Plus there’s a comic!
Check out the comics prequel on AMC.com
The NYT chimes in
Premieres this Sunday!
There’s ‘Kung Fu,’ and, in ‘Into the Badlands,’ There’s Hong Kong Kung Fu
By ROBERT ITO NOV. 11, 2015
Daniel Wu, star of AMC’s “Into the Badlands.” Credit James Dimmock/AMC
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — In AMC’s new martial arts series, “Into the Badlands,” Daniel Wu plays Sunny, a motorcycle-riding, katana-wielding assassin whose loyalty to his flinty-eyed master is matched only by his prodigious kill count (400 and climbing).
Al Gough and Miles Millar, of “Smallville” fame, are the show’s proud creators, but on a recent afternoon at the Soho House club here, they were holding forth on another martial arts television series, “Kung Fu,” the 1970s drama with David Carradine as a Shaolin monk.
“I actually thought it was kind of boring,” Mr. Gough, 48, said of the series, which he first saw in reruns as a boy. “There wasn’t enough fighting in it. And then I realized, Oh my God, it’s a white dude.”
When “Into the Badlands” begins on Sunday, it will be the only martial arts drama on television, and one of the few to tackle the genre since “Kung Fu” aired four decades ago. Biographers of the martial arts legend Bruce Lee claim that he lost out on the lead role in that earlier series because network execs didn’t think American audiences would watch a TV show starring a Chinese-American martial artist, even a show ostensibly about a Chinese-American martial artist. The role went to Mr. Carradine, whose kung fu skills were lackluster and who was not, of course, Chinese.
“Looking back, it was a travesty,” said Miles Millar, right, of David Carradine’s casting as a Chinese martial arts fighter in the 1970s show “Kung Fu.” Mr. Millar and Al Gough, left, are creators of “Into the Badlands.” Credit Emily Berl for The New York Times
“Looking back, it was a travesty,” Mr. Millar said.
In many ways, “Badlands” is an effort to right that wrong while simultaneously bringing authentic Hong Kong-style kung fu to American audiences. The producers assembled a team of specialists and stuntmen led by the fight director and actor Stephen Fung (“House of Fury,” “Tai Chi Hero”) and the martial arts choreographer Ku Huen Chiu (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), and took them to Louisiana, where the series is filmed.
“Badlands” is set in a post-apocalyptic future in what was once the American Midwest, where all-powerful “barons” rule the land with the help of armies of warriors (think shoguns and samurai, except with oil fields). The show’s creators selected Mr. Wu, a Hong Kong star with more than 60 films to his credit, for the role of Sunny.
Born in Berkeley, Calif., and raised in nearby Orinda, Mr. Wu was initially brought on board as an executive producer involved in the martial arts side of the series. He balked at accepting the lead role because of the physical effort it entailed. “I was 40 when I started the show, and I wasn’t sure if my body could take it,” Mr. Wu said in a phone interview from Hong Kong.
His were valid concerns. As with action films in Hong Kong, the production of “Badlands” was divided between two units running concurrently: a main unit, with its full roster of actors and directors and makeup artists, and an equally large unit dedicated to fight scenes. The lead actor would have to work in both groups on a six-day-a-week schedule, combining full days with the main unit with the infamous training regimens required of Hong Kong-style martial arts filmmaking.
The search for the lead actor lasted four months, with the producers seeing scores of hopefuls from the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. Most could do martial arts and a few could act, but very few could do both. “We saw people who, if there actually was a Badlands in real life, they could probably be Sunny,” Mr. Gough said, laughing. “But they couldn’t act.”
After prodding from the creators and producers, Mr. Wu finally agreed to take the role. “I think maybe that was our secret intention all along,” said an executive producer, Stacey Sher (“Django Unchained,” “Erin Brockovich”). “As a friend said to me, how can you do a martial arts television series with Daniel Wu that doesn’t star Daniel Wu?”
