219: What is the Future of Action?
As a stunt coordinator on student films from nearly every film school in NYC and a guest lecturer at the School of Visual Arts' Master's in Directing program, our co-host Stephen Koepfer has noticed that up-and-coming filmmakers seem to be more attracted to practical action than ever before. This seems contrary to what one might assume to be the case in today’s film industry.
There is a weird paradox in the action filmmaking community. Practical action has never been more popular. It is actively used to promote and market big-budget productions. Behind the scenes videos go viral on social media. As a result, more people are trying to become stunt performers than ever before. Young filmmakers are craving practical action. Yet simultaneously, existing performers in the industry are petrified of being replaced by digital stunt doubles, generative AI, declining numbers of productions, etc. So, we wanted to dig into the issue of practical vs. AI and the future of action film.
To do so we invited a group of emerging filmmakers on the show. Joining us on are Darren Tun and Jeffrey Colangelo of Code 10-10, the NYC stunt team that won the 2025 installment of 87 North’s prestigious Stunt Design Showdown. Also on the show are Bryan Uvaldo and Amanda Whyte. Bryan’s NYU thesis film, Playin’ Around, took best stunt performance at the Art of Movie Making Film Festival as well as honors from other festivals. These accolades are due in very large part to Amanda’s incredible performance in the film. Together we peer into the minds of these emerging filmmakers and answer the question: What is the future of action?
MENTIONS:
Feeding America Drive: https://teamfeed.feedingamerica.org/participants/NYCombatSambo
Code 10-10’s 87 North Stunt design Showdown winning previs: https://youtu.be/_jtwMLJ4RY8?si=GCPSUPBcBFIiKS6Q
Variety Magazine’s Stunt Showdown coverage: https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/pete-davidson-david-leitch-stunt-design-showdown-1236563986/
Playin’ Around. TAMMIES winning NYU thesis film: https://youtu.be/_W2Kq_nPOPg?si=iBbSAkc6pLiHcHhE
Playin’ Around website: https://www.bryanuvaldo.com/directorial/playin-around
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PRODUCERS
Executive Producers:
Stephen Koepfer
Paul Varacchi
Produced by:
Press Record Studios
-Matthew Kaplowitz
-Richard Butler
-Andrea Levine
http://www.pressrecordstudios.com
Video Editor
Matthew Kaplowitz
Original music by:
Ahrue Luster
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