IFH 828: The Ultimate Life of Action: Martial Arts, Movies, and Wisdom with Leo Fong

Leo Fong was a true Renaissance man — a martial arts Grand Master, filmmaker, and Methodist minister who turned life’s challenges into fuel for creativity. Born in 1930s Arkansas, Leo faced racial discrimination early, leading him to boxing and later martial arts as a way to build confidence and strength. His journey took him from judo dojos and kung fu studios in San Francisco to becoming a close friend and sparring partner of Bruce Lee. Their friendship shaped his lifelong philosophy that “the ultimate is inside of you,” inspiring Leo to develop his own fighting style that fused boxing precision with kung fu adaptability. His passion for martial arts soon crossed into cinema when a producer invited him to star in Murder in the Orient, launching a decades-long career in independent action filmmaking.

From Kill Point and Low Blow to Blood Street, Leo not only acted but also wrote and produced his films, often on shoestring budgets and with his own hands-on ingenuity. He directed scenes using hamburger meat-filled props, bought junkyard cars for $125, and learned filmmaking by doing — one movie at a time. His films, though low-budget, carried immense heart and authenticity, earning cult followings and international success. Beyond the punches and kicks, Leo’s story is about humility, integrity, and community — lessons he carried from the dojo to the film set. As he said near the end of his career, “We’re all family in the martial arts. Better to make friends than enemies — and always have fun while you’re at it.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are listening to the ifh podcast Network.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
For more amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to
ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to the Indie Film Muscle Podcast, Episode number eight
twenty eight Cinema Should Make You Forget You're sitting in
a theater, Roman Polanski.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Broadcasting from the back alley in Hollywood. It's the Indie
Film Hustle Podcast, where we show you how to survive
and thrive as an indie filmmaker in the jungles of
the film biz.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
And here's your host, Alex Ferrari. Welcome, Welcome to another
episode of the Indie Film Huscle Podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
I am your humble.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Host, Alex Ferrari. Today's show is sponsored by Rise of
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(01:43):
www dot filmbiz book dot com. That's film bizbook dot com.
Enjoy today's episode with guest host Dave Bullis.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
So today we have Leo Fong. This man is eighty
six years young and he's still going strong. This man
is trained with Bruce Lee. He has traveled the world
making movies and now he runs his own martial arts
dojo down South. Ladies and gentlemen with Leo Fong twining
me today is Leo Fong. Leo Fung is a kung

(02:16):
Fu grand master, methodist, minister, fitness coach, and filmmaker. Leo's
film career has spanned over forty years, and he was
also a sporring partner and student of the late Great
Bruce Lee. Grand Master Fong, how are you doing today, sir?

Speaker 4 (02:33):
Not too bad. You know. I'm recovering a couple of
shoulder surgery and it's getting better. Yeah, but it's feeling better.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
And you just celebrated your thirtieth wedding anniversary.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
Correct, yeah, thirty's wedding anniversary yesterday? Yeah, man, thirty years.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Oh, congratulations, sir, thank you, thank you. So Master Fong,
could you tell us a litle bit about your background
and you know how you got started in in more
source and filmmaking.

Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yes, well, Marshal Arts wives. I was raised up in Arkansas,
in a little town called Widener, Arkansas. And I came
here when I was five years old my mom. And
in those days in nineteen thirty five, most Chinese would

(03:25):
migrate to the South, like Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana and
and and the reason was they started the grocery business,
in the grocery store business, and of course in Louisiana
they started, you know, restaurants and stuff. And the reason
was cotton was a king in those days, like Mississippi,

(03:48):
Tennessee and Arkansas. The blacks would pick cotton there and
they would, you know, rather go to the deal with
the Chinese grocery stores than the Caucasian the whites because
they were being discriminated in the abuse. And I saw
all that happening back in the thirties and forties, how

(04:10):
they treated the black people. And then of course, when
I got seven years old, my mom, my dad and
mom didn't find me to school because constrict English, and
so at seven I learned a little bit of English
and they sent me to school. In the first day
of school, they were all teasing me, calling me King

(04:33):
John Tanneman, and I didn't realize what they would doing.
I thought they all liked me because they research time,
they all gathered around me, but I was the only
non white in that roop school. And then what happened
was next day my dad asked me what happened? What

(04:55):
happened in school? I told him they all liked me
and all that, and I told her what it was
really upset. He said, they don't like you. They did
degrading your your ethnic your race. And so the next day,
I went back and went finding softball, and some little
kid hit the run and come uh to the first base.

(05:16):
I was finding first base and uh and uh he
looked up me a said chink and I hate it
right in the face, knocking down and and the next
thing I know, the teacher had me up in there
spanking me because I had about cobby uh eighty nine
pounds or something like that. The picked me. I was
spanking eck out of me, and they made me stand

(05:36):
in the hall and everybody sees me at the worldwide.
So I think that was the beginning of my journey
in looking ways to defend myself. And of course as
I grew up, grew up, I I and when I
got to about eleven, twelve years old, I bought a
book Bonnie Ross out of box Fundamental Boxing. That's what

(05:58):
I never had, that book and I edit and it
started my boxing career at that around twelve years old.
Because I remember about fourteen fifteen years old, they were
putting up little matches in uh uh in this old
empty schoolhouse or third coup house where I first went

(06:20):
to Firth Grade. They moved with school uh to a
little town called Madison, Narkansas, about six miles away in
a little bigger town. And so this school house abandoned.
So every so often a couple of older guys put
on boxing matches. And I remember one time they asked me,

(06:41):
say a funk, you want to fight that bl But
I went down there and they maxed me up some
guy about forty pounds hearing in me and name with
Dave Hyde. He was a quarterback on the on the
high school football team. Well, he hit me. The first
time he hit me, he knocked me across the room.
My head hit the ball and I was half out.
And so when I got home, I had a terrible headache.

(07:04):
And and but I you know, I figured out what happened.
I said, what happened was I just work out there.
So I was swinging at it. I'm thinking I'm gonna
overwhelm them with punches, and I started learning how to
you know, strategy. Well, then they answered it again one time.
I said, well, I'll fight, but you guys got give
me somebody that's coaching my weight, you know, you know,

(07:24):
a max milk school high school athlete athlete. And so
they matched me up with some guy about ten times heavier.
I knocked him out because I was practicing on the
you know, on on the pillow, hanging there and doing
all kinds of stuff that the book was doing. You
know that I read in the book. Well that's how

(07:45):
I got started.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
And and you know that's absolutely amazing because you know, uh,
you know back when then, you know, uh, they didn't
have all the more shorts books because I know she
mentioned it was a boxing book that you bought, because
you know, you go today now to a bookstore and
there's you know, hundreds of books everything from kung fu
to hop keto to a keto. Uh, but back then
they weren't around as particular in America.

Speaker 4 (08:10):
On the first time we heard the word karate, some
people in the South didn't know what it was something. Indeed,
the first book I bought in as karate was Nishyama
and Brown. Uh you know uh that book. Look, it
was made out of the cover like Bennysack. You know,

(08:32):
I don't know you remember that book, but it was
uh karate, you know. Uh in the Mishyama. Oh, that
was my first karate book bought with Yama on it.
He was uh, you know, the cover was he was
killing a bull with his bare hands. And then shortly

(08:54):
after that, I uh, I started taking kung fu less
in San Francisco. Uh, that's back in the fifth But
I came out here after I I graduated from high school.
I fell a before I graduated high school, I fell
a call to ministry. And then and then I I

(09:15):
went and told my pastor what I want to do,
and they may arrangement me uh to uh go to
college and uh and so I went to Hinders College
in Conway, Arkansas. Before I I I I went to college, well,
I uh, I was learning the box and and that

(09:40):
was it. Uh So when I got to college, I
had a troy. I had a friend named Jim Jefferies.
He was Arkansas state raffering captain. Where he said, Leo,
you got join the boxing team, I mean joined the
rafting team. I could. I'll tell you what, jeff, I
don't want to raft, So I I said, I think
I'm you know, a fit for boxing.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.

