Pandorum

[GeneChing]

In addition to Tekken (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41428) and Fighting (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50719), Cung Le has this one in pipeline for 2009. I spoke to Cung about it two weeks ago (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52265) and he's very excited about this project. He says it's the most mindblowing plot ever, or something to that effect.


PANDORUM
Release: September 4, 2009
Directed by: Christian Alvart
Screenplay by: Travis Milloy
Story by: Travis Milloy and Christian Alvart
Produced by: Paul W. S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer
Executive Produced by: Martin Moszkowicz, Dave Morrison
Production Companies: A Constantin Film/Impact Pictures Production

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse, André Hennicke, Norman Reedus

Rating: TBD
Runtime: TBD

In Pandorum, actors, Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point, The Express) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, Alpha Dog), join Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down, Twilight), Cung Le (Tekken, Fighting), newcomer Antje Traue and director Christian Alvart (Antibodies) to tell the terrifying story of two crew members stranded on a spacecraft who quickly realize they are not alone.

Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It's pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the spacecraft. They can't remember anything - who are they, what is their mission? The only way out of the chamber is a dark and narrow airshaft. Corporal Bower (Foster), the younger of the two, crawls inside, while the other, Lt. Payton (Quaid), stays behind for guidance on a radio transmitter. As Bower ventures deeper and deeper into the ship, he begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft's shocking and deadly secrets come unraveled, and the astronauts realize that the survival of mankind hinges on their actions.

[SimonM]

Visions of Event Horizon are flashing through my head.....

[GeneChing]

No shot of Cung tho...:(
Pandorum trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ar5AVvw1R4)

[GeneChing]

With a quick shot of Cung :)
New official trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fknmy_tRuC8)

[GeneChing]

Movie web has a fresh trailer (http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEoDhpsryIyVsp).

[GeneChing]

There wasn't any reviewers previews, but there's a semi-private premiere this Friday that I'm going to try to make. It all depends if I can get away from the office here for that long.

Pandorum: MMA star Cung Le is ready for his close-up (http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Pandorum+star+Cung+ready+close/2020735/story.html)
By Emma May, Special to The SunSeptember 22, 2009

Smoke and ash filled the air as machine gun fire erupted while a helicopter carried a young mother and her three-year-old son out of war-torn Saigon... It was a dramatic start to what has proven to be an action-packed life for Vietnamese-American immigrant Cung Le, who eventually from childhood bully-beater into cage-fighting bone crusher.

Cung Le would go on to win a world title with the Strikeforce mixed martial arts promotion, earn a load of money, and get his very own action figure, but that wouldn't be enough for the driven fighter.

The decorated combat athlete’s new battleground is the soundstage as he steps away from MMA competition to bring his fighting skills and rugged good looks to the big-budget action film Pandorum.

The Sci-Fi thriller, about a group of astronauts who awaken on a spacecraft with no memory and encounter mysterious creatures, co-stars Dennis Quaid and up-and-comer Ben Foster.

“I gotta say, I learn a lot from Ben," says Le over the phone from his home in San Jose. “Most of my time on set was shared with Ben because we’re like buddy/buddy characters that roam around on the ship and kick ass.”

Le’s most famous kick came in March of 2008 when his shin shattered mixed martial arts legend Frank Shamrock’s arm, stopping their fight and earning Le the Strikeforce middleweight belt. His six knockout wins encapsulate the Californian's MMA career and captured the attention of sports fans and Hollywood players alike.

In fact, Le was so busy acting in movies, such as Channing Tatum’s recent film Fighting, that he failed to defend his title in the eighteen months since he won the belt. Le’s decision to tie up the belt and make movies has drawn the ire of many online pundits and sports fans, and he finally relinquished the title on September 17th.

“People can say whatever they want to say, but if they calculate and have a business plan then they would think a lot differently than what they write on the blogs. They can say 'Well, look at Jackie Chan. Look at Jet Li. They’ve been around for a long time and they’re still at it.'"

When asked why he couldn't fight and shoot movies at the same time, Le points to scheduling issues that would inevitably arise.

"Not just anyone can just drop out of fighting and go and say 'I want do a movie' and 'I want to do any movie that I want.' It doesn’t work that way," he says. "When you’re hot, you’re hot. You gotta take advantage of it.”

Le isn’t the only mixed martial artist catching flack for choosing a film set over the cage. UFC president Dana White recently expressed frustration over former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s decision to film the A-Team movie in Vancouver and put his long-anticipated fight with Rashad Evans in limbo, and lightweight prospect Roger Huerta has also fled the cage for a role in the upcoming Tekken film and the career prospects that may follow.

Le supports Jackson's move to strike while the iron is hot.

“I believe anyone in Rampage’s position would be doing the same thing,” says Le. “It’s a big studio movie. I’m sure Rampage is gonna get paid good. If the fans are upset, they just gotta understand that Rampage is going to bring new fans to the sport of MMA. Now that top athletes are starting to get into the mainstream movies, its going to create stir and get attention from non-MMA fans and could potentially make more fans for the sport.”

Le insists that his decision to relinquish the Strikeforce middleweight belt does not mean the 37-year-old is on course to retire from combat competition.

