Back then, things were so different. There's not a Tanaka in Japanese history of the ninja families? And so we climbed back over the wall and onto the set. That this guy looks just like me and we should suggest it to Mark DiSalle. And I just want to end it right now." I remember us going back to his apartment and the thing was entirely full.Blake Harris: Did Menahem change his tune about Jean-Claude?Sheldon Lettich: Well, yes and no. I did some research and realized I wanted to do a French Foreign Legion movie. And because of the braces and how the legs were locked togethera steel bar locked them togetheryou couldn't even waddle, you know? "Tagline:The True Story of an American Ninja, "All I request," Lettich started off by saying, "is that we try to keep discussion about Frank Dux to a minimum. You know what I mean? In fact, that was the script for Stallone that Jean-Claude gave me some dialogue help with.Blake Harris: Ah, right after Bloodsport. Dux's trophy from the Bahamas event was at least partially made in the San Fernando Valley. And then all the Black Dragons got around methey were like the Hells Angels of the martial arts world at that timeand I didn't know what they were going to do. with Andy Griffith, where Barney Fife was getting picked on and so he goes to learn judo. So he still didn't' have a lot of faith in Jean-Claude's acting abilities and decided not to make it. And the story there, which I've told many times, came from Frank telling me about his exploits. I remember him saying, "Michael Dudikoff is a movie star! We just became friends almost immediately. But the point I was leading up to was that Jean-Claude just wouldn't be the villain who gets killed at the end of a movie. AVianes. For the first time in about 14 years. "He's a loser. The Origins of Gladiatorial Games. California, Oregon and Washington. And of course he says he did (but he didn't). The Robert DuBois version of Bloodsport made his live-action debut in the television series Supergirl, played by David St. Louis. My body's fully developed, I jumped up like a bean sprout, and now I was eyeball to eyeball with Moore, who this time fought the Unstoppable Mike Stone at Long Beach. A lot of those shots came from the camera angles I had been directing. You're craaaaaaazy." Shortly after running our last piece, How Did This Get Made: A Conversation with Frank Dux, the Real-Life Inspiration for Bloodsport, I was put in touch with Sheldon Lettich. It's incredible." "This guy's never gonna make it," Menahem said. The concept of gladiatorial games has its roots in the Etruscans, the predecessors of the Romans. We probably fought for a good 5-10 minutes before getting split up. And, look, in the mid-80's, something like that sounded real intriguing. Are you kidding me? I thought that was real interesting.Blake Harris: I imagine that at 11 years old that was a pretty inspiring experience.Frank Dux: Yeah and then three years later, I saw him again. I literally wrote a good majority of that script with Sheldon, but I never got credit for it. So cool, in fact, that now we have a professional basketball team called The Raptors and no one raised an eyebrow about why a team from Tornoto, Canada would be named that. He had an answering machine at the time that had a limit of, like, 50 messages. So any time you want to know who an agent is you can just go down there and file a request? The piece, entitled "Kumite: A Learning Experience," was written by editor John Stewart and begins with the following note: From time to time, Black Belt learns of unusual events or occurrences in the martial arts; events thateither because of their nature or because they occurred in the distant pastcannot be easily verified. I never said that. He was totally against any kind of steroids. But I didn't sleep with a reporter beforehand and I certainly didn't break into my instructor's house and steal a sword. Now, Frank did contribute a number of ideas to the Bloodsport script, but he claimed these were "life events" that actually happened to him, not fiction. And we did.Blake Harris: Did Mark and the other producers spark to the idea of Jean-Claude?Frank Dux: They wanted to use Michael Dudikoff at first. Jean-Claude is poison!! LIVE from Largo in Los Angeles, Nicole Byer of Party Over Here joins Paul and Jason to discuss the cult 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme martial-arts film Bloodsport. Took me a long, long time to write that script. How blindsided were you when the piece came out?Frank Dux: Well, there was nothing I could do. Either way, it's fair to say that filmgoers are a pretty forgiving lot. Did that piece directly lead to Bloodsport? And one of those people was Sylvester Stallone, who had put the word out that he was looking for someone to help him write Rambo III. What was the reaction like from Sheldon, Jean-Claude and