Tag Archives: Robert Samuels

2019 Urban Action Showcase & Expo Lineup – November 8-9; THE LAST DRAGON Anniversary Celebration Screening on November 9

Lia Chang and Taimak. Photo by Lia Chang

I made my feature film debut as a martial arts student in Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon and am looking forward to experiencing it on the big screen on Saturday, November 9 during The Last Dragon 35th Anniversary Celebration at AMC Empire 25 Theaters as part of Urban Action Showcase and Expo (UASE).

Taimak in THE LAST DRAGON

From 10am to Midnight, The Last Dragon Tribute and Daetrix Productions is sponsoring The Last Dragon 35th Anniversary Celebration which will feature a day-long celebration of Cosplay, Photo Experiences, a screening of The Last Dragon at 8pm, and a Fan meet and greet with Taimak Guarriello, star of The Last Dragon.

Grab your TLD 35th VIP Fan Experience pass and join Taimak aka Bruce Leroy, screenwriter Luis Venosta,  Rudy C. Jones and other cast members for autographs, photo ops, VR Photo and Video experiences, an exclusive TLD 35th Swag Bag and more!

  • Preferred Seating for the TLD 35th Screening
  • Special TLD 35th Anniversary Swag Bag
  • 1 Autograph of the special TLD 35th Poster
  • 1 Selfie Photo with Taimak The Last Dragon
  • ​All Festival and Showcase Films (1st Come 1st Served) 
  • All  Free Action Panels (1st Come 1st Served)
  • All Free Action Seminars (1st Come 1st Served)
  • Urban Action Expo
  • ​VR Anniversary Photo Experience
  • ​UAS Afterparty
  • *Note You must Be On Time to get your Preferred Seat!
  • *Note You are allowed 1 VR Photo Experience per turn.
  • Get the Glow at https://www.urbanactionshowcase.com/eventpasses.html

uproxx.com: A Deeper Look Into How ‘The Last Dragon’ Became An ’80s Classic
grant land.com: ‘The Last Dragon’ 30 Years Later: A Glowing Glory of Kung Fu, Magic, and Progressive Racial Politics

Cinemax® is sponsoring the Urban Action Showcase and Expo (UASE) at the AMC Empire 25 Theaters (234 West 42nd Street Times Square in New York on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9.  Click here for tickets and more information.

Warrington Hudlin, Lia Chang and Demetrius Angelo. Photo by Patrick Cashin

I had terrific time with my Big Trouble in Little China castmate Peter Kwong in 2016 when the UASE celebrated the 30th anniversary of the making of the film.

Peter Kwong and Lia Chang received the 2016 Martial Arts Cult Classic Cinema Award for Big Trouble in Little China’s 30th Anniversary at the 4th Annual Urban Action Showcase and Expo at the AMC Empire 25 Times Square in New York on November 12, 2016. Photo by Lori Tan Chinn

Inside the 2016 Urban Action Showcase and Expo with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s Peter Kwong and Lia Chang; Full List of 2016 Honorees 

The UASE is the premier Action entertainment platform advocating diversity and honoring the multicultural achievements within the blockbuster Action genre bringing awareness and access to heroes of color. Showcasing Independent and Mainstream Action content in the multifaceted Action genre including Adventure, Fantasy, Grindhouse, Action Horror, Martial Arts, Sci-Fi, Supernatural and Urban Action content. The UASE is the only Action entertainment platform offering both fan and professional experiences through its International Action Film Festival, Action Expo and Action Film Awards platforms.By focusing on the thrill and excitement of the Action genre and recognizing the need for integration, the UASE sets itself apart from other festival platforms as the only one of its kind. The purpose of the UASE is to ultimately see an increase in ethnic heroic principal characters in film and television, increase the development of content and expand distribution platforms reflecting multicultural images and interests as it pertains to the multifaceted Action genre.

