Crowdfunding out-of-print, old-school martial arts fims?

[chenzen]

Call me crazy but I just got an idea if its stupid please let me know your opinions. Recently my brother has been in contact with the publisher of the original Shin Megami Tensei novels that the video games are based off of. They are negotiating with him to get the books licensed for sale in the united states and they are letting him do it through kick starter. So I had an idea how crazy would it be to try and get a hold of The current owners of all of the old Golden Harvest and Shaw brothers films that are out of print in the states? Like what do you guys think the chances are of getting a hold of them and negotiating a deal for licensing all of the old out of print movies and funding it through kick-starter or Indie Go Go? I know there is a guy out of Los Angeles named Justin Sevakis who works at Anime news network but he also runs his own Dvd Authoring Business. All of the Anime licensors like Viz media and sentai filmworks use him to make dvd's and Blurays for their licensed properties. He makes menu's for Licensed foreign movies he does all the encoding bull crap translating and he even does remastering. I heard he was fairly priced too. So do you guys think its possible to crowd fund old Hong Kong films or is it not even worth trying because it's a dumb idea? Because I would seriously try to pursue it if at all possible there are so many old Hong Kong films that just have never made it over here or distributors and license holders won't bother trying to get.

[KenHashibe]

Do it! I've always been thinking about doing this but I never thought that I would ever get in contact with such big companies or have enough money to get the rights. If you're devoted enough, make it so! Please! We might be able to take some great kung fu movies, remaster them, and release them to modern audiences with a ton of special features and cool DVD covers by Kung Fu Bob (if he's willing). I've always wanted to do this and I have many ideas of what we could do for the DVD's. Seeing these films reach the light of day would be a dream come true to the fans and I'm sure there are plenty of them who'd be willing to help crowd fund these releases.

Good luck!

[chenzen]

Do it! I've always been thinking about doing this but I never thought that I would ever get in contact with such big companies or have enough money to get the rights. If you're devoted enough, make it so! Please! We might be able to take some great kung fu movies, remaster them, and release them to modern audiences with a ton of special features and cool DVD covers by Kung Fu Bob (if he's willing). I've always wanted to do this and I have many ideas of what we could do for the DVD's. Seeing these films reach the light of day would be a dream come true to the fans and I'm sure there are plenty of them who'd be willing to help crowd fund these releases.

Good luck!

Thanks for the enthusiasm man! Ya I'm seriously trying to pursue this idea. If I was able to get a hold of the big companies I would definitely do right by the fans and make sure any film that was funded would get a proper release with special features and remastered audio and video with the original language track. I'm just worried Dragon Dynasty might have first dibs on shaw brothers films with the whole Robert Rodriguez having their films on the el ray network and everything.

[KenHashibe]

Thanks for the enthusiasm man! Ya I'm seriously trying to pursue this idea. If I was able to get a hold of the big companies I would definitely do right by the fans and make sure any film that was funded would get a proper release with special features and remastered audio and video with the original language track. I'm just worried Dragon Dynasty might have first dibs on shaw brothers films with the whole Robert Rodriguez having their films on the el ray network and everything.

There are some great movies that have had poor releases that I'd love to re-release. Maybe get some uncut/original language prints. We might not even have to get in touch with the big companies. There are some really good movies that might've been produced by independent companies too like The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious or Enter the Fat Dragon (my local movie theater has shown both before on 35mm recently). The New Beverly Cinema owns many HK movies on 35mm film which means that the prints might still be attainable. If you're looking for something, we could ask the owners of the New Beverly or the Hollywood Theater in Oregon. This is an ambitious project, but I'm glad someone's actually pursuing it. Thanks for your efforts and if you're looking for something, don't be afraid to ask the fans. We're quite capable.

[chenzen]

There are some great movies that have had poor releases that I'd love to re-release. Maybe get some uncut/original language prints. We might not even have to get in touch with the big companies. There are some really good movies that might've been produced by independent companies too like The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious or Enter the Fat Dragon (my local movie theater has shown both before on 35mm recently). The New Beverly Cinema owns many HK movies on 35mm film which means that the prints might still be attainable. If you're looking for something, we could ask the owners of the New Beverly or the Hollywood Theater in Oregon. This is an ambitious project, but I'm glad someone's actually pursuing it. Thanks for your efforts and if you're looking for something, don't be afraid to ask the fans. We're quite capable.

