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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Happy 51st Birthday Wesley Snipes! (Passenger 57 GIF Set 1)



Action Star Wesley Snipes turned 51 today! Snipes is the star of movies such as Passenger 57, Blade series, Rising Sun, The Fan and many more.


Speaking of Passenger 57, check out this first set of animated GIF's. Enjoy!













Other Wesley Snipes posts:






Happy 51st Wesley! Many many more to come!!


 
Further Info:

Flash Point GIF Set 3

Before I present the 3rd set of Flash Point GIF's, in case you missed the previous 2 entries in this series, please check out:






Alrighty then, without further ado, here's today's Flash Point GIF set:




"I'll be safe if I use a table to shield me from Donnie Yen!"
NOT!!




Donnie channeling Anderson Silva in his fight vs Rich Franklin!




Ali ain't the only one with the moves!




Awesome Suplex! OUCHY!





Don't let a mad Donnie sneak up on you or this may happen! 





Here's hoping you enjoyed the GIF's as much as I enjoyed making them! Check back for more GIF's of Donnie.





Related  Donnie Yen related posts:




Tuesday, July 30, 2013

THE WISDOM OF ... Arnold Schwarzenegger - Part 1 (6 Secrets of Success)




Have you ever dreamed of being successful but was clueless on how to go about it? Some people drift day-to-day almost daydreaming of success and achieving their dreams but wander aimlessly with no plan/blueprint on how to proceed to find success in whatever their endeavors.

Well wonder no more! Check out Arnold Schwarzenegger's Six Secrets to Success. Below you will find in the first half of this blog which will isolate just Arnold's Six Secrets of Success which was from a Commencement speech he gave in 2009. The latter half will be the full video and transcript for your reference. It contains some funny moments not included in the below video.


Read/Watch/Listen on!




Nice video put together with inspiring images of Arnold Schwarzenegger and includes subtitles



 

 

6 Secrets To Success By Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

1. Trust yourself
 

Trust yourself, dig deep down and ask yourself: "Who do you want to be?". Not what, but who. Not what your parents or teachers wants you to be, but you! Figure out for yourself, what makes you happy, no matter how crazy it may sound to the people.
 

 
2. Break the rules
 

We have so many rules in life about everything, break the rules! It is impossible to be a true original if you to well behaved and not break the rules, you have to think outside the box. What is the point of being on this world if all you want is to be liked by everyone. The only way that I ever got any place was by breaking some of the rules

 
3. Don’t be afraid to fail
 

Anything that I’ve ever attempted I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win, but don’t be afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, success will come.

 
4. Don’t listen to the naysayers
 

How many times have you heard: you can’t do this, you can’t do that. It has never been done before. I love it when someone says that no one has ever done that before, because that means that if I do it, that means that I am the first one that has done it. Pay no attention to people that say that it can’t be done.

 
5. Work your butt off!
 

Leaving no stone unturned. Muhammad Ali, one of my greatest hero’s had a great line when he was asked: "How many sit ups do you do?". He said: "I don’t count my sit-ups, I only start counting when it starts hurting, that is when I start counting, because then it really counts, that’s what makes you a champion." That’s the way it is with everything, no pain, no gain!

 
Someone out there at the same time is working hard, someone is getting smarter, remember that! I’ve always figured out that there is 24 hours a day, you sleep 6 hours. That means you have 18 hours left. I know that some of you out there answers: "Wait a minute I sleep 8 or 9 hours." Well, then sleep faster I recommend.

 
6. Giving back
 

Whatever path that you take in your life, you must always find time to give something back. Give something back to your community, give something back to your state or your country. Reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than everything else you’ve ever done!



There you have it! A roadmap to Success from arguably one of the most successful actors in Hollywood history. Now go work your butt off!





In this section is the full video as well as a transcript for your reference.


On May 15, 2009, at the University of Southern California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and politician (38th Governor of California), gave the Commencement Speech. Below is the full video of the Speech as well as the Transcript.








