New Kung fu film “Ashes” adds talented new cast members David Sakurai (from “Avatar: The Last Airbender”) who will be playing Mark, Tarell Bullock (from “Knights of the Zodiac”) who will be playing Leo, Craig Ng (from “Road House”) who will be playing Sifu, and Christina Cooper (from “Disney’s Behind the Animation”) who will be playing Michelle. The film will be produced by Robert Dill, and will be directed by Malay Kim. Malay is originally known in the industry as a stunt/fight coordinator and he is now stepping into the director’s chair for this newly anticipated film “Ashes”.
Malay states, “Originally I just wanted to make some dope kung fu action with friends. But the more I got into the writing the deeper I got into the purpose of the characters. Everyone has a purpose in life and we make choices that all have karmiac reactions. Although this is a martial arts action movie, it still tells the story of a normal dude with a normal job, nothing exciting ever happens not due to the setting but due to his own lack of passion. When he discovers a passion (kung fu), he goes a bit too far and has to learn to not let it be the only thing that defines him.”
The film follows Leo, a convenience store worker, who stumbles upon a former kung fu master. He reluctantly takes in Leo as a new pupil even though he hasn’t taken anyone under his wing in years. Not only does this master teach Leo the way of combat but also the way of life. He becomes more open and outgoing, leaving that timid shell behind. There’s a bright light now being shone onto Leo’s new life, but with it, comes darkness. Leo will have to navigate his emotions when dealing with his master’s dark past. Otherwise, he will become another one of his casualties.
The director Malay hopes to inspire, not only the youth, but everyday people to understand the importance of taking care of themselves. He strongly believes that no matter what our race or ethnicity is, we can’t let our status in life be the only thing that prevents us from achieving our dreams. We’re excited to see this kind of representation in the film industry and can’t wait to see the “Ashes” film come to life as they start gearing up for production this year.