Mark [DiSalle]?Frank Dux: They didn't care at that point. And we never had a fight from that point on. KUMITE! Mr. Dux and I met in Tegucigalpal, Honduras, in the summer of 1985, where I was being briefed by Dux and other intelligence operatives on military targets within Nicaragua. You want to fight, let's fight?" What was he like?Frank Dux: He was wonderful. But when I got done with him he was doing front flips, he was doing great.Blake Harris: And what about his personality? I'll tell you one thing: When I was there, I got a standing ovation. And were just digging this whole notion of Jean-Claude being a Legionnaire. Menahem says, "Oh, Corsican Brothers, that's perfect for Jean-Claude! And it's interesting because they hide that, you know? And I remember Mark telling us, "Menahem is thinking of casting this guy Gene Claude Van Damme. But there was a Writer's Guild arbitration and the Writer's Guild ended up giving him a co-story credit.Blake Harris: Tell me a little bit about Legionnaire. During that time, I gave Jean-Claude some odd jobs. Ian Fleming based his characters on real people. In this case several members of the staff have invested considerable amounts of time and energy checking the details of the following article, which was the product of a series of four interviews conducted over a period of three months. They were doing a showing of Bloodsport in a theater in my old home town and I just happened to be visiting. So I climbed up on the ledge with him. Then Jean-Claude came in and worked with Michael on the fight scenes, re-working those. Jean-Claude was doing movies for Columbia and they wanted him to bring them some ideas for movies and we brought that idea to them. And this felt very personal because the guys that were up on stage for those initial performances were pretty much playing themselves in many respects.Tracers, as the play would later be titled, was first presented as a work-in-progress performance piece on July 4, 1980. And the one twinning shot would sell it and it worked surprisingly well.Blake Harris: The next movie you worked on with Jean-Claude was his directorial debut, The Quest [1996], but only in the capacity of script polishing. The red one, the blue one, the black one. And he says, "What?" And then he said, "What the hell are we doing out here?" The Corsican Brothers. Joseph Papp heard about it, so he brought the show to the Public Theatre in New York. Use promo code BONKERS for a free month. In 1980, Frank Dux first came into the public eye via an article in the November issue of Black Belt magazine. Plus the guy was just an idol of mine. What made you such an extraordinary fighter?Frank Dux: Well, you know what? And regardless of what any critics may say or believe, I don't think anyone would argue that you weren't extremely talented. One of the key sequences in the film finds Task Force X sent to free Rick Flag from an enemy camp. The 20 episodes of How Did This Get Made listed below offer a taste of the world that the hosts have built. Because there are so many issues with the rights to that project. Because you didn't do it in Hong Kong." KUMITE! So those are the three elements. Though defeated, this wasn't the last the heroes of the DC Universe saw of Bloodsport. Sometimes we get answers to questions like these, and other times we do not. I wrote the script, got paid a small fee and I can't remember how much time passedprobably less than a yearand via another guy named Lou Horwitza financer who, I believe, did gap-financing at the timeLou took it to Cannon. They wanted to stick with the Van Damme formula. And then they had me give up my net points on the film.Blake Harris: Really?Frank Dux: Yeah, for Jean-Claude to have his career, I gave up my net points. But Menahem had an in-house fixer named Michael J. Duthie, a really good editor, and he basically re-worked the movie. Menahem started to realize what he had with Jean-Claudeand remember, he had two more movies with himso he called us into his office and said, "We need to find our next movie for Jean-Claude." In fact, I was born with my foot so pigeon-toed that it actually went backwards; my foot, it could go 180 degrees the other way. He threw a ridge-hand strike and he swept him at the same time. Although there is no convenient way to verify each and every detail connected with this story, the editors have verified enough of the basic facts to feel confident in publishing it. And the two of them wrote this first draft. Well, here's the reality of the situation. I thought Bloodsport was going to ruin my career when it was first cut and put together. I should also back up and say that I was really poor growing up. "But I will say this," Lettich continued. I blame the success of Jurassic Park for this movie. You can listen to theBloodsportedition of the HDTGM podcasthere. And Jean-Claude's phone began ringing off the hook. And on it he writes: To the Man Who Beat Me. But the truth is, I had already written a script called Enter the Ninja. I really screwed up. And that's pretty much what Double Impact isBlake Harris: I read online that you might be writing a sequel to Double Impact? 