Speaker 4 (10:09):
And I said, he kept bugging me, and I said, well,
why don't we go down to the gym spark If
you can pin me, I'll be I joined the rassing team.
So I got down there and I stabbed him with
jabs and Lewis jabb you could never get get touch
with me. He couldn't grab me to take me down.
I get the best day of boxing. And so that

(10:31):
old season because the team was UH. They had a
pretty good team, and we we fought all over Arkansas,
all different colleges and the boys clubs and so. And
then finally after the first year UH, they told me
we're going to abandon the Boston program and UH. So
I went to the National Guard Armory downtown in Conway, Arkansas,

(10:54):
joined their team because they had the boxing team. Thenose
days they had boxing teams all over the place of
competition and UH and and so I ended up. By
the time I got through college and then went to
seminary in Southern Methosis University in Dallas, Texas, I had
already had twenty five fights and had about ten h

(11:14):
ten of those stue House bought fights and one nine
of them. First one I got knocked out in Faving
in UH in the regular competition intercollegiate and in in
uh Aau and UH, I got knocked out twice and
I lost decision. But I won twenty two fights. I

(11:35):
HAT twenty five U twenty five, and I had co
eighteen knockouts. And when I learned early that didn't not
about how many punches you have, but you got to
really take one punch and perfected. The reason was uh.
That was a guy named Billy Walker. He was a
local uh uh professional fighter. He boked mostly in uh

(11:58):
skid rounders. Uh sometimes I'm mostly eight rounders, and he
was always knocking everybody out. Well, one time I have
to be on the card. Within they had an amateur
thing that I was on the part with him. We
were a ngression room and I said, Billy, I watched
you fight the career. You went all those things to
knock out with the left hook. I said, I could.
Somebody must know that you're going to pull a left hook.

(12:18):
He said yeah, but they don't know when it's crimming.
And that's where I learned a lot picking up from
from these guys. You know. I saw Joey Maxim with
light hairway camping. He became my personal friend after I
became an adult, after I moved out here. He was
light heayway camping. He fought to Archie Moore and all

(12:40):
those guys, and he came to the Little Rock and
he falled a ten rounder and then Tony Zl and
I I happened to meet Tony Zl and his manager
back in nineteen fifty. I was going to turn pro
and uh then I tried not to. After I stayed
in afternoon at the Midwestum watched him all these firefighters,

(13:01):
most of the plus rum. I said, no, I don't
want part of that. So I said I would get
that out of my system. And here I was a
second year student at Seminary. I said, I better both
staying at church. This fight really fun. So that that
was my experience in boxing. And then and then when

(13:22):
I I I got into my second year in seminary,
I had a job at Frank and Chapel in West
Dallas were uh, Bonnie and Clyde you hang out and
uh so I got a job there teaching at the
community Center. And I started a boxing program there and

(13:43):
I had pretty good successful program. I first year I
entered first year, I entered uh uh uh uh my
my sitings in the in the Southwest gold Glass and
out of ten guys, nine and one. The championships. You know,
either you went to the finals, I won championship.

Speaker 3 (14:03):
Yeah that's incredible.

Speaker 4 (14:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:08):
So uh so Master Funks. So you know you you're
you know, you're in seminary when you decided not to
go boxing. So when did you start, you know, picking
up like you know, other you know, martial arts styles.
You know, because I know you you've practiced in a
variety of styles. So was it soon after that that
you started to to sort of you know, practice other
styles and me when you met like other martial artists.

Speaker 4 (14:29):
Okay, here's what happened. I came out to West Coast
because of racism. Uh. The bishop sent me out here
instead of giving me a church in Arkansas, which was
a blessing in the sky is I didn't realize what
a blessing was. I was very bitter because they said, well,
we don't have no Chinese churches in Arkansas to the
massive church. So I said, well okay, then finally, uh

(14:52):
in the church, if we could come all day, they
geant you your job, you can assume them. But then
my colleagues told me to sue. I said no, I'm
not gonna be. That lifted me out the back of
montal And this is where I I learned. First of all,
I was driving in nineteen fifty four. I'd ride down
the street and I saw science jiu jitsu. Well I stopped.

(15:15):
I went all the way upststairs and met a guy
named Bill Luke and he was a student of Bruce Tegner.
I don't know if he ever heard that name. Bruce Tegner.
He wrote a lot of books back in the early
sixties and from Oxnaw, California, Vintura, California, and he would

(15:37):
exaggerate his skills, but he was really a judo guy.
But he put in pressure upon knockouts and all these
things in little books. And I played with him about
a year and we used to get on man grapple
with him. I ended up spoking the guy, but we
were a big friends and he was an intructor, so
I got pretty bit at that. Then he said he's

(15:57):
gonna move to la And when he got to move
in l A, I look. I was looking for another place,
and the only place I could find was a judo
school in uh uh a judo school in uh in
Uh in the y m c A. And so I
went there. And his name was Bob Bendick. He used
to hang around with Ben Campbell and uh another guy
who was an Olympic champion, big black guy, and uh.

(16:21):
So I went and I got a green belt and
uh in uh in judo and and one of the
things that happened one time after I got the green belt.
Uh but the old ladies came to visit. So he
visited the judo class, and he wanted to show them
what judo was all about. So he said, hey, farm,
come here. So he said, uh, full punch and he

(16:44):
cause grab my arm and get underto a hip throw
and told me to I toow the death. Care about
this so fast? He missed, and he was really pissed off.
He said, don't you know how to throw a punch?
I said, how do you want to mess bob? To
throw a tooth play? He wanted me to let my
arm hang out there, say well I did, and he
slammed me to the bath and I spopped the mat

(17:06):
like I was supposed to, and that was it. And
then so I said, well I had enough of this.
So so one day one of my church members said, hey,
I was being harassed and picked on today by some
black kids in class. He was a school teacher and
he said we need to go go out and learn

(17:26):
some gunghol. So I said, okay. So one day we
went out there and so we asked to down the
street corner of Chinese in Chinatown. Uh, he very the
Poon school here. Yeah, there are two of them, if
one up there by the church and one down here
by the park. So I said, what you want is best?
He said, was up to you that the guy down
here about the park. Is no guy in up there

(17:47):
as the other guy. And so I said, well, so
I said to guy Jimmy, I said, I think the
old guy might be better. So we're down and we
met the guy named what is his I met the
old guy, I main it threw up my mind pulmentarily. Uh.
But when we turned out he was a little small guy,

(18:09):
had a tremendous grip and uh he was also the
uh in pulsing the tongs. Low Bun lo bun his
name is low Bun l ow w u n Yeah.
And so I trained there for about two or three years,
then went up to the other school and checked it out,

(18:30):
and and in one there about I guess step thirty
eight o'clock and there's nobody there. This one guy in
the front of the mirror doing gofu mo, which with
a three pound dumb bell in his hand. So we
standing watching him. He turned around and looks he come
over the waste salon Ward said, uh. He said, my

(18:52):
name is Jimmy Lee and he said, you guys looking
for a boo school. I said, well, we got checking
out the water's come joining join us there. So that's
Jimmy Lee turned out later introduced me to Bruce Lee
Hee and and then what reason was he had? We
were training there and Jimmy kind of falling out with

(19:13):
uh a t y wall on the instructor because he
had published a book and uh and uh t y
won excuse Jimmy short change in the ten dollars. I
mean it's a minor thing, and the and then so
Jimmy said, the hell with that. I you know, I
didn't teach you a lot anything. I'm want to leave.
So he said to me, he said, Leo, you want
to train, I'm want to sell my own class from

(19:34):
my garage. You want to go, you follow me, you stay?
I said, now I go with the Jimmy and I
didn't know what's going on, So I went and I
go out there every Worday Friday night to see him.
And so one day he said, hey, uh uh you
want to attend uh Volley Jay's Luau.

