In the Blood starring Gina Carano

[GeneChing]

We knew this was coming...

Berlin 2012: 'Haywire' Actress Gina Carano to Star in Another Action Movie (Exclusive)
After making her debut with the Steven Soderbergh film, the MMA fighter-turned-actress is coming on board to star in 'In the Blood,' an action thriller being directed by John Stockwell.
10:31 PM PST 2/13/2012 by Borys Kit


Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for the Women’s Sports Foundation

Gina Carano is continuing to roundhouse-kick her way into the movie business.

After making her breakthrough with the action vehicle Haywire, the MMA fighter-turned-actress is coming on board to star in In the Blood, an action thriller being directed by John Stockwell (Into the Blue, Blue Crush).

Movie Package Co.’s Shaun Re**** and Ray Mansfield (The Messenger) are producing the movie, which Cargo Entertainment is selling at EFM.

Described as being in the vein of Taken, Blood is set in motion when a husband disappears while vacationing in the Caribbean with his wife, to be played by Carano. The grieving wife passionately and recklessly pursues the men whom she believes kidnapped and killed him. Bennett Yellin and James Robert Johnston wrote the script.

“This role will showcase not only Gina’s fighting skills, but also her acting abilities as her character struggles to reign in her violent past,” Stockwell tells The Hollywood Reporter.

8711, the stunt team that worked on Haywire, is in discussions to reteam with Carano for Blood.

Verso Entertainment (Crips and Bloods: Made in America) will produce alongside Movie Package Co. London-based Derby Street Films was involved with the development of the project.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in late spring or early summer in Puerto Rico with production partners Pimienta Film Company (The Men Who Stare At Goats).

Carano rose to fame as an international star in the field of mixed martial arts, becoming the sport's female face. Steven Soderbergh was so impressed with her blend of looks and athletic prowess that he plucked her from the sport and built Haywire around her. She held her own with actors such as Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas in the film, which was released in January by Relativity, and an acting career was born.

Carano is repped by Gersh, Scott Karp of The Syndicate and Ziffren Brittenham. Gersh is helping package the movie and is repping the North American rights.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com

Twitter: @Borys_Kit

[doug maverick]

haywire flopped pretty hard..lol...just goes to show you you cant keep a hot girl down...wonder who is going to do her dubbing for this film? lol seriously thou i hope she works on her acting.

[GeneChing]

Haywire may have flopped at the U.S. box office, but as you know, that's only one indicator of a film's success (granted, it's the big one). Nowadays, a film can make money and fame in so many ways. IMDB estimated the Haywire's budget at $23 mill. Box Office Mojo reports over $25 mill worldwide to date and it's barely done any international. There's still the video numbers to come, but it made back its money. It got glowing reviews (because movie critics don't know a good MA film from a hole in the ground) and Gina shined in the spotlight.

Actually, this discussion should happen on the Haywire thread, but the point is that another Gina flick was a sure bet.

[enoajnin]

Which would be better: Another Carano fight or another Carano movie?

Or should she just hope for another season of American Gladiator?

[GeneChing]

...as long as we see more of her.

CRUSH


CONVICTION


MALLORY KANE

[doug maverick]

Haywire may have flopped at the U.S. box office, but as you know, that's only one indicator of a film's success (granted, it's the big one). Nowadays, a film can make money and fame in so many ways. IMDB estimated the Haywire's budget at $23 mill. Box Office Mojo reports over $25 mill worldwide to date and it's barely done any international. There's still the video numbers to come, but it made back its money. It got glowing reviews (because movie critics don't know a good MA film from a hole in the ground) and Gina shined in the spotlight.

Actually, this discussion should happen on the Haywire thread, but the point is that another Gina flick was a sure bet.

i wrote my response on the haywire thread.

