WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:07.960 Oh he is boot it show died. 2 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:10.560 People say good money to see this movie. 3 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:12.160 When they go out to a theater. 4 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:16.199 They want cloth, sodas, hot popcorn, and no monsters in 5 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:17.239 the protection booths. 6 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.199 Everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring. 7 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:43.759 Eight attacks from the last week, and all of this 8 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.399 is in the name of God. Every religion out there 9 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:53.119 shows a fighter, train them, and whoever is left standing 10 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:56.679 at the end, that is the religion that we worship. 11 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:00.359 This is the final opportunity for fighters who aren't rant 12 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.399 to qualify for the battle for absolute dominion. 13 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:10.000 Since when did we even talk about Bruno? 14 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:12.760 He's from the Institute of Humanism and Science and that 15 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.640 makes him a story. 16 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:15.840 How come we've never seen one of their fighters before? 17 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:20.120 They dig what scientists do engineering for? 18 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:25.840 Are you fighting to end God? 19 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.120 He cannot win this tournament. Fighter, I don't care what 20 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:30.079 the odds are. 21 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:33.879 We need to make sure he doesn't make it into. 22 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.319 The top fifty. Is he going to be safe? 23 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:37.760 I don't know how far they'll go to stop him 24 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:38.400 from qualifying. 25 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.959 This wild card tournament has just become more thrilling than 26 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.480 the past ten ranking tournaments together. 27 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:59.640 What do you do when you get it? 28 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:03.079 You are what all the fuss is about. 29 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:05.439 And we don't need to put this idea of a 30 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:08.719 potential godless outcome into people's minds any more than it 31 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:09.520 already is. 32 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:11.520 You don't really think they're trying to kill them too, 33 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:14.800 That's why they did it. Profits man, I tradeful. That's 34 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:15.800 my whole life. 35 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.800 You'll make me for the sole purpose of winning this tournament. 36 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:35.919 This then, is getting crazier by the day. 37 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.319 Hey, folks, welcome to a special episode of The Projection Booth. 38 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.039 I'm you host Mike White. On this episode, I am 39 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.240 talking with Lexi Alexander. We had her on the show 40 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:48.120 a few years ago talking about Punisher war Zone. She 41 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.719 is back and she is talking about her latest film, 42 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:52.439 Absolute Dominion. 43 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:53.719 It is a. 44 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.759 Future set fighting film when we have folks trying to 45 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.039 save humanity from a global holy war by having a 46 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:04.360 fierce martial arts tournament. Had a great time talking with 47 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:06.560 Ms Alexander. I hope you have a great time listening. 48 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:09.680 Thank you so much, and definitely check out Absolute Dominion, 49 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.680 opening May ninth, twenty twenty five, hopefully at a theater 50 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.080 near you. How did Absolute Dominion come about for you? 51 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:22.319 That was really interesting because people have always reached out 52 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:24.919 to me and asked when am I going to do 53 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.240 a martial arts movie, because they knew me as a 54 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.800 martial artist who became a stun woman who became a director, 55 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:33.800 and they saw a little bit of fighting in Green 56 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.240 Street and a little bit of martial arts and punish up, 57 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:39.560 but nothing was ever a real martial arts movie. And 58 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:43.520 I kept trying to explain to people that genre doesn't 59 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:47.400 exist anymore, not as a regular genre in the US, 60 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:51.400 at least in the nineties. When I arrived in the US, 61 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:53.919 that was a big genre. You had on the track 62 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.639 in Wilson, and you had twenty guys who were like 63 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:02.159 The poor Man's Fandath and you remember, though, so all 64 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:04.759 those movies. But as soon as I arrived in the 65 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:07.400 US and wanted to get into that, it stucked. And 66 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:10.639 then the show Brothers. Even then China stopped making movies, 67 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:15.960 and so really was a dying genre and I didn't 68 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.800 really think I would get the opportunity to do it. 69 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:21.959 And then I remember I got a call one day 70 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.279 from the head of Netflix International, who happened to be 71 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:32.120 the distributor of Green Street in the UK, and he said, hey, 72 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.759 I just got this job and I'm reaching out to 73 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.680 all the multicultural directors I know, do you have something 74 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:42.560 you want to pitch? And I said, yeah, kept this 75 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:45.639 movie that I've always wanted to do. And Netflix was 76 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.560 the place that if there was any place where you 77 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.519 could actually pitch the martial arts movie, it was Netflix. 