This week on Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Joe Acone sit down with Minh Nguyen, a short filmmaker based in Boston. His film, Double Impact, was featured in the 2026 Creative Guts Short Film Festival.
This week on Creative Guts, co-hosts Laura Harper Lake and Joe Acone sit down with Minh Nguyen, a short filmmaker based in Boston. His film, Double Impact, was featured in the 2026 Creative Guts Short Film Festival.
Our conversation dives into Minh’s journey as a director and how anime, video games, and Hong Kong cinema influenced his storytelling and style. He shares about The Black Sheep Guild, a film collective/action design team Minh founded that brings together actors and stunt performers to push the boundaries of action storytelling. We also learn about film choreography mechanics for fight scenes. If you’ve never heard of pre-visualization (pre-vis) before, here is your chance to learn why it’s a critical step for action scenes in film!
Check out Minh’s work on YouTube at :www.youtube.com/Doppoganga. Follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/doppoganga/
Learn more about The Black Sheep Guild at www.instagram.com/theblacksheepguild/.
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Views and opinions shared by our hosts or guests are their own and don't necessarily reflect the views of Creative Guts.
[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:00] LHL: I'm Laura Harper Lake.
[0:00:02] JA: And I'm Joe Acone.
[0:00:03] LHL & JA: And you're listening to Creative Guts.
[0:00:18] LHL: Hey friends, thanks for tuning in to Creative Guts, the podcast that is on a mission to awaken creativity, community, collaboration, and opportunities for gutsy creatives of all ages.
[0:00:27] JA: Today we're chatting with Minh Nguyen, a short filmmaker based from Boston whose work was featured in the 2026 Creative Guts Short Film Festival.
[0:00:34] LHL: So buckle up for this action-packed episode of Creative Guts with Minh Nguyen.
[INTERVIEW]
[0:00:43] LHL: Welcome, Minh men to Creative Guts.
[0:00:44] JA: Welcome.
[0:00:46] MN: I appreciate it. Happy to be here.
[0:00:48] LHL: We loved your film on the film festival, at our film festival. And we'd love to hear from you an overview of you as a creative.
[0:00:59] MN: I don't even know where to start.
[0:01:01] LHL: How would you describe yourself and your creativeness?
[0:01:02] MN: Oh, man, I would say is like I'm an action filmmaker filled with awkwardness and pure awesomeness, I might say.
[0:01:12] JA: I love it. I love that.
[0:01:14] MN: Yeah, I'm a rebel when it comes to telling my story of what I'm trying to accomplish through action and all that fun stuff. Yeah.
[0:01:22] LHL: Love it.
[0:01:23] JA: That's phenomenal. Yeah. I love action films. I would say I feel relatively superficially in love with action films. I'm sure you have a much deeper deeper take on everything. But how did you get into the work that you're doing?
[0:01:41] MN: It's crazy. It was a long journey to me because I started with music, and then I somehow transitioned to acting and filming. I think at one point I started back in high school when I was meeting up with a friend of mine who goes to John D. O'Bryant. They usually had an event once a year called OB agent night. And I've always wanted to try doing skits and stuff. Those are the first group that I actually did. I wanted to do a skits with my Catholic school, but they are very specific. And at the same time, add a little bit of favoritism. So I stay away from them. So the people from O'Bryant let me have the opportunity to be myself.
And then I was really looking forward to do it again. But because it was like a once a year, I figured, "Let me grab a camera, invest a camera or something." This was the time when we don't have iPhones and all of that. The struggle is real. Using a camcorder, we do it just for the fun of it. And at one point, I stopped performing at Anime Boston. And then other anime cons events at AAC, which also stands for Another Anime Conventions. It's crazy.
And then I used to be a concert creator in the anime community for Lord knows how long. And then 2006, I transitioned to filming. And I usually go to out-of-state conventions, but I've always wanted to attend a film festival. So I transitioned that and attend Urban Action Showcase from New York. At that time, before I even submit, I won a $5,000 grant on Mass Culture Council. And I used that to make my first short film, which is called The Brawler, which I recommend watching it, by the way, if you love 80s Hong Kong style.
[0:03:38] LHL: Ooh, nice.
[0:03:40] MN: Yeah. And ever since my first experience with the film festival, that's when I was like, "You know what? Let me transition to making short films," because I feel like that gave me a purpose more than making content in the anime community. Love my people though, but I need to level up like a real game character.
[0:03:56] JA: Don't we all, right?
[0:03:58] MN: You better believe it.
[0:03:59] JA: I love that. Just like 80s Hong Kong style, I'm thinking I just recently found out that Big Trouble in Little China was like a love letter to 80s Hong Kong, right? Hong Kong style martial arts films, right?
[0:04:13] MN: Oh, yeah, for sure. Mainly inspiration with Bruce Lee.
[0:04:16] JA: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. Yeah. And I had no idea. It always talked about it's just this beloved film, but there's like so much more commentary especially about how Kurt Russell in that film is like this is posturing American action guy that is basically inept and everything that he tries to do.
[0:04:35] MN: Oh, yeah, for sure.
[0:04:36] JA: Love that.
[0:04:38] LHL: So what makes your style of filmmaking unique?
[0:04:41] MN: I'm not very big with the way how Hollywood shoot their actions. I was more inspired by Hong Kong animes, video games, especially with animes and video games. Even if it's not like shoot in real life, it's the way they execute angles. And most people don't see that. When I was introduced to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and so forth, I've learned that the way they shot action, they're telling us stories that's supporting the main story of the film. While Hollywood's, they shot a bunch of cuts, a bunch of close-ups and bunch of like shaky cameras, like – the way they shot that thing is like it's like a squirrel shooting it. And I swear to god, if I hear one more person that say this is the best fight scene ever and all I see is shaky cameras, I am drop kicking someone. That's a fighting word to me.