“I plan to come back as soon as I finish out some projects. That could be early next year. I will come back and do a super fight. If I feel that I’m sharp enough, then I’ll make my move to go after the title again.”

Reflecting on his childhood foray into martial arts, Le says, “Growing up as a Vietnamese American was very tough. I was picked on a lot and because of that, my mom put me into martial arts classes.”

Following a highly successful collegiate wrestling career, Le became a decorated practitioner of San Shou. The Chinese martial art, which emphasizes striking and throws, proved a perfect jumping off point to mixed martial arts for Le.

Le debuted in the cage in 2006 and by 2009 his likeness was in toy stores, next to Spiderman, Bionicles and Dora The Explorer. While honored to have his very own action figure, Le worries that the collectible isn't as lifelike as he would prefer.

“It’s very similar to me but I guess you could say I look a little bit caucasian,” he laughs.

“It’s the Vietnamese American in me.”

Asked what he thinks of cities like Vancouver, where regulators have walked away from MMA, he says, “I’m sure it’s a matter of time. MMA is the fastest growing sport. I don’t see any roadblocks that can hold MMA back. Whoever is standing in the way- lets get with the program and get MMA legalized because it’s going to be everywhere.”

[Jimbo]

I'm very interested to see this. From the ads, it looks reminds me of Aliens and the creatures in The Descent.

[GeneChing]

Of course, they took the Cung angle.


'Pandorum': Martial artist morphing into actor (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/24/NSNR19QC41.DTL)
G. Allen Johnson
Thursday, September 24, 2009

As a martial arts champion, Cung Le is used to big-time arenas. But when the South Bay fighter showed up on the set of "Pandorum" in Berlin, even he was awed by the scope of a Hollywood science-fiction production.

"I was shocked," Le said as he conducted a tour of his martial arts training center in Milpitas. "I thought there was going to be a lot of green screen, but there were three different warehouses with full-sized sets that you could do hundred-yard sprints in. ... It was really easy to feel like you were in a spaceship."

"Pandorum," which stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as two astronauts who wake up from hyper-sleep to find they are no longer alone on their spaceship, represents just one of the highlights for Le during a very busy 2009.

Since defending his Strikeforce MMA belt against Frank Shamrock in March 2008, Le, who has dabbled in acting over the years, has positioned himself to become a big-time martial arts star.

He had a small role in "Fighting," which starred Terrence Howard, was released in April and did respectable box office, and has graduated to larger supporting roles in "Pandorum," which opens Friday, and two upcoming Hong Kong martial arts films - "Bodyguards and Assassins," co-starring Donnie Yen, who is the biggest box-office star in China these days; and "True Legend" alongside Michelle Yeoh, Jay Chou and the late David Carradine.

In addition, Le was married last month (he has two boys, ages 8 and 4, from a first marriage), unveiled his new MMA action figure at Comic-Con in San Diego, is training three big-name MMA fighters (James Terry and Thomas Diagne for Strikeforce and Anthony Johnson for UFC), and is developing the script for his first starring role.

He hasn't given up fighting, although he will vacate his middleweight belt because of his acting schedule.

"I'm a young 37," said Le, who was born in Vietnam, with his family leaving Saigon just days before the fall in 1975 and eventually settling in San Jose. "But if you take a fight, the movie company can't bond you. It wouldn't be fair for the other middleweight contenders to fight for an interim belt while I hold the belt hostage."

Le, who said he trained for his audition for "Pandorum" like it was a fight, clearly relishes any challenge. No more belt? No problem.

"I can fight my way back up to championship contention."
Of course, I'll have something for you too, an exclusive for KFM, coming very soon. :cool:

[GeneChing]

Check out my exclusive interview in Cung Le Stars in PANDORUM (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=843).

[doug maverick]

i think cung is positioning himself to be the next big action star. i havent seen him act yet so i won't comment. but ill check him out in his upcoming films, and ill go check out pandorum on friday. cause we know the time when bad actors who can leads in big budget action films are over. if he got the chops i think he can make it. look forward to seeing it and hopes he is good.

[GeneChing]

http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs205.snc1/7233_162281069362_135964689362_3619362_2092188_n.j pg
Cung Le, Gigi Oh & Eddie Rouse

http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs205.snc1/7233_162281074362_135964689362_3619363_2997082_n.j pg
Cung & me

http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs225.snc1/7233_162281079362_135964689362_3619364_1639866_n.j pg
Cung introduces the film - it was the first time he'd seen the final cut

http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs225.snc1/7233_162281089362_135964689362_3619365_1988703_n.j pg
Cung & Eddie sign posters for the fans.

It's a very entertaining film - sort of Alien meets 28 Days After. I'm pleased to have guessed one of the plot twists. It's a great showcase for Cung Le. He's got a major role, much more significant than his cameo in Fighting (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50719).

[Brule]

Rented it this past weekend and i was disappointed. I came close to turning it off once. Not sure if it was how it was shot, but the action sequences were hard to follow and so were the way the aliens moved, some choppy motion going on there which made me feel like it was low-budget type stuff.