Thanks for the offer man I will definitely take you up on the offers once I get everything going.today was my last day of school for the week(I'm in college) so tomorrow I'm gonna try and get this going.

[KenHashibe]

Thanks for the offer man I will definitely take you up on the offers once I get everything going.today was my last day of school for the week(I'm in college) so tomorrow I'm gonna try and get this going.

Awesome news! I've said it before and I can't stress this enough, don't be afraid to ask the fans for help. You'd be surprised by the things that we can pull off...legally, of course. I really appreciate that you're willing to do this. It won't be easy, but it'll be worth it if this project comes through. Again, good luck!

[ShawAngela]

Superb idea, it would be great to see at last some movies in good quality print and with subtitles !!

[KenHashibe]

Update? I know this might be a lot of work, but I'd like to know what's new. I also wanted to know what movies you had in mind to re-release. Were you planning on re-releasing newer kung fu movies (from the 90's maybe)? How about non-martial arts HK movies in general? Thank you for your time. I hope things are going well.

[shaolin swords]

bro this is a very very good idea good thinking on this one hope you pull this off I would love to see some of these shaws that are out of print

GOOD LUCK

[chenzen]

Hey guys sorry for the lack of updates. Im trying my best I emailed Golden harvest about 3 days ago and no response(so far) My brother said companies usually take about a week to respond to stuff like that. As for shaw brothers films i cannot find out how to contact them i looked for like a freaking hour with no luck. I was also trying to think of some more independents distributors and companies but couldn't come up with any got any suggestions guys? As far as films I had in mind I right now want Enter the Fat Dragon,Swordsman 2,Dr Wai and the scripture with no words,Legend of the wolf,Dirty Ho,A better Tomorrow Trilogy, Shaolin Drunkard, Any other movies you guys want me to try and get if i get a hold of the companies?

[KenHashibe]

I think you can contact Celestial Films (the company that remastered all of the Shaw Brothers movies) here:

http://www.celestialpictures.com/contactus.asp

The email labeled "distribution" seems fitting. I haven't been able to watch the Shaw Brothers movie, Monkey Kung Fu (1979), because it hasn't been released on DVD in the U.S. (legally). I heard that Dragon Dynasty has the rights to it, but never released it (kind of a shame). It's also a shame that Dirty Ho hasn't been released here either. It's a fantastic movie.

Please re-release Enter the Fat Dragon. The first time I saw it was in a theater on 35mm late last year and it was great, but when I tried re-watching it, the picture quality was so bad that I literally threw up from a major migraine. It would be the coolest thing to see it remastered. A print of Mystery of Chessboxing was recently shown at the Hollywood Theater on 35mm film, a movie desperate for a remaster and decent subtitling job. This post has gone on long enough, but when I get the chance, I'll try and see if I can find ways to contact some companies and maybe leave some more suggestions for you.

Make sure to keep us updated!

[thankyouforfu]

I haven't been able to watch the Shaw Brothers movie, Monkey Kung Fu (1979), because it hasn't been released on DVD in the U.S. (legally). I heard that Dragon Dynasty has the rights to it, but never released it (kind of a shame). It's also a shame that Dirty Ho hasn't been released here either. It's a fantastic movie.

Please re-release Enter the Fat Dragon. The first time I saw it was in a theater on 35mm late last year and it was great, but when I tried re-watching it, the picture quality was so bad that I literally threw up from a major migraine. It would be the coolest thing to see it remastered. A print of Mystery of Chessboxing was recently shown at the Hollywood Theater on 35mm film, a movie desperate for a remaster and decent subtitling job.

Dragon Dynasty released Mad Monkey Kung Fu a while ago in the U.S.

I do wholeheartedly agree that Mystery of Chessboxing could use a remaster.

However, I think the crowd funding should be used for films that haven't gotten a release at all whatsoever (such as the Yuen Biao film The Champions already mentioned), rather than films already released with bad prints like Enter the Fat Dragon. Unless it's an absolute classic, which Enter the Fat Dragon isn't, we should work to bring new products to the market, not upgrade old products (IMO).

