Oct 14, 2015 Into the Badlands preview
At first, Daniel Wu and I were pen pals. While studying architecture in Oregon, he was a fan of the GR mag which I helped make, we corresponded, and he became a contributor. Then he went on vacation in Hong Kong and wound up becoming an award-winning actor and filmmaker.
The magazine ran its course but Dan is still making movies and we are still pals. And even though he is currently in Hong Kong working on the new Ringo Lam flick, I was stoked to attend a screening of his latest effort, a six-part series called Into The Badlands that will debut in November on AMC Network.
AMC President Charlie Collins introduced the event by saying how his network specializes in genres from horror (The Walking Dead) to Westerns (Hell on Wheels) and that it has been too long since there has been a martial arts TV show. He went on to point out and thank key members of the cast and crew before the episode screened and we dug into the complimentary popcorn and soda.
It was my impression that the series would be the Monkey King meets Mad Max, but the pilot seemed more like the Silver Surfer mashed up with Enter The Dragon set in Black Snack Moan. That’s even cooler, right? There are more than a few bone-crushing martial arts sequences, of course, with one especially awesome set piece in the rain that is partially viewed from the inside of a car. Afterward at the fancy reception I told Stephen Fung, who is the martial arts director and a close friend of Dan’s, that I liked that scene a lot.
While there are plenty of American TV shows featuring Asians in food trucks and fashion these days, I think it’ll be excellent to have Dan kicking ass in one. Despite establishing a bankable track record and building a huge audience in Asia, he wasn’t able to find a lot of interesting projects in the U.S. so he got involved in making Into The Badlands happen. And I’m happy to report that the first installment has the pacing and production value of The Walking Dead and action and energy of a Hong Kong kung fu movie–and all the blood, guts, and fun from both.
Stock up on shrimp chips and circle November 15 on your calendar because it’s going to come up fast! Save a space on the sofa for me.
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