Famed martial arts actor Scott Adkins recently announced post-production on his latest actioner, Jesse V. Johnson’s “Savage Dog,” including an official poster and trailer. The Freakin’ Awesome Network has been graciously donated the press release, poster, and trailer to share with all of you, the FANs. Enjoy!
Hollywood, CA (January 25th, 2017)
Martial Arts Action star sensation Scott Adkins is back in “Savage Dog!”
Indochina – 1959. A lawless town controlled by the criminal class: Vietnamese warlords and European war criminals. Den-Dhin-Chan Labor Camp is run by four such dangerous men. The worst prison in the land, it is here that a European, former-champion boxer Martin Tillman (Scott Adkins, Marvel’s “Doctor Strange”) has made a name for himself fighting tournaments, on which wealthy criminals gamble in high stakes events. When Tillman is due for release, he just wants to return home, but the corrupt forces running the jail will do everything in their power to keep him locked down. When all that Tillman holds dear is taken away in a vicious act of violence, he is forced to confront the men responsible and take his revenge.
“Savage Dog” is a thrilling action-adventure that reunites Adkins with his “Undisputed III” co-star Marko Zaror (next seen in Robert Rodriguez & James Cameron’s “Alita: Battle Angel”). The film also stars Cung Le (Wong Kar-Wai’s “The Grandmaster,” RZA’s “The Man With the Iron Fists”), Juju Chan (“Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny”), Vladimir Kulich (“The Equalizer,” “The 13th Warrior”), and Keith David (John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” “The Nice Guys”).
A veteran of stellar action and martial arts films, Scott Adkins remarks on the action in Savage Dog: “The fights in this film are more realistic than most of my other films. We’re not doing so much the long takes or the flashy techniques; we’re trying to be more brutal and gritty because that goes with the story that we’re trying to tell and the character I play. It’s hyper violent in a fun way. It’s something that I enjoy. It’s cinematic and violent.” As the film is set in Indochina in the 1950’s, Adkins observes: “A white guy doing martial arts in the ’50s doesn’t necessarily make sense, but my character Martin is living in Indochina, so we’re saying he’s had some experience training with some Thai fighters, so we’re mixing some old school boxing techniques with some sort of Thai boxing techniques.”
On playing the character Martin Tillman, Scott Adkins says: “Martin is one of these characters that doesn’t say much. He plays his cards close to his chest. He’s a tortured soul. I’ve played this type of character before, but it suits me well.”
“You’re gonna get a really tight and engaging story,” Adkins promises. “It’s something different, set in a time period that you’ve not quite seen before for this type of movie. It’s got strong characters, and it’s got some great action. I’m very happy to be working with Luke LaFontaine the fight coordinator. He’s bringing something interesting to the fights. Luke has done a stellar job.” On his co-star Marko Zaror, he states, “Marko and I worked on Undisputed III together. He’s an incredible martial artist, and one of the best in the business in screen fighting. We’re quite similar in many ways.”
Chilean martial artist breakthrough Marko Zaror discusses his character: “I wanted to find the Rasignac within myself. He’s an assassin, an opium dealer, and he fought in different divisions. He’s a war assassin, and he gets in Martin’s way. He has codes of honor and respects life and death, and has his own philosophies.”
On the incredible fights featured in Savage Dog, Zaror says, “The fight scenes will shake things up. The fights will be realistic and will use some interesting weapons. My character knows Savate, a unique style of martial arts.”
Mixed Martial Arts star crossover action star Cung Le, who plays antagonist Boon remarks on his role in the film: “My character Boon is just trying to make a living, but because of his military background, he sometimes works for people that he doesn’t necessarily like. He’s there doing his job. His main focus is to make sure his family is taken care of. Whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy, he’s just got to be there to make sure things get done. I dig this character. I wanted to see what kind of a guy I could pull from Boon. I’ve been through a lot, and I thought I could pull some emotions and moments from my own life to show how Boon would react to certain situations.” He also discusses why he took on this project: “I jumped on this because it was a chance to work with Scott Adkins and ultimately do a big fight with him. The centerpiece fight we have is savage!”
Longtime character actor Keith David, who plays a supporting role in Savage Dog laughs when asked what audiences can expect when they watch Savage Dog: “One hell of a ride! Once it gets started, the rollercoaster never stops! If you like that feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you’re riding a rollercoaster, you’ll love Savage Dog!”
“Savage Dog” will be released in theaters and on all VOD platforms summer 2017 from XLrator Media.