HBO/Cinemax® VIP Red Carpet Reception and Awards:
Friday, November 8th, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. at AMC Empire 25 Theaters (234 West 42nd Street Times Square NYC)
• UAS International Action Film Festival Awards
• Diversity in Action Awards (Honoring the Past Present and Future Mainstream Achievements in the blockbuster Action genre)
• Behind the Action Awards (Honoring the Hidden Heroes in the Action genre)
Knighting of The Black Dragon

 

There is a new Dragon on the horizon. Michael Jai White will receive the mantle of The Black Dragon from Grand Master Ron Van Clief. This will happen during the Awards presentation on Friday November 9th at 8 pm.

Urban Action Showcase International Film Festival and UASE 14 Hour Cinema Mega-Thon: Saturday, November 9th, 10 a.m. – Midnight at AMC Empire 25 Times Square: Screening of Features, Shorts and Showcase Films.

Showcase Features:
Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks Feature Documentary Film and Panel (Special Guests: Cynthia Rothrock, Michael Jai White, Warrington Hudlin, Robert Samuels, Ron Van Clief, Ric Meyers)
Above The Law (Cynthia Lady Dragon Rothrock)
Blood Fist (Don The Dragon Wilson)
Blood and Bone 10th Anniversary (Michael Jai White)
Ninja Assassin 10th Anniversary
Street Fighter: Legend of Chung Li 10th Anniversary
Showcase Anniversary Screenings
The Warriors 40 Anniversary
• The Last Dragon 35 Anniversary

Back 2 Black Action Cinema
Black Dynamite 10th Anniversary
Black Belt Jones 45th Anniversary
That Man Bolt 46th Anniversary
Blood and Bone 10 Anniversary

Retro Action Cinema
Universal Soldier The Return 20th Anniversary
Avatar 10th Anniversary
G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra 10th Anniversary

Official Selections of the 2019 UAS International Action Film Festival Urban Action Expo:
Saturday, November 9th, 10 a.m. – 7p.m. at AMC Empire 25 Times Square
Featuring Entertainment Industry Exhibitors, Comic Book and Graphic Artists, Celebrity Guests, Panels, Seminars, Master Classes and more

Featured Seminars
Action Icon Experience (Master Classes with Cynthia Rothrock, Don The Dragon Wilson and Michael Jai White)
Blunt and Bladed Weapons 4 Film (Grand Master Felix Cortez)
Firearms 4 Film (Hanshi Nikwan Murphy)


JKD 4 Film (Guru Chris Moran JKD NYC)
Batman 30th Anniversary
Kickboxer 30 Anniversary
The Matrix 20th Anniversary
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 20th Anniversary

Featured Panels:
• Urban Fists of Legends Panel featuring the legends of Action cinema
• Sheroes in Action: Women in Action Cinema Panel
The Warriors 40th Anniversary Panel
• Martial Arts in Cinema Panel
• Behind The Action: Stunt and Fight Choreographer Panel

Celebrity talent attending the 2019 UASE celebration:
• Nafessa Williams (Thunder of Black Lightning)

• Michael Jai White (Spawn, Universal Soldier, Black Dynamite, Triple Threat)
• Taimak (The Last Dragon)

• Cynthia Lady Dragon Rothrock (Lady Dragon, Sworn To Justice, Yes Madam)

• Don The Dragon Wilson (Blood Fist, Ring of Fire)

• Fred The Hammer Williamson (That Man Bolt, Three The Hard Way, From Dust to Dawn)

• Perry Yung (Father Jun in Cinemax’s “Warrior”)

• Henry Yuk (Long Zii of “Wu Assassins”)

• Celia Au (Ying Ying of “Wu Assassins”)

• Ron Van Clief (The Black Dragon’s Revenge)
• Robert Samuels (Made in China Town, Gambling Ghost)

• Vincent Lyn (Operation Condor)

• Ric Meyers (The Kung Fu Movie Movie, Martial Arts Film Historian)
• David Harris (Cochise in The Warriors)
• Brian Tyler (Snow in The Warriors)
• Dorsey Wright (Cleon in The Warriors)
• David Worth (Director of Kickboxer)


• Stuntman, Actors, Stunt Coordinators
• Other guest TBA

Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers,  musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2019 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

2016 UASE: Behind the Action featuring Marvel/Netflix ‘Luke Cage’ Cast: Action Stunt & Fight Choreographer Panel on Nov. 12

The 4th Annual Urban Action Showcase and Expo is presenting a Behind The Action Stunt Panel featuring cast members from “Luke Cage” on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at the AMC Empire 25 Theaters, 234 West 42 St, Times Square NYC from 2:00pm-2:50pm Theater #11.

luke-cage

Get your Festival Passes Here: http://www.urbanactionshowcase.com/event-passes.html
*General Admission gets you All Films and the Expo
*V.I.P Gets you everything!

