Action fans have delighted at the pairing of Scott Adkins and Louis Mandylor across an assortment of projects for nearly a decade. In particular, Scott and Louis’ buddy comedy banter in Jesse Johnson’s “Debt Collector” movies showcased their chemistry with phenomenal energy and a splendid combo of plentiful laughs and fists. For the new War II-era martial arts actioner “Prisoner of War”, Scott and Louis bring their winning collaboration to a World War II setting, with Louis stepping into the director’s chair this time.
In “Prisoner of War”, British pilot James Wright (Scott Adkins) is shot down and taken into a Japanese POW camp alongside numerous American and British soldiers, ruled over by the sadistic Lt. Col. Ito (Peter Shinkoda). While Ito delights in tossing his captured soldiers into a fighting ring to be destroyed by trained Japanese fighters, he and the rest of the camp get a big shock when Wright easily holds his own in the pit, due to his own extensive martial arts training in different parts of Asia. As Ito tries to wear Wright down and break the troop’s spirits, Wright and his compatriots begin hatching a daring plan to escape.
Today, KFK sits down with Louis Mandylor to talk about the making of “Prisoner of War”, the genesis of the project from a story conceived by Scott Adkins, along with a bit on Louis’ role in the upcoming Scott Adkins-Iko Uwais double-header “Skyline: Warpath”!
Hi Louis, welcome to Kung Fu Kingdom. Hope you’re doing well today!
I’m doing great, thanks Brad!
Awesome! Well, let’s dive right into the genesis of “Prisoner of War”? How did the movie come about and how did you come aboard as director?
Well, Scott and I have collaborated on a number of films previously, specifically the “Debt Collector” movies and “Avengement”, we became friends, and he knows I’m a die hard filmmaking lover. We always talked about future projects to work on together, and one night, started talking about doing something, and he brought up “Bridge Over the River Kwai”. He mentioned something about doing a prisoner of war movie with fights to the death, and we had a long discussion on the possibilities of that story, and I just fell in love with the idea. So we ran with the idea, and my partner Marc Klebenoff, got involved, and he’s a fantastic writer. Marc pumped out the first draft, and we eventually ended up polishing a draft we were happy with, and we went to war and made the movie.
So, what was the experience like of working with Scott as director rather than your previous projects together as co-stars?
I guess the only difference really is that I was the director, because the collaboration on the other movies were reminiscent of this. Every night, we’d be discussing scenes and all the script pages. I mean, we were doing re-writes all the time and getting them approved by Marc, but it only really changed in the viewpoint of me being the director, but the collaboration just grew, it was amazing.
Where there any other World War II movies that were a big influence on “Prisoner of War”?
Louis and Scott in Debt Collectors
Louis coordinates the next scene of Prisoner of War
Well, I always watch a lot of films that I guess, to me, seem relative to my pre-production process. But ultimately, we hard an original story here set in an actual event of World War II, so it was pretty serious to not get things work, because we didn’t want to get ripped up by the World War II enthusiasts, nor the martial arts enthusiasts, so we really did a lot of research. As far as the mood for me as the filmmaker, that took a month of me sitting in my apartment and going for coffees and sketching preliminary storyboards and just thinking about “What kind of movie do I want to make?” At some point it clicked, and that’s the greatest feeling in the world when it clicks, and we went with big lens, nothing handheld, a studio-esque type film with Steadicam and dolly shots, and you have an actor who can deliver the action so I don’t have to cheat it. I want the audience to see and feel the environment.
The good thing is the jungle played a big part, it was one of my main characters as the director, and the war is the war, but the real story to me as the filmmaker is the relationship with the Japanese commander Ito and James Wright. When they meet and Ito underestimates him for the first time and dismisses him to be be-headed, that’s when the movie really starts.
Scott breaks out some grappling techniques in Prisoner of War
And with “Prisoner of War” having the novelty of being a martial arts-heavy World War II movie, was there an particular model for the approach to the action in the film?
Good question, and it was absolutely, dramatically intense, because you’re making a period piece, so we couldn’t make mistakes. The only martial arts that was really kicking off then was karate, and the Japanese were the only ones to know it, and they were kicking everyone’s ass, and then this white boy comes along and he knows it better than them. And that’s the story and the relationship between Ito and Wright, because Ito sees this and says “Wait a minute, what is this? I’m a master! Who is this guy whose teaching me things?!”
