From the age of four, Mindy Kelly has dedicated her life to the martial arts. Since moving to Hollywood, she has made her name as both a stunt performer and coordinator, working on music videos for the likes of Lady Gaga, Childish Gambino, Skrillex and Metallica, to performing for major action movies like Alita: Battle Angel, The Dark Knight Rises and Transformers: Age of Extinction. Now Mindy has now made her feature film debut as a stunt coordinator - not to mention fight choreographer, martial arts trainer and action designer - on the new dark indie comedy from the writer and director of 2014's Faults, Riley Stearns. The Art of Self-Defense - which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots and Alessandro Nivola - is released in theatres in the USA from 12 July via Bleecker Street, and it's really worth checking out. The film is a funny - and at times shocking - look at toxic masculinity which also displays Mindy's knack for creating cool action. Her star is on the rise and it was awesome to be able to spend time talking to her about working on the film, as well as discussing the lack of female stunt coordinators and fight choreographers in the industry, and what can be done about it.
Also appearing on this action-packed double bill is the always-inspiring producer, entrepreneur and martial arts instructor, Janell Smith. As CEO of Iron Dragon Productions and its distribution channel, Iron Dragon TV, she is leading the charge in supporting indie martial arts and action filmmaking from her base in Austin, Texas. Iron Dragon TV streams everything from classic kung fu to original content - produced via Janell's own production company - and is available now in 4K and HD via UltraFlix, Roku and a new Android app, which is available to download now via Amazon and Google Play. Janell also runs the Iron Dragon TV Action Fest, an annual celebration of indie martial arts shorts and feature films from around the world, which this year takes place on 9-10 August. Visit idtvactionfest.com for more information. It was great to chat with the awesome Janell Smith who works so tirelessly in supporting up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as anyone looking to get into the martial arts.
LINKS
Mindy Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindytheninja/
Mindy Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindytheninja/
Mindy Kelly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindyKelly
Mindy Kelly's official site: https://www.mindy-kelly.com/
The Art of Self-Defense official website: https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/theartofselfdefense
The Art of Self-Defense trailer: https://youtu.be/Td0oBCWO_I4
Janell Smith on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janell001/
Janell Smith on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janellvelasmith/
Janell Smith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/janellvelasmith
Janell Smith's official site: http://www.janellsmith.com/
Iron Dragon TV website: http://irondragontv.com/
Iron Dragon TV Action Fest 2019 website: http://www.idtvactionfest.com/
Iron Dragon TV Android app on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/On-Demand-Movie-Streaming/b?ie=UTF8&node=9408766011
Iron Dragon TV Android app on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.irondragonproductions.idtvflix&hl=en_US
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