"Black Belt Jones" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Martial arts actor Jim Kelly, who was best known for his iconic roles in Enter the Dragon and Black Belt Jones, has died of cancer at the age of 67.

The Kentucky native began training in Okinawa-te karate during his late teens. After winning the middleweight title at the 1971 Long Beach International Karate Championships, he opened his own karate school.

In 1972, Kelly landed a small role as a martial artist in the blaxploitation flick Melinda, but his breakthrough performance came in 1973, when he co-starred alongside Bruce Lee and John Saxon in Enter the Dragon.

His charismatic presence in Enter led to a three-film contract with Warner where he starred in 1974’s Black Belt Jones, 1974’s Three the Hard Way and 1976’s Hot Potato. Following his Warner deal, his career leaned towards lower budget movies, such as 1977’s Black Samurai, 1978’s Death Dimension and even a 1978 Hong Kong movie called Tattoo Connection. He last appeared in 2009’s Afro Ninja, which spoofed both martial arts and blaxploitation movies.

Contrary to the roles he played, Kelly was humble and soft spoken. He often stayed in touch with fans by appearing in many conventions, including the San Diego Comic-Con International. Our condolences go out to Kelly’s family and friends.

To cityonfire.com, Jim Kelly will always be “too busy lookin’ good.”

"The Green Hornet" Japanese Poster

Last year, The Guardian posted an article entitled Guardian of the Bruce Lee legacy. In it, Shannon Lee, CEO, Bruce Lee Enterprises – also daughter of Bruce – shares memories of her inspirational father and talks about a few upcoming projects:

New Bruce Lee Biography Film: The project titled Birth of the Dragon will focus on Bruce’s younger years. It will basically be Shannon’s version of the 2010’s Hong Kong film Bruce Lee My Brother, which covers the same time period. There are reports that bio-pic masters Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen Rivele will be writing. The duo have worked on Michael Mann’s Ali and Oliver Stone’s Nixon.

Bruce Lee Stage Show in Las Vegas: Kind of like Michael Jackson Immortal, only with film clips and audio, accompanied with performances by The Jabbawockeez, a popular hip-hop dance crew, best known for being the winners of the first season of America’s Best Dance Crew.

Bruce Lee Museum: “Our long-term goal is to build the Bruce Lee Action Museum. The beauty is it’s not just about memorabilia; it will allow us to explore how he combined action with his philosophy and hopefully continue to educate and inspire visitors” says Shannon.

BREAKING NEWS: THR reports that the “Bruce Lee: Kung Fu, Art and Life” exhibition will open its doors on July 20, which marks the 40th anniversary of Lee’s death. The exhibition, located in Lee’s Hong Kong hometown, will feature 600 Lee-related artifacts from both his films and his personal life. The exhibition will also include the showing of a 75-minute documentary The Brilliant Life of Bruce Lee, a 3-D hologram animation of Lee, a new 11.5-foot statue statue of Lee and an appearance by Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee.

"Django Unchained" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Deadline reports that Django Unchained stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx are re-teaming in a film adaptation of Craig Zahler’s upcoming crime novel Mean Business On North Ganson Street. No word on the director, but Zahler himself will be writing the script.

According to The Wrap, Mean Business On North Ganson Street follows a disgraced detective (DiCaprio) who is sent to Victory, Missouri, where violent crime is skyrocketing. He’s partnered with another detective (Foxx) who was demoted for brutalizing a suspect. When police officers start showing up dead, they get to work on finding the person responsible for declaring open season on Victory’s police department.

Check back with us for updates.

"Drunken Master III" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Hong Kong media outlets are reporting the death of filmmaker and actor Lau Kar-leung (also known as Liu Chia-liang) at the age of 75. More details should emerge in the following days but this is truly a tragic loss. Lau Kar-leung has left behind a considerable body of work, including some of the finest martial arts movies of all time.

He is perhaps most famous for directing and starring opposite Jackie Chan in the 1994 classic Drunken Master 2, but Kar-leung was also a veteran of the Shaw Brothers system.

During his impressive tenure with the Shaw Brothers studio, he helmed a string a bonafide martial arts classics – including The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Legendary Weapons of China, My Young Auntie, and what is perhaps his masterpiece, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter.

Most of these films are available on DVD in North America, so this week may be a good time to rewatch one or several of his movies and remember the iconic filmmaker. Our condolences go out to Lau Kar-leung’s family and friends.

"Taken 2" Theatrical Poster

What would you do for $20 million? If you’re Liam Neeson, you’d sign the dotted line to reprise the role that turned you into a middle-aged action star. That’s right: Liam Neeson has officially negotiated to return as security specialist and family man Bryan Mills in Taken 3. The disappointing news? It looks like a done deal that Taken 2 director Olivier Megaton will be returning to helm the third installment.

Despite making a truckload of money, fan reaction to Taken 2 was decidedly lukewarm; as a filmmaker, Olivier Megaton clearly lacks the finesse and flair for action that original Taken director Pierre Morel possesses (don’t forget, Morel also directed the cult favorite District B13). Stay tuned for more news on Taken 3 in the months to come.