[GeneChing]

'In the Blood' Poster Reveal: Gina Carano Goes Haywire
By Bryan Enk 17 hours ago Yahoo Movies


Gina Carano stars in 'In the Blood' (Photo: Anchor Bay Entertainment)

Gina Carano continues to pound, punch, kick and shoot her action movie career into shape with her starring role in "In the Blood," a new thriller that finds the former mixed martial artist once again showing off what Liam Neeson once referred to as "a particular set of skills."

"In the Blood" finds Carano in the role of Ava, a trained fighter (natch) with a dark past (double natch), who takes on a violent underworld of conspiracy in the middle of an island paradise after her hot new husband (Cam Gigandet, recently seen playing the cuckold in "Plush") disappears during their Caribbean honeymoon. Potential allies or enemies (or both) are played by a "Who's Who" of action movie veterans, including Luis Guzman, Stephen Lang, Treat Williams and Danny Trejo (triple natch).

[Photos: See the first poster and movie stills from 'In the Blood']

John Stockwell continues mixing directing gigs with paid vacations as "In the Blood" has the same kind of sun n' surf setting as several of his earlier films, including "Blue Crush" (2002), "Into the Blue" (2005), "Turistas" (2006) and "Dark Tide" (2012). Let's not forget that before becoming a shorts-and-sandals-wearing director, Stockwell was an actor who seemed to prefer land ("Christine," "My Science Project") and air ("Top Gun") to water.

Fun behind-the-scenes trivia: John Stockwell directed a constantly bikini-clad Jessica Alba in "Into the Blue," and "In the Blood" was co-produced by Alba's real-life husband, Cash Warren. See? It's all about who you know in Hollywood.


Gina Carano and Amaury Nolasco in Anchor Bay Entertainment's In the Blood - 2014

Meanwhile, Gina Carano's grim look of determination on the "In the Blood" poster should look familiar to anyone who's seen the ass-kicking beauty's previous action outings. Carano, who went by the name "Crush" during her tenure on "American Gladiators," made her film debut in 2011's "Haywire" (because occasionally Steven Soderbergh gets a "crush" on an MMA fighter or porn star and makes a movie for them) and played (SPOILER) a good girl who was actually bad the whole time (END SPOILER) in last summer's "Fast & Furious 6."

"In the Blood" will hit theaters, On Demand and iTunes on April 4.

Co-starring Danny Trejo. Talk about beauty and the beast.

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

10:00 am ET
Apr 5, 2014
How ‘In the Blood’ Stretches Gina Carano’s Fighting, and Acting
By Don Steinberg


Gina Carano as Ava in the action-thriller ‘In the Blood,’ an Anchor Bay Films release.
ITB Productions, Inc.

Gina Carano’s transition from ring-combat fighter to movie actress took a big step this weekend with the release of her third feature film, “In the Blood.” Carano, 31, had an auspicious start as a lead actress. In 2009, still smarting from the first and only loss of her mixed-martial-arts fighting career, the Texas-born middleweight got a call from Steven Soderbergh. The Oscar-winning director thought she’d be great to play the lead role of secret agent Mallory Kane in his action thriller “Haywire,” released in 2011. She was demure and tough, with castmates including Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor and Antonio Banderas — several of whom she beat up in the movie. In 2013 she had great fight with Michelle Rodriguez (who debuted in “Girlfight” in 2000) in “Fast and Furious 6,” and Carano’s name swirled as perhaps the right actress to portray Wonder Woman in a future film. Meanwhile, although her career change looks like a success so far, she hasn’t ruled out a return to MMA fighting.

In “In the Blood,” Carano is still kicking, punching and throwing leg-scissors takedowns, but she gets to do more as an actress. In a twist on the Liam Neeson theme, she plays a woman whose husband (Cam Gigandet) is kidnapped during their honeymoon, on a lawless tropical island, and she must employ the training that her survivalist father taught her to singlehandedly rescue her newlywed. Danny Trejo and Luis Guzman co-star. The role of anguished wife lets Carano stretch as an actress, and the film’s relatively small production allowed her to work closely with director John Stockwell (“Blue Crush,” “Turistas”) to shape her character and scenes. Speakeasy chatted with Carano by phone.