78 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:55.600 And it's from the time I pitched this movie to 79 00:04:55.959 --> 00:05:00.680 the time it was finished, Netflix went through ten changes 80 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:06.519 of executives and departments and future plans and manifestos. It's 81 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:08.720 just one of those things where you started the company 82 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:11.519 that does one thing with a person that knows you, 83 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.959 and you end up with a company that wants the opposite, 84 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:18.759 and not with the person who hired you. Originally, this 85 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:22.319 movie was bought as a three picture deal in a 86 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:26.399 big futuristic world, probably one hundred and fifty million dollar 87 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:29.040 kind of thing. Now I knew when I sold that 88 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:31.399 teach with the three movies and this big world, that 89 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:35.319 most likeliness will be reduced. I'm not an idiot. I thought, 90 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.879 there's no way they're gonna let a woman who hasn't 91 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:42.560 had a massive success in the studio world keep that 92 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:44.920 kind of budget and that kind of project. And of 93 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.800 course I was correct. It became smaller, and it became 94 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.720 one lobe, and it became a smaller budget, and at 95 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:54.800 one point it was canceled completely and I basically beg 96 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:56.519 to get it back, and I said, can you do 97 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:59.600 it for very little money? So I said, yes, These 98 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.959 are now unique problems to me. These are problems all 99 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:07.160 filmmakers have, and so you just struggle your way to 100 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.040 a creen light and then you know, COVID happened. So 101 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:12.439 you had to work through that because that at the 102 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.800 time when I made that movie, it ate half of 103 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.800 your budget because you had these massive crews that had 104 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:22.920 to test. I couldn't have any extras because you couldn't 105 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.480 have massive groups. But then also I didn't have the 106 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:30.120 VSX to create the extras. But it was definitely a challenge, 107 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.480 but I'm very glad that I ended up making it. 108 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:38.680 And then we got basically we walked as a film 109 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:43.040 industry into this space where studios discovered that it would 110 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:46.439 be smarter for them to shelve movies who are text 111 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.560 writer right off, rather than to get behind them if 112 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:53.439 they're not really standing behind them. And I had a 113 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:57.079 great fear of watching the two directors from Bad Girl, 114 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.480 and there was a bunch of others this happened to. 115 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:02.759 Watching that happened, I was like, oh my god, this 116 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.319 is happening. This is happening to me for sure, and 117 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:09.759 to my great surprise. And I feel like it may 118 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:11.879 have slightly to do with the fact that I have 119 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:15.800 a big mouth on the internet. They instead of shelving it, 120 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:18.600 just gave me the movie and said here you take. 121 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.040 And I feel very blessed because I feel this is 122 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.439 my last Hollywood movie. I definitely think it's my last 123 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:27.240 Hollywood movie. Whether I work in Ireland, where I live now, 124 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:31.879 that might be the case, but I don't think Hollywood. 125 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:34.560 There's a future for me there. And so I'm glad 126 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.199 I got this done and I'm plaid coming out now 127 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:41.079 and it has a fantastic cast. I try not to 128 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:43.319 think what it could have been in somebody would have 129 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:47.360 actually given me the original budget. I tried to just think, Hey, 130 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:53.079 we worked ourselves through an incredibly challenging situation and we 131 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:54.079 ended up with a movie. 132 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:56.680 So where did the idea for this come from? 133 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.360 Yeah, this idea I honestly have had for I think 134 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:05.879 maybe fifty twenty years. I think I remember it started 135 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.639 at the time. I think when the first Matrix came out, 136 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:14.000 and I thought, well, that was a really great idea 137 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:19.920 to implement in a script and then make a great 138 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:22.399 martial arts movie, make a great fight movie. I don't 139 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:25.199 think all people look at The Matrix as a martial 140 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.600 arts movie. I certainly did. Though people probably remember. 