SPEECH TRANSCRIPT


Well, thank you very much. (Applause) Hello, everybody. What a great introduction, what a wonderful thing. What a great, great welcome I'm getting here, so thank you very much. I mean, I haven't heard applause like that since I announced that I was going to stop acting. (Applause)

But anyway, it is really terrific to see here so many graduate students and undergraduate students graduating here today. I heard that there are 4,500 graduating here today, undergraduate students, so this is fantastic. There are 2,200 men, 2,300 women and five have listed yourselves as undecided. (Applause)

So this is really a great, great bunch of people here, I love it. But seriously, President Sample, trustees, faculty, family, friends and graduates, it is a tremendous privilege to stand before you this morning. There's nothing that I enjoy more than celebrating great achievements. And I don't just mean your parents celebrating never having to pay another tuition bill, that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about just celebrating the great accomplishment. So let me congratulate the Trojan class of 2009 on your graduation from one of the finest universities in the world. Let's give our graduates a tremendous round of applause. What a special day, what a great accomplishment. (Applause)

Now, this an equally special day, of course, for the parents, for the grandparents, siblings and other family members whose support made all of this today possible. And let's not forget, of course, the professors, those dedicated individuals who taught you, who came up with exciting ways to share their vast wisdom, knowledge and experience with you.

And I must also say thank you to President Sample for honoring me with this fantastic degree. Thank you very much. Wow, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Doctor of Humane Letters. I love it. (Applause) But, of course, I noticed that it wasn't a doctorate in film or in cinema or in acting. I wonder why?

But anyway, that's OK. I take whatever I can get. But maybe now since I'm the doctor, I can go back up to Sacramento and maybe now the Legislature will finally listen to me. (Applause) But anyway, I stand before you today not just as Dr. Schwarzenegger or as Governor Schwarzenegger, or as The Terminator, or as Conan the Barbarian, but also as a proud new member of this Trojan family.

Now, some of you may know that my daughter just completed her freshman year right here. One of the most exciting things for me has been to learn about the great traditions that make this university so wonderful and so special.

My daughter told me all about, for instance, the Victory Bell. She sat me down and she told me it weighs 295 pounds and how the winner of the annual football game between USC and UCLA takes this bell and gets to paint it in the school colors. And I stopped her in the middle of talking, I said, "Wait a minute, Katherine, back up a little bit. UCLA has a football team?" (Applause)

Now, of course, my daughter's journey here at USC is just beginning, and yours is ending. I know that you're a little bit stressed out right now as you start this exciting new chapter in your lives. Some people say it is scary to leave the comfort of the university and to go out into the cold, hard world.

But I have to tell you something; I think this is a bunch of nonsense because after all, this is America. This is the greatest country on earth, with the greatest opportunities. (Applause) It is one thing if you were born in Afghanistan or in Swat Valley in Pakistan where you'd be forced to join the Taliban or be killed. Now, then I would say yes, that is a little bit scary.

But this, this is going to be a piece of cake for you, trust me. You live in America and you're prepared for the future with this tremendous education you have gotten here at one of the greatest universities in the world. This is going to be exciting, it's a great adventure and this is a new phase in your life. This is going to be awesome. (Applause)

Now, of course, this journey is not going to be without any setbacks, failures or disappointments. That's just the way life is. But you're ready and you are able, and you would not be here today with your degrees and with your honors if you wouldn't be ready.

So now, of course, to help you along the way, I thought that the best Schwarzenegger gift I could give you today is to give you a few of my own personal ideas on how to be successful. And parents, I just want you to know, maybe you should close your ears, you should plug your ears, because maybe there a few things that you maybe won't like in what I have to say.

But anyway, I can explain how I became successful and who I am today by going through what I call Dr. Schwarzenegger's Six Rules of Success. (Applause)

Now, of course, people ask me all the time, they say to me, "What is the secret to success?" And I give them always the short version. I say, "Number one, come to America. Number two, work your butt off. And number three, marry a Kennedy." (Applause)

But anyway, those are the short rules. Now today, I'm going to give you the six rules of success. But before I start, I just wanted to say these are my rules. I think that they can apply to anyone, but that is for you to decide, because not everyone is the same. There are some people that just like to kick back and coast through life and others want to be very intense and want to be number one and want to be successful. And that's like me.

