With weeks away before cameras roll for upcoming martial arts mobster comedy, Made In Chinatown, we can report that the production will pair director Art Camacho with producer Robert Samuels who will also share the helm as co-director. The news comes roughly one week since Camacho's arrival to the director's chair after replacing filmmaker Suza Singh was initially tapped as the film was undergoing several months of development.
Camacho and Samuels will direct from a script by executive producer and author Mark V. Wiley that centers on Vinny, a hapless Chinatown resident who, with the help of his sifu and a select few good friends, works to assimilate himself into Italian mob life and gain top-tier status whilst in pursuit of the girl of his dreams. The independent New York City-set action comedy production lands stuntman, world-class wushu stylist and champion Gold medalist, actor Alfred Hsing (Ready Player One, Ip Man 3, Birth Of The Dragon) his first major acting role.
Hungry for success and faced with obstacles at the start of his stunt career in Hong Kong, Samuels eventually began gaining interest from top-tier figures from both houses at Shaw Bros. and Golden Harvest. On the set of Don't Give A Damn (1995), Samuels finally proved himself worthy of becoming the first African American member of the Hong Kong Stuntman's Association, not only garnering three essential signatures from Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Lau Kar Wing, but also a fourth from Cho Wing.
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| Bobby Samuels with action star Kenny Low on the set of The Red Wolf (1995) |
Samuels has since proudly worn the H.K.S.A. label whilst steering a number of projects stateside, championing today's classic kung fu cinema fandom through festivals and other events aplenty. In addition, he has also spent his time on both sides of the lens emboldening and collaborating with some of the best and brightest of the East Coast stunt and independent film community through his own banner at R4 Films LLC., as well as among groups like Art School Dropouts and Team One Take.
Made In Chinatown also stars Michelle Procida, The Sopranos series vets Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore and Maureen Van Zandt, Goodfellas and upcoming Brawler co-stars Tony Darrow and Artie Pasquale and celebrated action film notables such as Shaw Bros. legend and Ip Man franchise co-star Lo Meng, Emmy Award-winning action director James Lew (Marvel's Luke Cage, Big Trouble In Little China, Timecop, The Perfect Weapon) and Hwang Jang Lee (Drunken Master, Magnificent Warriors, No Retreat, No Surrender II: Raging Thunder), as well as Eric Kovaleski and Chuck Zito (The Martial Arts Kid), Shuya Chang (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, Snakehead, Revenge of the Green Dragons) and Grandmasters Norman Chin and Wai Hong to name a few.
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