[0:05:39] JA: Okay. In the spirit of that, have you seen The Odyssey?
[0:05:43] MN: The Odyssey, I need to watch that. Because let me explain why. That's on my list until I watched The Furious.
[0:05:50] JA: Oh, okay.
[0:05:51] MN: And that fight scene, I recommend watching it because that fight scene was so intense. I literally went to the movie theater for the fourth time.
[0:05:59] JA: No kidding?
[0:06:00] MN: Yeah. Usually, as a martial artist and a martial arts film fanatic, I would like to talk about the choreography. But the moment I watched that the first time, I was so flabbergasted. I watched it again to figure out, like, "Yo, how did they do this choreography? That's crazy."
[0:06:16] JA: Oh, man.
[0:06:16] MN: Like the way they fight, the way they choreograph, it's like they're a pack of monkeys. And I was like, "Yo, I need to watch this again."
[0:06:23] JA: I got to put it on my list. I haven't seen it.
[0:06:25] MN: I would recommend it. It will make you flabbergasted in the first – literally the first two, three minutes. The first minute, the way they start within the first 30 to 45 seconds, they're always doing a fight. I'm just like, "What just happened?"
[0:06:40] JA: Oh, dude. Love it. Yes, let's go. Well, I brought up The Odyssey because that was one of my – and this isn't a spoiler. Okay? This is just like a general critique. Have you seen The Odyssey?
[0:06:48] LHL: No.
[0:06:49] JA: Okay. That's okay.
[0:06:51] LHL: I know the story, but I have not seen the new film.
[0:06:52] JA: So I'm not going to spoiler or anything. I felt like the camera was like we were right – Granted. Okay. Critique for me. I didn't see it in IMAX. And I know that Nolan shot it for like, I don't know, this obscure 70-millimeter IMAX screen. I felt like we were like this close, and I couldn't see anything going on. I'm just like imagining kind of some of the stuff that you're talking about around not just the choreography, how it's shot, all that stuff, right, comes together. Which you're part of a stunt group, like a collective, right?
[0:07:23] MN: Yeah. The Black Sheep Guild is the name. What happened was this all started when I was posting a video of my next project, which I'm glad it's on live on youtube, because we raised money with Seed&Spark, by the way. That was a lot of work. I share a preview of my fight scene on a Facebook group page for all actors and filmmakers and stuff. And on that video, I said, "This is what I do. This is who I am. Is there anyone who has the same interest as me and wanted to link up, join forces and so forth?" I have a lot of people responding.
And I was very surprised. Because most Facebook group pages, they don't respond at all. And it makes me feel some type of way. I was forever ignored. But majority of the comments all have in common, which they say that always want to make an action films. But I don't know where to start. And that's when it clicked. Me and my buddy Jacob set up some kind of interview to meet up. And the first person that came is another Jacob actually. Happened to be another Jacob.
The way we get along, we have a good conversation. And then I also ask some questions, like, "What is your inspirations? Do you like Hong Kong? How do you feel about difference between martial arts and film fighting?" which I'll explain that later. And he gave me a lot of answers and so forth. And then I met other people, and we had the same vibe.
Little Jacob and I – sorry, Jacob. We were like, "Yo, some of these people have so much potential. I love the answers. How do we go about this?" I start a stunt meetup where I teach the people how to choreograph call you a fight scene and how to direct. And then when they do their thing, I give them feedback. Every Saturday, when I have them create a fight scene and shoot it, I give them a criteria.
At one point, I have them do a fight scene with 10 to 15 beats using baby powder. And Hong Kong trick with baby powder is like you make contact. Baby Power went poof, which makes it more impactful, especially with slow motion. And I want to bring that up. And because I've seen each and every one's potential, that's when we start double impact. Right? And seeing them put in the work and actually learn a lot, for me, that's why I was like, "You know what? Let me start an action design and film collective.
And I want to think of a name where it doesn't have nothing to do with anything that has to put team or production or all that. I want to make it something unique because I feel like all of us are black sheeps against our own families and friends and against the world. People don't give us a chance. So we want to rebel against them, prove them wrong. And that's when the Black Sheep Guild was formed.
[0:10:35] JA: By fighting, directing, showcasing, bringing everyone together. That's awesome.
[0:10:39] LHL: How often do you guys get together and work on your craft?
[0:10:41] MN: Because I give shout-outs to my mentor, Maureen Finity, for letting us use the space at the Midway Artist Studio. Whenever I talk to my mentor, if we can use the space every Saturday, she just gives me the dates that's available. Right now, it's in the moving process. And so we try to keep in touch as much as possible. And sometimes we will do some kind of projects or meet up and so forth.
The last time we met each other is we was helping a really good actor and director, Brandon Melo. He hired us to do stunts for his major production of a fan film called Spider-Man and the Monster of Manhattan. So we reunited again. Actually, Brandon Melo have a meeting with me. And I was very surprised because I've heard his name for a long time ago. So I was like flabbergasted.
And shout out to my boy, Khalil, who is the stunt coordinator for recommending me to him. He wants me to be the stunt double. And then he asked me, do you know someone who could be extra and so forth? And guess what? I brought the whole Black Sheep Guild, and be like, "Yeah, here you go."
[0:11:52] JA: Oh, really? I love that.
