Impact's original cover star Jean-Claude Van Damme has made a welcome return to the spotlight in recent months, the huge positive response to the Volvo Commercial (which we kid you not is now being screened as a work of art in the Louvre!) has done wonders for his profile, as has an impressive turn as the villain in the thriller Enemies Closer.He gives a remarkably measured comic turn in Welcome to the Jungle, showing his lighter side to full effect as does his stint on Will Ferrell's Funny or Die website.
But Van Damme fans shouldn't worry about their hero having abandoned the action genre. He will soon be seen as a 'man with a past he's trying to hide' in the thriller Swelter, which promises to bring a Banshee-meets-History of Violence vibe to the subject ...
And he makes a full blooded return to action in his latest project which goes before the cameras at the end of March...
Pound of Flesh, is being directed by Ernie Barbarash (whose credits include Assassination Games and Six Bullets with Van Damme and the highly anticipated Favela with Michael Jai White). The film will be shooting in China and follows Van Damme's character - a former military man forced to walk the road of vengeance when a chance encounter with a beautiful woman ends with him waking up in a bathtub full of ice... and the kidney he had planned to donate to the dying daughter of his estranged brother, on its way to the hands of the highest bidder.
Don't you just hate it when that happens?
It's got a Taken'esque slant with Van Damme as the 'Merchant of Vengeance'. The film will feature Van Damme kicking butt and taking names courtesy of high-impact fight choreography from longtime Donnie Yen mainstay John Salvitti (whose credits range from his debut in Line of Dity 4 and Tiger Cage 2, through Hero, Der Puma, Flashpoint and most recently Special ID).
Joining the cast for the film are John Ralston whose credits include everything from Degrassi The Next Generation to Flash Gordon playing Van Damme's onscreen brother, while everyones favourite cigarette smoking villain from the X-Files William B Davis plays the mysterious Rants, while the UK's Charlotte Peters plays Anna, and Kris Van Varenberg/Kris Van Damme plays Marcello.
While facing off against Van Damme as the lead villain in the project is another Hong Kong and Hollywood veteran in the shape of Britkicker Darren Shahlavi whose faced off against everyone from Donnie Yen in Ip Man 2, Eddie Murphy in I Spy, Michael jai-White in Mortal Kombat: Legacy and so much more over the course of a career that includes everything from Tai Chi Boxer/Tai Chi 2 with Yuen Woo-ping through Bloodmoon with Gary Daniels, 300, Chronicles of Riddick and more. Shahlavi had the following to say about his involvement in the project.
"I've wanted to work with Jean-Claude Van Damme for so many years and i'm very excited to be finally getting to work with him on such a great project as Pound of Flesh. I love the script and the team that Director Ernie Barbarash and the Producers have put together for this film, including fight choreographer John Salvitti who i am also a huge fan of. I look forward to working hard with everyone to make an awesome action thriller that will make the fans very happy and deliver on all levels.
I'd like to thank Mike Leeder for bringing me to the attention of Jean-Claude, Ernie and the rest of the Producers and pushing for me as always.'
The film is being produced by Kirk Shaw of Odyssey Media, Jonathan Dubois and Henry Luk of Ace Studios, while Impact's very own Mike Leeder is also on board the project as Co-Producer amongst other things helping put together what sounds like one hell of a project.
And we'd like to start the campaign now... we the undersigned would like to see 'Big Mike' on the recieving end of some onscreen Van Dammage from our hero!
There'll be more exclusive news and more on the filming of the project over the next few weeks.
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