fist formations, this gives the look of advanced while still being simple ( a palm strike to the chest in a tiger claw looks bad ass in slo mo compared to simply a punch or palm but is the same move really).
Jones is a good actor but to sell physical action you need a great choreographer AND great camera work.

sanjuro_ronin

04-03-2017, 04:13 AM

So, I finally finished watching the whole season.
The biggest issue with the series is, most certainly for me, the fighting,
As discussion before, the choreography and skill of the two lead actors leaves much to be desired.
In regards to story line:
I understand why they they used The Hand ( tie in with Daredevil) so I was OK with that but I am not a fan of two things:
Davos story line is NOT as good as the one in the comics.
That the Kun Lun monastery that Daniel trained in is named after the Crane mother, which is an enemy of Kun Lun in the comics, doesn't make any sense to anyone that read the Comics and was not needed for the story line for those that haven't read it, so that doesn't make any sense at all.
The acting was ok but not great and, to be honest, I didn't really feel anything for the lead Character.
Unlike Daredevil with his "Catholic" guilt and obsession for justics, Jessica Jones and her PTSD and Luke Cage and his desire to simply be left alone but still wanting to right wrongs deep down, Daniel's character was, well, blah.
All in all I give it a 5 out of 10.

I think there is potential for it to get better though and I hope it does.

GeneChing

04-04-2017, 07:55 AM

How many nails doth a coffin make?

Is a Disappointing Ghost in the Shell the Nail in the Coffin of Hollywood Whitewashing? (http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/04/ghost-in-the-shell-box-office-whitewashing-bad-for-business)
The film’s anemic box office is only the latest financial fallout of Asian erasure.
by JOANNA ROBINSON
APRIL 2, 2017 3:54 PM

http://media.vanityfair.com/photos/58dd352b65fc5645669ff442/master/w_960,c_limit/whitewashing-ghost-in-the-shell-iron-fist.png
From left: courtesy of Netflix, courtesy of Paramount, courtesy of Legendary

It’s become increasingly impossible to ignore general social pushback when it comes to Asian representation in film and television. Whether it’s cut-and-dried whitewashing (e.g., casting a white performer in an Asian role) or slightly more complex cases of cultural appropriation, the hue and cry from progressive voices in film and TV criticism has called for an end to white leads in Asian and Asian-inspired properties. But Hollywood—a town driven by dollars and not always sense—is more likely to listen when protests hurt the bottom line. Ghost in the Shell, the Scarlett Johansson-starring adaptation of the popular Japanese manga, is only the latest controversial project to stumble at the box office. Will this misstep finally put an end to whitewashing?

According to Box Office Mojo, in its first weekend, Ghost in the Shell pulled in approximately $20 million domestically on a $110 million budget—below even the conservative prediction that site made earlier in the week. That number looks even more anemic when compared with Lucy, Johansson’s R-rated 2014 film, which pulled in $43.8 million on its opening weekend. Unlike Ghost in the Shell, Lucy wasn’t based on a pre-existing property and didn’t have an established fanbase to draw on. But the Johansson casting has clearly alienated fans of the original manga and anime versions of Ghost in the Shell, and their dampened enthusiasm appears to have discouraged newcomers as well.

The controversy around Johansson’s casting has plagued Ghost in the Shell since late 2014. Johansson stars as Major (whose full name is “Major Motoko Kusanagi” in the manga), a synthetic, cybernetic body housing the brain of a dead Japanese woman. Both fans of the original and advocates for Asian actors in Hollywood argued that a Japanese actress should have been cast in the role, while a spokesperson for Ghost in the Shell publisher Kodansha gave Johansson its blessing, saying the publisher “never imagined it would be a Japanese actress in the first place.” Johansson herself defended the film this week, saying:

I think this character is living a very unique experience in that she has a human brain in an entirely machinate body. I would never attempt to play a person of a different race, obviously. Hopefully, any question that comes up of my casting will be answered by audiences when they see the film.

But it seems audiences weren’t inclined to give the film that chance. There’s no ignoring the fact that controversy cast a cloud over the film, and it’s difficult not to draw a direct line from that to the movie’s disappointing opening weekend.

Ghost in the Shell is not the first project to feel the burn of “race-bent” casting. Though other factors may have added to their unpopularity, The Last Airbender, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Aloha, Pan, and more have all foundered at the box office. (These films also received unfavorable reviews, but bad reviews alone can’t snuff out box-office potential.) Matt Damon’s heavily criticized, China-set film The Great Wall didn’t fare much better. In addition to becoming an Oscar night punchline for Jimmy Kimmel, the movie grossed only $45 million domestically on a $150 million budget. Marvel’s too-big-to-fail Avengers installment Doctor Strange is the recent exception that proves the rule: not even Tilda Swinton’s controversial casting in the historically Asian role of the Ancient One could slow this film down. It made more than $232 million domestically and $677.5 million worldwide.

But since Netflix won’t release ratings data to the public, the jury is still out on whether the Marvel brand was also enough to combat the furor over Finn Jones being cast as the historically white Danny Rand in the latest Defenders installment, Iron Fist. (This is a case in which “cultural appropriation”—Danny is a better martial artist than all the other Asian characters around him—inspired public outcry, rather than “whitewashing.”) While various tech companies have claimed in the past to be able to analyze Netflix’s data, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos himself has historically pushed back on those results. One such company, 7Park Data, claims that Iron Fist defied both bad reviews and controversy to become Netflix’s “most-binged drama premiere”—meaning audiences allegedly tore through episodes at a faster clip than usual. But by the only Netflix-sanctioned metric available—the site’s soon-to-be-gone star rating—Iron Fist is lagging behind other Defenders shows. As of publication, it had earned only three stars from users, compared with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage—which all pulled in 4.25 or higher.

Even if Marvel’s bottom line is controversy-proof so far, it’s unlikely that its parent company, the increasingly and intentionally diverse Walt Disney Studios, will want to weather further public relations storms like the ones that swirled around both Doctor Strange and Iron Fist. Paramount, too, seems to have kept its head down when it came to deploying Ghost in the Shell. After it was revealed that the visual effects company Lola VFX had done tests on Ghost in the Shell in order to digitally “shift” the “ethnicity” of a Caucasian actress and make her appear more Asian in the film (there’s disagreement over whether that actress was Johansson herself), the wind went out of the studio’s sails. Ghost in the Shell also screened very late for critics—a sure sign that a studio would prefer to mitigate any damage caused by negative word of mouth and early reviews.

But what has tipped the needle on the issue of Asian erasure in film and television from progressive social concern to bottom-line disrupter? Pushback on both whitewashing and limited opportunities for Asian performers in Hollywood has recently gotten a boosted signal, thanks to both social media and the uncensored honesty of popular Asian and East Asian actors like Kal Penn, John Cho, Constance Wu, Aziz Ansari, and Ming-Na Wen. And that boosted signal comes at a time when, according to a 2016 MPAA study, younger (and likely more socially progressive) Asian-American film-goers between the ages of 18 and 24 are going to more movies, while the Caucasian film-going population is on the decline.

But domestic box office alone may not be enough to bring about social change. With Hollywood increasingly obsessed with appealing to lucrative Asian markets abroad, it’s as yet unclear whether casting white leads in Asian-centric or inspired properties hurts the global bottom line. The Great Wall, directed by Chinese legend Zhang Yimou, did decently overseas, making 86.4 percent of its total intake on foreign screens. And while Ghost in the Shell has yet to open in either Japan or China, it took in roughly $40.1 million in other foreign markets this weekend, including Russia, Germany, and South Korea. Then again, the massive global box-office returns of films with diverse casts, including Rogue One and the Fast and the Furious franchise, render any argument that Caucasian actors are required for international success null and void.

Meanwhile, at home, the protests against Asian erasure are only growing more intense. While still licking its wounds from the critical drubbing it received for Iron Fist, Netflix is staring down the barrel of another appropriation controversy. This time, it’s the popular manga Death Note that has gotten a Seattle-based makeover, putting Caucasian actors Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley in roles that originally had the last names Yagami and Amane. Willem Dafoe will voice the Japanese spirit Ryuk. The protest around Death Note is already significantly louder than for other past American adaptations of Asian properties like The Ring, The Grudge, and The Departed.

Though America itself is a very socially divided country, the cool, impartial truth of box-office returns reveals a film and TV industry that is facing a sea change when it comes to Asian representation. History may soon look back on the Asian erasure of Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, and Ghost in the Shell with an even more unfavorable eye. Just as blackface in film and TV gradually became unacceptable (and more recently than you may think), the marginalization and appropriation of Asian culture could be on its way out the door—with these recent financial disappointments only serving as a last gasp of a bygone era.

sanjuro_ronin

04-05-2017, 04:22 AM

The real issue with IF was the choreography and this is from people that don't know much MA.
The fights were simply not as good as the other Marvel series on Netflix or Arrow for example.
The casting wasn't as much an issue as the SJW in social media want people to think.
No one I have spoken to cared about WHO was cast other than their clear lack of skill.

As for Ghost in the shell, you will see it rebound overseas where no one gives an ass about the "whitewash" controversy.

GeneChing

04-06-2017, 09:23 AM

The real issue with IF was the choreography and this is from people that don't know much MA.
Ya think? Honestly, you guys know I'm not a comics guy. I'm only passingly aware of Iron Fist because I'm into the martial arts. This should've been a choreographic masterpiece. That's all I asked of it. Good fight scenes. :mad:

Yesterday, 10:00 am
Destroy All Monsters: IRON FIST Doesn't Just Suck, It Sucks the Rest of the Marvel Television Universe Down With It (http://screenanarchy.com/2017/04/destroy-all-monsters-iron-fist-doesnt-just-suck-it-sucks-the-rest-of-the-marvel-television-universe.html)

Matt Brown
COLUMNIST; TORONTO, CANADA (@TEDERICK)

http://screenanarchy.com/assets_c/2017/04/dam-nine-spiders-thumb-860xauto-66161.jpg

Iron Fist isn't just the worst thing in Marvel's nearly-ten-year MCU arsenal; it's indeed one of those rarest of pop cultural entities, an outright creative disaster. It can be used as a teaching case in universities for everything from film classes to project management: just because A was successful (and B, and C, and D in Marvel's case), doesn't mean whatever you do next will be.

Iron Fist, starring the hopelessly miscast Finn Jones in the title role, behaves as though it smelled the Orientalism controversy coming and decided to lean into the punch. Where Doctor Strange contained, at least, notions of white privilege as it applies to its overall white saviour framework, Iron Fist doesn't seem to know that those notions are there, or could be there (or could make the show better by being there).

It indeed casts a white man as a traditionally-white character in Marvel's '70s kung fu comic, and buffs up that decision by casting a white man who must be the single least convincing action lead I've ever seen on a screen, anywhere. And it surrounds all this with overall storytelling and production value so unrelentingly ****poor that they begin to serve as a kind of mediocrity cloaking device.

You've gotta work pretty hard to make an Iron Fist show where the problematic racial elements are just as bad as everyone feared, and yet aren't actually the worst thing going on. Off a guess, I'd say the series' mission statement was: "Let's see what happens when we make a series built around a lead character who is a colossal ******* in an unwavering state of chaos, who doesn't know it, never finds out about it, and never changes it." I'm all for the unsympathetic protagonists, but Breaking Bad, this ain't.

Marvel is teeing up for a big year at the movies (Guardians 2, the new Spider-Man, and a Thor movie that even non-Thor people are keyed up to see) and, perhaps, a less than stellar year on television. Iron Fist showrunner Scott Buck is beavering away on The Inhumans for this fall, a series that is already a downgrade from a feature film project and which covers ground better handled elsewhere already. The Defenders is on its way, but between last year's flawed-but-worthy offerings (Daredevil season 2; Luke Cage) and this Iron Fist mess, I'm mostly looking forward to it as an opportunity to spend some more time with Jessica Jones (and Sigourney Weaver).

Surprising everyone including myself, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is in the middle of its best season yet, but now feels so divorced from the rest of the MCU that it scarcely seems to matter. It got walled off back when it was the worst thing Marvel had done, and is doing just fine.

Iron Fist, by dint of being the anchor leg of the Defenders project, doesn't have that luxury. Whether its failures will torpedo The Defenders remains to be seen, but watching the series, I was more amazed (and disappointed) by how quickly and effectively it rubbed the shine off its preceding series as well.