[0:11:54] MN: Yeah. I played a stunt double for Brittle. My boy Greg played Ox, his first time doing a stunt. Did an amazing job. I had my boy, Todd Jacob, second Jacob, to do a stand-in as Spider-Man and do a prop making. He's doing the work. Love to do so much. I like to see myself and my crew grow. Because it's not just about me. It's about my whole entire crew. We're going to shine together.
[0:12:21] JA: Brilliant, man. You're raising everybody up. Everybody's raising each other up. You're feeding off of that energy. That's brilliant, man. I love that.
I was thinking about something that you said earlier about the difference between a martial artist and a stunt double, right?
[0:12:34] MN: Oh, yeah.
[0:12:35] JA: And literally, I think you might be listening in on my Instagram feed because I watched a video the other day. It was Michael Jai White talking about – he was breaking everybody down. He was talking about how this guy's like Jet Li versus Chuck Norris. He was just going down the line of the history, right? For folks who aren't on my Instagram feed or in your brain, how would you describe that difference?
[0:12:59] MN: Okay. From my experience and my own words, martial arts and film fighting. Think of film fighting as you're about to learn another martial arts style, but for the sake of camera. They're both similar, right? For the sake of camera, you had to adjust and adapt for the camera's point of view.
I could throw a hook in boxing and it looks properly. But if you're doing it on a camera, depending where they're at – let's say, for example, if I'm fighting with a partner and the camera is behind my partner's head, I had to wind it and then extend into a straight arm like a baseball bat to swing just for the camera to see it. So you had to adjust.
It's unorthodox for most martial artists, especially for fighters. Because I will tell you this right now, working with MMA fighters, because it is so unnatural to them, though my most favorite thing that they say is that's not how you do in a real fight.
[0:13:57] JA: Right. Right.
[0:13:58] JA: I'll be smiling, just tears going down my eyes. Just lip quivering, hyperventilating like SpongeBob. I'm like – but It's also rare for people who understand and always willing to learn the difference between martial arts and film fighting. It's always rare. That's why when I start my Black Sheep Guild, I always tell them, "Leave your ego aside, because we're here to learn." You may have a black belt, but always keep the white belt mentality because you're still learning no matter what.
[0:14:29] JA: That's good life advice actually. Yeah.
[0:14:30] LHL: Yeah. I feel like that comes through a lot of disciplines. I'm a visual artist, and I never think like, "Oh, I've mastered it. I know it all." I'm still constantly learning from people. And I think that especially when you're doing something that can actually be dangerous. I mean, I guess I'd love to talk about the skill level of everyone involved and then making sure that people are focused, paying attention, not having ego. Is there danger in it?
[0:14:58] MN: Depends on the stunts, honestly. Because I met friends who are a SAG union, and they do some great work more than me. I'm still learning. At one point, I would love to be a SAG union, but until then, I'm just going to keep expressing myself. Some of my crew, they do the best they can, and I always teach them little by little of teaching them the basic falls or rolling. And then sometimes when they're ready, I take it to the next level, do a dive roll and so forth.
I think the most stunt that viewers do by far is with a rig on our back. That was fun. I was sent to the heavens. There was another project after the Spider-Man, thanks to my buddy Khalil, who's also an actor and a stunt coordinator for that project. We went to the Studio Lab in Derry, New Hampshire.
[0:15:57] JA: Okay. Downtown.
[0:15:58] MN: Yeah, that was very motivating. I feel like that became my home. Every time I come in, I'm just like, I'm home. We were part of the stunt stuff called the Canon of Grimoire. I was attached to a harness.
[0:16:11] LHL: Oh my gosh.
[0:16:12] MN: It was fun. Do the fight scene. And then I did my acting. And as soon as I ascend to the heavens, my mind was like, "Ah, I'm about to die."
[0:16:22] LHL: Does it all kind of like wash out? What do I say? What do I do?
[0:16:25] MN: Just like – and then sun flying in all here. I was like, "Oh, Lord. Okay." And it was fun. The first stunts that they also want me to do is a daisy twist. It's like you're shooting it and you find yourself in the air, but you're spinning. And Khalil says that it might hurt. And I'm just like, "Ah, I'm going to die." But luckily, I don't have to do that because of time constraint. But that was probably the most dangerous stunts ever, but it's also a lot of fun.
[0:17:02] JA: Because the rig will just like shoot you, right? You get pulled back, and you could snap something up, hurt yourself.
[0:17:08] MN: Oh, yeah. I remember, I participated in my first stunt workshop in Boston. There was a guy from Australia. He's done some quite the work. One of them is like the John-Claude Van Damme Street Fighter. Yeah, that was the first time I was introduced to rigs. And I would say though, having two or three big guys yank me is kind of overkill. Again, I was sent to the heavens. I am so glad they keep telling me to tuck my neck down for the whiplash, because they sent myself to the heavens.
[0:17:40] LHL: I can't even imagine. And the level of trust you have to have with other professionals. I don't even trust some people to drive me. That sounds amazing.
[0:17:50] MN: And it's also why ego is out of the question when it comes to stunts, because you might end up hurting someone.
[0:17:57] JA: And it's for what's best for the camera, right? Yeah. Because hearing you say that about the martial artists and the MMA guys that are like checking the – I don't know, the ego of like being like, "Oh, this isn't how you do it." But then it's like, "Wait, we understand that, but we're trying to make a film." It's not the same thing as trying to actually knock somebody out.
[0:18:15] JA: You're not hitting each other. Multiple takes. Unless you're Donnie Yen.
[0:18:18] JA: Yeah. Right, right.
[0:18:20] LHL: So can we kind of get into the nitty gritty about the process of making short action films? Because you're coordinating the stunts and planning all that out for the visual, the 3D-ness of the camera, but also the storytelling. What comes first for you? Is it inspiration of like a cool fight scene or the story that you want to tell or kind of a mix?
