SF - That's a great question. Actually this is, touch wood, my last high school film. It's definitely time to move on. This movie is opening doors for me. It's given me the opportunity to do what I want to do but also, this was a film that I wanted to do. I'm a huge MMA fan to start with and to shoot an action movie... and it's the first MMA film too.

I kind of enjoy being in the centre of controversy...well not controversy. But I enjoy about the debate about it. Some people come to me and say “oh it's so brutal” and this and that and I don't think it's even near as brutal as boxing. In boxing you get 12 rounds and you get bashed only in the head and you get knocked down and you've got 10 seconds to recover, stand back up and get bashed in the head some more. In Mixed Martial Arts, as soon as you get hit in the head, it rocks you and the fight's pretty much going to be done. And there are other ways out like submissions. And it's only three five-minute rounds instead of 12 three minute rounds.

It just appears on the outside to be really brutal If you train in it, you'd understand – I mean, you know what I'm talking about.

TAC - What kind of reception have you got from the MMA world?

SF - You know what, Bas Rutten, Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice – all those guys have seen it. Everybody that I've talked to that's been professionally involved in MMA, trainers, coaches and fighters and really happy to see it filmed like that to help encourage the growth of the sport.

Kimbo Slice - I'm going to do my best to put him in my movie. I'm producing a movie called The Glass Eye and I want Kimbo to be in my movie, not as a fighter, but I think he's a really charismatic guy. I've gotten a chance to spend some real time with these guys and say “honestly what to you think” and they've all been approving.

TAC -The Karate Kid inspired a whole generation of people to take up martial arts. How do you feel that you might be inspiring a whole new generation to do that?

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7