I always wanted to be very intense, I always wanted to be number one. I took it very seriously, my career. So this was the same when I started with bodybuilding. I didn't want to just be a bodybuilding champion, I wanted to be the best bodybuilder of all time. The same was in the movies. I didn't want to just be a movie star; I wanted to be a great movie star that is the highest paid movie star and have above-the-title billing.

And so this intensity always paid off for me, this commitment always paid off for me. So here are some of the rules.

The first rule is: Trust yourself. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan the BarbarianAnd what I mean by that is, so many young people are getting so much advice from their parents and from their teachers and from everyone. But what is most important is that you have to dig deep down, dig deep down and ask yourselves, who do you want to be? Not what, but who.

And I'm talking about not what your parents and teachers want you to be, but you. I’m talking about figuring out for yourselves what makes you happy, no matter how crazy it may sound to other people.

I was lucky growing up because I did not have television or didn't have telephones, I didn't have the computers and the iPods. And, of course, Twitter was then something that birds did outside the window. I didn't have all these distractions and all this.

I spent a lot of time by myself, so I could figure out and listen to what is inside my heart and inside my head.

And I recognized very quickly that inside my head and heart were a burning desire to leave my small village in Austria -- not that there was something wrong with Austria, it's a beautiful country. But I wanted to leave that little place and I wanted to be part of something big, the United States of America, a powerful nation, the place where dreams can come true.

I knew when I came over here I could realize my dreams. And I decided that the best way for me to come to America was to become a bodybuilding champion, because I knew that was ticket the instant that I saw a magazine cover of my idol, Reg Park. He was Mr. Universe, he was starring in Hercules movies, he looked strong and powerful, he was so confident.

So when I found out how he got that way I became obsessed, and I went home and I said to my family, "I want to be a bodybuilding champion."

Now, you can imagine how that went over in my home in Austria. My parents, they couldn't believe it. They would have been just happy if I would have become a police officer like my father, or married someone like Heidi, had a bunch of kids and ran around like the von Trapp family in Sound of Music.

That's what my family had in mind for me, but something else burned inside me. Something burned inside me. I wanted to be different; I was determined to be unique. I was driven to think big and to dream big. Everyone else thought that I was crazy. My friends said, "If you want to be a champion in a sport, why don't you go and become a bicycle champion or a skiing champion or a soccer champion? Those are the Austrian sports."

But I didn't care. I wanted to be a bodybuilding champion and use that to come to America, and use that to go into the movies and make millions of dollars. So, of course, for extra motivation I read books on strongmen and on bodybuilding and looked at magazines. And one of the things I did was, I decorated my bedroom wall.

Right next to my bed there was this big wall that I decorated all with pictures. I hung up pictures of strongmen and bodybuilders and wrestlers and boxers and so on. And I was so excited about this great decoration that I took my mother to the bedroom and I showed her. And she shook her head. She was absolutely in shock and tears started running down her eyes.

And she called the doctor, she called our house doctor and she brought him in and she explained to him, "There's something wrong here." She looked at the wall with the doctor and she said, "Where did I go wrong? I mean, all of Arnold's friends have pictures on the wall of girls, and Arnold has all these men.

But it's not just men, they're half naked and they're oiled up with baby oil. What is going on here? Where did I go wrong?" So you can imagine, the doctor shook his head and he said, "There's nothing wrong. At this age you have idols and you go and have those -- this is just quite normal."

So this is rule number one. I wanted to become a champion; I was on a mission. So rule number one is, of course, trust yourself, no matter how and what anyone else thinks.

Rule number two is: Break the rules. We have so many rules in life about everything. I say break the rules. Not the law, but break the rules. My wife has a t-shirt that says, "Well-behaved women rarely make history." Well, you know, I don't want to burst her bubble, but the same is true with men.