Speaker 1 (19:54):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
m and now back to the show.

Speaker 4 (20:03):
And I said, what's happening there? He said, well, there's
a young guy whose name is Bruce Lee. He can
and demonstrate. I said, young guy, I said always, He
said twenty one years old. I said, oh man, what
can the guy know at twenty one? I said, but
I'll come. I'm curious. I went to lu Al and
so this young twenty one year old guy jumped on

(20:25):
the stage and he start doing a Northern style going
foot for him, slapping his hand and throwing that kickup
high pop pop pop. And then he said, now, how
in the hell do you think you guys could fight?
Uh doing this? And he and then he said, you
he's a classical mess. It's like get caught in a

(20:48):
fish net trying to fight your way out. And I
looked around. I saw those old Google masters around there
that some of my areknew. They turned right in the
face and they were bears. And then was brash and cocky,
and he said anybody won't come up here and stop
my jab my finger jab, said nobody. And then finding

(21:11):
some big guy like a football player jump on the
stage and vim. He touched him on the forehead. He said,
maybe I did it too soon. You ready, I'll do
it again? So doctor, yeah, I'm ready. He touched him again,
and then and then finally the guy with kind of
embarrassed who bit and he shakes his head and gets

(21:32):
off to the stage. And then he had anybody else
want to come up? Another guy comes up to try it,
same thing. The guy's hand was so fast, and I said,
I was interested. And so after the demonstration, Jimmy said,
Bruce says, I stay in my house and he's trying
to go back next week to Seattle, and if you

(21:53):
want to come Monday night, we're getting gathered together. So
Monday night went to Jimmy's house and there was about
four or five people there, and I think Bob Baker
was one of them. He was one that was in
one of the boot movies. And so, uh, one of
the things that Bruce demonstrated that night was, uh, the

(22:16):
one inch punch and the traffic and doing it blindfolded
too and and he said, he's gonna come down through
uh after he he goes back up to Seattle and
bap things up, He's gonna come back down to Oakland
and stay with Jimmy. And he called teach. So I
was one of the first students that showed up. But

(22:38):
he moved down from Seattle to Oakland, and we got
to be pretty good friends because they were all in
a uh wing chun pose down in that garage at
about seven eight people that that was in that first class.
And and I asked Bruce, I said, Bruce, why do
you guys all in a softball fans and holding a

(22:59):
pot up? So he said, why did drink dunstar? And
you put your right hand out because your right hand
is pow hand said are you right handed? I said yeah.
I said, but you know my knockout punch is the
left hook jabbing the left hook and then my right
hand inside rear hand and h and I shot a
couple of shots out that thing being bank. So he said, well,

(23:22):
you do what you want to do. And but I
never joined the class all night. Uh, I just walk in,
been trying a little bit, just do what it's feel like.
And but the end up every time I come into town,
I sit in the living room and talk to him
and Jimmy and uh that way, and then we began

(23:42):
to uh uh discuss differing uh thouts of fighting and
just everything in general. Just got a buddy buddy and
and and he respected me for my my uh you know,
boxing skills and for what what uh uh So what
I did was uh uh just trying to got more

(24:07):
a lot of uh talking to you with Bruce and
and listening to his uh his philosophy and his theories.
And he was smart. I'm telling you he was. I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
I'm sorry, Master. I was just gonna ask, Master Fink,
did you ever actually receive it to the one inch
punts is you? Did he ever do that to you?

Speaker 4 (24:32):
No, he never did it to me. He would uh
pick up that phone book and give her somebody else, hope. Now,
looking back, I talked to Linda about a week ago.
I had not talked to Linda about twenty years, and
and she said that, you know, Deuce had most respect

(24:53):
for me, not to me. You see, I did spar
with Deuce one time. We were got it like a
couple of drunk guy sitting around bullshitting. He said, hey, Leo,
let's go out in the backyard. And that's fotowed a bit.
Okay see, and he realized I see, I was not
confined and I didn't want to taste after him, but

(25:15):
he bounced around. That's after he came to Condole and
uh so every time he come within range, I've watching
him real good. So we try a side kick on
me and out side stepping up. I hooked the leg
and then of course he kept moving ron after I
get on me and I'm moving. The thing is, there's
a boxing timing is nothing new. You realize a lot

(25:38):
of people integrate boxing because he said, all look too simple,
But that's what he thought. He is. The whole thing
is not so much of the work techniques that it's
what goes on inside of you. Like I stand in
front of somebody already, I know have a feeling. I
feel what he's gonna do. When he make an issue move,
I overstok that jab in the space. And then then

(26:00):
then then if I dab jabbing fake down little, I
see the hand that aren't coming down. I hit him
with the left hook right on the tin. That's why
I hard knocked those guys out in the ring. There's
always the body shot with the left tab and then
come up with a left hook and a very simple move,
but you know you do it. Uh hey, Bruce Leeve

(26:20):
said to do it without telegraphing, non telegraphic move. It
did because he studied after a long time on fight
when he realized that. When Tun didn't do it, we
did a lot of discussion and I said, Bruce, you
know what I would have done doing me to what
if you turn around trying to run from me, I
would bear him back a neck and jerk him back
and I would costly book him upper coating. You know,

(26:44):
instead you ran you running around the room ty for
forward blasting with the wind Tun, pups. It don't work,
you know, when you're running away from there, it's like
I kiss a girl leaning away from me.

Speaker 3 (27:00):
Of it.

Speaker 4 (27:01):
That was it. And then Jimmy is always there and
he agree with me because he used to box a
little bit, you know. So the three of us, you know,
they're pretty close. I mean more so than people in
real life. And that's why I never had a picture
taken with Bruce. I never thought about it. I didn't
care camera around and say, hey, that's their picture. We
just hung out, you know, like you were hanging out

(27:22):
with your buddies. You don't have a picture taking all
the time. Yeah, but uh uh uh, but Linda will
tell you because you brought that out because the other day,
because I've come Peter Obard one of my friends. He's
a martial artists in Pennsylvania. He's writing a book on
waknd uh the Way of the Innovative Fists and waking

(27:45):
doe really is my version of chicken dough. But I
don't use the wakendo because Bruce said, I don't. I
don't really want anybody go down and using what his mind.
They have to discover themself. And the first thing he
said to me, he said, uh, why are you going
to uh to trade in so many different south Dude,
I'm living for the ultimate man. And he put his

(28:07):
ping on my chest. He said, the ultimate is in there. Man.
Take that boxing you have and learn how to kick
and grapple with it, and you got it. Man, don't
go looking outside of yourself and the secret is all
in new That changed my life. I I I know
trying to kick come out in the knee and jabbing,

(28:28):
and I I have my own way of destroying somebody.
You know, it'll be work. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (28:35):
And that is so poetic too that you know, Bruce
would say, you know something that that sounds exactly like
Bruce and his philosphey of you know, it's it's all
inside of you and you do things your own way
because uh I remember reading when before he passed he
would mention at Giekundo and he's he would say, you know,
you know, don't emulate what I do, just you know,
find your own path to to to express yourself.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
And and and I'm about one of the few guys
who did that. That's why people never asked me for seminars.
And then until recently vision I'm piled up saying no
to a lot of people because he want, uh heykaid,
well teach the bouce Lee stuff. I said, no, I
teach lil falk stuff. Uh And it works for me.
Bouce Lie stuff don't walk for me. But I have

(29:19):
the absence of Boocelesta, the basic principles that he is
behind it. And and and he discovered you know the
thing that I watched him before he got into that
Wong Gument fight. His kicks wasn't that high and then
later he ran into June Ree and Jane you know,
Korean style, and he was kicking high and so what

(29:40):
happened was, uh, and I earned something by Bruce. He'd
do the same thing to you Reid does. But he
don't look like Ree. He looked like Bouce Lee. So
he was able to text somebody his techniques and internalize
that it comes out boost Lee because I remember.