Look, I'm a big booster overall for both seasons of Daredevil and for Jessica Jones, and think that Luke Cage gets off to a great start. Iron Fist's mess spills over onto them, though. The latest series takes a can of pink spray paint to the shoddy workmanship of its predecessors.

It makes the various Netflix series' reveals feel more like tricks, their predictable beats feel more like laziness, and the shoestring budgets feel more like a bug and less like a feature than ever before.

Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage each, in their way, felt like Marvel pushing the boundaries of the established House Style. Iron Fist makes the quadruped feel more like what it is: bargain basement stories married to low-rent production values and dangled before an audience long since presumed to be "captive." It feels, disappointingly, like it was true all along. This was just the one where the seams burst, the illusion no longer able to carry the flimsiness of the construction.

It takes a pathological kind of creative bankruptcy to take a franchise that is, by any rational analysis, a kung fu movie, and strait-jacket it into the established Defenders universe visual language without even the courtesy nods towards stylistic innovation that marked the first couple episodes of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. This is some cheap, cheap chicken.

The average issue of Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction and David Aja's run on The Immortal Iron Fist had more kinetic imagery on the page (pages which do not, last I checked, actually move) than any given fight scene in Iron Fist. None of the season's directors seem to want to make even token efforts to stretch the resources they've been given to arrive at something even slightly more artful and daring than what the terrible scripts have given them. Even RZA, who really ought to know better, is brought in to direct the season's only "tournament" style episode and never finds a moment of wuxia grace in any of it.

I give Netflix maximum kudos for their push towards house-owned content and the speed and effectiveness with which they've gotten there. The more entries like Iron Fist show up, though, the more it starts to make the entire Netflix-style 13-episode binge series feel mightily threadbare.

If everyone knows that the middle third of a Netflix season is going to be wild-goose-chase plotting, why are those episodes there? Would subscriptions actually dip if Iron Fist was 8 episodes, or 6, or a TV movie? Would a single viewer notice or care if the Meachums - Ward, June, and Faramir - weren't in Iron Fist at all? I doubt it. They're padding, wandering around on two legs apiece.

Just as the visual blandness of Iron Fist shows the limitations of its sister series, the proscribed run of episodes shows how haphazardly arbitrary the 13-episode order actually is. It's based on a model of network television to which Netflix has literally never been beholden. If the studio is the only one with the balls to bank Scorsese's next movie, might they also have the balls to find a television creator and ask him or her what the natural extent of their storytelling frame is? Are audiences still this dim-witted, that they think they're being duped if they don't see more episode titles in their queue than they have room on the screen?

I've written before about the dangers of pipeline content, where every new show or movie is just streaming media to eventually be sent down the digital delivery pipes regardless of shape, size, or colour. Iron Fist feels like the grey paste that comes out of that pipe when no one cares what's being delivered any more, so long as something is being delivered.

If this is television's new "golden age," studios are going to tailor the medium to the content, not the other way around. The flexibility is there, and the field is wide open. Television is an embarrassment of riches right now - why would anyone waste their time with Iron Fist?

Destroy All Monsters is a weekly column on Hollywood and pop culture. Matt Brown is in Toronto and on Letterboxd.

GeneChing

04-06-2017, 10:52 AM

INTERVIEW, MARTIAL ARTS, TELEVISION
One-on-One with Into the Badlands’ Daniel Wu (https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2017/04/03/one-on-one-with-into-the-badlands-daniel-wu/)
AMC’s Into the Badlands is in their second season and are going strong with their viewership, storyline, and martial arts. Unlike other series that attempts the martial arts genre, Into the Badlands’ stellar moves can be attributed to executive producer, and star of the series, Daniel Wu.

The Nerds of Color got a chance to sit down and chat with the actor about the second season and what makes the show so appealing to audiences.

https://i0.wp.com/images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/25197_ITB_S2_SunnysJourney20.jpg

LAURA: So, the series is getting a lot of comparisons with another controversial “martial arts” show that was released on the same weekend as season two of your show. Into the Badlands was deemed the cure to your Iron Fist blues and the show that Iron Fist should have been. With the controversy over the Asian American Iron Fist campaign and critics panning Iron Fist for the lack of martial arts, what are your thoughts regarding these issues?

DANIEL: I think if you’re going to sell a show as a martial arts show and you don’t have martial arts in it or the martial arts sucks, then that’s obviously a problem. When we created this show, Badlands, our main point was to try to bring Hong Kong level martial arts action to American television. That was our goal. That was our main goal. Everything else was trying to make a good show — secondary to that main goal. Of course, we want to have a good show so you have to have a good story, good characters, and all that kind of stuff. But, that’s what we were selling and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we did sell in the first season. I think, you know, again with this Marvel property, I don’t know because I haven’t seen it yet. But again, if you’re going to be selling martial arts, you guys should know how to fight well. If they don’t fight well, then that’s a big problem.

https://i1.wp.com/www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/daniel-wu-as-sunny.jpg

In terms of the whitewashing issue, I don’t know if it’s a whitewashing issue because their character was already white to begin with. And, then you talk about cultural appropriation, I think Asian Americans need to chill out a little bit, because that’s like saying “white people can’t rap,” right? That’s like saying “Asian people can’t play American football” or Jeremy Lin shouldn’t be playing basketball. It’s ridiculous to say that white people can’t do martial arts. That’s cultural appropriation. I don’t buy that. That’s not fair. I mean, Bruce Lee, the King of Martial Arts, was key to bringing martial arts to America, not just Asian America. He taught white people. He taught black people. He taught all kinds of people. That’s my philosophy. Martial arts is an equalizer. It doesn’t matter what culture you’re from. If you feel like you’re weak, you can become strong. Martial arts can give that to you. It’s not about your race at all, in any way.

A lot of people had a lot of issues with Iron Fist because it was not whitewashing, but following the white savior trope — where the white guy saves Asian people or the white guys saves them using Asian methods.
Is that’s what happening in the show? I don’t know if he’s saving Asian people in that show. In the comics, it was a white guy who went to Asia to learn martial arts and comes back and becomes a superhero.

https://images.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_470,q_auto:good,w_620/wfo9qijnexmtt1infe6q.jpg

There are some awkward moments where he’s speaking Chinese to a girl. There are also moments where he’s better than people who have been training their entire life.
Sure. If you made that character Asian, would all those issues still be a issue? If the character becomes Asian and he becomes better than his master, who has been training for thousands of years. It’s still an issue.

At the same time, if an Asian guy used a language to talk to a girl or study their background, it’s much more acceptable.
Yeah. I haven’t seen the show, so it’s really hard for me to really judge that. I want to be fair. At the same time, they are obviously paying for their mistakes now. I’ve seen the backlash, so I know people are ****ed off. I feel, probably what happened is, what you can blame there was an opportunity for Marvel to make it better and they didn’t do it. That’s all I could say there.

https://tribzap2it.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/into-the-badlands-season-2-daniel-wu-1.jpg?w=1400

Into the Badlands has proven that a series can break away from the Asian martial arts trope with its character development. The character is not defined by their skill and instead is allowed to grow. What elements do you feel that Into the Badlands was able to accomplish with that?
I think what is interesting is that we don’t talk about race in the show at all, but it’s a very diverse show. There’s black, white, Latino, and other Asians, but we don’t talk about race. It’s about their abilities. It’s about what these people are doing. It’s about their stories. So, we don’t make it an issue about race. That’s what I like about it. I don’t know if I could do a show about Asian American issues. That’s kind of boring to me. Having grown up in America as an Asian American and then lived in Asia for twenty years, then come back. I’m not interested in Asian American whining. You know, “we’re not represented enough.” It’s like, go do it. That’s the kind of person I am. I don’t sit around and complain and wish I had better opportunities. I make the opportunities happen for me. I think that’s what we need to do as Asian Americans now. There are no boundaries, especially now with the digital era. If you want to make film and put it on YouTube, you can. Look at all these people who are YouTube stars right now. They’re Asian American. They’re doing it. They found a way to make it work for them. I give all those people a lot of credit for it.
continued next post

GeneChing

04-06-2017, 10:52 AM

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I’m very proud that we’re diverse without having talked about “diversity.” Like, these characters, Sunny and Veil — that relationship — a black woman and an Asian man. You’ve never seen that on anything in the world ever actually before. I think it’s very cool that we’re just people in love. We’re not a black person or Asian person. We’re just people in love. We’re trying to have this baby. It’s very cool. I’m proud of that. We’re being diverse without raising a diversity flag, because that’s not what the show is about. Again, what we’re trying to do is make a good show and if it happens to be diverse. Those are great bonuses to jump along with, but that shouldn’t be the catalyst for the show. That shouldn’t be what makes the show run.

Director and stunt woman extraordinaire Lexi Alexander has highly praised Into the Badlands as a whole. Many of the cast and creatives have also interacted with her on Twitter. Is there any chance of a collaboration with Into the Badlands or even outside of the series?
Yeah, I think we’re open to all kinds of possibilities for our show, especially with television directors. We switch out directors every two episodes. So with a ten-episode season, that means there are five directors per season. So there’s a lot of opportunities to work with great people. So if they’re a good storyteller, then I’m definitely open to the fact to bring them in.

Into the Badlands has been praised for its strong female characters. Aside from Veil, there were few WOCs on the show last season, but this year we have The Master and Baron Chau. Was it a conscious decision to include more WOC characters?

I would say it was a conscious decision to add more characters of color, I think, to be more diverse. Yeah. So you see it this season in the first episode, you see a lot of the Butterflies in the background, there’s all kinds of girls there. That is a conscious decision to reflect upon what we think American society would be in the future and what it is now. I think most people, when you talk about the post-apocalyptic genre, it’s not really about the future, it’s reflecting on what’s happening right now. So, to reflect on now, you have to be true to that. So, we definitely made the decision to cast more diverse with all the roles, whether it’s female or male. You’ll see the other barons. There are a few other barons that are different races and different sexes. We’re trying to make a world that everyone can understand and relate to.

https://aws.boxofficebuz.com/shows/video-images/medium_4483-into-the-badlands-season-2-official-teaser-trailer.jpg

In an article last year, you made a statement that you would have to wait a bit to see what impact Into the Badlands has made for people, whether it’d be in the Asian American community or the martial arts world. Since this is the second season, and it has been highly praised, what impact do you feel the series has made?

I mean, I think we made a little blip on the pop culture meter for sure. I mean, in multiple levels. One, we have a martial arts show that is successful on television right now. There aren’t many martial arts shows, so that was one of our main points. Then secondly, to have the action lauded as it is. People love the action. People come back for the action. Then to have a great story that happens to be with a very diverse cast. That’s also a great thing that people are in to. There are characters that people can get into, whether you want to follow Sunny’s storyline or not. Some people just like the Widow. The #ColorMeBadlands Twitter people just love Sunny and Veil and that relationship. So that’s what I think is great about the show.

It doesn’t just follow one person or one storyline. There are multiple storylines. As an audience, if you’re a teenager or a twelve-year-old, you might be really into MK and Tilda and their storyline. If you’re a full grown adult, you might be into the Sunny storyline. You might be into Quinn’s storyline. There are so many different things there for everyone to relate to. Then, [you’ll see] what these characters and storylines represent in the real world. What are they trying to say? And, that’s all in the subtext. I think we slide all that stuff in there for the audience trying to figure out what we’re talking about. You’ll see references. You’ve seen episode two with the wall. There are all these references that we’re talking about and we’re putting them in there as kind of Easter eggs, but also to get people thinking a bit more. This is a show about the future and about how the world got ****ed up and how it ended up this way. We’re putting in things about how that happened. You have to be careful as a human race, as Americans, and how we run this country in the future. It could end up like the Badlands and we don’t want that to happen.

It’s almost time to wrap up, but what can you tell us more about your role in the new Tomb Raider film starring Alicia Vikander since you’ve entered production for the film?

I can’t talk too much, but the character is named Lu Ren. Lara Croft comes to Hong Kong after she finds some clues about [her father]. It’s an origin story, so it goes back to the very beginning before she becomes Lara Croft: Tomb Raider that you know from the game. She’s looking for her dad. The story is that her dad has disappeared for seven years. She thinks he’s dead, but she finds some clues [showing] that he may still be alive. That leads her to Hong Kong and that’s where she finds me and enlists me to help her along this journey to go to this place where her father might be. So I’m there to help her along with her journey.

https://i1.wp.com/cdn2us.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeekus/files/styles/article_width/public/2017/03/lara-croft-reboot-alicia-vikander.jpg

Is there a potential love interest or friendship?