It is impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you're too well behaved and don't want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box. That's what I believe. After all, what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble?

The only way that I ever got anyplace was by breaking some of the rules. After all, I remember that after I was finished with my bodybuilding career I wanted to get into acting and I wanted to be a star in films. You can imagine what the agents said when I went to meet all those agents. Everyone had the same line, that it can't be done, the rules are different here. They said, "Look at your body. You have this huge monstrous body, overly developed. That doesn't fit into the movies. You don't understand.

This was 20 years ago, the Hercules movies. Now the little guys are in, Dustin Hoffman, Woody Allen, Jack Nicholson." Before he gained weight, of course, that is. But anyway, those are the guys that were in. And the agents also complained about my accent. They said, "No one ever became a star with an accent like that, especially not with a German accent.

And yes, I can imagine with your name, Arnold Schwartzenschnitzel, or whatever the name, is, on a billboard. Yeah, that's going to draw a lot of tickets and sell a lot of tickets. Yeah, right." So this is the kind of negative attitude they had.

But I didn't listen to those rules, even though they were very nice and they said, "Look, we can get you some bit parts. We can get you to be playing a wrestler or a bouncer. Oh, maybe with your German accent we can get you to be a Nazi officer in Hogan's Heroes or something like that."

But I didn't listen to all this. Those were their rules, not my rules. I was convinced I could do it if I worked as hard as I did in bodybuilding, five hours a day. And I started getting to work, I started taking acting classes. I took English classes, took speech classes, dialogue classes. Accent removal classes I even took.

I remember running around saying, "A fine wine grows on the vine." You see, because Germans have difficulties with the F and the W and V, so, "A fine wine grows on the vine." I know what some of you are now saying, is I hope that Arnold got his money back.

But let me tell you something, I had a good time doing those things and it really helped me. And finally I broke through. I broke through and I started getting the first parts in TV; Streets of San Francisco, Lucille Ball hired me, I made Pumping Iron, Stay Hungry. And then I got the big break in Conan the Barbarian. (Applause)

And there the director said, "If we wouldn't have Schwarzenegger, we would have to build one." Now, think about that. And then, when I did Terminator, "I'll be back," became one of the most famous lines in movie history, all because of my crazy accent.

Now, think about it. The things that the agents said would be totally a detriment and would make it impossible for me to get a job, all of a sudden became an asset for me, all of those things, my accent, my body and everything.

So it just shows to you, never listen to that you can't do something. And, "You have to work your way up, of course, run for something else first." I mean, it was the same when I ran for governor, the same lines, that you have to work your way up, it can't be done. And then, of course, I ran for governor and the rest, of course, is history.

They said you have to start with a small job as mayor and then as assemblyman and then as lieutenant governor and then as governor. And they said that's the way it works in a political career. I said, "I'm not interested in a political career. I want to be a public servant. I want to fix California's problems and bring people together and bring the parties together.

So, like I said, I decided to run, I didn't pay attention to the rules. And I made it and the rest is history. Which, of course, brings me to rule number three: Don't be afraid to fail. Anything I've ever attempted, I was always willing to fail. In the movie business, I remember, that you pick scripts. Many times you think this is a wining script, but then, of course, you find out later on, when you do the movie, that it didn't work and the movie goes in the toilet.

Now, we have seen my movies; I mean, Red Sonja, Hercules in New York, Last Action Hero. Those movies went in the toilet. But that's OK, because at the same time I made movies like Terminator and Conan and True Lies and Predator and Twins that went through the roof.

So you can't always win, but don't afraid of making decisions.

You can't be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don't be afraid to fail.

Which brings me to rule number four, which is: Don’t listen to the naysayers. How many times have you heard that you can't do this and you can't do that and it's never been done before? Just imagine if Bill Gates had quit when people said it can't be done.

I hear this all the time. As a matter of fact, I love it when someone says that no one has ever done this before, because then when I do it that means that I'm the first one that has done it. So pay no attention to the people that say it can't be done.