[0:18:40] MN: That depends. I sometimes do both. When I do Double Impact, I just write the story first. Because I love me some beat-em-up games, as you can see on the project. I'm a huge fan of beat-em-up games. Double Impact was heavily inspired by Double Dragon. So it gave me an idea, let me have some kind of choreography that's video game-based. How I did my choreography is depending on the project and the characters and so forth.
I love myself creating a fictional martial arts and just do it based off of it. Because I don't want my audience to guess, which is where I get the anime inspiration from. Now, when it comes to choreography, that's when I rely on my team, right? I gave them the creative freedom. I give them like a specific criteria. They know that there's a beat-em-up game. And each of my crew has a specific fighting style. I just like go nuts, but I still give you guys directions regardless. Because when I call you got the fight scene, the action itself also tells a story. I will punch someone in the face and that's like, yeah, I'm making a statement. Someone try to block it. It's like, no, I'm denying it. Each movement tells a story.
[0:19:51] JA: And there's a rhythm to it.
[0:19:52] MN: Mm-hmm. There's a rhythm to it. I try my best to have my crew do it based on Hong Kong style because they have a very unique rhythm and pacing. Compared to like Hollywood, where it's usually brawling and sometimes add a little bit of martial arts. But the camera angles be upsetting me. I was like, "Those are fighting words. You better stop that. Don't do it."
And then after that, we use pre-visualization. Pre-vis for short. We basically call out the fight scene, shoot it like it's an actual shoot. And then when I edit them, that's going to be the blueprint for the actual set. For those of you out there who does filming and wants to do action film and you want to hire stunts, please use the previous.
[0:20:36] JA: Okay.
[0:20:36] MN: It will save you a lot of time and energy. Otherwise, I'm going to find you and dropkick you. Stop trying to take someone's credit. Yeah, we did the pre-vis, right? And then after that, we start shooting the scene. And it takes two or three hours just to get it done.
[0:20:55] JA: Yeah.
[0:20:56] MN: So simple. It's pre-vis, everyone.
[0:21:00] JA: You're saying that's because you're working it out in the camera and with everybody. And does everybody see it, or is it just you who sees the previous part of it?
[0:21:12] MN: I feel like the people who does stunts sees it. The people who doesn't do stunts, they don't see it. And it's kind of common for people who doesn't do stunts who are trying to make some changes. And if they want to be – excuse my language – they will try to make some changes and claim it's theirs. It's annoying.
[0:21:35] JA: Interesting. They're not giving the credit to the folks who are working it out in the space, the blocking of it all.
[0:21:41] MN: Yeah. Which can be very frustrating because it's like we pour our heart, sweat and tears for this work just to have someone sabotage it.
[0:21:50] JA: Sure.
[0:21:51] MN: And I know for sure, I'm going to make sure my crew's effort is not going to waste because I will fight for my crew. Last weekend, we just came from Lowe to attend a DARE TO IMAG9NE Film Festival for our project called Combat Chaos, which is what you see on Double Impact at the ending, which is the promotion of Combat Chaos. And I let everybody know that I will defend my crew's work. And they better use their pre-vis.
[0:22:24] JA: Okay. Yeah.
[0:22:26] MN: We don't mess around. We are Black Sheep Guild for a reason. We will rebel against you guys.
[0:22:32] JA: Wow.
[0:22:33] LHL: I'm learning so much. This is like an industry. I mean, I love filmmaking, but I've never – actually, I did one short film where someone had like do a slide into someone who was swinging into them. And you would probably be horrified because we were just sort of trying to figure it out. But just hearing about all of this, it is such a real integral part of the storytelling and your vision for how you're doing it all. I think that so many people could learn so much more by kind of like witnessing this or seeing the behind the scenes.
I really loved when you showed your film at our film festival, which we were so excited to exhibit it there, was the outtakes at the end. I think seeing the way everyone works together and then the camaraderie on set and everything, like it was just so – I mean, the film was already so like funny and really like awesome. It brings back nostalgia memories for people who are into those game styles too. But then just seeing that, it like brings it to a whole nother level.
[0:23:30] MN: Much appreciated. I was honored. I'm very honored that Double Impact was selected as a film festival. I was honored.
[0:23:35] LHL: And thank you for coming. It was so great. I know it's a bit of a drive, but like it was so great having you guys there.
[0:23:40] MN: Oh, no, it was worth it. It was definitely worth it. We traveled the seven seas just to attend to this podcast.
[0:23:45] LHL: Up in Concord, New Hampshire.
[0:23:47] MN: No ratings. Music playing in the background.
[0:23:50] JA: There you go.
[0:23:51] MN: Yeah. All I hear is – seven years have passed and we still haven't reached our destination, but it was worth it.
[0:23:57] JA: Right on. The world of stunt choreography and fight scenes and stuff, I don't know anything technically. I feel like when I watch something and the fight scenes are off, or like we talked about the rhythm a second ago, I kind of know I kind of feel like I have a sense of what you mean about that, that Hong Kong rhythm. And I'm trying to think of like a bad – nothing's come to mind.
[0:24:26] LHL: There's probably a lot from Hollywood.
[0:24:27] JA: I mean, I mentioned The Odyssey. I kind of threw shade at it. But that's just because I think the cut of it was like it probably wasn't exactly what they wanted. But like, you just kind of know when it's not great, right?
[0:24:37] MN: I know a few. And I woke those shades.
[0:24:43] LHL: What is like one of the worst you've seen?