141 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:32.840 The slow more bullets and stuff like that and bullet 142 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:34.799 time and all of that, and all of that too, 143 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:38.639 But there was great fighting in that movie and it 144 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:40.039 was an incredible. 145 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:43.960 See because what I think people don't realize is that 146 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:48.879 martial arts has a huge issue where you cannot make 147 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:55.080 a movie like Rocky without some idiotic plots that you 148 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.679 have to fight because your brother has leukemia and you 149 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:01.519 have to raise fun. If you think about all the 150 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.759 martial arts movies like, for example, Warrior, there's a blood 151 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.159 like that in there. For some reason, we can't look 152 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:11.440 at it like we look at boxing like a kind 153 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:16.039 of honorable sport where people get into the ring and fight. 154 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:20.559 We have to create some kind of reality. My wife 155 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.679 has been kidnapped and if I don't join this underground 156 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:27.399 fighting thing, they're going to kill her and everybody and everything. 157 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:31.320 Single martial arts movies like this, every single one. When 158 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:33.080 people ask me, when are you going to make this 159 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:36.000 martial arts movie? I resold, I'm never going to make 160 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.879 one of those movies that has a silly plot like 161 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:42.120 this guy's fighting to get his brother or the revenge 162 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:44.840 his dead brother or something like that. So how am 163 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:46.799 I going to do that? And that's when I started 164 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:51.399 coming up with this idea because the other passion and 165 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:55.480 obsession I have is with everything in religion, all the 166 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:58.039 world religions, and I think that comes a little bit 167 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.960 from my family ground. I grew up with a Catholic 168 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:05.919 mother and a Muslim father who had a little bit 169 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:08.799 of a private battle about which religion I should join, 170 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.360 and that kind of motivated me to find out more 171 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.799 about religion to the point where I read a lot 172 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:19.679 and then even ended up studying theology. And what I 173 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.360 didn't realize and only it was told once I was 174 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:26.120 already studying theology, is that's the best way to become 175 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:30.360 an agnostic or atheist. The more you learn about all 176 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:33.879 the world religions, the more you realize there really can 177 00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:39.000 be one single true there is a mythology in all 178 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:42.360 of them. But it fascinated me to this day how 179 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:48.279 it's religion is used and abused and changed. It is 180 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:53.039 a great community tool and a great way for people 181 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.320 to hold on to their culture, and at the same 182 00:10:56.399 --> 00:11:00.360 time it is a great tool to abuse people. Use 183 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:06.120 them for you are politics and your own objective. It's 184 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:09.759 a fascinating subject and most studios don't want to touch 185 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:12.960 it at all. And I think essentially that's what happened 186 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.799 here is there was a lot of fear of where 187 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:20.039 I could flash come from, even though I was very careful. 188 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:23.440 And also nobody's saying that one religion is going to 189 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:27.639 win this termam so I thought we were extremely careful, 190 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.679 but you know, a studio will always air on the 191 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:33.799 inside of let's not take the risk. 192 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.759 Yeah, let's be safe rather than take a chance on 193 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:38.799 being controversial. 194 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:40.120 Yes, exactly. 195 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:43.279 And I know you have no fear of being controversial. 