I remember my mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, when she started Special Olympics in 1968 people said that it would not work. The experts, the doctors that specialized in mental disabilities and mental retardation said, "It can't be done. You can't bring people out of their institutions. You can't make them participate in sports, in jumping and swimming and in running. They will hurt themselves, they will hurt each other, they will drown in the pool."

Well, let me tell you something. Now, 40 years later, Special Olympics is one of the greatest organizations, in 164 countries, dedicated to people with mental disabilities and that are intellectually challenged. (Applause)

And she did not take no for an answer. And the same is when you look at Barack Obama. I mean, imagine, if he would have listened. (Applause) If he would have listened to the naysayers he would have never run for president. People said it couldn't be done, that he couldn't get elected, that he couldn’t beat Hillary Clinton, that he would never win the general election.

But he followed his own heart, he didn’t listen to the "You can't," and he changed the course of American history.

So over and over you see that. If I would have listened to the naysayers I would still be in the Austrian Alps yodeling. (Laughter) I would never have come to America. I would have never met my wonderful wife Maria Shriver, I would have never had the wonderful four kids, I would have never done Terminator, and I wouldn't be standing here in front of you today as governor of the greatest state of the greatest country in the world.

So I never listen that, "You can't." (Applause) I always listen to myself and say, "Yes, you can."

And that brings me to rule number five, which is the most important rule of all: Work your butt off. You never want to fail because you didn't work hard enough. I never wanted to lose a competition or lose an election because I didn't work hard enough. I always believed leaving no stone unturned.

Muhammad Ali, one of my great heroes, had a great line in the '70s when he was asked, "How many sit-ups do you do?" He said, "I don't count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that's when I start counting, because that's when it really counts."

That's what makes you a champion. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop and that's the way it is with everything. No pain, no gain. So many of those lessons that I apply in life I have learned from sports, let me tell you, and especially that one. And let me tell you, it is important to have fun in life, of course.

But when you're out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hard.

Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning. Just remember that. Now, if you want to coast through life, don't pay attention to any of those rules.

But if you want to win, there is absolutely no way around hard, hard work.

None of my rules, by the way, of success, will work unless you do. I've always figured out that there 24 hours a day. You sleep six hours and have 18 hours left. Now, I know there are some of you out there that say well, wait a minute, I sleep eight hours or nine hours. Well, then, just sleep faster, I would recommend. (Laughter)

Because you only need to sleep six hours and then you have 18 hours left, and there are a lot of things you can accomplish. As a matter of fact, Ed Turner used to say always, "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise."

And, of course, all of you know already those things, because otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here today. Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.

And that takes me to rule number six, which is a very important rule: it's about giving back. Whatever path that you take in your lives, you must always find time to give something back, something back to your community, give something back to your state or to your country.

My father-in-law, Sergeant Shriver -- who is a great American, a truly great American who started the Peace Corps, the Job Corps, Legal Aid to the Poor -- he said at Yale University to the students at a commencement speech, "Tear down that mirror. Tear down that mirror that makes you always look at yourself, and you will be able to look beyond that mirror and you will see the millions of people that need your help."

And let me tell you something, reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than anything else you have ever done. As a matter of fact today, after having worked for Special Olympics and having started After School Programs, I've promoted fitness, and now with my job as governor, I can tell you, playing a game of chess with an eight-year-old kid in an inner city school is far more exciting for me than walking down another red carpet or a movie premiere.

So let me tell you, as you prepare to go off into the world, remember those six rules:

  • Trust yourself,
  • Break some rules,
  • Don't be afraid to fail,
  • Ignore the naysayers,
  • Work like hell, and
  • Give something back. 

And now let me leave you with one final thought, and I will be brief, I promise. This university was conceived in 1880, back when Los Angeles was just a small frontier town. One hundred and twenty-five classes of Trojans have gone before you. They have sat there, exactly where you sit today, in good times and in bad, in times of war and in times of peace, in times of great promise and in times of great uncertainty.