In “Haywire,” you played a character trained to control her emotions, and the performance was very contained. In the new film, it seems you cut loose a little more…

Yeah. In “Haywire,” it played because I kind of didn’t know exactly what I was doing. I had Steven Soderbergh surround me with professionals. He was very specific. He is behind the camera as cinematographer. He knows what he’s doing with a first-time actress. It was his vision. You don’t ad lib. It taught me so much. With “In the Blood,” it was a smaller-budget film, and I got to explore my personality on film. It’s the beginning for me as an actress, to start putting emotions into scenes. When you get it right, it’s such a good feeling. That’s when I could honestly say “I think I want to do this.”

You had to cry in this movie! There’s no crying in MMA…

That was one of my prouder moments. Everything I’ve been through to this point in my life, I’ve learned to keep your emotions in control. Even as a little girl: don’t cry, don’t be the little girl. Don’t let people know that part of you. I was always told never show anybody that they’ve gotten you. It gives them more encouragement when they see you’re beaten. So my whole life I’ve trained myself to not tap into these emotions. When it comes to acting you have to flip the switch. Now I’m really looking forward to the future scripts I’m going through, to seeing how I can create a character and show the emotions in that character.

Are there certain actresses you take inspiration from?

I really like Melanie Griffith. I like Renee Zellweger. I like a really interesting person who’s different and there’s feminine strength there.

Your switch change from MMA to acting is unique, but a lot of people dream about stepping away from one career to try an entirely different one. Based on your experience, do you think you can offer any advice about making a mid-career change?

The most important thing is to figure out what you want. Have you been listening to what everybody else thinks you should do? Your heart is going to tell you which direction you should go in. Then the first thing is to walk through the door. And give yourself time to get good at it. You have to realize that, okay, you may not be the best at it right now, but if it’s something that you truly like, then your work is going to get better and you’re really going to enjoy it.

Renee Zellweger? Imagine Gina in Bridget Jones's Diary....

[GeneChing]

Follow the link for a fight clip (Gina fighting in a skimpy red dress + girl on girl action)

Gina Carano expresses herself in 'In the Blood'

Ava (Gina Carano) defends herself and her man (Cam Gigandet) in a Caribbean nightclub in the action drama "In the Blood," in theaters Friday. Anchor Bay
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY 2:52 p.m. EDT March 30, 2014
Former MMA star has her most challenging acting role yet in indie drama.


(Photo: Francisco Roman)

Crying on cue is starting to become as second nature to Gina Carano as unleashing a barrage of punches to someone's face.

The former mixed martial-arts star continues to put an armbar on Hollywood with her most challenging acting job yet in In The Blood (in theaters Friday), adding to a résumé featuring her action-packed 2011 breakout role in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire and an integral part in last year's Fast & Furious 6.

Directed by John Stockwell, the indie action drama casts Carano as Ava, a newlywed who travels to the Caribbean for her honeymoon. When her husband (Cam Gigandet) mysteriously disappears after a ziplining accident and some foul play, Ava goes on a one-woman quest for vengeance to find her spouse that leaves a lot of broken bones and blood in her path.

Little do her wealthy father-in-law (Treat Williams) or a local hood (Amaury Nolasco) know that Ava was trained to fight tooth and nail to survive as a child by her father (Stephen Lang) — she shows off those moves in one hellacious bar fight where Ava takes out everybody, man or woman, who steps to her, and holds one poor guy hundreds of feet in the air from a zipline, a sequence filmed in a Puerto Rican rain forest.

While Carano's proud of all the fight scenes she's done, she doesn't think people understand how hard it is to reach a moment of strong emotion for an actress.