Speaker 3 (29:58):
H.

Speaker 1 (30:00):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
And now back to the show.

Speaker 4 (30:10):
Uh. He wanted me to stay to go with him
to uh the International Crime Championship, and he said to
Steve McQueen and Gilsey Summers will be there. I said, no, man,
I gotta go back to Safrancisco. I have a date
up there. So I had, but you know I had,
you know, I I had gotten the divorce and I
was dating this girl. And so she said, all wait

(30:31):
on me in San Francisco, UH to go to a
play and uh rid the fly back up there and uh,
but he said he was getting dressed and uh he
had on his uh underwear. He said, leol, let me
show you something, man. He popped a spinning back kick
out there. I never seen anything like that, and he said,

(30:51):
he here's something about Yeah, I had something to go pop,
I said, But he said, I don't have no ball. No,
I said no, but will you charge me? But he
got that's being back kicked from Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris
didn't look like that, you know, Chuck Lars book fits.
But when he dismanted Bvac just looked like phtographic and uh.
And then most times he missed because I know he

(31:12):
fought to my tournaments before you and uh, and but Bruce,
and that's spinning back. He he used into all this movies,
you know, and he made it pop. And he got
that from uh watching Chuck Myers doing spending bat Cake
and then all these other kicks he watched your read
and that they don't look like either one of the
guys doing it. See. So that's where he was able

(31:34):
to be a step above everybody else trying to imitate him.
He didn't know how to internalize it. But what I
did was I internalized his concept and and then but
when I found out the concept is already what I
already knew from boxing, and most of it come from
Washington because he had all the washing books. You know, yeah,

(31:55):
I know.

Speaker 3 (31:56):
Bruce Lee was a student of a lot of different
martial arts and uh, I remember reading too. He had
a lot of you know, books and libraries and you
just you know, you.

Speaker 4 (32:05):
Go to this house. He's got three bookshelves and they
all full all the wall. Uh. They had a lot
of martial arts books are boxing all that. Then he
had a lot of books and then a lot of
books on how to sell bill state the One day
I asked him, I da boos, are you into real estate?
He said, uh, he said no, I'm the the real estate.

(32:26):
I said, I see, I said, amazing how he could
cross train and another the example was one day he
called me up. He was way excited. He said, hey,
you know, did you have you watch Bob Hayes. He
just be a sprinter. Remember next time you get a chance,
you watched Bob Hayes when they said on your mark
gets set, he lifts his heels and boom he's gone.

(32:47):
So now from then on he was lifting his weird
rear leg heel up when he would close the gap.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
So yeah, he would that's amazing, how you would you
do that? So that way that a uh he sort
of got there even faster, and it was almost like
he was pushing off to close that gap between you.
Between you.

Speaker 4 (33:07):
Exactly because from bust and I already knew that mm
hm brought to you.

Speaker 5 (33:14):
You you on the toes and and a lot of
the i's bounce around they uh when they bounce around,
Uh they uh they were on the toes.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
Oh so so master fun.

Speaker 4 (33:29):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
You know, around this time, you know, Bruce started to
you know, gain popularity. I have to ask you, you know, uh,
do you have any stories of of anybody challenging Bruce,
because I remember Linda mentioned that in the documentary how
it got to the point where you know, Bruce was
you know, some random street brawler would always come up
to Bruce or something and and try to challenge him.
And did you did you ever see that?

Speaker 4 (33:50):
Well, the other one that was warm job, but walm
go didn't challenge him. It was a guy named David
Chin that instigated the whole thing. He wanted David Chin
at off about coming over my place and trying knock
me all, but he's really chicken inside, so he came one.
I mean stood there. I had a bout up the

(34:11):
jam in factmental well, I was one if buddy and
my buddy and who's also my farm partner. Lucky Can
was my sparting partner. Uh and he was a wing
con gut. But I was following with him in boxing
and then shoppened my boxing with him, and he tried
chopping he's went my box, but I was having head
on him, and he said, David's gonna come to night.

(34:34):
And I knew David pretty well, but not that well either,
you know. So he said, I said, what is he
gonna do? He won't train with me. No, No, he
gonna challenge you because he thinks he can beat you,
because he thinks you're boxing is crap. I thought, really okay,
and uh so he came and he stood around while
I was teaching a couple of students and then and

(34:57):
he saw me fine and my student and I said,
while I take him on after I get through with
these two kids. And then uh then he disappeared. So
I said, hey, Lucky, where is uh? Where's David? I
thought he was going to, uh you know, I thought
he was going to uh uh stay around and inspire
me and not I spied him. He said, no, I

(35:18):
don't know where he was. Yeah, he took off. Yeah,
and uh and so uh uh that was that. And
then Nick Man I knew he was instigating the uh
instigating the uh uh you know, a fight between the
one got money Bruce Lee going back and forth and says,

(35:40):
this guy said this to you, this guy said that
to you. And finally after it all over, after Bruce
Lee uh kind of embarrassed him. He was no fighter.
He lasted about five seconds.

Speaker 3 (35:50):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (35:51):
Bruce said to me, said, you know what I should do,
Go get David and kick his butt. Yeah, and then
he would be scared. Man. He didn't he didn't show
his face anywhere. Yeah. So that that was the story there,
you know.

Speaker 3 (36:09):
So uh was it was it Bruce who ended up
getting you involved in filmmaking?

Speaker 4 (36:16):
Uh? No, he didn't do that. He did promise me
a part in uh a part movie. He's gonna do
it James Coburn. But then you know that party didn't
get off the bound they sold the script to it
and it became David Kardine. Uh. Circle of the Sign.
Circle Vine was was raised a script that it little

(36:38):
Von developed with Bruce Lee and then somehow went to
India a look for location and then they came back
and did more. They just couldn't get financing, I guess
because there was such a big budget. So they sold
the thing to uh fcal Embassy and then they developed. Uh,
they did the movie with David Cared Devee was trying it.

(36:58):
Uh so but but his movie did it really didn't?
Uh uh uh put a farm of me that I
want to be an actor. I never acted in my life,
but one time a guy in Philippines halled me and
I want to know if I want to be another
Bruce Lee. I said, well, I don't know what to
deal with. So I'm making a movie and I want

(37:20):
you to starting. I said, okay, I'll try it. And
so my buddy Ron Markinni, who is a turning fighter,
baught Jack Norris and Bill Lut and all those guys.
Weezy and I went there and we made our first movie.
And that's how I got in the movie business. I
got interested and uh but uh but he did inspire

(37:42):
me to continue to uh to shop in my my
acts and the martial arts.

Speaker 3 (37:49):
Yeah an he and he know Bruce continues to inspire
just generations of martial artists and and people, even through
his writing and through his movies.

Speaker 4 (37:59):
And yeah.

Speaker 3 (38:00):
Yeah, so so Leo as your master Fong. So that
the movie you're talking about was that Murder and the Orient,
the the one of the Philippines.