[0:24:44] MN: Oh, man.
[0:24:45] LHL: Let's get into it.
[0:24:46] MN: Taken.
[0:24:47] LHL: Oh, really? I haven't seen that in a long time.
[0:24:49] MN: A lot of people would say it was a good movie. I watched it. I understand the direction, the storytelling. Cool. It's the way they shot is upsetting me. Most people thought I was crazy until they read Rotten Tomatoes. And I was like –
[0:25:08] LHL: Oh, now I've got to watch it again and like dissect it. Think about it that way.
[0:25:13] MN: Like, why does it take Liam Neeson's five to six shots just for him to disarm someone with a knife?
[0:25:22] JA: The flourish.
[0:25:22] LHL: I'm losing brain cells when I watch that. It was crazy. And then Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne's film, the fight scene at the house and in the bathroom. I'm surprised I managed to even analyze the movement. But it's like so much shaky camera. I was like, "I'm having aneurysm."
[0:25:43] JA: Yeah. Right. So the shaky camera is like disguising it basically.
[0:25:47] MN: I don't mind doing shaky cameras, but I don't want to overdo it to the point where I feel like I'm having a seizure.
[0:25:51] LHL: Getting motion sick.
[0:25:51] MN: That's a lot of opportunity. I'm losing my brain cells. No. No.
[0:25:59] JA: Since we're talking about kind of pseudo military stuff, have you ever seen The Hunted? It's got Benicio del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones in it.
[0:26:07] MN: Oh, no.
[0:26:08] JA: Okay.
[0:26:08] MN: But you had me on Tommy Lee Jones.
[0:26:10] JA: Yeah. Yeah. The guy's like a green beret ranger, Tommy Lee Jones. And his protege, a guy he trained is Benicio del Toro. And he goes rogue. And so Tommy Lee Jones has to go track him down and bring him to justice. And it's a lot of knife work. And I was always super impressed with it. That's when I go to my head of like, "This seems legit to me if somebody doesn't know anything." I was like, "This feels really cool." I don't know. Message me. Let me know if you like it or something.
[0:26:41] LHL: If it passes the test or not.
[0:26:43] JA: If it passes the test. Yeah.
[0:26:44] MN: I'm going to check it out.
[0:26:46] JA: Did you see Masters of the Universe?
[0:26:48] MN: Masters of the Universe. I know it's on – I believe it's on theater, but I never watched it.
[0:26:52] LHL: See, now I want to ask about a bunch of films and see what do you think?
[0:26:56] JA: Yeah, I forgot. Sorry, I'm doing that.
[0:26:58] LHL: Did you see Everything Everywhere All at Once?
[0:27:01] MN: Oh, yeah, I watched that.
[0:27:03] LHL: And how do you feel about the fight scenes in that?
[0:27:04] MN: I love the choreography because there was a scene where Michelle Yeoh was fighting the two brothers. I followed them on YouTube.
[0:27:12] JA: He's the stocky guy?
[0:27:14] JA: Big guy and the skinny guy. They're brothers. And that YouTube channel is called Martial Clubs, and I love their content. They were hugely inspired by Kung Fu films. And believe it or not, they self-taught themselves. So they add a little mixture of Kung Fu and some parkour and tricking. I know that Andy, the skinny guy on Everything Everywhere All at Once, he plays death dealer from Shang-Chi. And then Brian Lee, the bulky guy, you most likely see him on The Furious. I recommend you watching it. They're amazing.
[0:27:46] JA: He's the guy who lands on the trophy, right?
[0:27:48] MN: Oh, yeah. For sure.
[0:27:50] JA: Wild choice.
[0:27:52] MN: You have the queen herself, Michelle Yeoh. You best believe they're going to represent. I love the choreography. They didn't force it too much with the camera angles. They actually see the choreography itself with the wide shots. And that's something that the audience needs to understand, that you're telling your story through actions as well.
[0:28:11] JA: Right. It's not all shaky cam.
[0:28:13] MN: Not all shaky cameras or a bunch of close-ups or a bunch of cuts. We will fight. I will fight you.
[0:28:19] LHL: And what are some of your top animes for action, shounen, that kind of stuff?
[0:28:24] MN: Top animes. Samurai Champloo will always going to be my number one. Yeah. Not only it has a very unique storytelling and unique sword fighting, but it was awesome. I like the director, Shinichirō Watanabe. He blends in with a lot of things. Samurai Champloo, you have like the Chambawa, Edo-period, Japan back in the day mixed with hip-hop culture. I love the hip-hop music. I have never seen two Samurais fight each other with an upbeat hip-hop. I'm just going to be bobbing my head and all that. I love how he blends in with music and cultures and so forth. And that's what I want to do.
[0:29:01] JA: Yeah, strong soundtrack. I haven't seen a ton of it, but what I've seen, I was like, wow.
[0:29:04] JA: Yeah, yeah. And Cowboy Bebop is definitely another one. You know, mixed with space westerns, with blending music, with blues.
[0:29:13] JA: Jazz on it.
[0:29:13] MN: Yeah, jazz. With a Hong Kong choreography and gun fu. I was like, yep, let's do it. Let's get it.
[0:29:20] LHL: Yeah, it's iconic.
[0:29:20] MN: Yeah, very iconic.
[0:29:20] LHL: So good.
[0:29:21] MN: Yeah, strong choice.
[0:29:22] MN: And then there's YuYu Hakusho. You got that 80s, 70s vibes, music, wardrobe characters, supernatural with martial arts in it. You fighting demons? Are you scared, Urameshi? Let's get it. I even see the live action version of YuYu Hakusho. And despite the fact that it was only five episodes, the choreography is so surreal. I've never seen Japanese stunts doing choreography like that. And I'm just like, "Yo, I am studying that." It's so surreal.
