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movieXplosion exlusive interview
04/01/04
Fighting Fish interview - Q & A with director Jamel Aattache
Director Jamel Aattache, 29 years old, made the shorts "The Good,The Bad and the Innocent" and "Deja Vu" which
were well received at domestic and international film festivals and coming soon to a Dutch theatre near you
his first big movie called Fighting Fish! The story revolves around a mystical stranger A-Ken
(Kim Ho Kim) who is in search of the person responsible for the death of his brother. A-Ken finds himself on a dangerous
path that leads to the Chinese gangs set in Rotterdam.
Fighting Fish is our first Dutch martial arts movie with a great cast including Kim Ho Kim,
Chantal Janzen, Jennifer de Jong and Ron Smoorenburg. Foreign readers will probably not recognize these actors but die
hard Jackie Chan fans will notice the name Smoorenburg. Ron was the villain who kicked Jackie Chan's butt on
a building's rooftop in "Who Am I?".
Jamel Aattache was kind enough to answer some questions for movieXplosion.com:
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How did you come up with the idea to make a Dutch martial arts flick?
I've worked with Kim Ho Kim (Fighting Fish's leading actor and writer) on a short martial arts movie called "The Good, The Bad & The Innocent", just to show
that we can make these kind of movies here in The Netherlands. The film was well received and also sold to other countries.
We had a great experience making it and wanted to do more, that's how the idea of making a big martial movie was born.
How did you prepare to make this movie, e.g. studying kung fu films? Did you already had in mind what the tone of the fight movie would be?
Fighting Fish is a real martial arts movie (I'd rather not call it a "fight movie") and I mean "ART," what you see is what you get!
Bruce Lee movies have inspired me a lot. Filmmakers use a lot of wire-fu combined with SFX lately and I wanted to go back to the old school wireless kung fu.
You know, like the old days when people run straight to the gym to learn the moves they've just seen in the movie! Also important
is that the martial arts sequences are realistic and beautiful. The fight sequences are huge, during 4 - 5 minutes so that's eye candy for the audience! The martial artists
worked for 5 months, 5 days a week (without being paid!) to choreograph beautiful and fresh fight sequences. They did all their own stunts, so I've a lot of
respect for them.
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Which actors/filmmakers inspire you?
Bruce Lee and Jet li (in Fist of Legend) when it comes down to martial artists. Sergio Leone, John Woo and Ang Lee,
when talking about directors. I've seen two kinds of movies when I grew up (and I still love); Bruce Lee movies and
Sergio Leone's westerns. I've been inspired by them to make Fighting Fish. I'd like to call Fighting Fish an "Eastern"!
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Was it hard to shoot the big fight sequences?
Not at all, because of the preparation and the tremendous effort of the actors/martial artists.
What's your experience working with Jennifer de Jong, Chantal Janzen, Kim Ho Kim and Ron Smoorenburg?
Great Cast! The movie has been made with lots of love that resulted in great performances. We've become a real
family and would love to work with them on future projects.
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What are your plans for your next feature films, maybe take the big step and move to Hollywood? Our fellow
Dutchmen Paul Verhoeven and Jan de Bont did the same thing...with success!
Well, I would go if someone could pay my ticket and the rent! But I've got enough projects, scripts in Dutch and
English that I want to work on. I'm 29 years old, plenty of time, we'll see. I'm happy that I can make movies, 'cause
that's my life.
Is it hard to survive as a director in this tiny film-country?
Yes, it's definitely hard to survive, especially when you're a new kid on the block...! I hope that Fighting Fish
will be noticed on an international level, 'cause I'd love to work in other countries. Or just stay here in Holland
with an international budget and international actors. Rotterdam is also a perfect and cheap location to shoot and
it has got an international appeal.
Thanks to Jamel Aattache for taking the time to do this interview! Fighting Fish will be unleashed in Holland
on Januari 22, click here
to see the amazing trailer and to find out more about our first Dutch martial arts flick!
Written by Reggy 04/01/04
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