It’s more of a partnership because there is something that I’m also looking for as well. I wouldn’t say it’s a love relationship. It’s more of a partnership.

They're calling Into the Badlands 'the cure to the Iron Fist blues'. I don't think that's really fair because ITB is it's own thing, but given the Netflix Marvel precedents, I get it.

sanjuro_ronin

04-06-2017, 11:59 AM

Daniel Wu was 100% on the button, the issue of whitewashing was ridiculous in this case and should never have been raised.
The HUGE issue was the bad choreography and tremendous lack of skill of the lead characters ( not Just Danny but Colleen).

GeneChing

07-21-2017, 08:26 AM

I feel it's important to discriminate between Immortal Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?47895-Immortal-Iron-Fist) (the comic) and Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist), which has become our Marvel Netflix thread.

JULY 20, 2017 6:00pm PT by Graeme McMillan
Marvel Launching Digital-Exclusive 'Iron Fist' Series on ComiXology (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/marvels-immortal-iron-fist-series-is-a-comixology-1022353)

http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale_crop_768_433/2017/07/iron_fists.jpg
Kaare Andrews/Marvel Entertainment

'Immortal Iron Fist' will be the first in a series of comics created exclusively for Amazon's ComiXology platform.

Following in the footsteps of Valiant Entertainment and BOOM! Studios, Marvel Entertainment has announced that it will be providing exclusive comic book content to Amazon.com's digital comics platform ComiXology as part of the latter company's ComiXology Originals imprint.

The announcement came during Thursday's Marvel Next Big Thing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, with the partnership going into effect Friday with the launch of Immortal Iron Fists, a six-issue series released on a bi-weekly basis, with each issue available for purchase for $2.99 or part of the monthly ComiXology Unlimited subscription package. Additional series will be announced in coming months.

Immortal Iron Fists will be written by Kaare Andrews with art by Afu Chan, and will feature Danny Rand and Pei, the latest possessor of the Iron Fist as introduced in Andrews' 2014 print series Iron Fist: The Living Weapon. The series was originally teased, as a print title, under the title Iron Fists as one of Marvel's 2016 Marvel NOW! launches, appearing in the July 2016 Marvel NOW! catalog. Iron Fists never appeared, with its slot in the Marvel NOW! lineup taken by a separate Iron Fist title.

The ComiXology Originals line launched earlier this year with Valient Entertainment's Valiant High series; the imprint was intended to offer material outside the comic book mainstream as a way of reaching out to newcomers to the medium.

Immortal Iron Fists will debut Friday as a ComiXology-exclusive series.

GeneChing

07-24-2017, 08:42 AM

JULY 22, 2017 11:16am PT by Kate Stanhope
Netflix's 'Iron Fist' Changes Showrunners for Season 2 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/iron-fist-season-2-taps-new-showrunner-1023594)

http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale_crop_768_433/2016/12/0039_kick_108_unit_01410r-h_2016.jpg
Courtesy of Netflix
'Iron Fist'

Raven Metzner ('Sleepy Hollow') will replace Scott Buck on the forthcoming second season of the Marvel drama.
There's a change behind the scenes at Netflix's Marvel drama Iron Fist.

Raven Metzner (Sleepy Hollow) has been tapped to replace Scott Buck as showrunner for season two.

"Raven’s love of all things Iron Fist and his extensive knowledge of martial arts films made him the perfect choice to continue telling the adventures of Danny Rand and Colleen Wing," Marvel's head of television and Iron Fist executive producer Jeph Loeb said Saturday in a statement. "Season one and The Defenders are only the beginning of this fantastic action-packed tale."

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Iron Fist is bringing in an entirely new writers room for season two that will be more grounded than the first season.

The news comes a day after Loeb announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the show had been renewed for a second season. The panel was timed to the forthcoming Defenders miniseries, which will see Iron Fist (Finn Jones) team with fellow Netflix Marvel characters Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.

While Netflix's first three Marvel series were well-received by critics, Iron Fist was not. THR TV critic Daniel Fienberg called the drama, which debuted in March on the streaming giant, Marvel's and Netflix's "first big misstep."

Iron Fist also met controversy early in its run for casting a Caucasian rather than an Asian-American actor in the lead role, despite the character being depicted as a blond Caucasian (which Jones is) in the comics on which the series is based.

Metzner is no stranger to the Marvel universe, having written the 2005 Daredevil spinoff film Elektra starring Jennifer Garner. His TV credits include Heroes: Reborn, Falling Skies and Daybreak. Metzner is repped by WME.

Wait, Elektra (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/index.php?p=article&article=574)? Aw man, I was a huge fan of Garner after Alias, and I love the character of Elektra, but that film was a total fail...

sanjuro_ronin

07-25-2017, 04:16 AM

Does not bold well...

GeneChing

10-03-2017, 08:57 AM

And one was even a cover story (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1191). :o

7 Netflix Shows Cancelled For Ridiculous Reasons (And 8 That Are Next) (http://www.therichest.com/world-entertainment/7-netflix-shows-cancelled-for-ridiculous-reasons-and-8-that-are-next/?utm_source=TR-FB-B&utm_medium=Facebook-Distribution&utm_campaign=TR-FB-B&view=list)
James Scrawler 06.19.17 Entertainment

http://static1.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-18-at-2.31.53-PM-e1497810759625.png?q=50&w=780&h=410&fit=crop

There was a long stretch of time when Netflix was the greener pastures of television productions. Really, it still is, but things are a changing. For a while, no shows got cancelled. These days, it’s still rare that a show gets cancelled once they’ve been started on the streaming platform. But, we should expect more soon. According to Netflix’s CEO, Reid Hastings, the platform’s cancel rate is too low. This statement has several meanings. For one, he believes that the cancel rate is bound to increase, which will force them to cancel more shows. He also wants his team to take more chances with the material that gets green-lit. Yes, the other side of that coin means more failures and more cancelled shows, but it also means bigger successes.

Lately, we’ve seen some Netflix shows go down. This is a new turn for the company, but we should start to get used to it. At this point, seven shows have gone down. We wanted to explore the reasons why these seven shows in particular got the axe. There are also some shows that haven’t been renewed that we’ll discuss. Lastly, we want to look at which shows are next in line for cancellation. We know the axe is going to fall again and probably soon. We listed the six shows that we’re sure are next. Sure, we could be wrong on these predictions, but we’d be surprised if any of these shows last for their entire runs. If you’re a fan of one of the shows on this list, any reasons for it being cancelled would sound ridiculous. Depending on your perspective, the reasons for cancellation may be ridiculous. Or, the reason the show was cancelled was because it was ridiculous. Here are 7 Netflix Shows Cancelled for Ridiculous Reasons and 8 Others That Are Next.

15. Marco Polo – Cancelled

http://static0.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/marco-polo-e1497667006851.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=552&fit=crop

After a first season that was plagued with poor reviews, Marco Polo had a very steep uphill climb to try and make it work on Netflix. When the show was greenlit, everyone expected big things. Harvey Weinstein, one of the producers, bragged that the show would be “one of the most expensive shows ever done for pay TV.” It was. The budget was incredible. Yet, after spending at least $180 million over two years and shooting all over the world, Marco Polo was struck down after two disappointing seasons. Actually, most who stuck around for season two were more pleased, but the show had lost too many viewers by that point. Truthfully, the show was just boring. The most successful shows in the historical drama realm are successful because they infuse a strong and powerful narrative into a historical setting. Marco Polo seemed intent on focusing on history and forgot about story and character. The result was one of the most dreadful efforts put forth by Netflix.

...

10. Sense8 – Cancelled

http://static1.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/sense8feat.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=562&fit=crop

Since we don’t get to see a detailed report of Netflix’s viewership numbers, we can never be sure about who watches what. By the loud outcry of fans that voiced their displeasure with the recent cancelling of Sense8, it would seem that there are plenty of viewers, but that’s not what Netflix makes it sound like. Call it ridiculous all you like, but the real reason that Sense8 was cancelled is because it was a niche show with an enormous cost. It’s been reported that it cost $9 million per episode to make. That’s insane. Plus, if you’ve ever seen Sense8, you would know that the first season dangerously borders on being incomprehensible and mind-numbingly boring. While this show is one that would really benefit from multiple seasons, it lost far too many viewers between the start of the first season and the second season to be ever be considered worth the exorbitant price tag. Just to be clear, we’re not saying that the show’s cancellation is ridiculous. We’re saying the reason it was cancelled—the cost—was ridiculous.

9. The Get Down – Cancelled

http://static1.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/the_get_down_casting_shot-1.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=563&fit=crop

Much like Sense8, Baz Luhrmann‘s The Get Down was axed because it had a ridiculous budget. Estimated at around $12 million per episode, the shooting budget for this show is something usually set aside for major shows with incredible special effects. The budget for Game of Thrones season six, for example, was roughly $10 million per episode. The Get Down was a musical drama. Sure, it was incredibly stylish and vibrant, and, at times, it’s almost brilliant. But again, like Sense8, it’s a mess. It’s narrative bounds all over the place, and, even aided by binge-watching, this is troubling for audiences. There’s no doubt that if the production costs were a fraction of what they were in reality, this show would find a suitable audience and thrive. At the ridiculous price tag of $12 million an episode, this show would need to be one of the most popular on television to make it worthwhile for any business.

...

6. Iron Fist – Prediction: Cancelled After Second Season

http://static2.therichestimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1200-6.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=562&fit=crop

It would shock us greatly if Iron Fist was actually cancelled outright. That would require a lot of effort from Netflix, so we’re going to suggest something else. While the other shows in the Defenders series will likely get several independent seasons, we think that Iron Fist will only get two. Even now, the second season for Iron Fist hasn’t been greenlit, but we’re certain the announcement will come soon. The show will get a second season. It will be better than the first, which will be easy considering that the first was one of the worst seasons in Netflix history. But, it won’t be enough to make a third season make sense. There’s just too many good shows on television, Netflix included, for people to waste time watching bad shows too.

Marco Polo (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62877-Marco-Polo-Netflix-Original-Series)
The Get Down (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69690-The-Get-Down)
Sense8 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68638-Sense8)
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)

sanjuro_ronin

10-04-2017, 08:25 AM

The only way to do a 180 with IF is to:
Make Finn look good doing MA ( no easy task).
Change the writing to make him likable and less of a spoiled brat.
Make IF as powerful as he actually IS in the comics.

Vash

10-04-2017, 08:33 AM

What are you talking about? He is The Immortal Iron Fist. His... Chi... channels through... his hand....

sanjuro_ronin

10-04-2017, 09:10 AM

I actually didn't mind Marco Polo.

sanjuro_ronin

10-04-2017, 09:11 AM

What are you talking about? He is The Immortal Iron Fist. His... Chi... channels through... his hand....

You kidding right?

Jimbo

10-04-2017, 09:26 AM

IMO, it's too late to give IF an effective makeover now, unless they just scrapped the whole thing and rebooted it with a whole different cast and crew from the start. And it's too late for that, too.

I don't believe that Finn Jones has the ability to look good doing MA onscreen. Just like David Carradine never looked good doing MA, no matter how many years he (apparently) tried. Plus, Finn lacks the type of charisma of a MAist. He actually looks more like a hairdresser, or someone you'd see working at Starbucks.

Vash

10-04-2017, 09:29 AM

You kidding right?

Slightly moreso than the writers and that actor.

#goodwritingmatters

GeneChing

10-04-2017, 10:09 AM

Just like David Carradine never looked good doing MA, no matter how many years he (apparently) tried. You know, I thought he looked okay in his final martial arts film, Kung Fu Killer (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=779), but that was more for the ultravi - it was kind of Riki-Oh (1991) and I luv that film.

But I feel ya, Jimbo.

Now I'm bummed that our forum doesn't have a Riki-Oh thread. I'm always a little bummed when there's nothing on the classics posted here and try to rectify that with fresh reviews and such.

