Actor turned director Michael Worth first caught Impact's attention with his high kicking roles in everything from Acapulco Heat, Fists of Iron, To Be The Best and of course US Seals 2. He's always been able to deliver the martial arts action but also the acting... and in recent years he's spent a lot more time behind the camera directing everything from Broken Memories, Seeking Dolly Parton, War Wolves, Killing Cupid, the wonderfully named Bring Me The Head of Lance Henriksen and the award winning God's Ears where he played an autistic boxer.
Now Worth returns to the world of martial arts movie making with his latest project The Butterfly Guard which is currently shooting in Thailand. We spoke to Michael about the project and got the following soundbite...
"Things are great here. Actually tonight we are going to the fights to shoot some real Muay Thai footage. This film is actually the first of a trilogy of fight films I'm involved with. The other is To Be The Best 2 and a third one I'll just be writing and directing but has another unique angle on it. The Butterfly Guard is a small film focused on the fighters more than the fighting... what they go through emotionally and physically as they prepare to fight each other and what it does to you as a sport. The Thailand shoot is only about a third of the actual production. We pick the rest up in Oakland and Los Angeles, California. Been looking forward to getting the right material to tackle again in the genre..."
The last time someone showed the spiritual side to Muay Thai in a movie was back in the early 90s with Lawrence Ah Mon's Dreams of Glory: A Boxers Story which followed two Hong Kong-based fighters, one from a traditional Chinese Kung Fu background and another looking for something to help him escape his humdrum life... who find more than what they're looking for in Thai boxing. Worth's God's Ears project showed there was more to boxing than just punching, so we are looking forward to this one. And a sequel to To Be The Best and a return to PM Entertainment styled kickboxing could be a lot of fun!