Through it all, this great country, this great state, this great university, have stood tall and persevered. We are in tough times now and there's a lot of uncertainty in the world. But there is one thing certain; we'll be back. (Applause)

And we will back stronger and more prosperous than ever before, because that is what California and America have always done. The ancient Trojans were known for their fighting spirit, their refusal to give up, their ability to overcome great odds.

So as you graduate today, never lose that optimism and that fighting spirit. Never lose the spirit of Troy. Because remember, this is America and you are USC Trojans, proud, strong and ready to soar. Congratulations and God bless all of you. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause)

University of Southern California
May 15, 2009



Here's to your Success!





BIRTHDAY: Happy 66th Birthday Arnold Schwarzenegger!




Call him Conan! Call him The Terminator! Call him John Matrix! Call him The Governator! Whatever you call him though, wish him a Happy 66th Birthday!




Check out this video of 160 of his greatest quotes!




Here's a sequel to the above video, get ready for The Other 130 Greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger Quotes!








Mr. Olympia 1975 

 





Wishing Arnold many, many more birthdays and great one-liners to come! :)



For further info:




Monday, July 29, 2013

Donnie Yen's Flash Point Animated GIF Set 1

In celebration of Donnie Yen's 50th Birthday this past Saturday, today, I'm starting my Animated GIF series from the MMA-fan's wet-dream of a movie (no not Kyra Gracie or Gina Carano or Ronda Rousey photoshoots :) from Donnie's Flash Point.





The ol' Feint-Jab-high-to-Double-Leg-Takedown-to-Mount-Ground-N-Pound :)




Judo throw (actually all grappling styles have this throw) - One-arm Shoulder Throw aka Seoi Nage




Sweet Flying Armbar






Enjoy these GIF's, next sets can be found here:




Other Donnie Yen related posts:


Sunday, July 28, 2013

Donnie Yen's Heroes Among Heroes (1993) (Full movie)



Yesterday, the great action star Donnie Yen turned 50! In celebration, watch this full movie of Donnie playing "Beggar Su" in a period piece.


Enjoy!





For further info:



Saturday, July 27, 2013

BIRTHDAY: Happy 50th Birthday Donnie Yen! (Legend of the Wolf full movie)



Hard to believe that today Donnie Yen turned 50th! Or more accurately, if he's in Hong Kong, due to the time difference, he already turned 50 :)


Here is a brief bio of him:


Donnie was born in China and at the age of 2, his family moved to Hong Kong. He started training in the martial arts (Northern Shaolin and Taiji/Tai Chi) under his mother, Bow Sim Mark, at the age of 4. At the age of 11, his family moved to Boston. He was hanging out a part of Boston called the Combat Zone. His parents concerned for him, sent him for 2 years to the Beijing Wushu Team for training. This same team also had Jet Li as a student. He leaves and passes through Hong Kong and gets discovered by the great Yuen Woo-ping. Donnie was a stuntman in Shaolin Drunkard (1983) and Taoism Drunkard (1984). Yuen casts the then 20-year old Donnie in his first acting role in the Drunken Tai Chi (1984). That led to Tiger Cage (1988) and his breakthrough role opposite Jet Li in Tsui Hark’s Once Upon a Time in China II (1992). Yen goes on to star in the 1993 film, Iron Monkey. His star ascending, he continues to make action-packed movies to climb the highest echelons of popularity. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Asia.




Happy 50th Birthday Donnie Yen!



Check out these 3 vidclips of him and a full movie.


Donnie in Discovery Channel's documentary, Kung Fu Fighters





Donnie on Boston TV in 1985




Donnie Yen interview (Eng.) about Bruce Lee and Zhang Yimou, director of HERO





Donnie's directorial debut - Legend of the Wolf (1997) (Full movie)





Other full movies and animated GIF's of Donnie coming!


Happy Birthday Donnie! May you live long and make more great movies for your fans!