196 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:43.759 I do. 197 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.360 Or I used to follow you on X but I 198 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.480 quit the platform after they let jump back on it. 199 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.879 They suspended me. I'm not allowed back on really. Oh yeah, 200 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:58.200 they suspended me in a manner that is because we 201 00:11:58.279 --> 00:11:59.960 have a few friends that work there and they try 202 00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:02.600 to get my account back on and they said we 203 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:04.840 are not even allowed to touch it. We are all 204 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:08.080 clogged from letting you back up. I've been suspected on 205 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:10.279 a level that is, who knows what I said, But 206 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.639 I feel like it's an honor to be suspended by 207 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:17.960 such a fascist. And also it's an interesting thing because 208 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:22.600 on the one hand, x still has more information than 209 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.159 any other blood form. But on the other hand, it 210 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:30.559 is very you know, like fascists and racist is not 211 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:34.360 even the proper word, because it's like abusive on a 212 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.799 manner that the stuff that I'm reading on there is 213 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:41.519 just horrific. Four Chan didn't have that kind of stuff. 214 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:46.240 Agent didn't have the stuff like it really bad underground 215 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.200 black Wall where you used to read the worst things, 216 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.799 didn't have what Eggs has. Overly, you know, I think 217 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:55.200 I can live without that free speech. It's a shame 218 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:58.679 that some of the good people have stuck there, although 219 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.360 I do understand why that is. 220 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:03.480 Yeah, as soon as I started watching Absolute Dominion and 221 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:06.799 I realized there's going to be about religion and martial arts, 222 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.879 I was like, Wow, this is the perfect marriage for 223 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.799 Lexi Alexander. I was so happy when I realized what 224 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.480 the film was going to be. You mentioned the cast. 225 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:18.240 Please tell me a little bit more about the cast, 226 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:19.559 especially your main character. 227 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:25.080 Yeah, that was such a lucky I don't want to 228 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:28.960 say coincidents, because he works hard and so not a coincident. 229 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.879 But you have just the right casting director who understands 230 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.919 that I didn't just want to have anybody this character 231 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.360 really needed to be as this is somebody who needs 232 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.240 to be as the future. Suddenly I have disappointment with 233 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:45.039 this kid who she I was a casting director won't 234 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:47.759 show a director and actor that they haven't had the soul. 235 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.679 I'm already aware that he can't be a complete beginner, 236 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:54.799 but I didn't know much about him. I did know 237 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:57.679 that he's never worked in either TV or film, so 238 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:03.759 that was slightly surprising. But in come he immediately starts 239 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:08.240 speaking in three languages flown German, French, English switches up 240 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.639 like that, and I said, wow, he has a big 241 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:17.080 mixed cultural right right, So I think he is German French. 242 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:22.360 I know the Terman in in every language now except English. 243 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:28.480 Ivory Ireland, Ivory from the Ivory coast, Yes, Ivory coast. 244 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:32.000 Quota or something, yes. 245 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:36.039 Exact cut yea. And in German it's called it erstenbin Cristas. 246 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:38.600 So that's a long work. But then anyway, so he 247 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:44.240 is mixed race, mixed culture, multiple languages, and in my heart, 248 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:47.000 that was exactly what I was looking for, and that 249 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:54.000 had a specific reason because the character was basically genetically 250 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.879 engineered once the idea for that tournament came about. So 251 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:01.600 the idea is that somebody says, yes, okay, we are 252 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.159 going with this idea before we kill the entire world. 253 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.559 We are going to actually prepare for this tournament. But 254 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.240 it's not going to be a short term negotiation about 255 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.279 the regard. This will be years of negotiating. And so 256 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:19.799 the basically croup of humanists who really wanted to avoid 257 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:23.879 having one religion follow that who are really the group 258 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.879 of scientists and academics who think they're better than anybody 259 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:31.559 else because they are atheists that don't follow these superstitious things. 260 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:36.879 They ended up genetically engineering this fighter because there is 261 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.960 no fighter usually in that group. And that is really true. 262 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:41.679 If you think about who does martial. 