lucastalent.com

October 8, 2008

MATT FREWER reports from location in SHANGHAI… shooting WUSHU WARRIOR

UPDATE: January 2009 - MATT FREWER is off to South Africa to film gritty Darfur epic JANJAWEED

UPDATE:  December 2008 - MATT FREWER shoots DR STRASSFIELD with Halle Berry in the upcoming feature film FRANKIE AND ALICE

Matt Frewer is one very busy actor. In 2008 he has two feature films coming out, the lead in action/adventure film Wushu Warrior and Zack Snyder’s (Director of 2006 hit “300”) major Warner Brothers release, The Watchmen. Matt also had the pleasure of appearing in Snyder’s 2004 film Dawn of the Dead that is one of the top-grossing zombie films of all time! His other work on the big screen includes memorable roles like Big Russ Thompson, Rick Moranis’ neighbour in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and his nefarious computer genius in Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace.

Gemini award-winning Frewer is also a familiar face on television where recently he has been a series regular on both Eureka (Sci-Fi) and Intelligence (CBC). He starred in three Sherlock Holmes films for Muse Entertainment, CTV and the Odyssey Channel. In addition to his long list of fine comedy and dramatic roles, Frewer will always be remembered for his groundbreaking work, and his creation of pop-culture icon Max Headroom. (click ‘more’ tab to continue reading Matt’s report)

Dispatches From China….. A.S.A.P….. T.G.I.F…….. M.S.G…..
Just got back from China and loved it. That’s not to say it was easy. They do things differently over there. Most movie sets are very much like Chinese streets anyway. But Chinese movie sets….

“See you in looping” became the catchphrase after most takes. With as many as five different productions shooting at any one time, I learned to expect that a quiet scene would inevitably be interrupted by soldiers storming an ‘encampment’ ten feet away on another set. The proceedings would grind to a halt as communication broke down, and the telltale squeak of the wheels readying themselves to come off could be heard loud and clear….

We stopped filming for two hours to find a prop glass. I had my wardrobe built from scratch in less than twenty-four hours (three separate Victorian suits) by a Shanghai tailor. Pretty impressive, but it was the twenty-four hours before my first shoot day. The director and I sang a lot of Irving Berlin tunes to keep loose (i.e. to keep from killing someone) and I managed to get the entire crew singing ‘The Girl From Impanema’ without subtitles.

Richard Lucas promised I’d get a lot of extra rehearsal with the actresses playing my concubines, but something got lost in the translation, and I was presented with a dish of jellied porcupine. Richard wasn’t sympathetic. He said that in this business, I should be used to dealing with all the little pricks.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. I arrived heavily inoculated, and warned to only drink bottled water. I left with nothing more serious than a bad case of Evian flu.