Over the last decade, Germany has become a hotbed of aspiring young martial arts talent who have seen their careers grow from DIY short films on YouTube to massive Hollywood productions. Cologne-born Vi-Dan Tran is a wushu practitioner and Hong Kong movie fan. His passions led to a career in stunts and eventually membership of the hallowed Jackie Chan Stunt Team, working with the man himself on movies like 'The Foreigner' and 'Bleeding Steel'. Nowadays, Vi-Dan Tran can be found behind-the-scenes working on the action design of some of Hollywood's biggest movies, from 'Shang-Chi' to 'Dune'. His latest film is 'Knights of the Zodiac', a live-action take on Japan's popular 'Saint Seiya' manga series. It's pretty clear that Vi-Dan Tran will be directing feature films soon enough, and he admits that he couldn't have achieved so much if it wasn't for the strong bonds he has made within the German martial arts filmmaking community.
It was Vi-Dan Tran who helped to bring fellow German martial artist Lorenz Hideyoshi onto the set of 'Dune', where he worked as Timothée Chalamet's stunt double for both films in the series. Lorenz is equally puzzled as to why there are so many Germans of his generation working in the action film business; people like Andy Long, Max Huang, Mike Möller, Julia Schunevitsch, Can Aydin, Cha-Lee Yoon, Phong Giang, not to mention Lorenz's own brother, Felix Fukuyoshi. Despite their individual successes, they can all still be found jumping into each other's projects, as demonstrated by Lorenz with his stand-out appearances in great martial arts movies like 'Plan B' and 'Luc Van Tien'. A multitalented artist in his own right, Lorenz's new short film is called 'Daddy Issues', a fun kung fu throwback in which he stars, co-writes and co-directs.
LINKS
Lorenz Hideyoshi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorenzhideyoshi/
Lorenz Hideyoshi on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HideyoshiR
Lorenz Hideyoshi on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3947656/
Lorenz's production company, Young Masters, on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@youngmasters
'Daddy Issues' short film: https://youtu.be/IXoAnSBrXgw
'Dark Jedi: A Star Wars Fan Film': https://youtu.be/Qh83vsRzgAY?si=N63y--lkLAiC8QqH
'Dune' stunt team fight scene - Vi-Dan Tran versus Lorenz Hideyoshi: https://youtu.be/B_dtwG8GG7g
'Dune: Part Two' trailer: https://youtu.be/_YUzQa_1RCE
'Amazon Taps Lucas Carter To Pen Remake Of German Actioner ‘Plan B’; Sylvester Stallone Among Producers', Variety.com: https://deadline.com/2022/07/amazon-studios-remaking-german-actioner-plan-b-penned-by-lucas-carter-1235080073/
'Plan B' (2016) review: http://kungfumovieguide.com/plan-b-2016/
'Luc Van Tien: Kung Fu Warrior' (2017) review: http://kungfumovieguide.com/luc-van-tien-kung-fu-warrior-2017/
'Duty - Out of Line' short film: https://youtu.be/_Wa-cNx391g?si=GKN_xBD6mhK41Nc_
Vi-Dan Tran on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4263148/
Vi-Dan Tran on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vi_dan/
Vi-Dan's production company, T7 Productions, on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@T7pro
'Darth Maul: Apprentice - A Star Wars Fan Film': https://youtu.be/Djo_91jN3Pk?si=A7sfj4m36Y-qhPh3
'Cyberpunk 2077: Phoenix Program Fan Film': https://youtu.be/JJdtkKNQKJ4
'Knights of the Zodiac' (2023) review: http://kungfumovieguide.com/knights-of-the-zodiac-2023/
Max Huang on the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast: http://kungfumovieguide.com/kfmg-podcast-s06-episode-73-max-huang/
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