The show began production last summer in southeast Louisiana, where the cast and crew endured temperatures that spiked into the high 90s; New Orleans’s oppressive humidity; and swarms of large, hungry mosquitoes. Add to that the show’s accelerated shooting schedule (six days per fight scene, as opposed to two weeks in your typical Hong Kong film), and one can see why martial-arts series are so rare. “When we got into it, we were like, now we know why no one else is doing this,” Mr. Wu said. “Because it’s so hard.”
Sammo Hung as a Shanghai policeman in Los Angeles in the 1990s CBS series “Martial Law” (here with Tammy Lauren). Credit Bob Greene/CBS
The series features two major fights per episode. Keen-eyed fans will spot homages to several well-known martial arts scenes, from the rain-soaked swordfight in Wong Kar-wai’s “The Grandmaster” to Bruce Lee’s battle royale in the Japanese dojo in “Fist of Fury” (a.k.a. “The Chinese Connection”). The level of violence equals those of Hong Kong action films, with eviscerations, snapped necks and impalements galore. In one scene, a master swordswoman named the Widow (Emily Beecham) juliennes a victim so neatly that all that’s left of him is a crimson cloud.
“We spent a lot of time talking to standards and practices,” Mr. Millar said.
In Hollywood action movies, directors mask their actors’ subpar fighting skills with shaky camera moves and extreme close-ups. In “Badlands,” the camera pulls way back, so that viewers can see 10 combatants (or 20, or 30) in a single shot. “The difference between American action and Hong Kong action is that in Hong Kong, you go wide,” Mr. Millar said.
“Badlands” isn’t the first martial arts outing for Mr. Gough and Mr. Millar. The first two films they wrote together were “Lethal Weapon 4,” with Jet Li, and the Jackie Chan film “Shanghai Noon.” In 1998, midway between “Kung Fu” and “Badlands,” the two were writers on the CBS series “Martial Law,” which featured the Hong Kong action film star Sammo Hung as a Chinese policeman fighting crime in Los Angeles. The series was notable not for its story line or acting, but for its lead’s top-notch kung fu credentials.
The show, Mr. Gough said, was sold to CBS on the strength of a single fight scene in a garage. “In some ways, it was the worst way to do a show,” he said.
For “Badlands,” the creators were determined to make sure that the story and acting were at least as good as the fight sequences, and that the cast was as diverse and gender-balanced as possible. Sunny’s fiercest rival, the Widow, is played by a British woman; his love interest is black (Madeleine Mantock); the actor who plays his boss (Marton Csokas) hails from New Zealand; and his young protégé is portrayed by a performer of German/East Indian/Pakistani descent (Aramis Knight).
When the writers created the show, Ms. Sher said, “all of the main barons were men.” But, she added, “my personal crusade is to turn everybody into a feminist.”
And then there’s Mr. Wu, that rarest of actors on American TV: an Asian-American romantic lead in a drama series (members of that tiny fraternity have been largely confined to comedies, including the short-lived “Selfie” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”). But it’s a milestone that Mr. Wu nearly overlooked, having starred in Hong Kong films for 18 years.
“I really didn’t think about it until people started asking me about it,” he said. “And then someone sent me a picture of the billboard on Melrose Avenue, and I was like, O.K., this is crazy — I can’t remember seeing a billboard of an Asian dude on an American show, like, ever.’”
USA Today chimes in too
I’ve been talking about the TV martial arts trend for months now.
Martial arts are alive and kicking on TV
Bill Keveney, USA TODAY 11:11 a.m. EST November 11, 2015
(Photo: James Minchin III, AMC)
Watch out, TV viewers. The small screen is filling up with martial-arts masters.
Sunny (Daniel Wu), a lethal enforcer in the future, feudal society of AMC’s Into the Badlands, is the latest to join a field that includes The Walking Dead’s Morgan, Sense8’s Sun Bak, Arrow and several characters in Netflix’s Marco Polo. CBS also has Rush Hour, an adaptation of legend Jackie Chan’s film franchise, on the way.