5 years ago. Enter the Ninja?Sheldon Lettich: No, there was no script prior to the "Bloodsport" script. It's risk free with Nord's 30 day money-back guarantee! And so he told Menahem, "Sell it to me and I'll release it theatrically." A good example of that is Bloodsport. Dux believes this article was part of a smear campaign orchestrated by business competitors. Jean-Claude had a three picture deal with Menahem at Cannon and Leon was very impressed with Jean-Claude; we all thought this was a match made in heaven. Everything you've just been telling me about this Kumite, that's a great idea for a movie. Released in theaters 35 years ago, on Feb. 26, 1988, Bloodsport starred Van Damme as Frank Dux, a U.S. Army soldier who leaves the military to enter a fight-to-the-death martial arts tournament in . They were going to do a movie called Night of the Leopard but there were some problems with getting the script so now they needed a new one. And what really grabbed Sheldon's attention was the fights.Blake Harris: So what happened with the script? The other thing is that Jean-Claude, like I said, he had this uncanny way he looked. With Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. He was pure, he didn't do drugs. LIVE from Largo in Los Angeles, Nicole Byer of Party Over Here joins Paul and Jason to discuss the cult 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme martial-arts film Bloodsport. Okay, try him out. And tears started to form in my eyes. And it was painful. John had convinced somebody there that doing this play was a good idea for veterans. Well, about the only thing they showed was a trophy receipt.Blake Harris: Which they claimed was evidence that the trophy you won was "at least partially made in the San Fernando Valley? And we ended up settling. Frank and I did write a couple of scripts together, and he received credit on both of them. All that was missing was an actor to play Frank Dux. I told Menahem that the new cut of Bloodsport was great and I thought it was going to do really well. So he started taking me to construction sites where I could get work. Oh man, he f***ing hated that movie. What follows is a conversation with Frank Dux, who was the real-life inspiration behind the movie Bloodsport. So it was lot of college hijinks, trying to get girls and all that stuff. But he had a great imagination, he had good ideas and he knew the martial arts world pretty well. 20th Century Fox was high on Only the Strong and we all kind of expected that movie to do better than it did. Especially when it comes to the military. So I have all these memories of falling down stairs and crawling on my knees. A simultaneously misleading and fitting title was certainly bestowed upon Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite, by far the worst installment of the franchise by a longshot. So flash forward ten years and I still had this notion of doing a film about the classic era of French Foreign Legion movie. They were just being assholes.Blake Harris: That seemed to happen a lot at CannonSheldon Lettich: Now Blake, I have never filed a lawsuit against anyone in this business, but I filed a lawsuit against those guys, against Cannon. It was a moment where you have to sit back and realize that sometimes when you think something's wrong, everything is going right. He had a chance to read them. And in that way it works, I can see that.With any film that's based on a true story, there are always questions and curiosities about authenticity. I turned over the programs from the fights that we had in those days. And a lot of those worked well when Jean-Claude recut it.Blake Harris: I suspect that part of the reason they worked is because you, based on your experiences, were able to bring a certain authenticity to it.Frank Dux: I think so too. Two, actually. KUMITE! You spent almost four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, is that correct?Sheldon Lettich: Yeah, I served as a radio operator in South Vietnam and then later with 1st Force Reconnaissance Company based at Camp Pendleton, California.Blake Harris: So how did you go about making that enormous transition from wartime soldier to Hollywood writer?Sheldon Lettich: Well, surprisingly enough, my first success came in the theater. Bloodsport (1988) Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Forest Whitaker based on experiences in the life of martial artist Frank W. Dux My involvement in that tournament was part of a plan, launched in 1975, to infiltrate the criminal organizations that organized the fights. And that's one of the things that were attractive about Rambo so that's what we did with that script.Blake Harris: And what was it like working with Rambo himself?Sheldon Lettich: I was just so honored. Even though we thought the movie was better, Menahem didn't. And I had read an article, in this magazine called M, about the French Foreign Legion. Very well known. And that's how I ended up co-writing Rambo III with him. You've gotta [in a dramatic macho voice] PUSHHIMTOOFAR. How much of the character's personality is true to the individual who lived those events? And then one day I get invited down to the Long Beach Invitationals. 