Film Fights With Friends

Film Fights with Friends is the premiere action filmmaking podcast and film festival. Join filmmaker stuntmen Paul Varacchi and Stephen Koepfer on a show that was nominated for Best TV/Film Podcast at the 2025 Podcast Awards and won the Dramatic Action Awards for the past 2 years running! In 2015 Paul and Steve founded Breakfall Studios, New York’s top action design studio. Get a view behind the camera as they sit with industry guests, break down cinematic fight scenes and action sequences, explore the filmmaking craft, and share their own filmmaking journeys. STEPHEN KOEPFER Stunt performer, filmmaker, renowned coach and martial artist. Stephen has stunt doubled for the likes of Jonanthan Banks, Eddie Marsan, Henry Winkler and Tom Hollander as well as performed stunts on productions including Ray Donovan, Caught Stealing, The Beast in Me and John Wick 2 & 3. As a filmmaker, he has produced and directed several narrative films and documentaries that reflect his passion for storytelling. PAUL VARACCHI Martial artist, stunt & motion capture performer, and celebrity chef. Paul has appeared in such shows as Daredevil, The Punisher, Walking Dead: Dead City and World Beyond, The Night Agent and Gotham. Behind the camera, Paul has many years of production involvement in roles ranging from PA to department head including extensive Health and Safety experience at Marvel and Disney. At the age of 8, Paul’s dad took him to see Robocop and the rest is history! ® Film Fights With Friends, LLC

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Film Fights With Friends

Film Fights with Friends was nominated for Best TV/Film Podcast at the 2025 Podcast Awards and winner at the 2024 Dramatic Action Awards! Paul and Steve are martial artists, stuntmen and filmmakers who founded Breakfall Studios in 2015. In this action filmmaking podcast they sit with an industry guest to breakdown a fight scene from a film or television program they were involved in, explore the filmmaking craft and their guest's career.

STEPHEN KOEPFER
Stunt performer, filmmaker, renowned coach and martial artist. Stephen is the head coach of NY Combat Sambo. As a filmmaker, he has produced and directed several films that reflect his passion for storytelling.

PAUL VARACCHI
Martial artist, stunt and motion capture performer, celebrity chef and has worked extensively in television production in various roles from PA to department head. At the age of 8 Paul’s dad took him to see Robocop and the rest is history!

Recent Episodes

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Sept. 11, 2026

311: Beyond Animation with Peter Lawrence

Peter Lawrence is a writer known for Thundercats, Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch, Silverhawks, The Burning, and more! He is also a co-host of the Beyond Thundera Podcast. In this interview, we explore Peter’s winding career path, the differences of writing for animation and live action, and how his childhood may have set the stage for his creative life. In the latter half of our discussion, we take a more serious tone than usual on the show with a frank talk about the politics of race in th

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Aug. 28, 2026

310: We Are Not Resting On Our Laurels

Steve and Paul announce the launch of the Film Fights with Friends action short film festival. After years of breaking down the action for our audience over the internet, hosting live film screenings and networking sessions, it is time to raise the bar and honor practical action filmmaking in a way only Film Fights with Friends can! MENTIONS: Festival Information: https://www.patreon.com/FilmFightsFriendsPod/posts/film-fights-with-162886277 Submit to our festival on FilmFreeway: https://filmfre

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Aug. 14, 2026

309: A Shot in the Dark with Kayla Windsor

Kayla Windsor is a producer, cinematographer, camera operator and FAA Part 107-licensed drone operator with experience across film, media, and production management. Alongside her creative and technical production work, Kayla also works as a project manager and serves as the Executive Educational Partner at Arizona Filmmakers. She is additionally a board member of the Arizona Production Association, supporting industry growth, collaboration, and opportunities within the filmmaking community. Her

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July 31, 2026

308: Everybody’s Hustlin’

Steve and Paul follow up on listener mail, shout out cool social media engagers and review some do’s and don’ts of cold contacting stunt coordinators. MENTIONS: Seven Snipers review: https://youtu.be/l_CX-O6x5-w Learn more about the TSP: https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/index.html Support the TSP: https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/inv_in_innovation/sponsor.html?v=eUNc33MfXgI Support our food drive: https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participant/NYCombatSambo FILM FIGHTS WITH FRIENDS Do you listen to our show

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July 17, 2026

307: The Man Behind the Voices

Larry Kenney began his career when he was 15 in 1963 as a disc jockey at a radio station in Peoria, Illinois. He went on to work in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago. He later became a cast member on the radio show 'Imus in the Morning' in 1973. There, he made fun of political figures and famous people such as Elvis Presley, Ross Perot, and Richard Nixon. He made his way into TV when he became the host of the New York show "Bowling for Dollars" from 1976 to 1979. He also does the voice for Sonny

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July 3, 2026

306: It’s Not How Well You Can Fight, It’s How Well You Can’t

So, your fight skills got you in the door. But how do you unlearn what you have learned to be bad enough to be good? Steve and Paul dissect the challenges of transitioning from real fighter to fake fighter, share advice from seasoned pros, and offer tips for increasing your on-screen skill. MENTIONS: IG Discussion: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYafW81M_uz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Facebook Discussion: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BPnhcV2hU/ Jack Ryan Review: https:/

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June 19, 2026

305: Is This Podcast Real?

Rob Alicea is the Director of Serena (2026), a critically acclaimed science fiction screenlife thriller in which a down-on-his-luck rock star (Steven Strait - The Expanse) becomes a beta tester for a revolutionary new chat bot (Andi Matichak - Halloween, Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends). Serena premiered at CineQuest 2026 to rave reviews. Rob was nominated for Best First Feature at the 2026 Miami Film Festival. At the age of 19, Rob wrote and directed his first film, End of Our Day, based on the

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June 5, 2026

304: I Will Retire When the Phone Stops Ringing

Falling Into Film by Paul Weston. If you are interested in the stunt industry and action filmmaking (and as a fan of this show, we know you are), you will want to pick up this book. Paul is a legend in the film industry, and his book is, in our opinion, one of the best on the business and history of action filmmaking. He has hundreds of stunt performer, coordinator and second unit director credits spanning Casino Royale (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967), A Bridge too Far (1977), Superman (1978), Ra

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May 22, 2026

303: Jude Poyer Punishes New York

Jude Poyer is the 2nd Unit Director and Action Designer for Marvel Television’s special presentation The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026), his first time shooting in New York City. From his early days as a performer in Hong Kong, and throughout his career, he has shared the screen with some of action film’s greatest, including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Yuen Biao and more. Since his emergence in the 1990s as a stunt performer, Jude has established himself as a top action designe

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About the Hosts

STEPHEN KOEPFER

Host

Stunt performer, filmmaker, renowned coach, and martial artist. Stephen is the head coach and owner of NY Combat Sambo in NYC. As an independent filmmaker, he has produced and directed several documentaries and short films that reflect his passion for collaborative storytelling.

Paul Varacchi

Host

Martial artist, stunt and motion capture performer, celebrity chef and has worked extensively in television production in various roles from PA to department head. At the age of 8 Paul’s dad took him to see Robocop and the rest is history!