Haywire starring Gina Carano

[GeneChing]

Hope you can join us. Email me at NinjaStar@KungFuMagazine.com.

HAYWIRE ADVANCED SCREENING: San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento Only

[GeneChing]

Not sure about SF and San Jose yet. Gofobo keeps its own count and stops distributing passes when full. I only know when they stop.

[Lee Chiang Po]

She is definately thicker than she was when she was fighting. But this is what beef steak and steroids do to you. Of course black tights and wet suits will hide the cottage cheese cellulite. No matter. She is still a great looking broad, and I sort of like um thick. Takes a real thick woman to handle me. Thick or thin, There ain't never been a woman I couldn't whip.

[TaichiMantis]

Thick or thin, There ain't never been a woman I couldn't whip.

I'd pay to see her kick your teeth in...

[GeneChing]

Non captured her laughter & humor well. Follow the link for a photo gallery.

Jan 16, 2012
Carano still undecided on return to MMA
By Sergio Non, USA TODAY
4:51 PM


By Frazer Harrison, Getty Images for Relativity Media
Gina Carano has yet to make up her mind about fighting again.

"I know that there's so much that you can do in a lifetime with acting and there's only a certain amount of time you can fight," Carano said. "I'm keeping all these things in mind. I'll definitely know a lot more in a couple of months."

For now, the first woman to become prominent in mixed martial arts wants to focus on the Jan. 20 theatrical release of Haywire, an espionage thriller that features her in the lead role. USA TODAY spoke to Carano recently about the movie and mixed martial arts. Excerpts from the conversation:

How much did the fight choreographers take advantage of your existing MMA abilities, as opposed to you learning new skills for movie fighting?

The fight choreographers are complete fans of the sport. They were so funny -- they geeked out and wanted to talk fighting with me the whole time.

They've seen all my fights and they knew my style -- Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing. They knew what I had come from. It was really cool to collaborate with them once they realized they weren't dealing with an actress, they were dealing with an athlete. It was really fun for us to implement my style of fighting in mixed martial arts into these fight scenes and have the freedom to learn their style and mix it in.

The new skills came with the acting part of fighting, which wasn't hard for me at all. With the actors I had, they took their adrenaline up in each fight scene and made it real to me. But it was more like we were taking care of each other being physically violent toward each other, instead of trying to smash each other. There was no egos involved.

Learning stunt fighting was learning how to miss and make it look very close, and doing that kind of stuff.

How difficult was it to hold back when you were working with the actors and stunt people?

There was only one person I really felt bad with, and it's because we were doing an additional shoot after we had already wrapped.

I had gone to Thailand, and so I'm in Thailand doing two-a-days, once in the morning, once at night -- all contact; all sparring; all padwork -- and really kind of detoxing and getting back to my roots there. Then they called me three weeks in -- I was planning on staying there for five weeks -- and they're like, "We've got this great idea for an additional shoot. We need you to come back and shoot it with us." So I was like, "Ok, on my way back."

The poor stunt guy that I ended up having this reshoot with ended up getting a little bit bloody, I'm not going to lie. He was such a good sport about it, but I did accidentally make contact a couple of times, because I had been making contact for the last three weeks, so it was kind of unfortunate. He laughed it off and thought it was hilarious, and went and told all his other stunt buddies that I beat him up that day. (laughs)

Yeah, if you did that to me, I'd be bragging about it, I admit.

(laughs) I was like, "Don't give me a bad reputation in this industry. It was an accident. I was training in Thailand. I couldn't control it."

You've been hesitant in talking about your future in MMA, one way or another. What criteria would you use to make a decision about returning or not?

(chuckles) There are certain things that I always dreamed of, like fighting in the UFC. That was a big one.

I don't know. There's just certain things that I feel like haven't been accomplished there. There's such great women coming up in the sport; seems like a wonderful time to be in women's MMA.

So I'm not sure. I'm going to kind of get on the other side of Jan. 20th and give back to this film what it gave to me. Because it was -- I won't lie and say it wasn't the best time of my life, because it absolutely was. It was really fun to creatively express myself in a sport and a passion that I love, without having to try and hurt someone.

I know that there's so much that you can do in a lifetime with acting and there's only a certain amount of time you can fight. I'm keeping all these things in mind. I'll definitely know a lot more in a couple of months.

Is that a way of saying that you'd be done with fighting if the movie does well and high-quality offerings come rolling in from Hollywood?

Not necessarily. I think that the right offer has to come in either way. I was told that by a wonderful actress whom I've always kind of looked up to and watched in her career, the good and the bad.

She told me something and I'll always remember it. She says, "No matter what, you've got make the right decisions for yourself in this life. You have to stay true to yourself."

Sometimes that means walking away from something that you don't want to walk away from because you think the opportunity's going to be so great. Or sometimes that's doing something that nobody believes in, like when I started Muay Thai and I got hard time for fighting and looked at sideways for thinking that that was a profession.

I think it's just going to feel right when it does. I'm not sure exactly what is going to take that decision. I'm just trying to get on the other side of Jan. 20th and look back and know I gave it everything I had to give back. Then I can have a clean slate and start and land where I'm at.

What actress was that?

I don't want to say her name. I don't want to name drop, but she's somebody that I respect.

What would be a high-quality offer, let's say, in terms of MMA?

Of course, fighting for the UFC, that would be huge. I'm going straight to the top on that one, aren't I? (laughs)

It's ok, you can be ambitious.

You know, why not just put it out there? (laughs)

Does money play a role in it?

It's really nice to support myself. As long as I can keep supporting myself, then I'm going to be ok in life. I'm not greedy when it comes to that.

I know I definitely need to make a living for myself, but we'll see.

I just think of the purses paid to you before your hiatus from fighting. Frankly, for the business that you generated for Strikeforce and EliteXC, you might have been able to justify more compensation.

(jokingly) I know, I need some pay for the last couple of years. (laughs)

No, I'm not trying to be greedy. I've been a really blessed person to experience the things that I've experienced. I don't know what is going to happen. I'm just going to stay positive and keep going forward.

You were supposed to return to MMA in June before some medical stuff derailed that. You've kept that private, but athletes talk about their injuries and health issues all the time. Why have you been reluctant in this case?

I guess, it's because it's just that personal. (laughs) I don't know. I'm kind of a private person when it comes to certain things. I think that in this world, we all don't need to know everything about each other.

I respect the fact that athletes do share what happens in their lives. But sometimes we're going to run into situations where we don't need to know.

Maybe someday I'll talk about things and I'll feel more comfortable too. But I don't think today is that day.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

There's a photo gallery too, if you follow the link above.

You've heard about Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos' suspension for her positive test. How surprised were you to hear she'd be taking something like that?

Back when I fought here, I had rumors swirling around me for years that that was the case.

I definitely could have lived the rest of my life without hearing that she tested positive, because of course I put that in my head. My biggest MMA moment to date was that fight.

It kind of stung when I heard it. But I also know that we're all just human beings in this world and we all make mistakes. Sometimes we're etting bad advice from the people around us.

I think Cyborg's a phenomenal athlete without steroids and I think she should know that without thinking that she had to take anything.

Steroids can be not only a physical enhancement, but it's definitely a mental enhancement. Having that back-up of, "Well, I'm on steroids," that does make it quite unfair. If we all have to deal with the same mentality going into a fight, that's equal.

So it stung a little bit, but she's a human being. She's a great athlete. She doesn't need any of that.

She's going to have to deal with the repurcussions of having tested positive once in her career. I think that's going to be enough punishment for one human being. She's suspended,got her title taken away from her. I don't think she needs the rest of us fighters shoving it down her throat.

So I sympathize with her. I respect her still and I think she'll come back as a better athlete after she goes through this kind of hard time.

Seems like the chic thing in women's MMA these days is going to the 135-pound division. But you had some difficulties getting to 140 in EliteXC. How realistic would it be for you to attempt 135?

I've made 136, 139. In my Cyborg fight, I got down to 142 without even stepping one foot in the steam room.

I'm not acting like, "Hey, that would be the easiest thing for me to do," because we all know that it hasn't been for me in the past. But if I really want to do something, I can do it, and if I have to do something like that if I come back, I will.

One of the women dropping to 135 is Ronda Rousey. She's all the rage these days. Some of her peers think she doesn't deserve a title shot yet. How fair is that criticism?

Hey, I think if she believes in herself and she thinks she's ready, then she gets that title shot. I think she's phenomenal and a great athlete.

She's an Olympic athlete. We've attracted an Olympic athlete to our sport. How can anybody say that she's not prepared? She's been through more competitions than we will ever know about and she's been under a pressurized situation in the Olympics.

I hope for the best for her. I say give her that title shot if she asked for it. She's got all my respect.

She has said that, let's face it, looks matter, to paraphrase her. But you also recently said in an interview that you hope that someday, looks and sexuality shouldn't matter. Why shouldn't it matter?

I think everybody has their gifts. Some people were gifted in the looks department. But other people were gifted in a kind heart or other people were gifted in extreme athleticism. Whatever you've been gifted in, I think that in itself can be beautiful. Sometimes comedy -- somebody being hilarious can make them beautiful.

I think that if you just focus on not being anything other than yourself and just hone in on what you've been gifted with, you can always improve the other things around you. You can always improve the other things that you weren't gifted on. That's all that we need to really focus on.

When I really like someone -- when I like watching an actor, an actress, a fighter; or when I have a boyfriend even -- it's not because of the way they look. It's about what's inside them that makes them special. If we're all just focused on the most beautiful people, then this world be so empty.

How realistic is it to expect, not just MMA fans, but sports fans, in general, to stop paying attention to that aspect of things?

In order for people to stop paying attention to that kind of thing, the attractive people would have to stop taking beautiful pictures and stop feeling good about themselves, and I don't think that's correct either.

I think if you're a beautiful female and you want to feel sexy, then you should by all means feel sexy and be beautiful. If that's what we were gifted with, then of course. Why should it be wrong for a person to appreciate a God-given beauty that they were given?

I think it's going to be the difference in how people start looking at things. Like, yes, that's a very attractive female, and she has these good things about her. And over here, that's an extremely athletic female, and she's got these good things about her.

There's always things that you can look at and be positive about, I guess, instead of just putting it all off on "Sex sells."

[GeneChing]

‘Haywire’ success could flip action movie industry, says martial arts vet Cynthia Rothrock
Pioneering female action star says Soderbergh movie could 'open doors' for women
By Cynthia Rothrock / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Tuesday, January 17 2012, 6:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, January 17 2012, 6:00 AM



Bo Ho Film Company Ltd.
Cynthia Rothrock in the 1986 martial arts action film 'Righting Wrongs'

In a Hong Kong martial arts movie industry that was dominated in the 1990s by the likes of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, American import Cynthia Rothrock proved a woman could kick butt as well as any man. An undefeated world karate champion for five years before roundhousing her way into action films like “Female Reporter,” “China O’Brien” and “Righting Wrongs,” she had a much tougher time busting preconceptions about female action stars on this side of the Pacific. Rothrock tells The News what “Haywire” means for the business.

When I first started doing action movies, I was always playing the girlfriend who would fight, but would still have the boyfriend save her. Then I finally broke out of that where I could be the lead myself.

Then, when I was trying to get bigger projects, it was like, “Women don’t really sell as action stars.”

When a movie would come out, like Sharon Stone in the Western “The Quick and the Dead,” they’d be like, “You see, women in action don’t sell.”