For more information:



Friday, July 26, 2013

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: 40th anniversary of Enter the Dragon's premiere! (July 26, 1973)



40 years ago today, Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon premiered. Sadly, he passed away ~3 weeks prior and never saw the popularity he gained from that film. In honor of the movie, here is some trivia you may or may not know:


Trivia

  • Production was halted briefly when a young woman's body was found near the set.
  • The opening credits appear 8 minutes and 30 seconds into the film.
  • Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong three weeks before the film's premiere in 1973. The movie The Game of Death, which was completed after Lee's death, includes footage from his funeral.
  • Bruce Lee actually struck Jackie Chan in the face with one of his fighting sticks (or was it a staff?). He immediately apologized and insisted that Chan could work on all of his movies after that. Unfortunately, Lee died before he could keep his promise.
  • The character Williams was intended for Rockne Tarkington.
  • Biker movie legend William Smith was supposed to play Roper, but was unavailable at the time of filming.
  • Over 8,000 mirrors were used to set up the "Hall of Mirrors" where the climactic duel takes place.
  • One of two English-language movies in which Bruce Lee speaks with his natural voice. The other is Marlowe.
  • The courtyards where Han's martial arts students train were actually modified tennis courts.
  • Bruce Lee suffered some on-set injuries. His hand was severely cut while shooting O'Hara's death scene, when Bob Wall mistimed his thrust of the broken bottle towards Lee (fake glass was not available). When Lee held the poisonous snake that guarded the secret entrance to Han's drug lab, the snake bit him. Fortunately, the snake's venom gland had been removed.
  • Warner Brothers wanted to call the film "Han's Island" because it thought international audiences would be confused by an action film titled "Enter the Dragon". Other alternate titles were "Blood and Steel" and "The Deadly Three", a reference to Bruce Lee's, John Saxon's and Jim Kelly's characters
  • The opening fight sequence between Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo was shot after filming, and completed at Lee's request.
  • The scene where Han takes Roper down to his underground opium factory via his "guillotine lift" was the last scene John Saxon shot
  • The movie was filmed without sound. All of the dialogue and effects were dubbed in during post-production
  • Final film of Bruce Lee (several of his films were released after his death).
  • After Bruce Lee cut his hand on the bottles due to a miscue by Bob Wall, he hit Wall with a "real" flying kick in a subsequent scene. Even though Wall knew it was coming, he was knocked into the man behind him so hard both of his arms were broken.
  • Bruce Lee defeats 50 opponents in a cave fight scene.
  • Jackie Chan Cameo:  Appears three times in the film. He is one of Su Lin's attackers (she knees him in the groin), and later, towards the end of the film in the big cave fight scene. Lee grabs his hair for a while before breaking his neck. Also, Lee hits Jackie with a staff. Please check out Jackie recounting his experience working with Bruce:  Jackie Chan talks about filming with Bruce Lee on Enter the Dragon
  • Sammo Hung Kam-Bo:  Bruce Lee's sparring partner during the fight before the opening credits.


Spoilers

The trivia items below may give away important plot points, not like you haven't seen the movie before :)


  • Kien Shih did not speak English, and mouthed his lines as best he could. Chinese-American actor Keye Luke overdubbed his dialogue. Luke also narrated an earlier scene depicting the death of Bruce Lee's sister.
  • Originally, Han was going to kill Roper, and Williams and Lee would fight Han's army at the end. Roper's and Williams' roles were reversed by John Saxon's agent.




NOTES:

For other Enter the Dragon-related entries, please check out:


For more information, please check out:




Enter the Dragon GIF Set 7 (Staff)

Continuing my Enter the Dragon animated GIF series, in honor of today being the 40th anniversary of the premiere, here is my next set featuring the staff.

Enjoy!






This last one, it looks like Jackie Chan to me. Was it?





In case you missed the other entries of the Enter the Dragon GIF's series, please check out:






Thursday, July 25, 2013

Dan Inosanto - Training the Martial Arts (Full video)



Found the below video on Youtube as "Dan Inosanto Kali Principles". I believe it was from the above pictured series, but not sure which volume, regardless, it's the full video of one of the volumes.

Great to see Manong Inosanto and Paula Inosanto move... so fluid and so graceful! Larry Hartsell also appears in the beginning briefly.