“With the popularity of UFC and how martial arts (have) become mainstream, I think people are more receptive and want to see more of it,” Wu says. "We saw Kung Fu 40 years ago and shows like Martial Law and Walker, Texas Ranger that showcased (martial arts), but we’re hitting the point where it’s … not a niche genre anymore.”
Here’s a rundown of contemporary warriors who wield hands, sticks and swords to attack and defend, along with a legend who kick-started the genre on TV nearly 50 years ago.
Sunny (Wu) of AMC’s Into the Badlands (premieres Sunday, 10 p.m. ET/PT)
Clipper Sunny (Daniel Wu), right, trains M.K. (Aramis Knight) in AMC’s ‘Into the Badlands.’ (Photo: James Dimmock, AMC)
Motorcycle-riding Sunny is a Clipper, an elite fighter who works for one of the seven barons who control a post-apocalyptic Midwest now known as the Badlands.
“We’re in a world where guns don’t exist and people have to survive on their warrior skills,” Wu says. “Even though we’re in a dystopian future where society has reset itself and there’s a certain amount of order, it’s still about power. And the way they solve problems is through violence.”
Wu, who was born in northern California and moved to Hong Kong as an adult, has enjoyed success in Chinese-language films, with Chan as a mentor. The actor’s martial-arts experience is put to good use in Badlands: He does almost all of his own stunt work.
“For Sunny, we wanted to not be stuck in one style. We wanted to be dynamic. If it’s 300 years in the future, there may not be one type of fighting style,” says Wu.
Morgan Jones (Lennie James) of AMC’s The Walking Dead (Sundays, 9 p.m. ET/PT)
Morgan (Lennie James), left, takes part in martial-arts training with Eastman (John Carroll Lynch) in AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead.’ (Photo: Gene Page, AMC)
The mysterious Morgan picked up martial-arts skills, including the ability to swing a mean Bo staff, and a philosophy during Aikido training with Eastman (John Carroll Lynch), turning him from killer to peacemaker.
“It is the way of the peaceful warrior,” says James. “The stick is a deadly weapon wielded in a certain way, but it is not necessarily a weapon that is designed to kill. Morgan’s thing is to protect himself but not necessarily by killing somebody else.”
Sparing lives, as Morgan has done with the dangerous Wolves, may have consequences in the Alexandria community, James says. “What may well have been a good decision for him when he was alone may not be a good decision for the rest of the (survivors’) group and other Alexandrians.”
The Arrow/Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) in CW’s Arrow (Wednesdays, 8 p.m. ET/PT)
Stephen Amell plays the title character in the CW series, ‘Arrow.’ (Photo: Diyah Pera, The CW)
A bow and a quiver of arrows are hardly the only tools Star City’s hero has in his fight against evil. His fighting skills, many learned during his years on a remote island, include Eskrima, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Jiu Jitsu and boxing.
Arrow’s skill set has global roots, fight/stunt coordinator James Banford says. “The countries of origin for Oliver’s training ranges from China to Japan, Philippines, Russia, Thailand.”
Sun Bak (Doona Bae) of Netflix’s Sense8 (renewed for Season 2)
Doona Bae, right, plays Sun Bak in Netflix’s ‘Sense8.’ (Photo: Murray Close, Netflix)
Sun Bak is one of eight characters from around the world who find themselves mentally connected after experiencing a violent vision. They must figure out what happened, and why, as they evade an organization trying to capture them.
Bae began her martial arts training in Korea with Doo-Hung Jung, who designed Sun’s Hapkido variation, which includes a range of attack and defense styles.