GeneChing

10-05-2017, 02:44 PM

...what a novel idea. :rolleyes:

Iron Fist’s Finn Jones is actually training for season two (http://www.criticalhit.net/entertainment/iron-fists-finn-jones-is-actually-training-for-season-two/)
By Kervyn Cloete Posted on September 28, 2017 5 min read

http://www.criticalhit.net/images/2017/02/IronFist_o.jpg

There were many, many things wrong with the first season of Marvel’s Iron Fist. From the head-scratching abandonment of the source material’s unique old-school kung-fu fantasy tone in favour of an Arrow clone, to pointless narrative wheel-spinning and absolutely terrible villains. Easily the most grievous offence though was the show’s fight scenes.

Marvel’s Daredevil had already set the bar **** high for fight choreography when it came to their Netflix TV series. Follow-up series Jessica Jones and Luke Cage didn’t have that same level of fisticuffs, but it was never expected from those characters or their stories. Danny Rand aka the Immortal Iron Fist though is supposed to be one of, if not the best, kung fu practitioners in the Marvel universe – so the TV series needed to step up.

It stepped up alright… and then flailed around sloppily like a hyperactive child who had just walked out of a kung fu movie at the cinema and was now trying to copy all the moves using his dodgy memory and no real physical skills. To call the fight scenes poor would be an understatement. And as we learned later, there was a good reason for their terribleness: Iron Fist himself.

http://www.criticalhit.net/images/2017/03/IronFist-3.jpg

Star Finn Jones had already been cast in the role with no actual martial arts background, but then doubled down on his lack of preparedness by only learning the fight choreography for scenes 15 minutes before they were about to be shot. Jones’ tight schedule was apparently to blame, but whatever the reason it was embarrassing.

With Marvel’s The Defenders – the miniseries that brought all four the Netflix series together – basically shooting back to back with Iron Fist, that didn’t allow Jones to get in any proper training for a second time. However, at this point he had been winging it enough that there was a clear higher level of comfort with many of the moves, resulting in far more believable fight sequences. It still wasn’t quite as impressive as it should be, but it was a huge improvement.

Well, I’m hoping that this upswing in pugilist quality continues for the upcoming Iron Fist season two, as Jones officially won’t have any excuses to hide behind. Despite still being months away before going in front of the cameras for the second season, Jones has reportedly already started hitting the dojo to prepare.

View image on Twitter (https://twitter.com/finnjonescom/status/910606536308924416/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.criticalhit.net%2Fenterta inment%2Firon-fists-finn-jones-is-actually-training-for-season-two%2F)
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Finn already started his martial arts training for Iron Fist season two! 🐉👊🏻

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13:48 - 20 Sep 2017
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Jones himself revealed back to Inverse (https://www.inverse.com/article/35735-the-defenders-iron-fist-finn-jones-danny-rand-luke-cage-privilege) back in August that he was going to get an early start on his martial arts training this time around, and is now just living up to promises.

We’re at least four or five months away from shooting so this time around, I’m being given a lot more preparation leading up to Season 2, which I think is really gonna have a huge improvement on the quality of the fight scenes in Season 2 of Iron Fist.
It **** well better. Now if only there was a dojo we could send Jones to where he could train to have his Danny Rand come across as less of a petulant man-child, or where the writers could learn that we really could not care less about corporate takeovers when you have a lead character who literally went around punching dragons in the heart.

Iron Fist season two does not have a release date yet, but it will follow on from the rest of the Phase Two for Marvel’s Netflix shows in The Punisher, Jessica Jones season two, Luke Cage season two and Daredevil season three.

Last Updated: September 28, 2017

GeneChing

12-14-2017, 10:04 AM

‘Iron Fist’ Season 2 Adds ‘Star Trek’ Alum Alice Eve (EXCLUSIVE) (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/iron-fist-season-2-alice-eve-netflix-1202631184/)
By Joe Otterson @JoeOtterson
TV Reporter

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/alice-eve.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1
CREDIT: STEPHEN LOVEKIN/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

Alice Eve is set to appear in “Iron Fist” Season 2 on Netflix, Variety has learned exclusively.

Eve’s role in the series is being kept under wraps, but she joins a returning cast that includes series star Finn Jones along with Jessica Henwick, Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Stroup, and Sacha Dhawan. An English actress who has appeared in film, television, and theatre, Eve is best known to American audiences for her role as Carol Marcus in the film “Star Trek: Into Darkness.” She also recently appeared in the third season of “Black Mirror” and the Lionsgate film “Misconduct.” She will also co-star in the Dakota Fanning-led film “Please Stand By,” due to be released in theaters in January.

“We are very excited to have an actress of Alice’s stature join the cast of ‘Marvel’s Iron Fist,’” said Marvel’s head of television and series executive producer Jeph Loeb. “Her exceptional talent brings an intrigue and danger to her character unlike anyone else.”

Eve is repped by Independent Talent Group in the U.K and CAA and Untitled Entertainment in the U.S.

“Iron Fist” stars “Game of Thrones” alum Jones as Danny Rand, the heir to the multi-billion dollar Rand Corp. who returns to New York after training in martial arts for years in the mysterious city of K’un-Lun. Through his training, he was chosen to be the living weapon known as the Iron Fist, which allows him to channel his chi energy into his fists. It was the fourth Marvel-Netflix series to be released. The show was preceded by “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” and “Luke Cage.” All four main characters then teamed up for “The Defenders” event series, which debuted on Netflix in August.

Season 2 will also see Raven Metzner take over as showrunner from Scott Buck, who left “Iron Fist” to work on the Marvel-ABC series “Inhumans.”

I liked Alice Eve in Star Trek: Into Darkness, but I doubt she can redeem Jones.

GeneChing

12-18-2017, 09:03 AM

6 new Netflix original shows got trashed by critics in 2017 — here's the list (http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-netflix-original-shows-that-debuted-in-2017-list-2017-12?utm_source=hearst&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=allverticals/#6-girlboss-31-1)
John Lynch
Dec. 15, 2017, 2:11 PM

For the most part, Netflix had an accomplished year in producing a number of great original shows.

But the company also had a handful of new series that critics tore apart.

From the lackluster Naomi Watts-led series "Gypsy," to the disappointing Marvel show "Iron Fist," six shows that Netflix debuted in 2017 received heaps of negative reviews on their way to earning a "Rotten" score from the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Here are the six worst Netflix original shows that debuted in 2017, ranked from bad to worst, according to critics:

6. "Girlboss" — 31%
Critic score: 31%
Audience score: 72%

Netflix description: "Rebellious and broke, Sophia stumbles into creating an online business and learns how to be the boss. A comedy inspired by the best-selling memoir."

What critics said: "Watching an ignorant but energetic youngster rebel against adulthood is nothing new, and Girlboss' iteration would be fine if it showed some semblance of self-awareness." — IndieWire

5. "Neo Yokio" — 30%
Netflix
Critic score: 30%
Audience score: 56%

Netflix description: "Joined by his faithful mecha-butler, Kaz Kaan pursues love, fashion and supernatural forces amid Neo Yokio's sinister high society."

What critics said: "There's a lot of talent involved in Neo Yokio... Yet, somehow, the show has no soul. It's dead on arrival." — The Verge

4. "Gypsy" — 24%
Critic score: 24%
Audience score: 85%

Netflix description: "Therapist Jean Holloway develops dangerous and intimate relationships with the people in her patients' lives in this simmering psychological thriller."

What critics said: "It's all fun and games until you desperately start hoping that your protagonist loses her malpractice suit." — The Village Voice

3. "Friends From College" — 23%
Critic score: 23%
Audience score: 73%

Netflix description: "Twenty years after graduation, a tight-knit group of college friends reconnects and discovers that love hasn't gotten easier with age."

What critics said: "What a cast. And what a waste. Friends From College is one of the year's biggest disappointments." — Entertainment Weekly

2. "Disjointed" — 21%
Critic score: 21%
Audience score: 74%

Netflix description: "Pot activist Ruth Whitefeather Feldman runs a medical marijuana dispensary while encouraging her loyal patients to chill out and enjoy the high life."

What critics said: "There's not enough weed in the Golden State to wring consistent laughs from a show that's mostly as stale as an unwashed bong." — CNN

1. "Marvel's Iron Fist" — 19%
http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5a32d8de4aa6b59d188b4e2f-1200/1-marvels-iron-fist--19.jpg
JoJo Whilden/Netflix
Critic score: 19%
Audience score: 76%

Netflix description: "Danny Rand resurfaces 15 years after being presumed dead. Now, with the power of the Iron Fist, he seeks to reclaim his past and fulfill his destiny."

What critics said: "This series takes everything good Marvel has done, takes it on a joy ride, then returns it scratched, bruised, and smelling like patchouli and broken promises. After the 13-hour slog, I'm not angry — I'm just disappointed." — Vox

Even that photo makes me angry. So wrong on so many levels. :mad:

GeneChing

12-26-2017, 10:23 AM

Top Breakout TV Stars of 2017 (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/2017-tv-top-fresh-faces-jessica-henwick-jimmy-tatro-sean-astin-1202634290/)
By Joe Otterson @JoeOtterson
TV Reporter
https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/tv-fresh-faces.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1
CREDIT: NETFLIX/CBS

As 2017 draws to a close, Variety takes a look back on some of the fresh faces in television who helped us survive another year.

Of course, fresh can mean many things. In this list, we honor people appearing on new shows, people who joined returning shows, as well as people who made the jump to TV this year. Take, for example, relative unknowns like “Young Sheldon” star Iain Armitage or the young cast of “Riverdale,” who all exploded in popularity this year.

Then there are veteran actors like Sean Astin and Rachel Brosnahan, who took on new roles this year to great fan and critical acclaim. Brosnahan stole hearts and laughs for her powerhouse performance in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Astin, meanwhile, became part of the phenomenon that is Netflix’s binge-worthy series “Stranger Things.”

Read the full list below. Each of those mentioned, in their own way, made us want to keep watching.

Iain Armitage, “Young Sheldon” (CBS)

It was the closest thing to a sure thing you could get that “The Big Bang Theory” prequel series “Young Sheldon” would be a hit. The burden of continuing the legacy of the incredibly successful parent program fell largely on the pint-sized shoulders of Iain Armitage, who plays the child version of Jim Parsons’ Dr. Sheldon Cooper. The young Armitage pulled it off, though, and the series has proven to be number one new comedy of the 2017-2018 season in the Nielsen ratings.

Sean Astin, “Stranger Things” (Netflix)

The original Goony appeared in “Stranger Things” Season 2 and quickly proved to be one of the most lovable characters on television in 2017. Astin played Bob Newby, the boyfriend of Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and would-be stepfather to her two sons. Astin brought a tear-jerking amount of humanity and heart to the role, playing Bob as a normal guy who stepped up in the biggest way possible when the people he loved were in danger.

Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

Rachel Brosnahan is no stranger to TV audiences after recent turns on “House of Cards” and “Manhattan,” but her starring role on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” gives the talented actress her best role in years. Brosnahan effortlessly inhabits Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a 1950s New York housewife who discovers a talent for stand up comedy. The series is the brainchild of “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, providing Brosnahan with no shortage of snappy dialogue. Her onscreen friendship with Alex Borstein as talent manager Susie is also the stuff of TV gold.

Nick Frost, “Into the Badlands” (AMC)

Nick Frost joined AMC’s martial arts series for its second season this year, injecting a welcome dose of comic relief. Frost starred as Bajie, a fast-talking hustler who spends the beginning of the season literally chained to Daniel Wu’s Sunny. “Into the Badlands” truly seemed to hit its stride this season, and Frost was a major component of that. Pairing him with the no-nonsense character Wu portrays allowed for a fantastic odd couple dynamic that provided balance to the show’s breathtaking fight sequences.

Jessica Henwick, “Iron Fist” (Netflix)

Jessica Henwick turned out to be a rose among a lot of poorly-reviewed thorns in the first season of the Marvel-Netflix series “Iron Fist.” Henwick played Colleen Wing, a martial arts master who becomes the ally and lover of the titular hero, played by Finn Jones. Despite the show receiving a rash of negative reviews upon its release, Henwick was one of the few elements of the series to earn real praise. Hopefully, her role will be expanded going forward. The chances of that look good, as Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb teased Wing would team up with Det. Misty Knight (Simone Missick) in a future season in keeping with the comic books.