Speaker 4 (38:09):
Yeah, yeah, Murty Orange, Tiny Manila and I Murdered in Norway.
That my very first movie. Ron Mark and I did it,
and then we did He decided to do a bunch
of stuff on his own and I did, but I
decided to shoot it in the United States, my first
movie in the US for skillp On and it did
very well. They did seven million dollars box office of

(38:29):
it two doos dollars budget, and it got uh recognized
in the Variety and Hollywood Reporter. You know, it was amazing,
you know.

Speaker 3 (38:40):
And that was the first time you worked with Cameron
Mitchell correct.

Speaker 4 (38:44):
Yeah, yeah, camer Mitchell and his your Fanhope Holiday Toy
Donahue and uh so, I I had a lot of
these old timers in my movies, you know, Downie Richard
Lynch who was an Invasion USA with It Took Mars,
uh yeah, and then uh yeah, a lot of that

(39:09):
Rick and Norton was in uh that Street mm hmm.

Speaker 3 (39:14):
Yeah yeah, and uh did so when you were working
on kill Point you work with Camra Mitchell and you
worked with him again on on Low Blow. Do you
know do you have which by the way, Low Blow
is my favorite.

Speaker 4 (39:26):
Movie of yours. Well yeah, really.

Speaker 3 (39:29):
I have a Low Blow poster on my wall. Actually, uh,
it's I you know, I think it's phenomenal. But so
so do you have any any you know?

Speaker 4 (39:40):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (39:41):
You know stories working with Camra Mitchell on kill Point
and Low Blow.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
and now back to the show.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
No, I don't have his stories, no, but but but
I'll tell you he uh you know, I'm be can't
be good friends and he had endless stories. When you
will him, you you never listening stories he tells you
he's been in the holly with so many that told
so long. That he had stories with Clark Gable, Ava
Gardner and all these old icons you know, and uh

(40:18):
and so and then the other thing I owe to
my last week yesterday with my my thirtieth wedding anniversary,
and uh and camer Mitchell and his girlfriend, Hope Holliday
was responsible for matching up my wife and I. I
remember my league wife had passed away and and uh,

(40:43):
Hope called me up one day and said, hey, Leo, Uh,
Cameron nows note you want to did his uh nurse matter? Yeah?
What you look black? And that's why the first thing
to ask you and and then uh hope fills it beautiful,

(41:04):
I feel kid so uh so anyway, uh, that's how
it happened. Yeah, and anyway, so.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
Master fun you know with low Blow, as you know,
as we talked about you know where you work with
Cameron Mitchell.

Speaker 4 (41:28):
You know Low Blow.

Speaker 3 (41:29):
You actually wrote the screenplay for that movie.

Speaker 4 (41:31):
Correct, Yeah, I wrote the screenplay. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:34):
So was that your first time writing the screenplay?

Speaker 4 (41:37):
Uh? That's that was the first uh screenplay? Yeah, that
I wrote that?

Speaker 3 (41:44):
So uh how did you you know, how did you
go about writing it?

Speaker 4 (41:48):
I mean, did you?

Speaker 3 (41:49):
Did you?

Speaker 4 (41:49):
Guy?

Speaker 3 (41:49):
I mean because at that point, I don't know how
many screen rinning books were out, But did you go
and and research the you know, how to how your
screenplay format?

Speaker 4 (41:57):
And and it's funny, I always did that thing, I
asked backwards and I did was I said, well, I
look at a movie and I said, okay, uh I
I that's how it is. And I I look at
the script that's been midden by somebody else, and I said, now,
the headline is always an interior exterior in the in

(42:19):
the place, in what day or night. Then he described
the scene and so, uh, let me see. Uh I
think that first time I wrote the script, wasn't the
low blow. He was a tiger's revenge or enforce him
death roll. Uh it's a faint movie, but different titles.

(42:41):
And uh, I just come back from the Philippines after
made uh uh Merilie and Orions. I went to the
post office and stopped in California and I ran into
uh uh one of my uh my friends. You know,
he's an insurance boker. So he said, hey, Leo, where

(43:04):
you've been. I am singing around and I said, I've
been to Philippines making a movie. And I said, hey,
by the way, you know I can make movies for
about thirty five or forty thousand dollars in the Philippines
and they looked like two hundred five hundred thousand dollars movies,
he said, He said, you won't make a little bit
of money times do it now? So here's all these
martial arts movies coming out. When marsh Arson, so he said, hey,

(43:28):
why don't you come in and and then meet my partner,
said his name Michael bad Way. I joined forces where
he's my he's an attorney and and so we're doing
stuff together. So I went there and he he introduced me,
and so Michael had taken a lessons from me, even
karate before and so you know, both of Michael's Michael Sullivan.

(43:52):
And then Michael bad Way said, this is Michael bad Way.
So he said yeah, I said, Mike killing me, you know,
and you make movies. I said yeah. I said, you know,
if you didn't come up with some money, I said,
we can go Philippines and make make a good movie.
You know, I'll make a movie that makes money with
a lot of karate in it. He said that was hot.
Right then all the drive ins had five fingers of

(44:14):
Death and all that stuff, and uh. And then so anyway,
I told him, and he's listening, and he said, well,
let me see what I can do. I got a
couple of clients, got money. You know, we can come
up with twenty five thirty thousand, you know, I said, man,
Philippines about Max Potatoes, and we got a movie. And
a few days later, not a bad Way called me

(44:35):
up and he said, hey, Leo, I won't do it.
I got I can get ten thousand dollars from miss
guy he does trucking company stocking, and uh if I
and I think I've amazed the fifteen thousand and twenty
five would be enough when it well, if we get
a door adventure, I think there would be enough. And
so so he said. Then later he says, I think

(44:56):
that thatnother one's going to put a couple more bucks,
you know. And then and uh so walk you and
Mike go to Philippines with the Tim grant and see
what you can do. While we did that, and the
second day I was there, I got knocks from my
door and uh he was production manager for uh for

(45:19):
uh uh uh what do you call it? That? Uh
the movie that he shadow there kind of title kind
of passed me in but uh uh uh who is
the guy that did for Godfather? Oh so princes, Yeah,

(45:41):
a couple of couple of and he did a movie there,
uh war movie and in the Philippines that this guy
was a uh production man joined and he said, hey, Leo,
I I got a guy who's got his father just
died and he inherited the money and he wants to
put his paysover into an international production. I said, you

(46:03):
came in the right place, man, I said, I got U.
I said I got maybe half million paysolds. I didn't
tell him I got ten thousand dollars. I just said
half million and payshovers. He said. He says, let's let's
meet for lunch. I did n't meet for lunch. He
might be the guy you want. You're the guy he

(46:24):
wants to see. So we went to lunch and we
talked and and so he said, let's let's let's start
a contract tomorrow. I'm interested. So we did, and so
we did uh enforce him death row UH with the
Dawn venture. I used all the paysholds first, and then
we shot from us scenes and I used my dollars.

(46:45):
We didn't have to. You raised the other money ten
thousand dollars. Did it and Uh and came back and
the movie was shot to her lesson Pristalph Grand and
it made about two hundred thousand dollars. And I ended
distributed the thing with a friend of mine who was
in the distribution do Calvo Toboole. He went to h Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida. Yeah,

(47:11):
and then uh, and that's that's that was the beginning
of the history of my movie making. And then of
course one thing that at another, and then I was
shooting a movie every every year.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
Yeah, and you know that that's the uh. And that's
a great way to actually be able to go to
town to town because you know, even in like the
thirties and the forties in America, that's the way you know,
they used to to to exhibit movies. You know, they
used to go around like that. And you know, I
know a few filmmakers who such as Kevin Smith today,
they were doing things like that. They were actually just

(47:43):
you know, showing us from town to town too. And
then so local local venues. And then but now you know,
obviously you were promoted online and then you know, that's
that's the way they spread the word. But and you know,
and so when you were writing Low Blow, you know,
what what was some of your your inspirations for the
for the movie, you know, sort of like the you know,
the writing and the field the movie.

