Welcome, friends, to another installment of Friday Night Triple Threat, Late Night Edition. Thanksgiving has come and gone and I can't help but notice that it was, like most other holidays, 90% preparation and 10% execution. The only solace in this instance is that a belly full of turkey makes for a well-deserved rest after toiling over a meal for an entire day. Unless of course, you are crazy enough to fight throngs of people and attempt to shop today.
UFC Title Picture: A Chink in the Armor
After Matt Serra revealed he suffered an injury this week, the potential for high profile fights in the UFC continues to dwindle. The current installment of The Ultimate Fighter has been nothing more than a marketing vehicle for the Hughes-Serra fight originally scheduled for December. In a weight class with a lot of questions as to the layout of top contenders, this is an enormous blow. Matt Hughes will have to wait a good period of time before he will get his title shot, by which time any momentum from the reality series will have fizzled out completely. People like Georges St. Pierre, who were poised for an imminent shot will have their calenders set back as well. If St. Pierre intends to work for the first part of 2008, he will have to be content with gatekeeping the Welterweight division, and hoping he can stay on course for an eventual shot at the belt. In the meantime, as Jerry Cattelane has already mentioned, most of the other weight classes are circling the proverbial wagon as well. This is prime time for the numbers two and three promotions in the country to make their move. If the UFC can only promise sub-par PPV events in the foreseeable future, the public is ripe to garber interest in a competing organization. This means you, IFL.
Golden Age Revival
As Randy Couture has shown us, a skilled fighter can stay working--and winning--well into the twilight years of his career. But what happens when a star burns not quite as brightly? Dan Severn added another win to his illustriious record, and yet does not quite attract the attention that Couture gets by winning the Heavyweight Title. Couture is 44 years old, and has a 16-8 record, and seemed to defy the effects of aging in his defeat of Tim Sylvia. This is a notable achievement. Severn, however, who is 53 years old, has quietly achieved an astonishing 80-15-7. This record alone is nearly superhuman, and he is currently on a 6-fight win streak. Severn, a UFC Hall of Famer, has not fought in the UFC since 2000, suffering a loss to Pedro Rizzo. Severn's battles in the meantime have come at smaller indy shows. Much like an aging pro wrestler, there are few options for work as an older fighter aside from small regional promotions. The skill and experience of these legendary names usually wins out over whatever advantage youth may provide, but it is unlikely these competitors would do well in a premiere organization. Severn, for example, would probably be relegated to mid-card status in the UFC at this stage of his career. Without the glamour and big money of a high profile contract, Severn is still a remarkable specimen given his age, and his willingness to remain active is a classy move from a true ambassador for MMA.
Owned!
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov 21, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Owned Entertainment, Inc. announced today the upcoming California and Texas auditionschedule for the MMA movie "Owned".
Texas auditions will be held in Austin at the 'Fighting Stunts' academy located at 10435 Burnet Road, Suite # 110. Auditions well be held December 1st between 9am and 5pm And December 2nd between 1pm to 5pm. California auditions will be held at the 'North American Mixed Martial Arts Expo' (www.nammae) located at the Anaheim Convention Center from 10AM to 7PM December 1st and 2nd. It should be noted that there is a $10 daily entrance fee to the expo, which has nothing to do with the audition.
About the Auditions
Owned Entertainment is looking for a mix of professional actors as well as MMA fighters to participate. Both SAG and non-SAG actors mayaudition. The sides have now been posted online under the 'Owned'
movie section. Please note that there are no set appointments for the auditions and will be first come, first serve. If there is an extensive line of people to audition in California we will make
arrangement for those auditioning to be able to browse the expo and will give them appropriate notice prior to their audition but everyone auditioning must first sign in. There will be a food court located at the expo.
In addition we will be auditioning martial arts performers, MMA Refs, announcers and judges. There may be future audition dates and locations and we also accept videotape/DVD auditions via mail. Please contact Stephanie Johnson at pr@ownedentertainment.com for more information.
About 'Owned'
'Owned' is an exciting action thriller set in the world of MMA. We will be looking for a combination of talented actors and MMA fighters for the movie. Recently announced fighters for the movie include Dean Lister, Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Cung Le. For more information on the 'Owned' movie visit mmamovie.com, ownedentertainment.com and the official 'Owned' myspace at
http://www.myspace.com/ownedentertainmentinc. Owned Entertainment recently announced a partnership and auditions being held at the North American Mixed Martial Arts Expo (www.nammae.com). For more information on auditions, please visit mmamovie.com. Mr. Hergott
recently did an interview on Fight_Net Radio about the movie which may be listened to at http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=22372241.
About Owned Entertainment
Owned Entertainment, Inc. has emerged as a player in the area of independent film production and distribution, once monopolized by the major film studios. The company engages in investing, producing, and distributing full-length feature films as well as TV projects, video games and other entertainment entities. Along with its controlling equity interest in 'All That I Need,' released in theatres December
2005 and released on DVD February 2006, there are several other projects in the making, including: 'The Other Side' and 'Descendant,' written by Damir Catic and Eric Alfio, the action thriller set in the
world of Mixed Martial Arts 'Owned' by James Hergott, 'Brothers' by Tarquin Gotch (whose credits include 'Home Alone,' 'Curly Sue,' 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off') and the Reno 911-type comedic take-off on the popular 'The Ultimate Fighter' TV show entitled 'Fight House.' Our mission at Owned Entertainment, Inc. is to produce high quality and highly enjoyable feature films that will be widely distributed in the
mainstream media markets. The corporate offices for Owned Entertainment, Inc. are in Austin, Texas with additional offices in Southern California. Owned Entertainment, Inc. has recently announced adding an Interactive Entertainment division to focus on video game development.
Something tells me this is going to bomb. I have a hard time seeing Hollywood put a good spin on MMA. I'm imagining the film as an amalgam of some of the great action films of our day--think Sidekicks meets No Holds Barred meets Kickboxer 4. Yes I think this movie will be so bad, I can't even dignify it with a reference to a Jean Claude Van Damme movie, but rather a Jean Claude Van Damme movie ripoff starring that guy from Step by Step. But hey, if you're in the Austin area, and are an MMA fighter, now is your chance to have your 15 minutes of fame. Or 15 seconds of fame if you were cast as, say, "man in locker room #14".