Sonequa Martin-Green, “Star Trek: Discovery” (CBS All Access)

Sonequa Martin-Green made the leap from one massive series to another this year, leaving “The Walking Dead” to take on a starring role in “Star Trek: Discovery.” Despite a lot of negative news coming out ahead of “Discovery’s” premiere (including multiple premiere date delays), Martin-Green deftly took on the challenge of leading the new installment of the iconic sci-fi franchise. Her portrayal of convicted Starfleet mutineer Michael Burnham made the new show truly binge-worthy.

Jonah Ray, “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return” (Netflix)

“Mystery Science Theater 3000” remains one of the most popular cult TV shows of all time. After a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, the show was brought back for a new season on Netflix with comedian Jonah Ray stepping in as the host. Ray had a big jumpsuit to fill, taking over a role previously held by series creator Joel Hodgson and later Michael J. Nelson, the original show’s head writer. But with Hodgson’s blessing, Ray took to the task with apparent ease, riffing on movies with the best of them.

The Cast of “Riverdale” (The CW)

“Riverdale,” the dark twist on the classic Archie Comics, has quickly become a force to be reckoned with on The CW in just under a year. The young cast includes: K.J. Apa as Archie, Lili Reinhart at Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones. The first season launched on CW in January and was subsequently released on Netflix. With the streaming service helping the show reach a much bigger audience, the second season has skyrocketed past the first in ratings to the tune of nearly 50 percent in the key demo and nearly 60 percent in total viewers.

Frankie Shaw, “SMILF” (Showtime)

Frankie Shaw took the short film she entered into the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and turned it into a TV series that she stars in, writes, directs, and produces this year. Shaw stars as Bridgette, a broke single mother trying to make ends meet for herself and her infant son in South Boston. Shaw has earned critical acclaim for her performance, with many praising her portrayal of a young, flawed woman and the way in which she authentically captured life near the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in America. She was nominated for two Golden Globes for the show’s freshman season.

Jimmy Tatro, “American Vandal” (Netflix)

“American Vandal” perfectly skewered the true crime documentary genre and Jimmy Tatro was at the very heart of it. Tatro played Dylan Maxwell, a high school student who is expelled on shaky evidence that he vandalized over two dozen faculty cars. Tatro’s deadpan (and braindead) delivery made Dylan a lovable loser you couldn’t help but root for. But when the show took unexpected dramatic turns, particularly in its final episodes, Tatro proved more than up to the challenge.

Reese Witherspoon & Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies” (HBO)

Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman both made the jump from film to series television this year with the critically-acclaimed series “Big Little Lies.” Both women won Emmys for their work as executive producers on the show, with Kidman also winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. All told, the show won eight Emmys and was recently nominated for six Golden Globes. Both women will return as stars and executive producers for the show’s second season.

Into The Badlands (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67844-Into-The-Badlands)
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)
Star Trek: Discovery (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70138-Star-Trek-Discovery)

GeneChing

02-26-2018, 11:44 AM

Deadpool 2 Trailer May Reveal Iron Fist’s Lewis Tan as Shatterstar (https://screenrant.com/deadpool-2-lewis-tan-shatterstar/)
By Cooper Hood 02.07.2018

https://static1.srcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Lewis-Tan-Deadpool-2-Shatterstar.jpg?q=50&w=1000&h=500&fit=crop

Iron Fist‘s Lewis Tan may have been revealed to be part of Deadpool 2‘s cast as Shatterstar. The marketing campaign for Fox’s highly anticipated sequel may not have aired a spot during the Super Bowl, but they kicked off this week’s coverage with a live-tweet of the big game. In the following days, a new poster was revealed and a viral site launched. The biggest piece came with the release of Deadpool 2‘s first official trailer, and it did much more than just introduce Josh Brolin as Cable.

One of the moments that stuck out to fans the most was an ensemble shot of Deadpool and other mutants ready to leap out of a plane. Zazie Beetz’s Domino was featured there, but the shot also revealed Terry Crews to be part of the cast – possibly as G.W. Bridge. Two additional team members were featured as well. While one is difficult to identify, the other is widely believed to be Shatterstar – and now we may know who is playing him.

Twitter user HELLB0YS shared a side by side of Shatterstar from the trailer and Iron Fist actor Lewis Tan along with Tan’s Twitter activity that may indicate he’s part of the cast, too. Shatterstar in the trailer does resemble Tan, but it isn’t clear enough to confirm on its own. However, Tan was liking multiple Shatterstar related images earlier today – ones that he appears to have since unliked after the internet sleuthing began.

View image on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TH0R0DINS0NS/status/961359860175654913)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVdvsI0W4AAVlE3.jpg

Tom™ // Comissions are Open
@TH0R0DINS0NS
Okay so umm.... @THELEWISTAN SEEMS TO BE PLAYING SHATTERSTAR IN DEADPOOL 2 ? THE GUY IN THE TRAILER LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM AND HES BEEN LIKING TWEETS ABOUT THE FILM ALL DAY ?!?

2:03 PM - Feb 7, 2018
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Since this isn’t the most concrete evidence, this alone is far from confirmation that Tan is indeed part of Deadpool 2‘s cast. However, in doing further digging, Tan also follows Deadpool himself Ryan Reynolds and the sequel’s director David Leitch on Twitter, and did so one right after the other. He also follows newly revealed cast member Terry Crews. Who follows who on Twitter isn’t the best way to determine if an actor is part of another project, but there’s more. Near the end of November, Tan revealed on Twitter that he recently worked with Lewis on a project. Crews and Tan have never worked on the same project before, and Deadpool 2 wrapped in October.

Lewis Tan (https://twitter.com/TheLewisTan/status/933045581135654912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Fdeadpool-2-lewis-tan-shatterstar%2F)
✔
@TheLewisTan
Replying to @Lexialex @terrycrews
Just worked with him. Legend and a gentleman @terrycrews

10:52 AM - Nov 21, 2017
151
See Lewis Tan's other Tweets
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When all of this evidence is put together, it appears more likely than not that Tan is indeed part of Deadpool 2‘s ensemble, and likely playing Shatterstar. Early reports on Deadpool 2 claimed Shatterstar would be introduced via a post-credits scene, but that was quickly debunked by screenwriter Rhett Reese. It may not be a post-credits intro, but Tan does appear to have a costume extremely similar to Shatterstar. Regardless of whether or not this is Shatterstar, it could be a big role for Tan moving forward if this team has any ties to X-Force‘s future roster. This has yet to be confirmed, but there’s mounting evidence behind Tan being involved. If this is the case, hopefully it will be confirmed sooner rather than later.

I met Lewis in Dublin while doing a set visit for Into the Badlands. We had dinner together, along with several other cast members. He hinted that he was about to join the MCU but couldn't disclose too much more because he was under NDA.

Thread: Deadpool 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69436-Deadpool-2)
Thread: Into The Badlands (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67844-Into-The-Badlands)
Thread: Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)

GeneChing

03-08-2018, 11:04 AM

In my JAN+FEB 2016 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1269) cover story - Into the Badlands with Daniel Wu (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1275) - I opened by saying "If you don’t know the name Daniel Wu by now, he’s the martial artist to watch." I reiterate that with Lewis Tan.

Interview: Actor Lewis Tan

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59543ad972af659452cb2c86/t/5a64ebf29140b7b61f457de3/1519868999038/DSC_1690edit.jpg

LEWIS TAN: A HAPA SUPERHERO ON A MISSION (https://www.hapamag.com/hapa-mag-issue-003/interview-lewis-tan)
By Melissa Slaughter

For too long, we’ve seen Asian men portrayed as meek computer geeks with no sex appeal and no social currency. Sure, we've had martial arts masters like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li, but very rarely did they get the girl. More likely they got a pat on the back and a "laugh line" in return for their role as the sidekick. Hell, Jet Li didn’t even kiss Aliyah at the end of Romeo Must Die!

Well, no more! Asian dudes with sex appeal, gusto, and smarts to boot are here, and they’re not going away. 2017 might have been a garbage fire for Asian-American representation in film/TV, but out of the flames rose guys like Ludi Lin (Power Rangers), Ki Hong Lee (Kimmy Schmidt/Maze Runner), and Henry Goulding (Crazy Rich Asians). Asian actors are breaking stereotypes left and right, and new positive role models abound! Hapa Mag is very happy to have one of these gentlemen with us in this spring issue!

Type “Guy Who Should Have Been Iron Fist” into your search engine. I dare you. There’s plenty to read about Lewis as the "Almost Iron Fist" here, here and here. However, Tan is much more than a high-flying Marvel drunken monk. He's an accomplished actor, an stuntman, world-traveler, and legacy martial artist.

Lewis Tan: My father was a national champion martial artist who competed in many different styles. He taught me from a young age how to fight; it was our bonding time. We would sit and watch old Bruce Lee films and stretch in the living room. We traveled a lot because my father was doing different films all over the world. Eventually we came to the USA for Batman and we have lived here ever since.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59543ad972af659452cb2c86/t/5a64ecca9140b7b61f45ae27/1516563745484/DSC_1812edit.jpg?format=500w
PC: Samantha Rebuyaco

As many a Hapa knows, we’re often told we’re too Asian, not Asian enough, too ethnic, on and on. And often being mixed race isn’t taken into account at all. In casting, this pressure is magnified as one's outside presentation could dictate whether or not you get a job. Our own Sam Tanabe wrote about such inequity in our inaugural issue. So why choose a career path that, more often than not, will throw someone aside for just their looks?

LT: "I got into acting when I was very young because I fell in love with cinema. It was also all I knew and saw as a child. I grew up on sets with some of the most legendary directors and it was a dream to play make believe and get paid for it. Still is.

Being mixed in an industry that has been known for casting [people of color] as stereotypes has been frustrating and tiring, but has also made me a better actor and performer because I have had to convince casting directors and producers I am the ONLY choice for the role. As we go into 2018, I think the industry is starting to see the world in a broader perspective. It's about time and I am very grateful for all the hard times that has built me up."

Born in England to a Chinese father, a British mother, Lewis now calls the USA home. Lewis told us "I love my mixed heritage because it has given me depth and perspective on the world. It has also been challenging in the film industry, but at the same time [it] created a deep discovery of who I am as a man and I am proud of my heritage."

And it's not just his family heritage that gave him the chance to get a broader worldview. "Traveling has introduced me to the craziest mixes I have ever seen, people with accents you would never expect. It has been such a mind-opening experience and the world is a colorful and beautiful place." Mark Twain would agree; the famed humorist wrote in his travel book The Innocents Abroad that "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." Lewis expanded upon the idea that travel "makes you judge less...It just shows you that you can not ever put people in a box. There is no box. It's endless, and that is a lovely thought."

Don't think Lewis has been sitting pretty as a stuntman and action actor; he's no one-trick pony. He's a multi-talented actor with plenty to show the world. He wants to do it all and to work with the best. He's certainly been in enough projects in the works to stretch anyone's artistic ability. He can be seen in the new crime thriller Den of Thieves, with Gerard Butler and 50 Cent, and as Gaius Chau, a leading role in Daniel Wu’s Into the Badlands, as well as “a few more that I can’t announce yet but are huge! ;)” I will be candid when I say I am very excited to see what Lewis has in store for that AMC martial-arts extravaganza. (Shout-out to Keith Chow of the Nerds of Color and Hard NOC Media who introduced me to both the show and to Lewis himself. #ColorMeBadlands) Lewis has pushed Asian-American representation forward by leaps and bounds and takes seriously his responsibility.

LT: “It is bigger than me and other actors. It is about the next generation feeling represented correctly and inspiring them to create and be heroes in their own story. I have season 3 of Into the Badlands coming out, which in my opinion is revolutionary when it comes to diversity and also the best action on TV. I am going to continue to do my best to use my platform and skills to inspire others and rep for my people. Count on that.”

A FEW MORE LEWIS TAN FUN FACTS:
His favorite martial arts movies: "Enter the Dragon, IP Man, Drunken Master, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger, The Matrix, Fist of Fury, Ong Bak, Kung Fu Hustle, anything from Jackie Chan, Kurosawa and most recently I saw The Villainess and it blew my mind."

His biggest martial arts inspirations: "My father had a big influence on me. My sensei and teachers I have had, which are many. I am constantly learning and growing, understanding my body and how it moves."

His favorite foods: "I eat everything! But my favorite food is Thai, Japanese, Italian and Indian, but I do not discriminate. I love good food and don't look twice at the price."