Speaker 4 (48:04):
Well, I will think you is I I I thought
about uh, it's private investigator. He's kind of sloppy, like
uh uh, what was that Uh god, I have problems
memory space. But that that pella that they trying to
sloppy uh Glumbo, Yeah Tlumbo? So what is his name? Glumbo?

(48:29):
And I I I took a page from that, like
could Joe Wong? Is this a sloppy guy driving old
beat of a car and but he ain't nobody to
mess with? And that's how it got started. And so
uh so we we decide used as a plot the
uh a camp uh off of uh Jim Jones uh

(48:51):
disaster in Jonestown. So so that that and then then
Cameron Mitchell played the Jim Jones type of character. Uh
he was kind of nutty. And then uh then we
had a cousois who was in uh colored purple with
Hoopie Coolberg and uh and she was that was his friend.

(49:13):
So he said, hey, you want to have an Academy
Award actress or not me? I said yeah, So I
didn't know who uh Acuzoi was Kuzia and her father
was diplomatic in Africa, and uh so she was in
it and she played his girlfriend uh cohart and in

(49:35):
in uh in low blow. Uh yeah, and and so
uh so I I I uh uh he had a
friend of mine had a Rose Royce and we doctor
decorated up and there they wore robes, white robes and stuff,
and she thrown him and drive camera mitchew up there

(49:56):
and the like. He was a celebrity.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.

Speaker 4 (50:09):
And they had this camp, so well I got this
push from that, and and mainly the character was Glumbo.

Speaker 3 (50:19):
You know, yeah, you know you mentioned one of my
favorite things about about Joe Wang, your character you played
was that car he drove because it would never start
and he always had to beat the engine and and
uh he always got the parking tickets.

Speaker 4 (50:36):
Yeah, yeah, back seat full of parking tickets. And I
bought that car for a hundred, one hundred and twenty
five bucks off the off the uh at my mechanics
place he had their cars and then I said, that's
the idea was red It resonated in the color and
junkie looking, and I said, how's this car? He said, well,

(50:58):
you know it's got to motor in it, but you know,
the uh, the body looks kind of shitty. You know,
I did, Well, how much you want for he said,
twenty five cast. I said, okay, why be a money
twenty five cash and took it he laughing. I said
they wanted good they were rowing oh and then uh,
but had a good motor in it. And then the

(51:21):
the problem is it was a bad sauce in the
uh uh the smoke would come through the floorboard when
you're driving. Almost took the desk and then uh and
I finally give it. I didn't give away. I philted
some guy for seventy five bucks. Yeah. Uh yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:41):
And one of my other favorite gags too was when
Joe when Joe Wang would would always end up hitting
the car into things like the barrier and he ran
over the divider.

Speaker 4 (51:53):
Yeah. Yeah, he was a bad uh he was. He
lived up to the sale type of Asian trying to drive.
The movie was prapers, you know. And I would cuss
the thing in Chinese and uh and and so. But
the movie did well. He did not three million dollars
at the box office. And some of these second the

(52:14):
second or eight thiters, you know, and they and then
when I was a can Film festival, a guy and
I'm a kind of pusher sent the Rosslock movie. I
just directed head in uh fight to wind. It came
to the title something else I don't know, and then
he comes up and he stood there and watched it.
He said, so you in that movie. I said no,

(52:34):
I said, I directed it. He said, uh, he said,
well too bad. You know. I said, let me ask
you if I was in the movies, what happens? I'd
buy it? Said I. You know, I bought a low
Blow and and I I did a lot of good
business with it in Japan. And I said, oh, I see.
So he said, well, anyway, hopefully next time you make

(52:56):
a move in that movie and then I'll be day
buy it. I said, okay, And and you.

Speaker 3 (53:02):
Did, because you ended up making the sequel to Low Blow,
called Blood.

Speaker 4 (53:04):
Street, Blood Street, that's right. Yeah. I had written to
Norton in it. Yeah, and it did good. It didn't uh,
it went limited engagement theatrical but uh, but it did
real good business and video, you know, in overseas. It
did good in both seas, and uh, that was one
of my favorite dude, but Street.

Speaker 3 (53:25):
Yeah, you know, I just bought the a rare VHS
copy of that for about thirty five bucks. Oh really, yes,
because I found out there was a library in Maine
that actually had it on sale through Amazon, and I
couldn't find anywhere else and I saw it, and I

(53:46):
so I got it. And it has all these you know,
rental stickers on it because you know all those rental
houses are you know, they're out of business now. So
so I ended up getting that. So I actually, uh,
I actually have the VHS copy, and so I had
a bust about your v v c R.

Speaker 4 (54:04):
Yeah, I U. I usually what I'm doing now is
taking these VCRs dominated this place uh death plans for
and he'll put it into DVDs.

Speaker 3 (54:14):
Yeah, making these things, you know, yeah, because I mean
technology analysis has come so far because I actually have
the same thing at my office, and I was like,
you know, now I want to put Blood Street on
Blu rays, just not for selling obviously, just for myself.
So I'm gonna have I'm gonna have a two pack

(54:35):
of a Blood Street, A Blood Street and low Blow.

Speaker 4 (54:38):
Oh that's great, yeah, yeah, because uh, kill Point did
real good business and uh that's really a big story there.
In fact, I'm gonna sit down and I'm going to
write a book on on uh uh on movie making
and and and the cattle story for each one, each
one story. Each movie had a story. And because I

(54:59):
raised fun for every movie, you know, and uh and
how I made money for uh Lets Street was was
shot for fifty thousand dollars. And there was a guy
who wanted to get involved in movie making. And he
had a friend that that uh you know, did real well.

(55:22):
They owned a cannon company in stocktond and so he
he was the class made of the University of Pacific,
and he came over and I told him about the
movie making, and I said it it was high risk,
but then you know, if you want to invest, it's great.
I got the story you know we're gonna do and
they all they wanted was credit for it. And then
they gave me a picture grand he shot at and

(55:44):
uh and made some money back, but I wouldn't say
that we got back. Uh. And I did another movie,
UH call Last Reunion, and UH, that one made some
money for me. I made that Uh the first time
I went around and made the sales, I made about
sixty thousand dollars. And then uh, about five years later,

(56:08):
a guy called me up to the leo. Uh. Uh,
my name is uh Blad Blah Blair. I uh, uh
you know I'm friend of Frank Johnson. He and I
did the thing. He was a camera guy and and
uh he says, uh, I have money for you, And
I said, Seymour. He made seymore summer. I said, how

(56:30):
much money you have for me? So I got thirty
five thousand dollars and that was It's like out of nowhere,
you know, be surprised for money, I said. He said
that what I did was I able to collect the
money from this company. And you talked to use the
Last Reunion. That's one of the five movies that raised
puns for well, uh one of them distribution companies and uh.

(56:54):
And so I went and got to thirty five grand
and I said, how much you're gonna get summer? He
said three thousand. So getting got three thousands that I had, uh,
you know, uh split the rest with Frank Donson. I
called Frank Donson the one day and I said, Nik,
and you got a spot for you. How would you
like to have a few bucks? You know? But he

(57:15):
was happy and he became nowle camera I directed in
one of the top television cvs. I'm back in the nineties,
you know, because he had gone literally move up in
the business.