[shaolin swords]

the three main movies I want to see that are out of print or never got a good release

1:shaolin and wu tang starring Gordon liu adam cheng needs a remastered release very bad I got a couple of versions all of them are crappy never saw a good version of this movie

2:jade raksha needs to be re-issued

3:return of the deadly blade never saw this yet but is dieing to see this flick it definitely needs a proper release

[KenHashibe]

Dragon Dynasty released Mad Monkey Kung Fu a while ago in the U.S.

I own that DVD. I was referring to Monkey Kung Fu (1979) which stars Ching Siu Tung in one of his only acting roles. Haven't been able to watch it, but I have seen a few fights online. Looks like a lot of fun to watch.

However, I think the crowd funding should be used for films that haven't gotten a release at all whatsoever (such as the Yuen Biao film The Champions already mentioned), rather than films already released with bad prints like Enter the Fat Dragon. Unless it's an absolute classic, which Enter the Fat Dragon isn't, we should work to bring new products to the market, not upgrade old products (IMO).

I do see what you're getting at. Though it would be awesome to bring new products to DVD, I think upgrading old products is almost as cool. I would love to see Enter the Fat Dragon get a re-release as well as many other great movies. I think it would be best to release both new products and old products so that they can look their best for a U.S. release. Releasing movies that haven't had a good release (or any release) in the U.S. should be a priority.

[thankyouforfu]

I own that DVD. I was referring to Monkey Kung Fu (1979) which stars Ching Siu Tung in one of his only acting roles.

My bad. There are, however, DVDs out there for Monkey Kung Fu here as well as under the name STROKE OF DEATH available here and elsewhere.

EDIT: I note you originally said legally, so once again my bad

[KenHashibe]

EDIT: I note you originally said legally, so once again my bad

I was just about to say. It would be nice to have a good (legal) DVD for this movie in its original language/subs. There are so many Shaw Brothers movies that I'd love to see that criminally haven't been released in the U.S (legally). I try to keep things legal. Lucky for me, some stores in my area have the VCD imports from Hong Kong but unfortunately not everyone does. It would be great to see these Shaw movies come to the U.S as well as many other beloved but out-of-print kung fu classics.

[MonkeyFu]

Hey guys sorry for the lack of updates. Im trying my best I emailed Golden harvest about 3 days ago and no response(so far) My brother said companies usually take about a week to respond to stuff like that. As for shaw brothers films i cannot find out how to contact them i looked for like a freaking hour with no luck. I was also trying to think of some more independents distributors and companies but couldn't come up with any got any suggestions guys? As far as films I had in mind I right now want Enter the Fat Dragon,Swordsman 2,Dr Wai and the scripture with no words,Legend of the wolf,Dirty Ho,A better Tomorrow Trilogy, Shaolin Drunkard, Any other movies you guys want me to try and get if i get a hold of the companies?

I'm not trying to discourage you but just be prepared for a very long road ahead of you and a lack of response or at least some very slow communication from these companies. Once they hear "crowdfunding" (unless you have already secured a large amount of funds) or they realize that you are not with an already established company that has a history of distributing movies in the US market they will lose interest quickly.

It's very difficult to get a hold of the right people if you have no contacts to begin with. And if you do you will run into the problem of trying to convince them you can actually make them some money as most will want an up front payment as well as a percentage of the DVD's you sell. If they are a company that wants a percentage of the profits you will have to show them your plan to sell "x" number of units. They will expect you to be prepared for all of this.

There are so many expenses outside of the film rights that I'm guessing you may not have factored in yet. You will be surprised at how quickly it adds up. And when you realize how many units you will need to sell at a particular price, you will see why there aren't more releases out there and why small companies will put out a few titles and then disappear.

I can tell you now that you will have a hard time finding enough people that will be willing to fund the amount you will need to pay for everything to release these titles.

Just take some time and really think about the whole process, plan everything out and see if it still makes sense for you.

[KenHashibe]

I could be wrong here but I think the The Champions has had a release, it's just out of print & hard to get. I'm almost certain I've seen a Fortune Star Legendary Collection version.