Check Lewis out in Iron Fist on Netflix and Season 3 of Into the Badlands airs on April 22nd, 2018. And follow him @lewistanofficial on IG, and @TheLewisTan on Twitter. He's got big things in the works, so stayed tuned!

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59543ad972af659452cb2c86/5a65588fe4966ba242298118/5a65588fc83025655b966263/1516591275634/DSC_1596edit.jpg?format=300w
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59543ad972af659452cb2c86/5a65588fe4966ba242298118/5a655926e2c4834cb73a5d10/1516591439546/DSC_1622edit.jpg?format=300whttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/59543ad972af659452cb2c86/5a65588fe4966ba242298118/5a65592624a69487b662b954/1516591443515/DSC_1645edit.jpg?format=300w
*ALL PICTURES WERE TAKEN BY SAMANTHA REBUYACO

Melissa Slaughter has lived in all four time zones in the contiguous United States. A former actor in Seattle, WA, Melissa now resides in NYC as a content creator. She is the producer of the We're Not All Ninjas podcast, which she also hosts with fellow Hapa Mag writer, Alex Chester. Melissa also writes for online blogs Nerdophiles and On Stage Blog. Find her @NotAllNinjasPod.

Thread: Into The Badlands (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67844-Into-The-Badlands)
Thread: Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)

GeneChing

06-29-2018, 07:58 AM

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/85/aa/cd/1d/5c85/4903/98e5/ee61334f9aa3/powermanironfistjpg.jpeg?rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C500&auto=format%2Ccompress&w=650

Why the Big 'Luke Cage' Season 2 Crossover Is More Than a Marvel Easter Egg (https://www.inverse.com/article/46423-luke-cage-season-2-iron-fist-crossover-history-of-kung-fu-in-hip-hop)
Cheo Hodari Coker unpacks the history of kung fu in hip-hop.
By Eric Francisco on June 28, 2018

Filed Under Fighting, Hip-Hop, Iron Fist, Marvel Comics, Marvel Movies, Marvel Universe, Netflix, Superheroes, The Defenders & TV Shows
In the tenth episode of Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 2, now streaming on Netflix, the eponymous hero (played by Mike Colter) teams up with an old buddy from The Defenders: billionaire kung fu master Danny Rand, known as the Immortal Iron Fist (Finn Jones). Together in the comics, the two are the “Heroes for Hire,” a dynamic duo of contrasts who fight crime side-by-side.

But bringing Marvel’s tag team to life on Netflix is more than an ass-kicking Easter egg. For showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, it represents the intersection where black and Asian-American pop culture meet.

In Luke Cage, Danny comes to Pop’s Barbershop to help his bulletproof BFF take down Bushmaster. On bringing Iron Fist to his show, Coker says he wanted a throwback to kung fu movies like the Iron Fist comics of yore.

“I felt if we had the chance to have [Iron Fist] in our show, it would be more like the comic book and a lot more like that friendship,” Coker tells Inverse. “Capture that Enter the Dragon flavor that comic was always supposed to have.”

But there’s more to evoking kung fu than aesthetics. “There’s so much that comes from that crossing of culture,” he says. “The reason Grandmaster Flash is called ‘Grandmaster’ is because he and his friends would come and go to the kung fu forts on 42nd Street.”

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/f4/67/00/83/7100/4de9/a9ac/b04a87bae8c2/finn-jones-left-and-mike-colter-right-in-season-2-of-luke-cage-on-netflix.jpeg?rect=0%2C434%2C5627%2C2811&auto=format%2Ccompress&w=1200
Finn Jones (left) and Mike Colter (right) in Season 2 of 'Luke Cage' on Netflix.

In 2018, Asian media like K-pop and anime attract a diverse audience, including many African-Americans. But for Coker’s generation, the racial crossover came in the appetite for kung fu films by black audiences. Ground zero for this intersection were the grimy theaters of Manhattan, like the Cine 42 nestled in the heart of Times Square before it became a sanitized tourist destination.

If Coker didn’t catch the Saturday kung fu marathons on local TV stations in Connecticut, the soon-to-be producer watched John Woo and Shaw Brothers flicks like The 36 Chambers of Shaolin and The Eight Pole Diagram Fighter in New York for a buck fifty.

“I’ve always wanted to do a modernized version of Last Hurrah of Chivalry or A Better Tomorrow,” Coker says.

In fact, it was in the same theaters Coker frequented where the legendary hip-hop outfit the Wu-Tang Clan was born. “I got my introduction to kung fu flicks in ‘78 or ‘79,” wrote Wu-Tang founder RZA in the 2004 book Wu-Tang Manual. “At that point, all of 42nd Street had kung fu movies.”

On one cold night, RZA and the late rapper ODB found refuge “at this funky theater at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue.” Screening that night was Gordon Li’s 1983 classic, Shaolin and Wu Tang.

“When it came on, it woke us up,” RZA recalled. “It was the best kung-fu movie I’d ever seen in my life — the fighting, the ideas, the concepts, everything.”

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/8b/58/67/98/9f98/41a3/bef2/f038f389c5f0/shaolin-vs-wu-tang-1983.jpeg?rect=81%2C41%2C2296%2C1148&auto=format%2Ccompress&w=1200
'Shaolin vs. Wu Tang' (1983).

A variety of forces led to the crossover of black and Asian cinema in the 1970s: White flight to the suburbs, black veterans returning home from Korea and Vietnam, and the meteoric growth of Asia’s economy created a storm for artistic intersectionality.

“As white people abandoned the cities, downtown theaters became spaces for people of color,” said Amy Obugo Ongiri, author of Spectacular Blackness, in a 2009 interview with SF Gate. “Theater owners started screening stuff that was less marketable, mostly cheap imports — and that meant martial arts movies.”

But arguably no one did as much to popularize kung fu as Bruce Lee, the film icon whose achievements exude the mystique of folk hero. Among many things, Lee was a progressive who taught non-Chinese, including black people, kung fu. NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was among Lee’s students.

“In the 1970s, [Bruce] Lee was a rare non-white leading man, and an unfeasibly cool one at that,” observed Phil Hoad for The Guardian. “His creed of righteous self-reliance appealed to black audiences, who were emerging from the civil rights struggles … Martial arts films, like blaxploitation, were adrenalin-drunk revenge fantasies.”

“There was a time in hip-hop where people would actually dress like Bruce Lee,” Coker remembers. “They used to call it the kung fu suits, that black suit Bruce Lee would wear. They would walk around in the kung fu suit and maybe had nunchucks. That **** was real.”

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/62/27/be/4c/6db0/42cf/a766/a7fc22fe793a/bruce-lee-and-kareem-abdul-jabbar-in-the-1978-film-game-of-death-released-several-years-after-lee.jpeg?rect=0%2C35%2C800%2C400&auto=format%2Ccompress&w=800
Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in the 1978 film 'Game of Death' released several years after Lee's death.

Lee’s death in 1973, just before the release of his first and only Hollywood film Enter the Dragon, ignited a voracious hunger. Pop culture exploded with martial arts, from the popular TV series Kung Fu with David Carradine to the 1974 pop jingle “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas.

Kung fu’s popularity soon inspired one Roy Thomas. Like many comic book creators, Thomas lived and worked in New York and created Iron Fist after watching a kung fu movie in the city. While Thomas imagined Iron Fist as a white American who learns kung fu in mystical K’un-Lun (which became an issue for the Netflix series decades later), Iron Fist is still energized by the west’s obsession for Asian culture.

When sales of Iron Fist and Luke Cage’s comics began to decline, Marvel editors paired the two together, creating the iconic series Power Man and Iron Fist. Even after their series ended, the two characters often appeared together in Marvel crossovers and revivals. The most recent iteration of Power Man and Iron Fist, written by David F. Walker in 2016, ran for fifteen issues.

https://fsmedia.imgix.net/7d/95/0d/88/b607/4b73/95c8/c1b8afe3a20c/cover-of-power-man-and-iron-fist-15-illustrated-by-sanford-greene.jpeg?rect=0%2C649%2C1280%2C641&auto=format%2Ccompress&w=1200
Cover of 'Power Man and Iron Fist' #15, illustrated by Sanford Greene.

Now, they’re back again in the Marvel/Netflix franchise. “That was one of the things we wanted to capture in the show,” Coker says about the Heroes for Hire, “these fights having a deep kung fu base.”

“I’ve told all of my fight choreographers, I want Shaw Brothers’ type coverage, not the hyper-cut Paul Greengrass does in Bourne Identity,” he explains. “I want where you actually see people fighting in frame. The Wachowski Brothers did that. Quentin did it with Kill Bill. Those fight scenes, that’s where the fun is. That’s where the genre is. It’s important to reflect that.”

Marvel’s Luke Cage is streaming now on Netflix.

THREADS:
Luke Cage (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68058-Luke-Cage)
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)

GeneChing

07-20-2018, 08:29 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMtrmDhI1LQ

GeneChing

07-31-2018, 10:02 AM

She was one of the only redeeming roles in Season 1, her and Lewis Tan (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1423).

Iron Fist: Loeb Addresses Claire Temple’s Season 2 Status (https://www.cbr.com/iron-fist-season-2-claire-temple/)
07.26.2018
by Meagan Damore

https://static0.cbrimages.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Claire-Temple-Luke-Cage.jpg?q=35&w=984&h=518&fit=crop

Don’t expect to see Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple in Iron Fist Season 2. At Comic-Con International in San Diego, Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb revealed Dawson won’t reprise her role as Claire Temple in the upcoming Netflix series, which arrives in September.

“Claire won’t be in there, but our relationship with Rosario [Dawson] is awesome and we love her, she loves us and — when the story lends itself into that place and hopefully she’s available — we go down that road,” Loeb explained. “Believe me, there isn’t any showrunner who hasn’t come in and said, ‘So where are we with Rosario?’ And we go, ‘Well, let’s tell the story and figure it all out.'”

“You know, what’s been fun about it is I think Simone [Missick] is now giving her a run for the money in terms of the shows! She’s been on and been running around,” he continued.

“Look, again, it always comes down to story… You know, some people would be really satisfied if Danny Rand got on a bus and Foggy Nelson was getting off the bus and that’s cool. It isn’t, and to a certain extent, it’s sort of like, ‘Really? That’s what you did?’ We always look at it from the point of view of ‘What’s the best story?’ We don’t run an Easter egg farm. We do put little things in there for people who know, but we certainly don’t want it to be something that people focus on. We don’t want it to be distracting from the story,” he concluded.

However, fans may get a chance to see Marvel Netflix’s other recurring character. Asked about Turk Barrett’s status, Loeb teased, “I can’t confirm or deny where Turk is going to show up next… Rob [Morgan] is a terrific actor and he’s certainly part of our company, so.” Newcomer Alice Eve agreed with the sentiment, saying, “Yeah, he is!” Since Eve seems familiar with the actor, it’s likely the small-time criminal will turn up somewhere down the line.

Arriving Sept. 7 on Netflix, Marvel’s Iron Fist Season 2 stars Finn Jones as Danny Rand, Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Sacha Dhawan as Davos, Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum, Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum, Simone Missick Misty Knight and introduces Alice Eve as Mary Walker.

GeneChing

08-29-2018, 11:57 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOI8unBh2UY

GeneChing

08-29-2018, 11:59 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvvWB0GwCek

GeneChing

09-11-2018, 09:04 AM

I started watching the first episode of Season 2 of Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)but only got through the first fight. It was better than Season 1 but nothing extraordinary. I've read some positive reactions on social media so I might give it another go.

Meanwhile, Finn is now training Shaolin under Shi Yan Ming (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?43333-Shi-Yan-Ming-amp-Shaolin-Temple-USA).

Inside Finn Jones’ Intense Martial Arts Training For ‘Iron Fist’ Season 2 (https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/finn-jones-intense-martial-arts-training-for-iron-fist-season-2/)

https://www.mensjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Untitled-43.jpg?w=800&h=450&crop=1
Marvel's 'Iron Fist' New York Screening
Gilbert Carrasquillo / Contributor / Getty Images
by Charles Thorp

Screams ring out from inside a warehouse building in industrial Brooklyn Opens a New Window. . Nobody is actually getting their ass kicked inside, but it sure sounds like it. That is because inside is the makeshift dojo built by Marvel Opens a New Window. to create and rehearse the fight sequences for the upcoming sop****re season of superhero series Iron Fist.