Marco Polo cast (Netflix, Season 2 on its way)
Olivia Cheng, in white, plays Mei Lin in Netflix’s ‘Marco Polo.’ (Photo: Phil Bray, Netflix)
Martial arts are a group endeavor in the story of explorer Marco Polo (Lorenzo Richelmy) in 13th-century China. Jia Sidao (Chin Han) practices Mantis-style Kung Fu; blind monk Hundred Eyes (Tom Wu) displays a compilation of styles that series creator John Fusco calls Golden Lotus; and Mei Lin (Olivia Cheng) shows her skill with Tai Chi as well as the sword.
Kato (Bruce Lee) in ABC’s The Green Hornet (1967-68)
Martial arts legend Bruce Lee, right, played Kato in the 1960s TV series, ‘The Green Hornet.’ (Photo: Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images)
The Green Hornet only lasted one season, but it helped launch the entertainment career of martial arts legend Lee, who played valet and crime-fighting partner, Kato.
Lee, who studied Wing Chun and developed a personal martial-arts philosophy, Jeet Kune Do, went on to a feature-film career that included Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon before he died at 32 in 1973.
Wu lists Lee as one of his idols. “He was amazing. He was able to incorporate his philosophies about life into his martial arts, into his acting. He had this tremendous charisma.”
I’m excited for this show(btw yes gene i am back on the forums..lol) its a niche market and niche is good, as the fans will be consistent i think the first episode will make a big splash but think the number will be considerably lower moving forward, i just really hope this succeeds.. feels like 98 all over again.
Our latest ezine offering
Read Daniel Wu on INTO THE BADLANDS by me and get a sneak peak at our next cover. 
Good to have you back, Doug! A lot happening in martial media nowadays and your input here is very welcome.
The EW buzz
Read mine first tho. The one on the previous post. 
Into the Badlands puts gritty, stylized martial arts back on the small screen
Star Daniel Wu talks training actors with zero fighting experience, and what it means to bring back a ‘kung fu’ show this time with an Asian actor in the lead
BY SHIRLEY LI @SHIRKLESXP
(James Minchin III/AMC)
Into the Badlands
Posted November 13 2015 11:00 AM EST
In the distant future, seven powerful barons have risen out of a dystopian world to recreate a feudal society. In this feudal society, guns have been banned, but swords and spears and white-knuckled fighting are fair game. The barons use assassins named clippers to enforce their laws and to protect the resources they control. That law includes the fact that clippers may not start their own family, having devoted their lives to killing.
Got all that? The premise of Into the Badlands, AMCs highly stylized martial arts drama, sounds far-fetched, but according to executive producer Alfred Gough, who along with EP Miles Millar helmed Smallville, the complexity of the idea is exactly what they wanted in the series. We remain purposefully vague, he says, noting that the concept spun out of wanting to do a martial arts series but also ground it in an original, compelling world. My joke to AMC is that once zombies are done, this is kind of what happens. Zombies led to kung fu.
And yet, for a kung fu show, its the kung fu part that proved to be the biggest challenge. Not only did the series require a separate fight unit to choreograph the impressive sequences, but the producers wanted a team that would be able to create film-level fighting for a television show. Because Gough and Millar had written the Jackie Chan-starring Shanghai Noon, the pair knew what it would take, bringing on martial arts coordinator Master Dee Dee, who previously worked on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Matrix, and Kill Bill. Its obviously quite an undertaking, Gough explains, but in order to have a Hong Kong style to the fights that we wanted, and that authenticity, thats how we set it up. It was a very busy shoot.
Image Credit: Patti Perret/AMC
Just ask Daniel Wu, who stars as the series protagonist, a clipper named Sunny. The actor, 41, had to juggle filming fight sequences with acting and producing. Having practiced martial arts for 30 years and filmed dozens of Hong Kong films in his career, Wu had no trouble with the former, even though at one point while filming a fight, he cracked a rib which he says wasnt too big of a deal. I had a lot of Advil, he says with a laugh. It was quite grueling to do fight scenes that would normally take three weeks and cram them into a six-day schedule. Besides, he adds, Master Dee Dee and the fight unit had to train much of the cast, as most of the actors had no martial arts experience when they joined the series. We had to go from zero to making them look like experts on screen, Wu says. To do so, production spent six weeks training the actors for eight hours each day, teaching basic moves, fighting using a range of weapons, and wirework.