[0:29:54] LHL: Any newer animes too? Are you watching JJK or Chainsaw Man, or how are those hitting for you?
[0:30:00] MN: Oh man. I watched something like My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer. I did watch JJK once. Honestly, I don't get it. I'm so sorry.
[0:30:11] LHL: Yeah. That's okay. That's okay.
[0:30:12] JA: Cool fans are going to come for you.
[0:30:15] MN: So many systems that I'm just like, yeah, I'm having a hard time. I'm surprised that when I watched now, I understand the jutsu, the genjitsu and all that. But that was so much to me. I stepped away from it I watched something like Demon Slayer, My Academia. I need to catch up. I'm almost done with Attack on Titans. I kind of know the ending through the manga. And I'm too scared to go back.
[0:30:37] LHL: Yeah.
[0:30:37] JA: This is so funny. I teach a world building class. I'm a high school teacher. I have the kids come up, as part of the intro to the class, what are some worlds that you are obsessed with? And two kids in my class brought up Attack on Titan. The other one brought up My Hero Academia. So they were literally breaking it down. And there's one kid in my class who has not seen or is watching it but hasn't seen the end. And so we literally had to put earmuffs on her and put her in the corner while the kids were talking. I was like, "Sorry, you don't want to get this spoiled." And she's like, "Okay."
[0:31:10] MN: You don't want to smoke. Go that way.
[0:31:12] JA: Yeah.
[0:31:12] LHL: Yeah. It's heavy. It's intense.
[0:31:16] MN: Yeah, it's so dark. Dark fantasy. God, I love them.
[0:31:19] LHL: Do you watch any animes that aren't action-based? Do you like a good – I mean –
[0:31:25] MN: Oh, okay. Yeah.
[0:31:28] JA: What's the one everyone keeps talking about? Is it Rin? You were talking about it. The elf that's a part of like a –
[0:31:34] LHL: Oh, Frieren?
[0:31:34] JA: Frieren.
[0:31:34] MN: Oh, Frieren? That's on my list.
[0:31:37] LHL: Oh, it's so beautiful.
[0:31:37] MN: I've seen that anime through a meme.
[0:31:41] JA: Okay.
[0:31:41] LHL: Was it the drawing?
[0:31:43] MN: Iwas when she was holding the potion with a smile on her face. I was like, really? The anime that I watched that's not action, it's usually comedy. [Name inaudible 0:31:52]. That one's surreal. I've never seen a tsundere shoot someone with a gun before in my life. I was like, "Where did that come from?" That's unique.
Gintama is action, but still hugely comedy. I recommend watching it. I'm surprised he didn't get sued with all these obvious references.
[0:32:13] JA: Oh, sure.
[0:32:14] LHL: Yeah.
[0:32:16] MN: What other animes did I watch? Wow, it's been a minute. Golden Boy, classic. Definitely not appropriate for kids, that's for sure.
[0:32:25] LHL: Yep, put that.
[0:32:26] MN: Yeah. Don't watch it. And then there's another anime that I forgot to watch because most of these anime, they always have a title as a long sentence. I don't get it. Oh, and Beastars.
[0:32:41] LHL: I haven't watched it, but the music seems awesome for that.
[0:32:44] MN: Music slaps. Beastar is a good one. I need to watch the final season. It's very interesting, I might say. Yeah, we should not talk about that.
[0:32:51] LHL: Okay. Okay. Safe. Safe. Yeah.
[0:32:54] JA: What's next on the horizon creatively? What do you got kind of percolating?
[0:32:59] MN: I got two projects. One of them is a anthology web series. I just finished shooting the last episode. Now, I need to edit them. Pray that my last one has enough storage because it was a lot. Yeah, it's called Kazahana, Family Mass Battle. Short version, you're at a family cookout and you just found out that only one heir can inherit the family fortune, so you have to kill each other.
[0:33:20] JA: Oh, really? I love that. Family drama.
[0:33:24] MN: Yeah. Each episode introduced the characters, the conflicts, as well as genre. So you get a mixture of it. The second one, it's going to be a huge step to me. Once I get everything set in, I'm making a feature film. The Jungle Zone is the name. Sylvia was being bullied in school by Gabriella Tan, who is a spoiled headmaster's daughter. We have Mana, who is an amateur boxer, who not only stand out for Sylvia, but teach her boxing, which helps her take control with her life. The epitome of mind, body, and spirit.
And this is a personal project to me because the themes like identity, bully awareness, self-control, discipline, and vice versa. And it's also inspired my boxing coach too, Waset Tafari. Love you, coach. He has such wisdom with the spirit of boxing and as a human being. And I want to use that wisdom in this project.
[0:34:23] LHL: That sounds so touching and amazing.
[0:34:25] JA: That's brilliant. Yeah.
[0:34:26] LHL: When these release, feel free to message us or email us and we can point people in the direction.
[0:34:31] JA: Love to follow up. Yeah, definitely.
[0:34:32] MN: Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Right now, I'm working on applying for grants for the Jungle Zone. And I'm also trying to see if there's a way to finance a project. I don't know. It's still a big step for me. Right now, I'm focusing on the Air National Guard. While I do that, that's when I start working on development phase of the Jungle Zone. I just finished the script for the fifth time. No one knows.
[0:34:59] JA: Multiple passes.
[0:35:00] LHL: Yeah, it's always an evolution, right?
[0:35:03] MN: Yeah. Yeah, multiple passes.