Enjoy!







Dan Inosanto - Smithsonian Demo GIFs - Set 3 (disarms)

Continuing the celebration of Manong Dan Inosanto's 77th Birthday, I present to you the 3rd set of animated GIF's I made from his Smithsonian Institute demo of ~3 years ago.



Like the 2nd set in this GIF series, this 3rd set features 2 disarms. Can you name them?


Happy Birthday Manong Inosanto!! Enjoy the GIF's!





Disarm (real-time, slomo, and 3rd GIF is combo of real-time & slomo together)









Disarm (real-time, slomo, and 3rd GIF is combo of real-time & slomo together)







Please check out these related Dan Inosanto Birthday entries also:





Dan Inosanto - Smithsonian Demo GIFs - Set 2 (disarms)

Today's entry is a followup to yesterday's Dan Inosanto's celebratory 77th birthday post. In case you missed it, you can check it out here:


Here is the second set of animated GIF's I made from the Smithsonian Institute demo. This set features disarms.


Enjoy!



Vine Disarm (real-time, slomo, and 3rd GIF is combo of real-time & slomo together) 








Vine Disarm variation (real-time, slomo, and 3rd GIF is combo of real-time & slomo together)








Please check out these related Dan Inosanto Birthday entries also:






Wednesday, July 24, 2013

BIRTHDAY: Happy 77th Birthday Guro Dan Inosanto!


 

Today marks the 77th birthday of Manong Dan Inosanto! Many many more to come!

 

Enjoy these vidclips!


Dan Inosanto and Bruce Lee - StarHub commercial 
 
 
 
Dan Inosanto Nunchaku 
 
 
 
Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto - Game of Death (uncut)
 

 
 
Dan Inosanto Interview on Game of Death
 

 

Please check out these entries also:

Some animated GIF's of Dan Inosanto's demo at the Smithsonian Institute

I made some animated GIF's of Manong Dan Inosanto in action from a demo he put on almost 3 years ago.
Please check out the video I posted earlier if you haven't:


for Manong Inosanto's awesome demo (assisted by assistant Joel Clark) at the Smithsonian Institute on Oct 27, 2010. Note that at the time, 3 years ago, Joel Clark was with Manong for 12 years.


Ok, go watch the video. It's 2 hrs long and the demo starts about 1 hr into it and lasts ~27 minutes. I'll be waiting for you right here, no worries, take your time and watch that great video!


Now that you have checked out the video, here is the first set of GIF's. Enjoy!


Sumbrada (real-time, slomo, and 3rd GIF is combo of real-time & slomo together) 


Florete  (real-time, slomo, and 3rd GIF is combo of real-time & slomo together) 


More animated GIF's in this series coming! Hope you enjoyed them!!


P.S. Happy 77th Birthday Manong Inosanto!



Please check out these Birthday entries also:

The Balisong Knife in Movies: Sharky's Machine (1981)



Here's another entry in my "The Balisong Knife in Movies" series. Call me a Martial Arts Geek, I'm looking to make Animated GIF's of any movie or TV show that featured Balisong usage.


Today's entry is from the 1981 Burt Reynolds who starred and directed Sharky's Machine. The living legend Guro Dan Inosanto wields the Balisong and this entry coincides with his 77th birthday!


The first animated GIF shows 2 openings and the other 2 GIF's are those openings depicted individually. Please forgive the pixelation, I've not figured out how to decrease that effect on near black backgrounds such as this.




Please know that there were 2-3 more flips that was sandwiched between the above 2, but they were not that clear and didn't look that good as a GIF.


In case you missed the previous entries in this Balisong Knife in Movies series:



Forthcoming (in no order):

  • Kick-Ass (2010)
  • The Year of the Dragon (1985)
  • Streets of Fire (1984)
  • Red Dawn (1984)
  • The Big Brawl (1980)
  • Full Alert (1992)

If you know of any movies and/or TV shows which featured the usage of the Balisong knife, please leave a comment. Thank you in advance!


Enjoy!
  


Please check out these Birthday entries also: