This is going up a bit early this week, mostly because this feels like a Friday post, if that makes sense. This is one designed to get you primed for what is to come. These isn't much to mention this time, but there is a subject I want to discuss.
I have recently been delving into the second volume of the Cannon Film Guide (which is over 1000 pages!) and have found even more appreciation for the short-lived Cannon Films studio. If you have any interest in the history of 1980s filmmaking, action movies, or how one can make something for pure escapism, it is quite a good read. Just like the first volume, author Austin Trunick covers a period of Cannon history (the first one went over 1980-1984 and the second covers 1985-1987 while the third will presumably cover up to their end in the 1990s) and shows in detail just how a madhouse of off the wall creativity (and trend chasing) ended up with one of the most memorable film studios in the 20th century.
In this book you will understand the true mad joy that comes from creating, at all levels of production, both in failure and success in the pursuit of entertaining the audience. Cannon Films is still beloved to this day because their films just don't age. There is a reason I have have a podcast going with a friend of mine for about five years on them. There is plenty to talk about on the subject!
Even outside of Cannon, there has been a huge resurgence and interest in pulp-style action and adventure stories of the like that more or less died off in the 1990s. You can find all kinds of books talking about everything from movies to even video games, focusing on the pure entertainment they strove to deliver. It is an era even focused on by those who weren't alive to experience it. This shows there is much to the time period.
One can also now understand how important it was for a madhouse like Cannon to be able to exist in the eye of the storm that was the 1980s. A studio that existed purely for the love of moviemaking and any wild idea that can into their heads. That things like Cannon cannot thrive in today's climate is an indictment of the industry and how we are missing something crucial that we once used to cherish.
This brings us to the above video. You might be wondering how this relates to an interview that modern action star Scott Adkins recently had with director Isaac Florentine about his long filmography. Turns out that it actually has a lot to do with it!
Isaac Florentine started his career under Boaz Davidson at Cannon Films. He wasn't at the top or anything, but he did get in on projects like American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (a Terminator inspired post-apocalyptic actioner) and soon learned his craft. After that, well, there is quite a lot. You can check the above video to see his career trajectory and how he ended up being a key figure managing to keep the action movie still alive, including discovering Scott Adkins himself. He also had some involvement in Power Rangers, as strange as that might be.
In other words, the Cannon spirit never really died even when Cannon did. It went underground, but it's still there. If you watch Isaac Florentine's two Ninja movies (which I highly recommend) starring Scott Adkins you will see just how a modern Cannon could work in the modern day. Turns out it works better than you might think.
Definitely watch the above interview to see just how the genre has somehow managed to survive even with the industry itself so dead set against it. This is quite inspiring stuff.
Scott Adkins' interviews as a whole are also very informative and a lot of fun to watch as he discusses the genre that he loves so much (and is part of!) over the decades with people who were there for different eras of it. He's done 40 so far, and hopefully there will be many more to come. They are great watches.
Here is a clip of him talking about Brandon Lee, someone who was taken far too soon, to show just how much goes into making these sorts of films:
As long as there is someone still dedicated to giving the audience what they want, art and entertainment like this will never truly go away. Hopefully we never forget that most important aspect of the human connection. It's what makes this all work.
And we're going to keep at, as long as it takes, to keep the flame burning. Keep looking forward to what's coming down the pipeline. You'll never see it coming.
Until next time!
See what happens when the human element is removed in The Last Fanatics! As controversial as it is true!
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