263 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:45.919 Arts, it's usually the Global South will have a lot 264 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:48.519 of martial arts by its when you think more of 265 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:52.120 the Global North, especially the richer the country gets, the 266 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:53.240 more they play tennis and. 267 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:55.879 Golf, but not necessarily martial arts. And that's a big 268 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:59.080 part of martial arts is you walk into a good 269 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:01.360 dose that wins a lot of fights. There's a lot 270 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:04.000 of people of color, not usually for a white femaine, 271 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:07.399 So that was an aspect of it. I thought, if 272 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:12.120 you're engineering a fighter, you have to really make it 273 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:13.840 a fighter of the world, and make it a fight 274 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.600 of the future world, and it would be somebody who 275 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:21.399 is from different backgrounds and also not really of one nation, 276 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:24.399 really of the world. And I felt like he was. 277 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:28.200 He did a perfect audition, much better than some of 278 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:32.399 the hits I read were on big TV shows. That's 279 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.120 a part that when you have a park for a 280 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.000 young guy where the young I can fight, every young 281 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:40.360 actor in town will come in on the sheep boy. 282 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:43.240 I already had that experience with Green Street. It was 283 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:47.279 a movie that everybody wanted to play, that Elijah Wood world, 284 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:51.279 and it happened again here web agent calling like do 285 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.840 you I still see people? And it was interesting because 286 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:56.480 for me to go with somebody who had never acted before. 287 00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:59.960 This is a very successful model. He is like an 288 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:04.000 Arbery cost model. If you look at his Instagram, it's 289 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.599 like you see him do these amazing shoots and he's 290 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.559 very beautiful. But his acting is amazing, like he auditioned 291 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:14.680 other than most people. And it probably also had to 292 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:18.920 do with the fact that I really saw him as 293 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:23.559 the character, so that was incredibly lucky. And then I 294 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:27.200 had to find I had to be very careful because 295 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:31.200 the religions. It's set in the future, and the religions 296 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.440 are fictitious. You should get a hint of what it 297 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:37.519 is you know, but I'm not saying what it is. 298 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:40.720 You probably understand it. In any case, I needed to 299 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:45.319 find an Arab actor, which was challenging, much more challenging 300 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.079 than I thought. I always thought there's a lot of 301 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:51.359 Arab actors at that age groupment that needed work, a 302 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.759 lot of them. I think, first of all, it's not 303 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:58.279 part of our culture, like we Arabs want to become doctors, 304 00:17:58.359 --> 00:18:01.400 lawyers or engineers. And for years I struggled with this 305 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:05.440 and bought the family members that we should not ignore 306 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:08.359 the arts. It's good to have good artists an industry, 307 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:12.359 and also the film industry influences a lot of the world, 308 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:15.519 and it's a big mistake and has been for us 309 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:19.559 a big mistake to not have any representation at all, 310 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:24.480 because now the world basically knows Arabs only from twenty 311 00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:27.880 four and from the Libyans and back to the future, 312 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:32.240 like we're always terrorists, never the doctors, even though every 313 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:35.079 family has three doctors in the family. I thought it 314 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.759 was a mistake, and I still think it's a mistake 315 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:41.119 that we nick collected this industry. But here I was 316 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.920 trying to find the young Arab that couldly this part, 317 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.640 and it was Walth And then thank god, I ended 318 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.839 up actually doing bad research myself and really reaching out 319 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.839 and asking everybody I know, and the suggestion that came 320 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:57.680 in for this young guy named Jun Sauti, who is 321 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:02.880 Moroccan American but has this all the really interesting backstory 322 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:07.880 of first moving to Germany and living there and he 323 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:13.319 a Racists in Germany burned their house and they almost 324 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.880 him and his siblings and his mother almost got killed. 325 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:18.759 It was a big story in the paper there. I 326 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.480 couldn't believe it. It was like you sit there with 327 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:25.240 these people who basically have your own life story, which 328 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:30.000 was somebody like me is very rare. I've never really 329 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.240 seen anybody like me on the screen. And I also 330 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:35.200 really don't meet people like me who grew up in 331 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:38.400 one place but their culture is really from somewhere else 332 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.000 and now they're living in the US. That was very unique, 333 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.720 and then I feeled obviously, I asked Patrin Oswald because 334 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:50.759 he's a great friend and supporter and he's always up 335 