Speaker 3 (57:31):
You know, and I think that is a great idea,
master fong to to create a filmmaking book, because you know,
I have a I know you can't see it right
now obviously, but behind me is just a library of
all types of filmmaking books. And you know, one thing
that I've learned over the years is about financing and
stuff like that from from puffero sources. But it's always

(57:54):
just interesting to hear, uh, because there's never in the
filmmaking business, you know, there's never one way to do anything.
There's never one way to raise money, and there's always
you know, I'm always interested in hearing all these you know,
innovative ways, interesting ways about how somebody funded a film. Uh.
You know, I've had a for instance, I had one
filmmaker on here and this is this is you know

(58:14):
you mentioned in filmmaking his high risk. He actually ended
up losing his house because of it.

Speaker 4 (58:20):
Oh yeah, yeah, no, no, you don't put your house.
There are certain things you don't do. Yeah, you get
other people's money. And he don't mind. I raised money
for another movie. I think it was bad Bootchap, Bad
boot Wop. Uh No blind Rage and and and so

(58:40):
five Blind Guys Robbing a bank and and and uh
so was one of the guys in there, uh one
of the black guys and there he was a minister.
He's a good friend of mine and I featured church
a few times, and he had a good friends in
trucking business in Richmond. So he said, well, let me
go check with the UH with this friend of mine.

(59:01):
And so he had me in his office. He said, well, I,
you know, I'm going to give you the money because
of my friendship with Booker, and I'm pay you something.
I'm gonna give you five grand and and and uh.
I don't expect to get it back if you're doing
your best, but if you don't do your best, I'm
gonna be really upset. I said, okay, But we finished

(59:23):
the movie and then we had a premiere showing in
uh San Francisco, a special screening, So I invited him there.
He looked at the movie and he was really happy.
He said, Hey, I'm glad I invested in down the Road.
Do you need more money? Let me know. You see,
he didn't care about getting the money about. He just

(59:43):
wanted to see that we did it. Uh. Sincere and
and and uh and and and uh and good and
taint and do our best. That's all he wanted. He
didn't want us to go there and squander the money
away and end up with a piece of craft.

Speaker 1 (59:59):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor
and now back to the show.

Speaker 3 (01:00:08):
Yeah, that's a great because he was investing in you
and that that's such a great story.

Speaker 4 (01:00:12):
Uh yeah. And then so when you go to Lai's money,
don't try prime people because if you run into somebody
who's really too well, I know this guy's got a dream,
I'm gonna help him realize it. See and uh and
so that's why the book would have some uh uh
a depth to it because of that that kind of

(01:00:34):
I think when you go into ask for investors, make
sure you got the right motive. But uh, you know,
uh motivation as well as uh believing in the in
the in their ovasion, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:00:49):
Oh absolutely. And you know with the advent of crowdfunding, now,
you know, one thing you know I always talk about
is is you know, making sure that your project is
as good as it can be because I think a
lot of filmmakers now you know, race too quickly to
try to get a movie made without you know, realizing
the script has to be good. They have to. You know,
it's putting a lot of things in places, and it's

(01:01:09):
like putting together a puzzle and you know you have
to sort of you know, get every little piece and
then you sort of move because your filmmaking is you know,
it's like moving an army because you know you're moving
you know, some film some films have like, you know,
hundreds of people because you know there there's different crew
and cast, and your other films there's a there's a
smaller bit, but it's still you know, it's it's like
moving this massive amount of people and getting all coordinated

(01:01:30):
and getting all seen the vision. And you know that's
why you know, with with crowd funding, the same as
you know, finding equity crowd you know equity uh funding,
it's you know, always making sure that you know everything
is as best as it can be.

Speaker 4 (01:01:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's right. You have to and
uh well I I you know, I learned quite a
bit doing it on my own, you know, because at
the beginning, when you don't have too much money, you
depend on people. They jerked around and actually, well you know,
like uh uh when I went to the phil feed
and and uh and and and uh uh I got

(01:02:08):
to pull you know, uh I sponsored him move here later.
But uh but I I didn't appreciate the fact that
uh that I had him directed from. And he he
pushed his old car he owned on me and uh
uh he wanted to splash it up, I mean uh
and he wanted to do a scene in Low Blue,

(01:02:29):
I mean, uh Tier's revenge. Well, he had a clamp,
you know, flying helicopter and clamped the clamped the thing
on the car and drive it into the sea. I said, well,
that's not going to happen, you know, in real our life.
You throw on the brake, that helicopter will come crashing down.
But but but he wanted to get rid of that car. Well,
I said, you know how much you want for the car?

(01:02:53):
He said, oh, uh, you know, twenty five thirty thousand payos,
you know, and Phil came twenty five thirty thousand paces,
So it was like twenty five thirty thousand dollars. And
even though it may be much less. So he kept
saying he didn't want to build it unless he did
do the movie. Until he had me halfway through the thing.

(01:03:14):
And I had not directed anything before and and and
he says, uh uh. Halfway through it, he said he
wasn't going to do it if I didn't go wrong,
get do our scene. But he kind of put it
done to my head and I said, okay, go ahead
and do it. Then I'll pay you for your car.
And and but I forgave him in a way. I
bought him back over here when he his family wanted

(01:03:35):
to come over here and need a sponsor. I sponsored him.
And he's over here with a green card. And so
I did another movie with him. But then I wasn't
too happy, and I stayed away from me, and he
was looking for me not too long pull and then
some of my associates said, no, he's not here. He
went out somewhere. He didn't come back. But the because

(01:03:57):
he pulled a Shenanigan on me. The logo, I mean,
Tigert's Avenger enforcing death rolls my second movie. So I said,
I'm gonna learn how to direct. That's what I said.
I said, I'm gonna replace it, and and and and
so what I did was I, uh, I kind of
the actor as a system director to uh, my friendly
directed a low glow and I kind of watched him

(01:04:18):
and had him tell me some stuff and and then
I found out the ladyer said, all you gotta do
is just uh well, uh, you know, be aware of
camera angles and uh uh and and this act. And
I learned from camera Mitchell because he used to and
and kill point. He used to sit right on the
side line and watch me saying my lines, and he

(01:04:41):
would say, hey, will throw it away. I said, what
do you mean throwing it away? He said, you know,
uh marmando. I said, yeah, he's a good doctor. I said,
what makes a great actor. He said, he gows his
lines away. I said, yeah, but he mumbles. People don't
understand what he said sometimes, and he said, who gives
a ship I got. I learned a lot fromhim. He

(01:05:07):
humorous that I understand what it's talking about, because I
had a tendency uh before. I took lessons from him,
uh to raise my voice and go too high. He said,
you got to kind of drop it down. You got
to feel the lines you see, and then so and
then and then it changes my whole thing. I didn't

(01:05:28):
look when I see myself on the screen. After that,
I wasn't as embarrassed as as was before. Yeah, I
was embarrassed. I would like Jim Kelly and is Melinda
his first movie? If you had seen the movie Melinda?
He laughed because Jim Kelly was saying, hey, boss, come here.

(01:05:50):
He got to hide his voice. He was just too high,
too pitch. But difference between things acting and movie acting
is opposite. Stay back and you will project and uh.
In movie acting, you want to uh communicate feeding and

(01:06:11):
the eyes tells the story.

Speaker 3 (01:06:14):
Yeah, and you always learn more by doing right. And
you know that was so great. You had to learn
from camera and you have to learn, you know, uh,
directing while you know, uh while on set, you know, watching,
and you know that is you know, and that that
is irreplaceable. That that type of you know, learning and
that type of training.