The UAS takes you Behind The Action with the Action Actors and Stunt performers of Marvel’s “Luke Cage” now on Netflix!

Robert Samuels, the 1st and only African American in the Hong Kong Stuntmen’s Association, will moderate the panel featuring distinguished action actors and stuntmen including Jenel Stevens, who doubles for Misty Knight;  R Marcos Taylor was “Famous Amos”; Kahlil Maasi, who played Neville; and stuntmen Emmanuel Brown and Manny Ayala.

Samuels will talk with the panel about the excitement of working on New York’s first Black Super Hero show ever.

The Urban Action Showcase & Expo, founded by Demetrius Angelo, is the premier all-action experiential entertainment platform celebrating diversity and honoring the past, present and future multicultural achievements within the blockbuster Action genre including Adventure, Fantasy, Grindhouse, Action Horror, Sci-Fi, and Supernatural content. Cinemax® sponsors the Urban Action Showcase and Expo (UASE) in New York City.

2016 UASE: Call 2 Action Martial Arts Action Talent Competition and Branding Initiative with Willie “The Bam” Johnson on Nov. 12

2016 Urban Action Showcase & Expo Featuring the Cinemax Max Action Short Film Competition on Nov. 11; 30th Anniversary Screening of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA on Nov. 12

Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits

Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.

2016 Urban Action Showcase & Expo Featuring the Cinemax Max Action Short Film Competition on Nov. 11; 30th Anniversary Screening of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA on Nov. 12

urban-action-showcase

The 4th Annual Urban Action Showcase and Expo will take place on November 11-12, 2016 at HBO, 1100 Avenue of The Americas and AMC Empire 25 Theaters, 234 West 42 St, Times Square NYC.

On Friday, November 11th, I’ll see you at the Cinemax® VIP Welcome Red Carpet Reception and UAS IAFF Awards at HBO in New York from 6p.m. – 10p.m. The evening is the kickoff for two action packed days and nights of the 2016 Urban Action Showcase & Expo. Get your Festival Passes Here: http://www.urbanactionshowcase.com/event-passes.html
*General Admission gets you All Films and the Expo
*V.I.P Gets you everything!

The Urban Action Showcase & Expo, founded by Demetrius Angelo, is the premier all-action experiential entertainment platform celebrating diversity and honoring the past, present and future multicultural achievements within the blockbuster Action genre including Adventure, Fantasy, Grindhouse, Action Horror, Sci-Fi, and Supernatural content. Cinemax® sponsors the Urban Action Showcase and Expo (UASE) in New York City.

Lia Chang and Donna Noguchi in John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986).
Lia Chang and Donna Noguchi in John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986).
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA stars Peter Kwong and Lia Chang. Photo by Marissa Chang-Flores
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA stars Peter Kwong and Lia Chang. Photo by Marissa Chang-Flores

The UASE will also pay homage to over 30 years of martial arts cult classics with anniversary screenings of John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China and Isaac Florentine’s WMAC Masters TV series.

On Saturday, November 12th, I’ll be at the 30th anniversary screening of Big Trouble in Little China with my co-star and pal Peter Kwong (Rain) at AMC Empire 25 Times Square at 4:00P.M, with a Q&A to follow.

Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee

Other showcase films will include a tribute to the Blaxploitation and Asian Action Cinema classics.

The UASE is the only Action entertainment platform offering both fan and professional experiences through its International Action Film Festival, Expo and Awards platforms.

