New York Battleground!

Just finished some really fun and exciting shoots spanning episodes 7 through 9.

Thursday, October 25th, saw our Street Fighters taking their adventures to the streets and rooftops of New York City. We were back in Brooklyn where Dhalsim and Zangief, now decked out in their official Street Fighter outfits, have to contend with some corrupted-by-greed fellow Street Fighters who are endangering the lives of some of the others.

This particular shoot was originally scheduled for August but, with more and more Street Fighters making their official debuts with each episode, this series has become a scheduling nightmare in trying to get all the actors in the same city and state, let alone on the same shooting date. Naturally, the almost summer-like weather we'd been getting all October just couldn't hold out until our big, all-day outdoor scenes. Considering how scantily clad the Indian yoga master and his good Russian buddy are, the weather for Sean and myself was a real challenge. After a cold and lengthy rain, the rooftops were full of puddles. I was really feeling it as I strode out there on my bare feet, trying to throw some occasional karate punches and chops in an effort to keep warm. Naturally the production team, headed by Jen Dunlap and Jordan Hall, provided us with the most plush, comfortable and luxurious robes to retain our body heat between takes but I began to realize that, if I stayed outside minus the robe, my body would acclimate itself to the chill. Eventually it did and even the puddles didn't feel cold under my feet anymore. Sean was really suffering, however, and had to don the robe and return to the interior of the roof entrance where an electric heater made things bearable. I kept telling myself that, if the Red Cyclone himself could wrestle bears half naked in the frigid wastelands of Siberia, I can get through a chilly October day in New York City.

At one point, director Sam Reich looked ponderingy at our shivering forms and said. "You know what?", then began to strip off his clothes in an act of solidarity with his suffering actors. The whole rooftop burst into applause! Is it any wonder that we all adore Sam so much?

Kevin Yamada was in great form as Ryu and Sean came through with a stellar performance despite his discomfort.

Saturday, October 27th, had all of us Street Fighters at the big Tournament. TJ Glenn orchestrated the fight choreography between many of the Street Fighters and, just like the Thursday before, it was an all-day shoot that had us laughing and having our usual great time with each other.

There was one particularly wonderful moment when all the Street Fighters were lined up in the ring together and you'd swear you just walked right into a Street Fighter II video game! It was surreal! The bout between Blanka and Chun-li alone made me almost think I could control one of them by grabbing a joystick. In my excitement I tried, in fact, and producer Jordan Hall, who was standing right next to me, said, "Mike, that's not a joystick; take your hands off me". They looked absolutely amazing and authentic in their roles.

So good to see Claudio Mascarenhas again as Sagat; it had been a while.

So hard to express just how wonderful this cast and crew are and what a pleasure it always is to spend the day with them all while having another exciting and action-packed Street Fighter adventure. We really all do love one another and the vibe is the happiest I've ever experienced on any series.