NEW FILM - Maximum Choppage II

MEDIA RELEASE September 2008
TAKING IT BACK TO THE OLD SCHOOL!
MAXIMUM CHOPPAGE: ROUND 2
A suburban Kung Fu film direct from the mean streets of Fairfield!

Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is Australia’s first locally made suburban Kung Fu film due to be launched this September.

Made by an artist collective called Rumble Pictures based in Cabramatta in Sydney’s West – Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is their offering to the recent explosion in popularity for Kung Fu Films.

Not since the cult 1975 film The Man From Hong Kong has Australia produced its own Kung Fu film. Tired of the solid foreign diet Rumble Pictures decided to produce their own tribute to the martial arts films of the 70’s and 80’s using the local Fairfield streets as their back drop.

Offering a reinvention of the Kung Fu genre but taking direct inspiration from the classic 70 and 80s narratives of Jackie Chan, Rumble Pictures are proud to present Australia’s first “no-budget, but epic ambition” action Kung Fu film.

Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is a 70 minute urban action adventure exploring the great story telling corner stones of love and pride. Two arch rivals fight with swords over a girl in down town Fairfield! Within a story line dedicated to accommodate as many kick ass kung fu show downs as possible, the result is fast, furious and funny.

The producers, Rumble Pictures, have ensured that the fundamental essence of Kung-Fu action is not lost nor compromised in their ploy to pay such homage. What results is a preservation of the slapstick fun and comedic notions of the earlier work of Jackie Chan highlighted with the animated cues of Steven Chow’s Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.

Writer and Director Craig Anderson from the ABC’s Double the Fist noted the film’s presence as an innovative montage of action and comedy. “Here’s a truly funny film that acknowledges its roots. An old school Kung Fu film in its purity!” he says.

Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is an independent film four years in the making. It makes no apologies for its ‘rough around-the-edges’ approach to cinematography that pushes the boundaries of guerilla-style filmmaking – action sequences at its most organic. In the project’s initial stages when resources were limited, camera dollies were replaced by skate boards and home mattresses dragged into the street to use as crash pads as people dove off council bins!

The cast and crew of the film comprise mainly of young Asian Australians from diverse backgrounds of Western Sydney. More significantly, these contemporary groups of filmmakers are either martial arts experts or have had a fondness towards the genre of films. All fights and stunts are performed by the cast themselves.

“Every week a group of us would meet up on a Friday night to watch old school kung fu films and develop ideas to somehow bring back the elements of what is now missing in contemporary Kung Fu films,” Director Timothy Ly says.

“Western Sydney has a lot of artistic potential. I hope if anything, Rumble Pictures can inspire some residents to pick up their own cameras and do it better than us. We get sick of all the negative profile that Cabramatta gets so we wanted to create an action film that used our local area as our set – we don’t hide from the urbanism of our surroundings we wanted to focus on it and high light it, we like the idea of two guys fighting over a girl with swords in suburban Fairfield!”

One of the main focuses of the film is to portray the 2nd generation migrant experience in Australia. The film’s fun and positive format does not emphasise its oriental roots as much but more its expression of cultural identity and diversity on home soil.

The film will be launching over 4 nights at the Fairfield School of Arts, 19 Harris St Fairfield NSW from the 25-28 Sept, 08. Screenings begin at 7pm.To RSVP, contact ICE on (02) 9897 5744.

WHEN: 7pm, 25-28 September, 2008

WHERE: Fairfield School of Arts, 16 Harris St, Fairfield, 2165.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES, PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS: Contact Sarah Goodes on 0411 878 250 or email sarahgoodes@bigpond.com

MC2 TRAILER: http://www.mc2movie.com/

Official website: http://www.rumblepictures.com.au/

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Thursday 23 October 2008, 6.30-8.30pm
Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre, Elisabeth Murdoch Building, Swanston Street, University of Melbourne

With the Asia Institute, AASRN is co-sponsoring the Melbourne launch of Rumble Pictures' Maximum Choppage: Round 2 and a panel featuring producer Maria Tran and writer/director Timothy Ly.

For the full listing of Asia Week events, visit http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/