"All of a sudden, you start watching movies and you realize how many actors and actresses do this daily," Carano says. "But you see, 'OK, I like how that person becomes emotional' or 'That actress is an emotional mess in every movie and that must be exhausting.' It just opened my eyes on acting."

Carano, a 31-year-old Texas native and daughter of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Glenn Carano, is a wanted woman these days: Filmmakers would like to have her presence in movies, and UFC women's bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey said earlier this month she'd be up for taking on Carano in the MMA ring. (Rousey herself is following Carano's footsteps into movies, starring in this summer's The Expendables 3.)

USA TODAY talks with Carano about In the Blood, having a movie wedding and what's next for her.

Q. After a few acting performances under your belt, what was special about In the Blood?

A. I had just come off of Fast 6 so when I did In the Blood it was a completely different production. It was a smaller budget and it was hard work being on every single day — I'm in almost every single frame of the movie. (Laughs)

I kind of like stuff like that. I like being able to be involved, and when you get on one of those bigger films, all the pressure is on everybody else. The pressure's on the stars of the show or the movie or the director or the producers, and they've got that much money they have to be responsible for.

But when you get on a smaller production, you feel more of the weight of the pressure and you're that much more passionate to make it go well.

Q. Did you feed off that pressure?

A. Yeah, I love that. Pressure focuses me.

Q. Is doing all the action and stunt work still more comfortable for you than the love scenes or the marriage sequence?

A. In the Blood actually opened me up to forcing myself to become a better actress. I really like the natural scenes. I like them more than the physical scenes right now because they're so new for me.

I've done the physical scenes so many different times and in different ways, but it's the emotional scenes and connection between two characters that I find really fascinating. I haven't really been able to do that a ton.

I have the stars in my eyes when it comes to expressing yourself on film, and that was one of my favorite things about In the Blood.
Carano Nolasco

Ava (Gina Carano) and a local criminal (Amaury Nolasco) don't see eye to eye in "In the Blood."(Photo: Francisco Roman)

Q. Of the turmoil Ava goes through, what was the hardest for you to tackle as an actress?

John Stockwell came up to me and he was like, OK, what you feel if this person went missing out of your life and you were searching for him at hospitals and he didn't show up.

It was really interesting to get emotional and stay in those emotions while the cameras were rolling. Especially coming from a fighting background, you teach yourself not to show any emotion because then your opponent doesn't know where you're coming from.

With acting you want people to feel your emotion, but your instant reaction is to pull it back from everybody and to stay there while they change the camera angles. You feel very vulnerable and exposed to everybody in the room around you.

But at the same time, at the end of the day when you get done and everybody thanks you for sharing that part of you with them — like the cinematographer comes up and puts his hand on your shoulder and sympathizes with you — that was one of my best moments on film. That w as one of those days where I walked away and felt like I did that scene correctly. (Laughs) It was such an addicting feeling.

It was so therapeutic for me too. On that day, I felt like I knew what this life is about.

Q. Each hospital she goes to, you can see Ava losing more and more control of the situation. Getting to that point where you can just cry, was that difficult because it was so new?

A. It was hard and it felt like everything inside me was fighting that moment, and then finally I got there and then it was waterworks. But I just understood exactly what I was feeling and I wasn't able to hide behind a smile or hide behind being physical. I was having to be exactly who I would be at that moment.

That's when I figured OK, I want to do more stuff like that, whether it be in happiness, in sadness — I want to figure out how to access whatever I accessed in that moment. I feel like that's good work.

Q. Of the fight scenes you have in In the Blood, is there a favorite?

continued next post

[GeneChing]

A. I didn't get to do preproduction for this movie because I went straight from London (doing Fast 6) and two days later I was in a bride's dress and getting married to a co-star I'd never met. (Laughs) I worked every single day, so there was only one or two days we'd actually get to train for fight scenes.

Pretty much I would show up to set, look at what they had and then I would use anything around me. It's a very raw film and you have to really watch out when you're doing fight scenes that it's not overchoreographed, it looks believable and at the same time entertains people.

We would sometimes just make it up on the spot. For this movie, it just kinda works. You don't get hair and makeup every 15 minutes for when your hair goes out of place and it's not a L'Oreal commercial. It's just a rough raw movie.

And we did the ziplining all ourselves. The first time I ziplined, I've got someone hanging and screaming — I'm scared to death, and I'm wondering if this person's acting or if they're really that nervous. (Laughs) Then you've got to give lines while you're out there on the zipline, and John Stockwell's like, "Go 15 more feet out!" Then you go 15 feet more feet out and you forget all your lines because you're scared.

I don't know many actors who would do what we did for this movie. And we actually did it — there's no green screen or hanging off of 10-foot wire.

Q. Ava's father taught her how to fight. What life lesson did your dad teach you?

A. What my dad has given me is how to be an intense hard worker while keeping your moral compass. My dad's been in everything from pro football to being the CEO of hotels. He's in charge of a lot of employees, but one thing I've always liked about my dad is he's always remained the same person. He never treats anybody differently, whether somebody's sweeping the hotel floor or serving coffee.

He's just really excited and positive about life, and that's a hard way to be. (Laughs) To have responsibility and power and not abuse it and still remain who you are, if I can be anything like that is what he's given me.

Q. Was it trippy to see yourself in a wedding dress on some level since you're not actually married in real life?

A. (Laughs) It was so weird! I was standing in my trailer in this wedding dress looking at myself like, "Oh my gosh, this is not how I saw it going." I did not think I was going to be in a wedding dress for the first time in my life in a trailer and faking it.

My little sister's actually getting married so at least I can say, "Hey, well, I've got some idea."

Q. What's next for you — fight or movie?

A. There are a couple of movies we're in negotiations for that shoot in the summer that could be really good opportunities. In a perfect world, I would love to really find a character that's impacting and tell a really beautiful story sometime in my life.

When it comes to fighting, it's not something I'm going to go and put myself back into. I worked so hard to get where I'm at. It has to be the right circumstances, then I would actually be open to it. I wouldn't do it for any other reason but that it would be something I wanted to do, and I wouldn't do it if I didn't think I could do it.

Q. Wearing a wedding dress seems better than somebody trying to beat you up. But that's just me.

A. I know what fans want, I know what people want, but I'm always going to remain true to myself as much as possible.

I want to do work that I'm proud of, and by the time I hit 80, I want to look back at my life and I want to have substance and know that I did things that maybe everybody else thought I was insane for doing at the time but that I knew I had to do and had respect for myself in doing.

Comingsoon.net claims this had a limited theatrical release on April 4 but nothing is coming up on Boxofficemojo.com. I think I saw it available on iTunes.

[GeneChing]

I caught this on iTunes last night while waiting to gaze at the midnight fog which I was lead to believe would be a blood moon. Right now, everything I watch is in the wake of RAID 2. I might have enjoyed this better if I saw it before I saw that.

The plot is silly. When the reason for the kerfuffle is revealed, it's one of those 'srsly?' moments. The film is really all about Gina. Or it should really be all about Gina but she has yet to get a vehicle that shows her talents well. Bottom line - this needed more fight scenes. No woman in movies now can throw a punch like Gina. Just make a movie where she has a lot of fight scenes. She does have to act in this one, to go from giddy newlywed to a gritty cold-blooded woman of vengeance, and in the process, she acts happy, then cries, then goes all sadistically stoic. She displays more acting range than Chuck Norris or Stephen Seagal. There's some moments of decent action and some tasty ultravi, but it needed more. The island ghetto scenery is pleasant. But still, it's great to see a full-figured gal like Gina on screen, as well as cliche reversal of a heroine that saves her helpless boy. She would've made a great Wonder Woman.

No sword fights. A machete fight would have been good.