"The Wrath of Vajra" Chinese Promotional Poster

Law Ching Cheong is currently busy directing an increasingly over-budget remake of The Iceman Cometh with Donnie Yen, but his previous film is finally about to see the light of day. Titled The Wrath of Vajra, this high-concept martial arts movie is intended to serve as the first starring vehicle for Yu Xing.

Xing is a Shaolin monk turned actor who has already been seen in supporting roles in a number of movies so far, including Flash Point, Shaolin, and Kung Fu Hustle.

Law Ching Cheong has praised Yu Xing has ‘the next big thing’ in Chinese martial arts. You can watch the trailer for The Wrath of Vajra now. In the film, Yu Xing plays a top Chinese martial artist who sets his sights on a Japanese death cult after they abduct innocent Chinese children and train them to be assassins.

Judging by the trailer, the filmmakers have been influenced by the Ong-Bak sequels in terms of the slow-motion action photography and a willingness to feature comic book-like villains.

Update: Distributor Media Asia has snagged the international rights to The Wrath of Vajra. CEO Jeffrey Soong says the film “harks back to the old days when one take meant 20 minutes of fighting, not one scene with 200 cuts.” Here here! Film Combat Syndicate has a plot synopsis and word that Peng Zhang (Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World) provided the action choreography. We’re still waiting to hear a release date, however.

BREAKING NEWS: Check out the second trailer for the film, which is said to be something of a horror/kung fu hybrid.

"Kung Fu Man" Chinese Theatrical Poster

2013 might just end up being known as ‘the year of Tiger Chen.’ Not only is the Yuen Woo-ping protege making his leading man debut in Keanu Reeves’ Man of Tai Chi, but the trailer has surfaced for yet another martial arts film starring Chen. This time around, Tiger Chen will star as the titular Kung Fu Man in an English/Chinese co-production. This film has more of a family vibe, with Tiger Chen protecting a young orphan boy who is convinced Chen is a super hero, but the trailer also features plenty of fight sequences.

What else does the trailer feature? Plenty of wire-work, something that has gone out of fashion with martial arts fans in the last six years or so. Tiger Chen appears to legitimately have skills but, in an age that has seen the likes of Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa do incredible things without the aid of wires, he may have to go out of his way to prove himself to audiences.

What’s your take on the trailer for Kung Fu Man?

"Gatchaman" Japanese Theatrical Poster

For a generation of kids who grew up in the early 80’s, much of their favorite Saturday morning fare was – unbeknownst to them – anime that had been dubbed and re-edited from Japan. Thus, Japan’s Macross became Robotech and Beast King GoLion became Voltron.

Along those same lines, the long-running Japanese anime Gatchaman was introduced to American audiences as Battle of the Planets. The show followed a group of super-powered young people (who may or may not be cyborgs) tasked with protecting the Earth from the villainous aliens of Spectra.

Now, Japan is preparing to unleash a live-action movie based on the series and it looks to boast some spectacular production values.

A teaser trailer was released today but it’s definitely a ‘tease,’ offering only some voice-over and a glimpse of the hero’s costumes. Twitch assures us that a talented team has been assembled to work on the film, including visual FX from the team behind Returner and the live-action Space Battleship Yamato movie. Stay tuned to Cityonfire.com for further updates on this ambitious project.

Update: Don’t miss the full-length trailer, online now!

Pieta Blu-ray & DVD (Drafthouse Films)

Pieta, the acclaimed film from the celebrated and controversial Korean director Kim Ki-Duk (Bad Guy, 3-Iron), debuts on Blu-ray™ and DVD July 23rd from Drafthouse Films. An international box-office hit, Pieta has garnered numerous awards, including Best Picture trophies from 2012 Venice Film Festival, 2012 Blue Dragon Awards, 2013 Fantasporto Festival, and the 2012 Satellite Awards, and Best Director nods at the 2012 Dubai International Film Festival and a Jury Award at the South Korea’s 2012 Grand Bell Awards.

Lee Jung-jin (Wonderful Radio) stars as a loan shark forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle after the arrival of a mysterious woman claiming to be his long-lost mother. The mother is played by Cho Min-soo, who, in her film debut, won Best Actress awards at the 2012 Asia Pacific Screen Awards and South Korea’s Grand Bell Awards in 2012, as well as Favorite Actress at the 2012 Asian Film Awards.

Bonus Materials Include: Audio Commentary with Director Kim Ki-duk, Cho Min-soo and Lee Jung-jin; “God, Have Mercy On Us” Featurette – Interviews with Kim Ki-duk, Cho Min-soo and Lee Jung-jin; Winning the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice Film Festival; Behind the Scenes Featurettes; Filmography of Kim Ki-duk; 16-Page Booklet

Cityonfire.com received the above press release from Drafthouse Films/MPRM Communications.