By focusing on the thrill and excitement of the Action genre and recognizing the need for integration, the UASE sets itself apart from other festival platforms as the only one of its kind! The purpose of the UASE is to ultimately see an increase in ethnic heroic principal characters in film and television, increase the development of content and expand distribution platforms reflecting multicultural images and interests as it pertains to the multifaceted Action genre.
Check out the Celebrity talent attending the 2016 UASE celebration:

Warrington Hudlin, Lia Chang and Demetrius Angelo. Photo by Patrick Cashin
Warrington Hudlin, Lia Chang and Demetrius Angelo. Photo by Patrick Cashin
  • Warrington Hudlin (Boomerang, House Party)
  • Fred Williamson (Three the Hard Way, From Dusk til Dawn)
  • Peter Kwong (Big Trouble in Little ChinaUp Close and Personal with Actor Peter Kwong 
  • Lia Chang (Big Trouble in Little China, King of New York, New Jack City, The Last Dragon)
  • Taimak (The Last Dragon)
  • THE LAST DRAGON
    THE LAST DRAGON
  • Michael Chin (The Last Dragon)
  • Henry Yuk (The Last Dragon)
  • Ron Van Clief (The Black Dragon)
  • Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Scorpion King, Blood Fist)
  • Robert Samuels (Beast, Gambling Ghost)
  • Willie “Bam” Johnson & Marco Da Answer Johnson (WMAC Masters)
  • Christine Bannon Rodrigues (WMAC Masters)
  • Hakim Alston (WMAC Masters, Mortal Kombat)
  • Michael Woods (Tiger Cage, Cheetah on Fire)
  • R. Marcos Taylor (Straight Outta Compton, Luke Cage, Paying Mr. McGetty)
  • James Lew (Inception, Last Samurai, Luke Cage, Dare Devil)
  • Jose Hernandez Jr (Oz)
  • Masters of The Martial Arts (Grand Masters Michael DePasquale Jr., Oso Tayri Casel, Rico Guy, Hanshi Nikwan Murphy)
  • Jeremy Sample (Luke Cage, Gotham, Selma)
  • Emmanuel Brown (Luke Cage, Blind Spot)
  • Khalil Maasi (Luke Cage)
  • Jenel Stevens (Luke Cage)
  • Alyma Dorsey (Ghostbusters)

Check out the website for the full lineup of Urban Action Showcase Festival Films:
Saturday, November 12th, 10a.m. – 10p.m. at AMC Empire 25 Times Square

Screening of Features, Shorts and Showcase Films!

Showcase Features:

  •   Martial Arts Cult Classic Mania featuring: 30th Anniversary of Big Trouble in Little China and The Last Dragon
  •   Back 2 Black Action: 3 The Hard Way featuring special guest Fred “The Hammer” Williamson
  •   Festival Films: Featuring Official Selections of the UAS International Action Film FestivalUrban Action Expo:
    Saturday, November 12th, 10a.m. – 6p.m. at AMC Empire 25 Times Square Featuring Entertainment Industry Vendors, Comic Book Creators, CelebritySignings, Panels, Workshops, Master Classes and more!Featured Panels:
    •   Urban Fists of Legends Panel featuring the legends of Action cinema
    •   Angels of Action: Women in Action Panel
    •   Martial Arts Cult Classic Mania Panel (30th Anniversary of Big Trouble in Little China)
    •   Behind The Action: Luke Cage Stunt and Fight Choreographer Panel
    •   From Strip to Screen: Bringing Comic Content to the Screen
    • Urban Action Showcase Diversity in Action Celebration: Saturday, November 12th Red Carpet 7:00p.m. – 7:30p.m., Celebration Showcase 7:30p.m. – 9:30p.m.

BLACK SALT Premiere and UASE Diversity in Action Panel Discussion featuring Warrington Hudlin, Lia Chang, Taimak, Kinyumba Mutakabbir, Mike Hodge, Kelly Edwards, Bobby Samuels and Vincent Lyn 

BOOM! Studios Commemorates 30th Anniversary of the Release of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA with the Publication of Two Books, “The Official Making Of Big Trouble In Little China” and “The Art of Big Trouble In Little China” 

Photos: Inside HorrorHound and Son of Monsterpalooza with ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ stars Peter Kwong, James Hong and James Pax 

Taimak Celebrates Release of Autobiography with National Tour of Book Signings and Screenings of ‘The Last Dragon’

Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits

Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers,  musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.