So, a lot preparation went into the era, and a lot of rules, like “What was being used back then?”, and we justified a lot of that through the narrative. James Wright was a worldly traveler, his father was military, and we gave the Japanese commander a similar upbringing and relationship with his father, which we don’t heavily emphasize, but it’s in the dialogue. The audience can get it or not get it, but they feel it for sure. They’re prodigy of two of the same kind of military men, so they’re kind of mirror images of each other, and that’s the magic of the movie. Steven Rainey, the stunt choreographer was amazing, and he’s a karate guy, and he influenced the nuances of the action. It was intense, but we made rules, we stuck to them, and it plays a in real world. Granted, it’s a fantasized martial arts movie set in World War II, but I think we pulled it off.
Louis Mandylor and Scott Adkins have great chemistry in the Debt Collector movies.
Louis with director Liam O’Donnell on the set of Skyline Warpath!
Speaking of that, when Scott wrote up the original story for “Prisoner of War”, it was originally titled “Empty Hand”, correct?
Yeah, the first conversation on it was when he brought up “Bridge Over the River Kwai”, and yes, he did want to call it “Empty Hand”, but he lost that one, sorry buddy! (laughs).
Were there any big injuries or mishaps in the making of “Prisoner of War”?
Yeah man, I mean, I say this all the time, on an action movie, people get hurt. Myself too, every action movie I’ve done, it just happens. Scott ripped his hamstring on the first take of the first day of action, and we all had a heart attack. I was watching the monitor, and we all heard it go “Pop”, and he grabbed his leg and said “Oh Louis, I’m so sorry!”, and we had him sit down and put some ice on it, and we had to regroup, but it happens.
Scott Adkins is captured in Loui Mandylor’s Prisoner of War
Scott Adkins is ready for action again in Prisoner of War.
What do you do? You’ve got to somehow turn it into a blessing, and in this particular case, Scott’s so healthy, he got better in about a week or so, and he could do a lot more, but we incorporated some different styles, which for me as a filmmaker ended up being a bit of a blessing. We put in some Judo and some rolls and chokes and I liked it, because Scott’s kicked 1,001 people in the head, so it’s nice to see him choke a few people out!
Yes, Scott’s definitely a master of fight scene versatility! So, what would you say were the biggest stand-out moments or memories from the making of “Prisoner of War”?
It’s hard to pick. I’m stuck for an answer. The process was so uniquely incredible yet overwhelming at the same time. I mean, I was just thankful we would make our days, for the most part. You know, there’s moments for me personally as a filmmaker, and as an actor, but mainly as a filmmaker now where it’s the morning and I’m about to go to war, and I have that first ten minutes where it’s five in the morning and the sun is coming up and I’m making a movie with Scott Adkins about World War II. Those are the moments I remember and they fuel me, it’s medicinal. I give thanks, I’m blessed to be here, and then as soon as I have that last sip of coffee, I put that game face on and its war. When I direct, I’m at war, man. Making a movie is a pretty incredible experience, and those are the moments I cherish, those moments of solace in between the war.
That’s certainly fitting for a movie titled “Prisoner of War”. Well, as we prepare to sign off Louis, you’ll also soon be seen with Scott again in the upcoming “Skyline: Warpath”. What can you share about joining the “Skyline” franchise and working with not just Scott but Iko Uwais and writer-director Liam O’Donnell on such an action-packed sci-fi movie?
Yeah, everyone was so great on “Skyline: Warpath”, man. The director, Liam O’Donnell, was such a great guy, and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much in my life! He’s one of the funniest guys and we have a similar sense of humor. Great experience in Indonesia, and Iko, great guy, and it’s crazy movie. I went to do some ADR recently, and it looks insane with the aliens and everything, it’s going to be exciting and I can’t wait to see it!
Yes, definitely likewise! Thank you so much for the pleasure of our interview today, Louis! Congratulations on the reception that “Prisoner of War” has seen, and we look forward to seeing all of your action-packed projects in the future!
Thank you, and great to speak Kung Fu Kingdom today, Brad!
“Prisoner of War” is now available on VOD and Blu-ray from Well Go USA, and will be released on Blu-ray on November 11th! Have you seen “Prisoner of War”? What are some of your favourite Scott Adkins movies? Are you excited to see Scott and Louis team-up again in “Skyline: Warpath”? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram. (And be sure to jump right into KFK’s FU-niverse of movie reviews and exclusive interviews, including our numerous previous interviews with Scott Adkins, grab your official KFK gear and subscribe for more action on YouTube, as well!)