But before stepping through these doors Finn Jones, who stars as Danny Rand Opens a New Window. aka Iron Fist, prepared for his return to the character by committing himself to a pious training regime five months earlier. “I was excited that we had this chance with stunt coordinator Clayton Barber to really dial in the fights,” says Jones. The actor started working with personal trainer Bev Ratcliff who set him up with a gymnastic-based routine Opens a New Window. . “This role requires me to be long and lean so that I can move fluidly, rather than just putting on tons of muscle.”

Ratcliff, who is a nutritionist as well, also created a strict diet plan for Jones to follow. “I dedicated myself to it,” says Jones. “I cut out alcohol and was eating as clean as possible every meal.”

Most importantly though, is the time that Jones spent with a Shi Yan Ming, a 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk and head of USA Shaolin Temple in New York. During their days at the temple Jones was put through a wide range of traditional kung fu Opens a New Window. movements while Ming gave strict instruction.

https://www.mensjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/dfgrbfgnfbs.jpg?w=660
Finn Jones training for Iron First 2
Courtesy Image

“He yelled at me for ‘more chi’ and for ‘more power’,” says Jones. “I was able to find a reserve of energy that I never knew I had through our work together. You never really know what you have until you truly test yourself.”

Jones also incorporated study in tai chi, wishu, jeet kune do, as well more modern martial arts Opens a New Window. . “I see Danny as a brawler who has this foundation of traditional kung fu but also knows he has to get the job done quickly,” he says. “I love throwing elbows. It is so vicious and effective.”

The effort that Jones put in paid off when it came time to shoot the stunts. “I wanted to take what they did with the first season and crank it up a notch,” says Barber, who the producers brought in to do just that. Not only was Barber coming off working as fight coordinator on Black Panther Opens a New Window. , but his career as a taekwondo competitor gave him the background needed for the martial arts-anchored show.

“The first thing that excited me about this project is that there aren’t really any shows dedicated to Kung Fu like this has the chance to be,” says Barber. He also set the goal to have the lead actors perform as many of the sequences as possible, which was made possible through those months of intense martial arts schooling.

The experience has been so beneficial for Jones that he is already looking towards what could be done with more episodes. “There is some weaponry combat towards the end of this season and I really enjoyed working with the swords,” he says. “If we get a third season, I’ll be bringing my swords with me.”

Caption 2 'Iron First' :p

GeneChing

09-17-2018, 10:07 AM

Come on now. Someone else watch this and let us know. I watch so much for y'all. And after Season 1...well, it still hurts. :(

How Sacha Dhawan broke new ground as the villain on Netflix’s ‘Iron Fist’ (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2018/09/14/how-sacha-dhawan-broke-new-ground-as-the-villain-on-netflixs-iron-fist/?utm_term=.60b1385b05fe)
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Sacha Dhawan stars as Davos in Netflix’s “Iron Fist.” (Netflix/Marvel)
By David Betancourt
September 14

Note: Spoilers for Season 2 of Netflix’s “Iron Fist” below.

Before Sacha Dhawan became one of the most violent and intriguing antagonists in Marvel’s live-action entertainment era, he was sitting on a bus in London, reading Iron Fist comics, convinced he would never land the role of the mystical martial artist the Steel Serpent.

Each flip of the page revealed few similarities between Dhawan and the classic villain he had auditioned to play for Marvel and Netflix’s “Iron Fist” series.

Davos, the man under the mask of the Steel Serpent, seemed almost alien to Dhawan. He saw skin of a different color and a hulking figure that seemed twice his size.

“I kind of thought there’s no way in a million years I’m ever going to get this job,” Dhawan told The Washington Post’s Comic Riffs.

But surprisingly to him, Dhawan got the role for “Iron Fist’s” polarizing first season, playing a brother/best friend to “Iron Fist” protagonist Danny Rand (Finn Jones).

After it came out, famed comic book writer and current Marvel television producer Jeph Loeb called Dhawan to let him know Season 2 of “Iron Fist” was a go, and that Davos would play a much larger and darker part in the plot.

Knowing he was about to make the transition from friend to foe in “Iron Fist’s” second season, Dhawan began four months of intense training and weightlifting to bulk up, to prepare for turning on the evil switch in front of the cameras.

Dhawan studied various forms of martial arts, including Wing Chun, Choy Li Fut and boxing, working with his trainers to create a style of fighting for Davos that worked well for both the character and Dhawan’s abilities.

“I wanted to give the impression that between Season 1 and Season 2, Davos, he had lost everything, but it meant that he trained harder and wanted to come back harder,” Dhawan said. “I started off in London with a range of different trainers and then [was] really upping my training regime, sometimes training twice, even three times of day and living a bit of a kind of lifestyle as Davos would, where your life just revolves around eating and training and focus and discipline. It was a real challenge.”

The culmination of all that training came during Season 2’s fifth episode, “Heart of the Dragon.” The episode opens with Davos, having just stolen the power of the Iron Fist from Danny Rand, destroying a cement wall with a red chi-fueled closed fist. In that scene, Dhawan wears the Iron Fist mask many fans have been clamoring to see more of. He says a decision was made that he would not continue wearing the mask, so he would not cover up the anger that was written on his face in every scene. But in the moment, he was overcome with emotion and felt like a superhero.

“It was something that I never thought was possible for someone who’s a British Indian actor,” Dhawan said. “I was thinking about Davos at that time, thinking about his mom and father in K’un-Lun, and me, Sacha Dhawan, thinking about my mom and dad back in the U.K., and I’m thinking, ‘I did it, Mom and Dad.’ It was a very proud moment, not just for me, but for other British Indians or Indians all over the world [to see] that this is possible. It’s a real big step for the Marvel universe.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/R4nOBIMKHCp4iuzAq9EjLG6paio=/1024x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/DRXV5YIIE4YT3IUHB62KTGRWQ4.jpg
Davos (Sacha Dhawan) and Danny Rand (Finn Jones) are brothers at odds in “Iron Fist.” (Netflix/Marvel)

Not lost in that moment was Dhawan realizing in that scene he was giving viewers the Iron Fist of color many thought the show needed, even if he was the bad guy. (Many fans thought Marvel and Netflix should have cast an Asian lead actor as Iron Fist.) But what Dhawan, or anyone streaming that episode could have known in that moment, was that would not be the last time they’d see someone other than Danny Rand with the power of the Iron Fist.

Perhaps the most talked about and controversial moment of Season 2 is leading lady Jessica Henwick (who plays Colleen Wing) gaining the power of the “Iron Fist” in the 10th and final episode after she and Danny Rand successfully take the power away from Davos. Dhawan says no one on set knew the change was coming.

“It’s something that they were very secretive about telling people. Because if it leaked, then we’re ruining the surprise for everybody,” Dhawan said. “I’m excited to see how Colleen handles it. Is she going to fall in love with the power? And who else is going to have access to it?”

So much of the hype of this second season has been focused on Dhawan and Henwick’s characters wielding a power intended for the titular character, but Dhawan says he walked away from Season 2 impressed with how strong Jones came back in his performance this year in the lead role after the criticism he received during “Iron Fist’s” debut in 2017.

“Finn, in my opinion, was the best man for the job,” Dhawan said. “I think the amount of work that he put into [“Iron Fist”] this year, which isn’t easy after you’ve had a literal beating from so many people, [he could have just said] I’m just going to give up, and he didn’t. And I get really moved by [his performance] because he really gave it so much this year, and I enjoyed working with him.”

As for the more positive online fan reaction to Season 2 of “Iron Fist,” Dhawan attributes much of that to new showrunner Raven Metzner, and conversations Metzner had with cast members before writing began.

“Raven was very keen to speak to all of the cast and guests about the advantages and disadvantages of Season 1 [to] see how we can do better,” Dhawan said.

Dhawan is quick to point out that unlike so many comic book villains, Davos is far from dead. And if Danny Rand can be shown with glowing chi-charged hands (as seen in the final moments of the season finale), perhaps the Iron Fist power was not completely drained from Davos, either? Asked if he is ready to suit up for Season 3, Dhawan can barely contain his eagerness.

“Hell, yeah,” Dhawan said. “[This time] I’m going to try to ask for a whole costume.”

GeneChing

09-28-2018, 08:13 AM

There's a vid.

FIGHTING WITH THE STARS: ‘IRON FIST’S CLAYTON BARBER TALKS KUNG-FU HUGS AND ATHLETICISM VS. HARD WORK (https://www.newsweek.com/clayton-barber-iron-fist-black-panther-creed-iron-fist-choreography-1138421)
BY AUTUMN NOEL KELLY ON 9/27/18 AT 1:40 PM

Clayton Barber has has taught actors how to fight for more than 35 years. He did choreography for Wesley Snipes in Blade II, trained Michael B. Jordan for Creed, was a stunt performer in John Wick and the fight coordinator for Black Panther. He recently finished work on Iron Fist Season 2 and he still considers himself “just a peon” doing his job.

“At some point I stop listening, and I do what I do,” Barber tells Newsweek.

Barber has a stern exterior, yet he’s warm and compassionate during our brief stunt training session in a warehouse near the Brooklyn waterfront. “I treat it like a big brother or like a father,” he says of the day he started training the cast of Iron Fist. “I call it the kung-fu hug.”

Commitment is required when Barber’s involved. “We do this as a family,” he says. “I immediately establish the tone and the philosophy—what we are gonna be doing, how we are going to do it, and what I expect of you. I make a verbal handshake and an eye-contact contract with them.”

https://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/styles/full/public/2018/09/25/clayton-barber-finn-jones-iron-fist-trainer-fight-choreography.jpg
Clayton Barber trains Finn Jones for 'Iron Fist.'
LINDA KALLERUS/NETFLIX

To my dismay, our handshake did not grant me the powers of a glowing orange fist as I attempted to recreate a scene from the Season 2 premiere — keyword, “attempted.” Arms flailing, I forgot all the fight choreography as I barely managed to nail Iron Fist’s classic pose — down on one knee, fist into the floor. I remembered something Barber said before we started training, “You can have the greatest athlete, but they can be terrible fighting for film.”

“You can have the worst athlete, but they are great fighting for film because they put in the work and have heart,” Barber continued. “You don't have to be a kung fu master. We get actors to portray enough to where the audience to believes they can do what they can do. That's the artform. They have to call upon their own sensory memories and lives, at the end of the day they have to act.”

Iron Fist brought in a new creative team for Season 2, and Barber embraced a motto he’s lived by his entire career: get bogged down in doing good work. “If you build, they’ll come,” he says confidently. “Going second always give you perspective. It’s like a video game, it gives you a redo. You get to put another quarter in the machine and you get to play the game differently with a different mindset.”

A quick Google search classifies Barber as a Taekwondo black belt, but he likes to describe his skillset more broadly; dance, acrobatics and martial arts technique.“Doing a fight scene isn’t necessarily a stunt, it's a dramatic scene with movement in it,” he says. But he’s emphatically clear that it’s more than choreography. “I create story-o, not choreo. That’s the art of the deal for me.”

Barber started his film career specializing in Kung Fu and was enthused to return after 18 years. “I wanted to come back and see what I can do with a pure Kung Fu show with an iconic character like Iron Fist, who is supposed to be the greatest Kung Fu fighter in the universe.”

https://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/styles/full/public/2018/09/25/iron-fist-clayton-barber-fight-choreography.jpg
Clayton Barber behind-the-scenes in 'Iron Fist.'
LINDA KALLERUS/NETFLIX

Barber also didn’t want to limit himself to a direct translation. Iron Fist lives in 2018 New York, not in Ku’n-Lun. “ He's having to adapt to the environment, the rhythm and fighters. Fighters in K’un-Lun are priests and monks, but New York has gangsters who fight with no rules. He needs to improvise and overcome,” he says.

That’s not at all dissimilar to the way he approaches most of his projects, I realize, after asking about the distinct fighting styles of the Dora Milaje, Jessica Jones and Colleen Wing. “You take all the stereotypes and throw them in the wind and out the door. Sometimes I grab them back,” he swiftly added. “Depending on how I’m going to manipulate it.”

In the end, he knows good action is about creating good story. “I’m not a big fan of doing 45 cuts knowing the guy didn’t do the motions,” he says, noting Michael B. Jordan didn’t use a stunt double for a single scene in Creed. “I’m a big fan of making them participate, forcing them to be a part of the scene in a real organic way for them themselves as actors.”