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.359 to help, which is always a great compliment. And Alex 336 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:58.200 Wnda turned out to be I really reached out doing 337 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:01.400 because I saw I this character I had in mind 338 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:07.960 for the Leed's father is basically a very lettice Jewish 339 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:14.480 academic who is against occupation, against abusing religion, against all 340 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.480 of that. And I said, who can I actually find 341 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:20.319 to get play this and not get feedback or did 342 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:21.559 that say help to this is? 343 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:21.880 You know? 344 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.240 I mean, that is important? And so I reached out 345 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:28.200 to Alex, which was such a blessing because when we 346 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:31.759 ended up getting the movie handed back to us, it 347 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:34.440 wasn't finished. It was still in post and they said, 348 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.720 you have to finish it, and I had no production 349 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:41.319 company in Blaze at all, but he did. He makes 350 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.480 one movie after another. He has a whole team, so 351 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:47.839 he became a producer on the movie, and truly, honestly, 352 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:51.039 without him, this movie would not exist now. So another 353 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:54.599 great again, coincidence is not the right word, but I 354 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.000 feel like the universe had my on this movie, definitely 355 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:03.160 with Alex and then I have two fantastic transactors, one 356 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:08.240 non binary actor, and that was part of it. Was like, 357 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.000 I'm definitely going to be the most inclusive movie. It 358 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:14.119 was part of a future world that I think should 359 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:18.599 exist that way. And there was also a little bit 360 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:21.319 of a challenge I had because I didn't want to 361 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:24.519 do a mixed tournament, and that comes from me being 362 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:30.200 a fighter myself. I barely managed to once in a 363 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.839 while I won against the super flight and the national team. 364 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:35.039 When I was in the German national team, we had 365 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:39.119 to fight each other and if I fought the super 366 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:41.880 flight weight, I was even and it's once ale I won. 367 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.400 But the truth is, if I fight a fighter who 368 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:49.519 is a middleweight, dude, I'm not gonna wait. That's just 369 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:51.720 this and I don't think it really has as much 370 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:54.759 to do with gender. The fact that it's hard to 371 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.680 get somebody the super flight weight also is not going 372 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:01.480 to win against the heavyweight. I wasn't going to just 373 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:05.920 for some kind of inclusive or diversity purpose make a 374 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:10.160 mixed tournament to feature women fighters who, if they win, 375 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.839 I myself would look at this and go, yeah, she 376 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:15.720 wouldn't have won. Yeah, I know, I know what it 377 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:17.200 takes to kick a guy in the head. Do you 378 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.440 not moving somebody who's twenty pounds heavier than you? I tried. 379 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:25.240 This is just physics. Does that mean in an emergency situation, 380 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:29.160 if somebody attacks me, I couldn't get away from somebody 381 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.880 if I'm smart, if I smash an am straight in 382 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:34.400 his face, if by pigive me in the box, I 383 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:36.559 have to do one thing that takes him out for 384 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:38.759 a couple of seconds and then get the bug out there. 385 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:41.720 I'm not challenging somebody who's heavier and bigger than me. 386 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:44.279 I'm not certainly not going to go into a twelve 387 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:47.279 round bite. And that's just I had to be honest 388 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:50.160 with myself because there are TV shows who do this 389 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:53.759 thing where this little girl kicks five guys in the 390 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:56.559 head and they all fall, and I'm like, that is 391 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:00.759 actually not possible, it's not realistic, and people tune out 392 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:03.759 because it's silly, and so I didn't want that, and 393 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:05.279 I thought, what am I going to do? Am I'm 394 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:08.000 really gonna do this thing where all the dudes are 395 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:11.240 fighting because they're the only one we're interested in fighting, 396 00:23:11.279 --> 00:23:14.480 And so I really had to create this. Look at 397 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.920 this is, how do I create this world? And I said, okay, 398 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:19.039 what if this is really happening in real life? And 399 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:22.880 I came up with this world where everybody who identifies 400 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:26.920 as men can participate in the tournament, and everybody who 401 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:32.599