8. And I'm talking a six-inch ledge. "Blake Harris: Can I guess that the novel was The Last Rainbow [by Frank Dux]?Sheldon Lettich: Yup. Menahem had also seen the little 16mm movie [Firefight] I directed and was going to give me my first directing deal.Blake Harris: For you to direct a Lone Wolf McQuade sequel starring Leon Isaac Kennedy and Chuck Norris?Sheldon Lettich: Yes, except that Chuck didn't want to do it. In fact, Universal had some problems with what we did there because we did not want it to be a revenge movie. And if somebody tells me they were in Vietnam, and in the Marine Corps, I'll believe them. But the only guy in the world who could kill Jean-Claude with his permission is Sylvester Stallone. It was also seen by Viacom. So Frank and I go to a theater and we were both blown away by Jean-Claude. (w/ Nicole Byer) 4/7/2023 More HDTGM all-star Nicole Byer (Grand Crew, Nailed It!) While trying to gain access into. Along with Alexander Martin.To this point, on http://frankdux.net/facts/ there is a signed declaration by Lt. In 1987's Superman #4, by John Byrne and Karl Kesel, Superman tried to stop Bloodsport's rampage through Metropolis. At one point it was the second most profitable article they'd ever written. Everywhere else in my life I'm like a duck out of water, but put me in that arena and I just swim. That's kind of how it appealed to me. There were a number of people who really liked it. This thing, it had legs, and started traveling around the world (London, Australia, etc. Using tech he got from Lex Luthor, Bloodsport teleported a rifle that fired Kryptonite needles into his hands and shot Superman with it. Plus, Bloodsport's connection with Flagg made the dynamic even better. Only the part relating to the Kumite because he was going to hang on to the rest of his rights for the rest of his "exploits" for other movies. It was ridiculous what they had. He was just polite. Fun bit of trivia: Bloodsport is essentially a hoax perpetrated by Frank Dux, who made outrageous claims about this Kumite tournament that were never substantiated and are physically impossible. How did that come about?Sheldon Lettich: Well, it's interesting. That's water off my back. In fact we did the casting at my apartment. But Vic explained it to me. Start Free Trial. Sheldon Lettich: In Menahem's defense, I saw the first cutwe all the saw first cutand it was really bad. And he did the helicopter kick in No Retreat, No Surrender and I was well known for my flying kicks and finishing guys off with my spinning flying kicks. In honor of How Did This Get Made?'s #Bloodsport episode, we made this #supercut of Jean-Claude Van Damme's super #butt! What follows is a conversation with Sheldon Lettich, who was thescreenwriter ofthe movie Bloodsport. And he agreed to that. Commander Alexander Martin available for review. I mean, he couldn't do a throw. During the tournament, Dux battles an array of international fighters from various schools of martial arts. If it's Stallone: no problem, he can kill me on screen at the end.Blake Harris: The ultimate complimentSheldon Lettich: Ha, yes.Blake Harris: Speaking of Jean-Claude, I imagine that you first met him around this time. But when we found out Frank Dux was going to be there, we realized that this could go very, very bad, very quickly. 'S fair to say that I was really bad Public Theatre how did this get made bloodsport New York to! Still did n't break into my instructor 's house and steal a sword can just go there... And he received credit on both of them wrote this first draft the show to the individual who lived events! Nord & # x27 ; s risk free with Nord & # x27 ; s risk free with &... Movies for Columbia and they wanted to do a throw, long time to write that script with,! Turned over the programs from the fights that we had in those.... A dramatic macho voice ] PUSHHIMTOOFAR to play Frank Dux: he was doing great.Blake Harris: so happened. That point on movies for Columbia and they wanted him to bring them ideas. Did ( but he had this uncanny way he looked plus the guy was just an of... Problems with what we did the casting at my apartment was he like Frank. 'Ve got ta [ in a theater and we should suggest it me. 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