Among the newbies, 16-year-old Aramis Knight, who plays M.K., impressed Wu the most. The young actor quickly picked up the flashier wirework moves, including backflips and back handsprings. He did them with pure confidence and landed them perfectly, Wu recalls. I mean, its impossible to turn anybody into an expert in six weeks no matter how hard you train, but you just have to know to give them what they need, to give them the tools they need to be able to perform.
And judging by whats on screen, that training has produced some eye-popping, intense fights. Wus clipper character fights enemies in the rain in one episode, bulls through more than 30 attackers in another, and, Wu teases, will face off in an epic battle against The Widow (Emily Beecham, below), a ruthless female baron, in which the pair tear through an armory and pick up various weapons to wield. Naturally, all that fighting makes the series pretty bloody. I think the visual effects crew was pouring a lot of blood around, Wu says. Literally gallons on set.
Image Credit: James Dimmock/AMC
With all that said, Into the Badlands wont just be six episodes of gory martial arts sequences, as visually striking as they are. Sunny begins the story as a hardened warrior, but after he meets M.K. and learns of his lovers pregnancy, he aches to leave the brutal life of the baron-run society behind. Its about a journey to enlightenment, Gough explains. Its a godless world, and M.K. and Sunny are going to go on this journey. At its core, its a show about these two people.
Its also a show that centers on an Asian character played by an Asian actor a fact Wu acknowledges, but doesnt think should be the takeaway of the show, even if Into the Badlands adds diversity into the TV landscape. Im not the kind of person to pull the race card, just because I think the quality of the show is what matters most, he says. But, he adds, the story of how Bruce Lees idea for the 1970s series Kung Fu was allegedly taken from him (and cast a Caucasian actor as the lead) is one that has stuck with Wu throughout his career. There was always a sad feeling about the truth of that show, which is that America at that time could not accept an Asian actor in the lead role of a television show, Wu says. And what Im proud of is were able to right that wrong. Its sad that its taken over 40 years for that to happen, but Im glad that thats happening. In other words, Wu hopes the show can kick some ass both on screen and off.
Into the Badlands premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.
just finished watching opening episode and was impressed. The fight scenes were theater quality. Very well done. Looking forward to seeing more.
I watched it last night. I agree that the fights are very well-done for a TV series. It will be interesting to see how the series develops. Hopefully it will be around long enough and develop a good following.
agree jimbo, downfall of most MA’s types of things is lack of storyline and development of characters. See what happens with this.
See episode 1 for free
Season 1, Episode 1 93 days left
The Fort
The Badlands deadliest Clipper, Sunny, rescues a mysterious boy, M.K., who harbors a dark secret, but may also know the way out of the Badlands.
Full Episode
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For those without AMC access, AMC has put it online.
Fourth-Biggest Cable TV Premiere Ever
‘Into The Badlands’ Ratings: AMC Martial Arts Drama Is Fourth-Biggest Cable TV Premiere Ever
By Oriana Schwindt @schwindter O.Schwindt@ibtimes.com on November 17 2015 2:49 PM EST
Sunny (Daniel Wu, pictured) is a deadly warrior in a dangerous world in “Into the Badlands” Season 1. AMC
AMC’s launch strategy for martial arts drama “Into the Badlands” appears to have paid off: The show’s post-“The Walking Dead” debut brought in about 6.4 million total viewers and 4.06 million in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. It’s the biggest launch of the fall season in that all-important demo, smacking down not only new cable shows like FX’s “The ******* Executioner” but also NBC’s “Blindspot,” which grabbed the attention of 3.9 million 18-49ers, and CBS’ “Supergirl,” which notched about the same. (The total “Supergirl” audience is still tops, though, with just shy of 13 million.)