GeneChing

10-15-2018, 08:04 AM

Netflix Knocks Out ‘Marvel’s Iron Fist’, No Season 3 For Martial Arts Series (https://deadline.com/2018/10/marvel-iron-fist-canceled-netflix-daredevil-disney-finn-jones-jessica-henwick-1202482048/)
by Dominic Patten
October 12, 2018 6:04pm

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/iron-fist-marvel-logo-netflix-logo-3-shot.jpg?w=446&h=299&crop=1
Netflix; Marvel

EXCLUSIVE: Just over a month after its significantly improved second season launched on Netflix, the streaming service has delivered a knockout cancellation punch to Marvel’s Iron Fist

“Marvel’s Iron Fist will not return for a third season on Netflix,” said the Disney-owned comic giant and the streamer in a joint statement to Deadline today. “Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is proud of the series and grateful for all of the hard work from our incredible cast, crew and showrunners,” Marvel and Netflix added. “We’re thankful to the fans who have watched these two seasons, and for the partnership we’ve shared on this series. While the series on Netflix has ended, the immortal Iron Fist will live on.”

This is the first small screen series termination from the comic giant by the Reed Hastings run Netflix and a hard blow for the Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick led show about the mystically empowered NYC-based marital arts hero and Defenders member. Cast members on the series that as most recently run by Raven Metzner were informed of the cancellation in the last few hours, I hear.

Of course, while out for the count at Netflix, the tale of billionaire Danny Rand and Colleen Wing may “live on,” to quote Friday’s statement, on other platforms. That “other” being the streaming service that Disney is expected to launch next year, which already has series on Marvel fan favorites Loki and the Scarlet Witch in the pipeline, with Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen expect to reprise their big screen roles. I hear that while Marvel wanted Iron Fist to continue on Netflix, the parent company’s new rival to the streamer has put the idea of a resurrection in consideration as it fosters the likes of the already announced Jon Favreau produced Star Wars series too.

At present, a migration of the other three Marvel series that evolved out of the lucrative 2013 deal between Disney and Netflix is not in the cards. A third season of the Krysten Ritter led Jessica Jones was order in April and a third season of fellow Defender Luke Cage is expected to get the formal go-ahead any day now. The first Marvel series to appear on the streamer back in 2015, Daredevil‘s third season is about to launch on Netflix on October 19.

The expectation is the apparently widely watched and critically acclaimed tale of the Man Without Fear will be back for a fourth Charlie Cox led season. Daredevil spinoff The Punisher was given a second Jon Bernthal fronted season in late 2017, soon after Season 1 launched.

So, where ever Iron Fist does or doesn’t land, there’s still a lot of Marvel to come for a while on Netflix.

Anyone watch any of Season 2? I started the first episode, but got as far as the fight scene and gave up. :o

GeneChing

03-21-2019, 06:56 PM

Curious what price they'll bring and imagining what price the original MCU memorabilia might garner.

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE
Published March 21, 2019
Marvel Television Props & Costumes To Be Auctioned for the First Time Ever by Prop Store (https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture-lifestyle/marvel-television-props-costumes-to-be-auctioned)
Fans and collectors will have the opportunity to own an authentic piece of 'Marvel's Daredevil,' 'Marvel's Luke Cage,' and 'Marvel's Iron Fist'!
BY MARVEL
Prop Store, one of the leading film and TV memorabilia companies, in association with the world renowned Marvel Entertainment, has today announced it is hosting the first ever MARVEL TELEVISION live auction featuring original costumes, props and set decoration from "Marvel’s Daredevil," "Marvel’s Luke Cage" and "Marvel’s Iron Fist."

https://terrigen-cdn-dev.marvel.com/content/prod/1x/announcement.jpg

Over 750 lots will be offered in this first of its kind live two-day auction, taking place in August 2019 at Prop Store’s auction facility in Los Angeles County, California. In addition to live bidding, out-of-town fans can participate via telephone or online via www.propstore.com/marvel. You can now subscribe to receive e-mail updates about the auction and bidding opens in July 2019.

Chuck Costas, VP of Business Development & Operations for Prop Store, commented on the upcoming auction: “Marvel created ground-breaking television with the shows featuring their 'Street Level Heroes' including Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. The shows were true to their comic book roots, and fans can now celebrate these shows and appreciate the art that went into creating them by owning a real piece of their production."

Mike Pasciullo, SVP, Marvel Marketing and Communications, spoke about the upcoming auction: “The props and costumes created for these series are the living embodiment of the comics come to life. We’re happy to work with Prop Store to give fans this unique opportunity to own authentic iconic mementos that were used to create these beloved Marvel shows."

THREADS:
Luke Cage (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68058-Luke-Cage)
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)
Daredevil (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?19985-DareDevil)

GeneChing

11-01-2019, 10:04 AM

Iron Fist Being Rebooted On Disney Plus With New Cast (https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/iron-fist-rebooted-disney-new-cast/)
By Christian Bone 3 days ago

According to recent reports, the odds are looking good for more of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in the MCU, following the cancellation of the characters’ Netflix shows. The same can’t be said for Iron Fist, though. The protector of K’un-Lun was always generally considered to be the least popular of the Defenders and it seems Marvel doesn’t want to continue the franchise as is. Instead, a reboot could be on the way.

We Got This Covered has heard from our sources – the same ones who told us the Inhumans were being rebooted in Ms. Marvel and that Marvel was considering recasting Hawkeye, both of which have since been confirmed – that Iron Fist will get a relaunch of some sort on Disney Plus. This would be a Marvel Studios project rather than a Marvel Television one, which means that Kevin Feige will have creative control. Apparently, Feige “hated” the Netflix series so he wants to start from scratch with the character. Specifically, Finn Jones will definitely not return as Danny Rand. Instead, an Asian actor is likely to be found to replace him.

https://wegotthiscovered.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Iron-Fist-season-2-020.jpg

Creating a new Iron Fist on Disney Plus would then allow for the hero to crossover with other corners of the MCU. In particular, he could appear in a future Shang-Chi movie, as we’ve previously reported. It’s unclear whether the new Danny will show up in a movie or his TV series first, but we’re told that Marvel definitely wants to redo the character and have him team up with Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi at some point.

If the studio was to recast any of the other Defenders, there’d probably be a huge outcry, but most fans will probably be on board with the decision if and when this comes to pass. With no offense intended to Jones though, who did the best with the material he was given. Sure, it might create some continuity hiccups – how can Netflix’s Iron Fist be non-canon if the other heroes are? – but it’d worth it if it improves on what’s come before.

THREADS
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)
Disney+ (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71104-Disney)

GeneChing

07-27-2020, 10:54 AM

Daredevil actor says Marvel exec cut his storyline because 'nobody gives a s—' about Asian people (https://ew.com/tv/daredevil-actor-marvel-exec-cut-storyline-asian-people/)
By Rachel Yang July 26, 2020 at 08:28 PM EDT

https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F6%2F2015%2F03%2Fpeter-shinkoda-2000.jpg
JORDAN STRAUSS/WIREIMAGE

Marvel's Daredevil
TYPE TV Show
NETWORK Netflix
GENRE Superhero

Daredevil actor Peter Shinkoda is alleging that a Marvel executive cut his and another actor's storylines on the show because "nobody gives a s—" about Asian people.

The actor made the allegations at a roundtable discussion during the virtual #SaveDaredevil Con this weekend. Shinkoda said former Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb, who was an executive producer on the canceled Netflix series, told the writers' room to scrap backstories for Shinkoda's Nobu and Wai Ching Ho's Madame Gao. Shinkoda is of Japanese descent while Ho hails from Hong Kong.

"I'm kind of reluctant to say this, but...I'm going to take this moment, but I have to because — because I just have to. I'm not into really protecting certain things anymore," Shinkoda said during the Zoom livestream. "Jeph Loeb told the writers' room not to write for Nobu and Gao — and this was reiterated many times by many of the writers and showrunners — that nobody cares about Chinese people and Asian people. There were three previous Marvel movies, a trilogy called Blade that was made where Wesley Snipes kills 200 Asians each movie. Nobody gives a s---, so don't write about Nobu and Gao, so they were forced to put their storyline down and drop it."

For example, Shinkoda said the writers dropped plans to explore Nobu's journey to America under the guise of a medical procedure so he could help Gao and the Hand carry out their Black Sky plans. The character appeared in Daredevil's first two seasons as a member of the Hand, a super-villain organization.

"All that backstory was dropped," the Canadian actor said. "The writers told me they regret it and they were reluctant to do it because they were stoked about including that in the storyline but they were prevented so I had to concoct this other storyline and rock that material I was given."

This is not the first time Loeb and Iron Fist have come under fire for their representation of Asians and Asian characters. Amid criticism that the show furthers the "white savior" trope — the series stars a white guy who masters martial arts in a secret Asian city, learns mystical Asian magical, and goes off to fight crime — Loeb decided to appear at San Diego Comic-Con in a karate outfit.

“I asked Jeph Loeb why Marvel in the 21st century was still doing ‘white guy becomes master of magic in Asia’ stories, and he looked me right in the eye and said it was because Danny Rand had to be an outsider," Katharine Trendacosta, Electronic Frontier Foundation policy analyst, tweeted at the time.

Loeb has also served as EP on numerous Marvel shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Legion, Jessica Jones, Runaways, and more.

EW has reached out to representatives for Shinkoda and Marvel for further comment.

threads
DareDevil (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?19985-DareDevil)
Iron Fist (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49086-Iron-Fist)

GeneChing

04-02-2024, 10:29 AM

Tell me this is an April fools joke...

Finn Jones Seems to Be Teasing His Return as IRON FIRST in the MCU (https://geektyrant.com/news/finn-jones-seems-to-be-teasing-his-return-as-iron-first-in-the-mcu)
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/f13f2c1a-e403-459b-b0ea-779fc6117a57/iron-fist-stunt-coordinator-says-finn-jones-didnt-want-to-train-for-his-fight-scenes.jpg?format=2500w

A Day Ago by Joey Paur

It looks like Iron Fist star Finn Jones might be teasing his return to the role of Danny Rand. While Marvel has made Netflix’s Defenders shows canon, I didn’t think that they’d bring back Jones because he was the worst of the bunch. But, maybe his return to Iron Fist isn’t so farfetched.

The actor recently shared a photo on his Instagram Story that featured a Power Man and Iron Fist comic inside of a travel bag. There was also a copy of The NeverEnding Story, which could be some other kind of clue to what he’s doing.

I don’t know, maybe these are things that he just picked up and wanted to show off? The comic appears to be in an acrylic, collector's display case so he definitely doesn't seem to be intent on reading it. Some fans think that he is headed to the set of Daredevil: Born Again, which is currently filming.

There was a report a couple of months ago saying that Marvel was in development on a female-led Iron Fist series with Danny Rand in a supporting role. The plan is supposedly for the new story to put the spotlight on a female lead and there's been at least some talk of this being an animated adaptation.

I would actually be very open to a series that focuses on Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing. She was the best part of the Iron Fist series!

Jones previously said that he would love the opportunity to play Iron Fist again saying he wants to “prove all those motherf–kers wrong.” He said: "I'd love another chance. I care about Danny Rand deeply, I believe in that character, I think there's a lot of work to be done. There's something about the underdog, y'know? I love the underdog narrative. I love the ability to prove someone wrong, and I want to prove all those motherf–kers wrong. I know I have it in me and I know I can give the Danny Rand performance that fans want and that is possible."

When talking about Jones’ work ethic on the series, the stunt coordinator on Iron Fist said that Jones didn't even want to train for his fight scenes! He said: "Everyone's fighting and the actor doesn't want to train and...'Guys, throw me a bone. Give me something to work with here.' That's probably why the best sequences were with Jessica Henwick because she trained four hours a day and she had zero martial arts experience."

If Jones actually gets another chance at this role, it sounds like he’ll put in the work and the effort. But, a lot of fans believe that he was miscast from the very beginning. What do you think?

Joey Paur
Co-Founder / Editor of GeekTyrant.com, and if you haven't noticed I write… a lot. Movies are my passion and I live and breathe all things geek. This site is part of my life's work, it's a part of me. I love what I do, and I enjoy sharing everything I can with you when it comes to movies and geekery. In my spare time I travel to the netherworlds to battle demons. @JoeyPaur | joeypaur@geektyrant.com