Speaker 4 (01:06:32):
Yeah, yeah, it is. You learn by doing. And that's
that's how I learned, even preaching. I went to seminary
for three years after my uh BA degree, and and
the only way I learned it was just making mistakes
and and and finally I said, well, a lot of

(01:06:52):
people in the seminary says, you don't ever want to
use this manuscript. You want to get up and and
really communicate with the audience. And and I was forgetting
a lot of stuff. So I said, no, I'm gonna
run out of preach from the manuscript rather than read
from a manuscript, I'll preach from manuscript. And Wow, that
changed the whole thing. When I got through a service,

(01:07:14):
people compliment me, So you've got a great sermon because
I did not omitting anything, and yet I was able
to to to depend on that manuscript. But I didn't
need it. I preached for it. And and so you'll find, uh,
you know, different nifties and different uh uh tricks in

(01:07:35):
the trade when you start doing it, when you start
reading and trying to get advice from everybody, uh, you
get you know, taggle up and all that uh uh
opinion that stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:07:49):
You know, it's sort of like how how Bruce told
you you know this is my way. You have to
find your own way.

Speaker 4 (01:07:56):
Yeah exactly, Yeah, yeah, and and and I really uh
like that, but but not do it my way. You know,
you're kind of almost unbeatable killing you.

Speaker 3 (01:08:08):
Know, uh master Funk you mentioned, Uh there's something I
meant I forgot to ask you about Low Blow. Uh
there's a there's a scene in there, uh where you
know were your character Joe Wong. He's he's fighting through
the cult and and one scene really stands out, and
that's the scene where U, I believe you you either
stomped or punched the one of the henchman's head and

(01:08:29):
his head sort of collapsed.

Speaker 4 (01:08:32):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:08:33):
I just wanted to ask, you know, uh, you know,
if you don't mind, I again, I'm a big fan
of the movie. Is you know, how did you guys
do that? And and two uh, you know, you know,
was that in the script or was that something that
sort of just came on set as sort of like
a spur of the moment type saying.

Speaker 4 (01:08:52):
It was further Mome wanted to see what happened was
some guy had a plastic head on the set and
I said, I'd be interesting and uh and he said
you can have it, and you want to do what?
I said, what if I destroy it? I don't care,
So I said, I'd be what I gotta. I got
an idea, I said to the camera guy. I said, Frank,

(01:09:12):
I want to send somebody down to the meat shop
and get some mean stuffered in his head. If I'm
gonna lay this head down, and what I want to
do is throw this guy. And if you throw him.
Your mind, your ears, your vision is on him getting thrown.
And then now you cut to my heat smashing his

(01:09:33):
heads already there and you won't see that he's not
connecting this body. Yeah. See, so that's how we do it.
We pull a trick. There. He look like I got smashed,
you know, he hit the floor and then I stopped
and smashed his head. But it was full of full
of hamburger meat. Yeah, that's how we did it. You

(01:09:53):
want a minute the script, you know it just made
up that scene.

Speaker 1 (01:09:58):
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor,
and now back to the show.

Speaker 4 (01:10:07):
The camam is that he smacked my car time blah
blah blah.

Speaker 3 (01:10:14):
That's three because you did cut apart his car with
that uh.

Speaker 4 (01:10:17):
With with the saw, yeah yeah, with the saw. Yeah
that that car blonde. The camera guy he said, out
of water. You want to the story, I said, well,
looks good, uh power saw saw that thing and half
that would be a pretty good scene. Yeah. Yeah, it
was fun. It was fun making that Moviebody had fun. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:10:38):
Yeah, I could tell because it was enjoyment to watch too.
And I could tell when when people enjoy themselves making
the movie.

Speaker 4 (01:10:44):
Uh, it shows.

Speaker 3 (01:10:45):
It definitely shows on screen.

Speaker 4 (01:10:47):
Oh yeah, exactly, yeah, exactly you know about that, you know,
and no Eagle involved in Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:10:57):
Uh so you know, Master Funk. I I know I've
been talking your ear off for over an hour, now,
you know. I and I thank you so much for
coming on the show. So I definitely want to have
you back sometime if you if you ever want to,
uh to come back on.

Speaker 4 (01:11:12):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:11:14):
Oh excellent, Thank you so so much. And you know,
I wanted to ask, you know, this is what I
always I always ask this question anybody to all my guests,
is do you have any you know, closing thoughts or
or you know, anything you want to say just to
sort of you know, put that you know, period at
the end of this interview.

Speaker 4 (01:11:30):
Yeah. My my thought is that you've got to keep
those things perspective and uh, you know, uh, you can't
take it was that serious. And I believe that humility
and integrity or two things that we have to have
and and and I try to live up to that
and and the whole whole thing in life is not

(01:11:53):
to be serious but to be funny, to have fun
and and uh and uh and in our relationship, tip
of each other uh, and understand that we're in the
martial arts to our family, and we don't need to
go challenging people. You know, I have people, uh some
of these guys uh and Wington has wrong struct you

(01:12:14):
want to come down cut hands with me and all
that stuff. And I I tell my students, said, he's
gonna be surprised. I don't touch hands like they think
I'm gonna cut hands. Think of the face, I said.
But but I I I'd rather make friends than make enemies.
And I and I think we have to keep our
uuh martial art uh introspective and and you know it's

(01:12:38):
something that we can do in movies and then in
fitness and all that. It's a great uh great uh
uh uh path to travel and and I think we
need to value it like a lack of religion. That's
very well, yeah, what I have to say. Yeah, I

(01:13:00):
was gonna say I'm sorry for optic guy. I was
gonna say, it's very well put uh master fong Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:13:04):
That's very true. And I wanted to ask you to
uh so, where can people find you out online?

Speaker 4 (01:13:12):
We'll go to uh leo t funk dot dot com.
Uh Leo t dot phone dot com is my uh
my email address. And there's a website called Leo Tfong
uh a Leelfong dot com. And uh and there's a
I have a website you know with products are on

(01:13:34):
and stuff. Yeah, I don't really coach time selling thing.
It had my biography in there and and all that stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:13:43):
Yeah, excellent, And again I'll link to that in the
show notes.

Speaker 4 (01:13:48):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:13:49):
So for everyone who wants to find Masterfoon online. Uh, Masterfong. Again,
I want to say thank you very much for for
you know, uh graciously giving me some of your time
to talk on this show. And again, please, whenever you
know you ever want to come back on, please just
let me know and I would be you know, happy

(01:14:09):
and honored to have you on again.

Speaker 4 (01:14:11):
Okay, okay, thank you, thank you more than welcome.

Speaker 3 (01:14:14):
And again and if I that book, I can't wait
to read that filmmaking book.

Speaker 4 (01:14:19):
Okay, all right, good, I'll let you know.

Speaker 3 (01:14:22):
All right, thank you very much.

Speaker 4 (01:14:23):
All right, you welcome.

Speaker 3 (01:14:25):
All right, Matt Master fine, have a great night and
I will talk to you very soon.

Speaker 4 (01:14:29):
Okay, you too, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:14:32):
I want to thank Dave so much for doing such
a great job on this episode. If you want to
get links to anything we spoke about in this episode,
head over to the show notes at any film muscle
dot com Forward slash eight twenty eight, and if you
have it already, please head over to filmmaking podcast dot com,
subscribe and leave a good review for the show. It
really helps us out a lot, guys. Thank you again

(01:14:52):
so much for listening. Guys, as always, keep that hustle going,
keep that dream alive, Stay safe out there, and I'll
talk to you soon.

Speaker 2 (01:15:00):
Thanks for listening to the Indie Film Hustle podcast at
indiefilm hustle dot com. That's I N D I E
F I L M h U S T l E
dot com.