It’s a very promising start for AMC’s non-spinoff series, though below the monster 8 million demo viewers of its newbie predecessor, “Fear the Walking Dead.” “Fear,” of course, had the advantage of being touted as a prequel to one of TV’s biggest hits (“The Walking Dead”). “Badlands” had to keep “Dead”’s audience intrigued while introducing an entirely new world to viewers. (Having your show’s protagonist dispatch more than half a dozen foes before the title sequence seems like an effective way of achieving that goal.) It’s also the fourth-best cable series debut ever in the demo, behind “Fear” and “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul.” USA’s 2002 drama “The Dead Zone” is, weirdly, No. 3.
“Badlands” followed a “Walking Dead” (original flavor) that was up about 5 percent from last Sunday’s episode, according to Nielsen ratings. The next two episodes will also air after “Walking Dead,” before the latter goes on hiatus until 2016, and the real test of “Badlands”’ audience will begin. Still, the network can comfortably pop some wheelies today.
AMC won’t have an official comment until ratings for Sunday night plus the next three days have been counted, as is standard procedure these days for many cable networks.
Season two, here we come!
The bottom line
I hope it kicks up our shares too. And by ‘our’ I mean all of Kung Fu.
Kung Fu Thriller Could Kick Up AMC Shares
“Into the Badlands” looks like a hit for AMC. Together with “The Walking Dead,” it could help boost the shares 20%
November 21, 2015
AMC Networks has diversified beyond biting into kicking and swordplay. Last weekend, zombie thriller The Walking Dead brought in 12.9 million viewers, up 3% from the prior week, and 6.4 million of them stuck around for the debut of Into the Badlands, which looks a little like Kung Fu with a sprinkling of Mad Max and The Hunger Games. That gives Badlands one of the strongest cable starts ever.
Shares of AMC Networks (ticker: AMCX) are up a quick 12%, to just over $80, since we recommended them two months ago (“A New Zombie Outbreak Could Lift AMC,” Sept. 7). Readers should stick with them, for three reasons. First, they remain about 10% cheaper than the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 index, with better earnings growth potential. Second, the reason they’re not more expensive is the network’s heavy reliance on The Walking Dead, which increasingly looks like a nice problem to have. Not only is the show still going strong, but an offshoot that ran from August to October, Fear the Walking Dead had the highest-rated first season in cable history. Earnings per share for AMC are expected to jump 39% this year to just over $5. And next year, Fear runs for 15 episodes, up from six this year.
Third, AMC has an excellent shot at coming up with another breakout hit. It’s too early to say on Badlands. Maybe it’s Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad spinoff, which averaged nearly six million viewers in its first season this year and returns next year. Maybe it’s Preacher, a cult comic book that comes to screen next summer featuring gunfighters, an Irish vampire, cannibals, and someone named Arseface. Seth Rogen is a co-writer.
A new hit could lift the stock from 16 times earnings to 17 times which, based on next year’s recently raised consensus of $5.69 a share, would mean a 20% rise from here to about $97.
– Jack Hough
E-mail: editors@barrons.com
Ep 2 for free
Limited time offer from AMC
Season 1, Episode 2 85 days left
Fist Like a Bullet
M.K. finds refuge in an unlikely and dangerous place, while Sunny’s loyalty is tested when Quinn tries to force him to commit an unspeakable act.
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Watched 2 episodes. Probably not going to continue to watch this one. Not for me.
Aye…
[QUOTE=boxerbilly;1289019]Watched 2 episodes. Probably not going to continue to watch this one. Not for me.[/QUOTE]
Got 10 minutes into the second episode and that was it for me.
After seeing the first episode, I’ve forgotten to watch it anymore. Not that I purposely wanted to miss it, but I just forget, or am occupied with other things. Just based on my impression of what I did see, I hope they develop the characters and the storyline better. Although the fight scenes were good, I didn’t find any of the characters relatable, or even interesting. Maybe it’s developed since then.