But I don’t think it matters whether it’s a man or a woman doing the fighting, what matters is how good and believable the fights are.

When someone like Gina looks like she really can fight, it makes such a big difference on screen.

One of the best scenes I’ve ever seen was in “Mississippi Burning” and they had this guy on his knees and someone came up and gave him this roundhouse kick in the head, but the kick was just impeccable. It was strong, it was powerful and it was just one kick and you’re like, “Oh my God.” Whereas in some movies, someone can do this whole flurry of fancy things and you just lose interest.

But it’s also the fact that Steven Soderbergh had the passion to know that “Haywire” could be a good movie and this could work and getting a studio to do it with a big budget is amazing.

I’ve been looking for these people all my life. Whoever has the power to get that done. And the passion to do it. If this movie does well, it will open up doors.

Personally, I don't think that 'believability' is that important in a fight scene. Take the Star Wars light saber battles for instance. They aren't particularly believable. Believability is a factor, but then again, after all, it's the movies so most all the movie choreography is abstract. It's more about how engaging the story and characters are.

[GeneChing]

...but it needed a bigger action finale.

Official review coming on Friday.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Personally, I don't think that 'believability' is that important in a fight scene. Take the Star Wars light saber battles for instance. They aren't particularly believable. Believability is a factor, but then again, after all, it's the movies so most all the movie choreography is abstract. It's more about how engaging the story and characters are.

I think that context should dictate the degree of believablity.

[Lucas]

i like believability in fight scenes when you are dealing with realisitic scenarios. a comic movie for me holds a different expectation than a militant film. from one i expect big leaping attacks, unrealistic counters and maneuvers, from the other i expect more grounded fights, little to no flash and faster fights. a kungfu movie imo is a good combination of those two, unless its fantasy based then its like super heros

[Jimbo]

I also feel that the degree of realism depends on the movie itself.

That was my one complaint about the Danish/Turkish movie MA movie, Fighter. The story/situations and acting in it were pretty much reality-based, but then the fights were of a weird, dreamy, floaty/flashy style; and that's not including the actual dream sequences. It was a good movie, but would have rocked even more had the fights matched the rest of the movie.

[sanjuro_ronin]

For movies of the "killer spy" theme, choreography the likes of Bourne, Taken and Hanna is ideal.
For the "uber MA' movies then the likes of Ninja Assasin is the way to go.
For the fantasy genre then pretty much anything is valid.

[GeneChing]

It's not so much 'believability' for me because I'm being semantically picky and somewhat of a realist. After seeing enough fights first hand - both in the cage and on the street - I seldom find a movie fight really believable. Frankly, it's the tempo. Film fights are choreographed. They have a rhythm. They are cleaner. Real fights are staccato. It's all about breaking rhythms. That's really hard to choreograph.

Also, back when I was making swords for a living, I knew a lot of people involved in theater choreography, and there's all this theory on how fights play into a story arc. Fight choreography theory is mostly fight choreographers contemplating their navels, but it does make me look a fights differently. Probably, it's just my weird perspective on it all. As practicing martial artists, we all have a unique vantage point.

Like you all say, it's all about context and appropriateness. That being said, the fights in Haywire are very appropriate. The scenes where Gina was fighting - those rocked. This film just needed a whole bunch more of that. Less story, less cinematic style, more Gina kicking the crap out of villains.

But I'm jumping the gun. I'll have an official review up Friday.

[Lee Chiang Po]

I'd pay to see her kick your teeth in...

LOL!! I'm sure you would. You would probably pay to watch her take a dump too. She might last 10 seconds, only because I would have to use one hand and without really hurting her. I would need the other for gropping and I don't like beating up on girls.

[Lucas]

LOL!! I'm sure you would. You would probably pay to watch her take a dump too. She might last 10 seconds, only because I would have to use one hand and without really hurting her. I would need the other for gropping and I don't like beating up on girls.

LOL!!!!!!!!!! man you crack me up.