[0:35:04] LHL: Do you collaborate with others with the writing part of it?
[0:35:08] MN: Most of the time, it's on me. Because, one, it's really hard to find someone who has the same interest and directions as you. And two, there's so much stories that I want to express myself and I want to kind of show the word what I'm capable of. As a Vietnamese-American person, that is not very big with my own people. It's very challenging because the Vietnamese community don't believe something like that. That's why I'm the black sheep of my family and my own community. So I'm trying to prove my community wrong that anything is possible. And the reason why I started the Black Sheep Guild is for people, a safe space to express themselves without any judgment.
[0:35:54] LHL: I love it when people are building spaces like that. There's just so many different ways that people can connect. And that's yet another awesome way where people are putting a lot of creative guts into the world.
[0:36:06] MN: Yeah.
[0:36:07] LHL: That's amazing.
[0:36:06] MN: Yeah, I love my people. And I want to see them grow as much as I want to grow. We're doing this together.
[0:36:14] LHL: This is inspiring, super bad and warming my heart all at the same time. I love this.
[0:36:22] JA: Yeah. I'm kind of speechless actually. Y'all are based out of Boston.
[0:36:29] MN: Yes.
[0:36:29] JA: Did you say Midway? Is that going to go – that was one of the spots.
[0:36:33] MN: Midway Artist Studio.
[0:36:34] MN: Okay. A little bit in Derry. Sort of getting things triangulated. Any connections to the West coast at all?
[0:36:41] MN: When I first attended Urban Action Showcase in New York and probably California. I met a few people. But majority of all my stunt friends are either from New Jersey or New York or somewhere in Boston that goes to LA anyway. I met a few creators and people in Texas. Props to you guys for those who live in Texas. It is hard as hell. That's a trigger to my time in Dubai. And because of my content creator days, I met a lot of people and sometimes we connect and do collaboration and stuff. So I'm always out there networking regardless.
I have one person, a content creator from Texas. We do in collaboration, do voiceovers. And when me and my crew went to Texas for a film festival, I just contacted my home boys, like, "Yo, we're in Texas, let's do collaboration." And a collaborator. What's up?
[0:37:33] JA: There you go. I love that. It's sort of like you're doing this collaborative work. And it's a question we tend to like to ask, too, that kind of connects is if money was no object. Right? So you woke up and you're like, "Oh, I can fund anything I want," what's the first thing you're doing?
[0:37:47] MN: If I can fund?
[0:37:48] JA: Yeah.
[0:37:49] MN: Start a feature film.
[0:37:50] LHL: Yeah. Top of the list.
[0:37:52] MN: Yeah. Top of the list. Because that's going to be my next level out of my comfort zone. And I want to learn my mistakes and improve myself, but still tell a story no matter what. Because when we did Combat Chaos, we hit green light of the Seed&Spark campaign of 6100 instead of 7000. And it was probably the second time that I've ever shoot a film that has to do with money. Money can be scary. And I learned that lesson when I did The Brawler with the $5,000 grant.
And after learning so much of how to spend the money on specific stuff, break it down, write it off for tax and so forth, I was like, "Wow, this is a lot." And if I were to ever have the funds, I would do feature firms so I can learn more about distributions and so forth. I only strive to level up.
[0:38:46] JA: Yeah, money can be scary, for sure. Yeah. Trying to manage it and try to make it align when you're writing checks, paying people, and then you're watching the funds just like, "Okay."
[0:38:55] JA: Have a solid crew. I'm usually used to doing most of the work myself. But having a solid crew is like I'm not used to that. I need to calm down.
[0:39:05] JA: Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Delegating to getting people to do stuff for you or with you for the good of the project. Yeah. Yeah. It can be challenging.
[0:39:11] LHL: Do you feel comfortable with directing? Do you feel like it comes natural or was it sort of a learned process of feeling the confidence to tell people what to do?
[0:39:18] MN: That's both.
[0:39:19] LHL: Yeah.
[0:39:20] MN: When it comes to my crew, I'm confident. Right? But when it comes to someone who's either on the same level as me or higher level than me, it's nerve-wracking. Because it's like I don't know what to expect. I could have someone who works as a camera guy in the SAC union, and I'd be like, "Yo, I don't know how to respond." But it's like I also need to understand that everybody's a human being, and I need to learn how to take control.
At one point, when I was doing Combat Chaos, and this is why previous is so important, most of the people did not follow the materials and the pre-vis until the last day of the shot. I have a friend from Delaware who flew here to play the final boss. Love Jonathan to death. He's a huge fan of beat-em-up games and fighting games. And he's a cosplayer too. I was like, "Yo, can you play the final boss?" And I also have a friend of mine from Mexico with his crew to choreograph something for the final boss. They did not follow up the pre-vis. We had three days of shoot and we worked hard of the pre-vis. And they haven't touched a thing since day one.
And I made it clear one last time, especially for the final boss, stick to the pre-vis. For the first time in my life, I snapped. And I told them, "Anyone who has a problem can leave right now." My house is nearby where we're shooting it. I will grab my camera stuff and my crew and I are going to shoot it by ourselves. Try me. Without the materials, it took all day to shoot. With the pre-vis, with the final boss, it took less than an hour to shoot. It's not that hard.
[0:41:09] JA: Why do you think people aren't following it?
[0:41:11] MN: Again, I feel like people take stunts department very lightly. And it's like we work hard for you guys to make you guys look good. And we send you to trouble to do all this so y'all can save time and money. It is very common for everybody else, for all the film industry too. And it's like, nah, I'm going to do whatever it takes to defend my people. Y'all better put that respect in my name. In our name. Again, if you're hiring stunt people, use their pre-vis.