I confess I’m mostly in it for the fights…
…and Emily Beecham.
How Martial Arts Influenced Emily Beechams American Debut
By Benjamin Lindsay | Posted Nov. 17, 2015, 11 a.m.
Photo Source: Ross Ferguson
Its not just Brit actor Emily Beechams looks that kill. As the Widow in AMCs postapocalyptic epic Into the Badlands, she mastered mixed martial arts, making one hell of an entrance in her American debut.
On playing the Widow.
The Badlands is run by barons, and she is one of the few female barons. [Its] a very ruthless, violent world. Guns are banned, so people fight with martial arts. Shes an amazingly skilled martial arts fighter as well as a feminist figure. She fights and stands up for herself, and this aggravates a lot of the other barons who want to keep this system of the Badlands running the way it is. She rocks the boat.
On bringing a feminist to the screen.
Women dont really have much of a voice in this world. Its largely a male-dominated environment, and the Widow has had to fight against that. Shes a really exciting character and its very relevant to today. Gender and sexual violence is touched upon in the show.
On working in America.
Im actually half-American, so Im surprised I didnt come out sooner. [Coming here] was very natural. I really like it. They make a lot of bold projects here on television. The budgets here are a lot bigger. The scale of ittheres so much more potential. It looks a lot more filmic. You can do a lot of bold things, a lot of big productions.
On training for Into the Badlands.
We did a five-week martial arts training before the shoot. I booked the job about four months before we shot, so it was quite a long time in advance. We had a lot of time to prepare. I went to LAMDA, which is a drama school in London, and we did a lot of combat there. I was quite good at all that. I had done a lot of dance before and Im quite flexible, so we had to be able to increase our flexibility and our muscle strength during the training. Its visually amazing, the fight choreography. Its very inventive.
On keeping her character grounded.
[You have] to understand what it is that she wants and her context in the whole worldwhere she stands. One of our first questions when we first started was the social and economic situation of the whole world. How did we get here? What do we want? How has life changed? So that was the first challenge, just to make it real for myself and to understand what context everything was in and how my character felt and what her history was. She has quite a dark history. Shes made a lot of sacrifices in her life to get to where she is.
A quick Q&A with The Widow from AMC’s hot new show!
2015-11-26 07:03
Emily Beecham is The Widow! (AMC)
Cape Town AMCs new martial arts drama, Into the Badlands is an instant hit.
A whopping 8.1 million viewers tuned in to its debut in the US which was simultaneously screened across the globe.
South Africans don’t have to miss out on the action as it screens within minutes of the US screening on Monday at 04:10 on AMC (DStv 140). There is a repeat screening during primetime at 20:00.
Set in a devastated future world controlled by powerful feudal barons, Into the Badlands tells the story of a ruthless warrior and a young boy who embark on a spiritual odyssey.
The Badlands is divided among seven rival Barons who control the resources.
The lands newest Baron, The Widow (Emily Beecham), has become a thorn in the side of the other Barons.
We had a quick chat with Emily about her role, those insane fighting scenes and what its like to kick ass in stilettos!
Will you tell me a bit more about your character, The Widow.
The Widow is a very strong character. She has faced a lot of obstacles and adversity to get to where she is. She is an incredibly skilled martial artist fighter. She claimed the title of baroness after murdering her husband and son. She is fighting for the equality of both men and women. She is an idealist and wants to change the system, which means shes going to throw a spanner in the works and cause lots of trouble for the other barons.
What attracted you to the role of The Widow when you first read the script?
She came across as a very strong, unusual and inventive character. I have never read a character like that before. I immediately felt like I knew how I wanted to play her and how I wanted her to look. She was a warrior and a trailblazer and she was a really exciting character to me. She didnt play up her sexuality she wasnt searching for admiration but she used her sexuality as a tool much like a weapon in order to manipulate and try to get to where she wanted to be. I liked that she was such a strong leader.