I've always wanted to buy The Champions and I've heard of this DVD/VCD, but I could never get my hands on it. It's very rare and OOP. On YesAsia, it says it's "temporarily out of stock" but it's said that for as long as I can remember. Fortune Star stills owns the movie so if we could get the rights to The Champions, I don't think it'd be a bad idea to release it on DVD in the U.S. Then again, if we hired a professional company to do the DVD cover, it'd say "The Original Shaolin Soccer" in huge letters.

[inframan]

Does Media Blasters aka Tokyo Shock still have the rights to Masked Avengers and Magnificent Ruffians? I'd pay for those two, even a barebones release would be good if they had the dubs.

I contacted them a while ago about maybe doing a kickstarter for those two but they guy who answers their facebook mail didn't seem too interested.

[KenHashibe]

Does Media Blasters aka Tokyo Shock still have the rights to Masked Avengers and Magnificent Ruffians? I'd pay for those two, even a barebones release would be good if they had the dubs.

The English dub for Masked Avengers is on YouTube for $2. It's remastered and widescreen so I think it should suit your needs. Not sure if it's uncut though. This version's also available on iTunes.

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As for Magnificent Ruffians, I don't think it's been released in the U.S. (legally) yet. I do think Tokyo Shock still owns the rights though.

[chenzen]

Alright guys we are in Business Golden Harvest wants to know what I want licensed! Give me any and all suggestions so I can email them back thanks.(Still waiting on celestial's reply)

[KenHashibe]

Alright guys we are in Business Golden Harvest wants to know what I want licensed! Give me any and all suggestions so I can email them back thanks.(Still waiting on celestial's reply)

Some many ideas, only so much they can do. Here's a list:

Back Alley Princess

The Champions

Iceman Cometh

Police Story 3: Supercop (unless Miramax still owns it and if that's the case, I'm going to hit a wall)

Tiger on the Beat (actually a Cinema City film, but still owned by Fortune Star)

Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain

Kind of a short list. Some of these movies are a bit mainstream, but none of them have a good release (if any release) in the U.S. Would love for these movies to see the light of day. You don't have to use every one of these suggestions, but these are just ideas. I have many more that I might list later.

[shaolin swords]

WARRIORS TWO-would be nice another flick that is out of print never seen but want to really see

[blue_skies]

The Blonde Fury was the only one I could really find that I would really be interested in from Golden Harvest from the following list I found on the forum…

http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1486

I'd like to see movies like Pedicab Driver, crazy frog dirty tiger, Enter the fat Dragon, Mirage a.k.a. mirage of kung fu, sleeping fist, the thundering mantis, the mystery of chess boxing, Shaolin vs Lama, Dreaming the reality, fearless dragons, license to steal ,nightlife hero, Book of heroes, Burning ambition, The victim....

Movies that have poor releases/no releases and/or out of print. I think the days of making extras are a thing of the past. As long as the movies are widescreen, remastered to some degree, English subtitles and have the English dub as well . That would be great.

I wonder if it would be easier and cheaper to get the rights for films like this as well?

[KenHashibe]

I'd like to see movies like Pedicab Driver, crazy frog dirty tiger, Enter the fat Dragon, Mirage a.k.a. mirage of kung fu, sleeping fist, the thundering mantis, the mystery of chess boxing, Shaolin vs Lama, Dreaming the reality, fearless dragons, license to steal ,nightlife hero, Book of heroes, Burning ambition, The victim....

Movies that have poor releases/no releases and/or out of print. I think the days of making extras are a thing of the past. As long as the movies are widescreen, remastered to some degree, English subtitles and have the English dub as well . That would be great.

Agreed. The movies that I made bold are movies that have been shown at either the New Beverly or Hollywood Theater on 35mm film recently which means that prints of those movies are still attainable. I'd love to see a Mandarin version of Shaolin Vs. Lama, but the only Mandarin version that there is has completely incomprehensible subtitles. So does Nightlife Hero. Though I didn't especially like Nightlife Hero, the action is still magnificent. It would be cool to see that movie with good subtitles. A Cantonese version of The Thundering Mantis still exists in Korea. I'd love to see the whole thing, but for now, here's a clip:

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