Have you had any previous martial arts training? How did you train for the role?
The training was very intense! It was over five weeks and five days a week. We worked on our flexibility and our strength and we were taught how to use weapons. The Widows weapons are daggers and katanas, I specifically worked with them.
You kick ass in heels and wield knives, how much practice went into perfecting that?
(Laughs) I had some stilettos that I occasionally practiced in. But I it tried to avoid it because I thought it would be a very bad idea if I broke my ankle before shooting started. I generally wore the heels when they were in shot but if I could get away with it I would cheat and wear flats. It was really a challenge to fight in heels but it was easier spinning in the heels because you are on your toes. I practiced my knife skills with blunt daggers, I was constantly wielding them around on set.
If you could have one of The Widow’s attributes what would it be?
Her savvy leadership qualities!
Describe the show in three words.
Wild, rock n roll, fantastical!
What do you hope viewers will take away from Into the Badlands?
I think a lot of people will want to do martial arts after they see the show. People will see it as a beautiful art, and hopefully they will be inspired to take it up as a sport. I think the show is set to have somewhat of a cult following.
Into the Badlands Star Emily Beecham on Fight Scenes: All the Sweat Is Completely Real
TV | By Joe Otterson on November 29, 2015 @ 10:00 am Follow @JoeOtterson
Patti Perrett/AMC
It gives it that rough edginess that I think makes it feel more real, The Widow tells TheWrap
(Spoiler alert: Please do not read on if you havent watched Sundays episode of Into the Badlands)
Emily Beecham, who plays The Widow on Into the Badlands, wants fans to rest assured that the fighting on the AMC show is more realistic than they realize.
All the sweat is completely real, Beecham told TheWrap of the show that films in Louisiana, a state well known for its humid conditions. It gives it that rough edginess that I think makes it feel more real.
Beecham enjoys her role on the martial arts-heavy series, but admits that she had no prior fighting training before being cast on the show.
See video: New ‘Into the Badlands’ Clip Promises Epic Swordfight Between The Widow, Quinn (Exclusive)
It was a completely new experience for me, she said. Ive never done action before. I had a small bit of stage combat training at my drama school but it was a very different, very slow medieval style.
She credits action unit director Stephen Fung, well known for his work in Hong Kong cinema, with preparing her and others in the cast for the shows intense fight scenes. However, some of the moves required extra effort. Episode 2 opens with The Widow engaging in a massive brawl at a bar that includes some pretty acrobatic maneuvers on her part.
I found the back bend stab really difficult, because you need really good stomach muscles for that so it was really challenging, Beecham said. And also getting up from the splits and stabbing someone is near impossible, so I had to get wired for that.
On the show, The Widow is currently plotting how to overthrow Quinn (Marton Csokas), the strongest Baron in the Badlands. She unsuccessfully tried to kill Quinns son, Ryder (Oliver Stark), but Sunny (Daniel Wu) and M.K. (Aramis Knight) were able to save him.
How Quinn will respond remains to be seen. But Beecham believes that her characters greatest asset is not her strength, but her mind.I think her strength lies in her intelligence and keeping her wits about her and using tactics, she said. So thats how she sort of pulls the rug from under Quinns feet.
Into the Badlands airs Sundays after The Walking Dead at 10 p.m. on AMC.
She’s even hotter in person.
[QUOTE=GeneChing;1289091]…and Emily Beecham.
She’s even hotter in person.
[/QUOTE]
Rub our faces in it man. Good for you !!!
I gotta savor those perks, you know.
Then there’s this:
Well, I watched 3 episodes.
I tried to like it, but the fight scenes just don’t do it for me.
Star Daniel Wu talks training actors with zero fighting experience […]
The zero experience really shows. There’s not much you can do when working with that.