[0:41:44] LHL: If we take one thing away from this episode, it's that.
[0:41:48] JA: I'll take that and white belt mentality.
[0:41:49] LHL: Yeah. Actually, I love that too, yeah.
[0:41:52] MN: Otherwise, I will fight you.
[0:41:56] JA: Can I ask one quick nerdy question? I mean, I feel like this – yeah.
[0:41:59] LHL: We're all nerds here.
[0:42:00] JA: I want to know your thoughts and your take on the Street Fighter movie coming out.
[0:42:05] MN: Oh, man.
[0:42:09] JA: In like 15 seconds or 15 words or less.
[0:42:11] MN: 15 words or less? Wardrobes, conventions are good. The question is, can they execute it? That's the only thing that I want. They did the same thing with Mortal Kombat 1 and 2. I'm surprised they have a sequel. Looks good, but I don't know if they can execute it that well. Street Fighter. Question still the same. Will they execute it?
[0:42:32] JA: I know. When they released the teaser and it was all Wu-Tang vibe and it was really cool. It was like sizzle. But then they cut the next one, the next trailer. I don't know if you've seen it. They had some – I don't know. I'm kind of worried.
[0:42:49] MN: Honestly, Street Fighter Assassin's Fist will always be the greatest Street Fighter film ever.
[0:42:54] JA: Assassin's Fist. Okay.
[0:42:55] MN: It's a fan film, actually.
[0:42:57] JA: Oh, really? Okay.
[0:42:58] MN: It was crowdfunded a long time ago and was shot and directed and choreographed by Joey Ansah, who also did the fight scene with Jason Bourne. I recommend watching Assassin's Fist. This is specifically a backstory of Ryu and Ken and Gouki and Akuma.
[0:43:16] JA: Oh, cool.
[0:43:17] MN: I recommend that instead.
[0:43:18] JA: I'll have to scope that out.
[0:43:19] MN: No one can never top Assassin's Fist. So, the new Street Fighter, you better execute it really well.
[0:43:25] JA: Right. Yeah, for real. Because, I mean, the disparity financially. Assassin's Fist, I'm not sure how much it cost to make that. But I'm sure Street Fighter was like – you spend all this money. You got to deliver.
[0:43:36] MN: The one thing that caught me off guard is 50 Cent being Balrog. I was like, "Huh."
[0:43:38] JA: Yeah. I'm not in love with Jason Momoa being Blanca either, but it's what it is.
[0:43:46] LHL: Time will tell. When does that come out?
[0:43:47] JA: Oh, I don't know.
[0:43:48] LHL: A while.
[0:43:49] JA: Not that long from now, I don't think. I think they're like doing all the teaser out.
[0:43:54] LHL: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[0:43:55] JA: Clipped her out. But yeah, we'll see. Zangief picks the guy up and like does like the the backflip move thing. And it looks very like CG.
[0:44:03] MN: Yeah. So I'm just like, "Oh, no. How is it going to look?" Yeah. Well, back to [inaudible 0:44:10]. Love my crew, but I've learned a lot. Do my mistakes and so forth. I'm moving in.
[0:44:16] JA: Yeah, yeah.
[0:44:18] LHL: So where can people find your work online?
[0:44:19] MN: We'll start with the Black Sheep Guild. You can find us on YouTube and Instagram, the Black Sheep Guild. You can find me on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok with Doppoganga, which is D-O-P-P-O-G-A-N-G-A.
[0:44:39] LHL: Awesome. And we will have those links in the episode description to make it easy for people to click and find you. Now, to wind down the episode, to wind down the interview, we have rapid fire questions. So these are quick questions with quick answers.
[0:44:51] MN: Oh, shoot. Okay.
[0:44:52] LHL: So do your best.
[0:44:52] MN: Oh, no.
[0:44:53] LHL: I know, right? And they're kind of all over the place. They're not necessarily related just to what your craft is. But the color you could paint an entire room and never tire of?
[0:45:03] MN: Orange.
[0:45:05] LHL: That was quick. Good job.
[0:45:07] JA: A scent that instantly puts you somewhere else?
[0:45:10] MN: Scent? Lavender.
[0:45:11] LHL: Nice. A sound you never get tired of hearing.
[0:45:15] MN: Patrick. Leedle leedle leedle lu.
[0:45:20] JA: That's awesome. A texture you can't stop touching.
[0:45:23] MN: Fur.
[0:45:25] LHL: Okay, all right.
[0:45:27] MN: I panicked.
[0:45:28] LHL: A taste that feels like home.
[0:45:31] MN: Ale.
[0:45:33] JA: The one object you'd rescue in a fire.
[0:45:36] MN: Rescue in a fire? Laptop.
[0:45:39] LHL: That makes sense. Are there any rituals you do before you start making?
[0:45:44] MN: Scream.
[0:45:46] JA: If you can have one super power, what would it be?
[0:45:50] MN: Fly.
[0:45:51] LHL: That's a good one.
[0:45:53] MN: Too broke to fly.
[0:45:55] JA: Yeah. Yeah.
[0:45:57] MN: Probably miss or don't hit me.
[0:45:58] LHL: If you could do your work anywhere in the world, where are you going? Where are you setting up?
[0:46:03] MN: Oh, man. Japan.
[0:46:06] LHL: Yes. 100%.
[0:46:09] JA: If your work had a soundtrack, what song is playing during the opening credits?
[0:46:13] MN: This Is Revenge, a Tokyo Revengers soundtrack.
[0:46:16] LHL: Oh, nice. That's really good.
[0:46:18] MN: Triumph.
[0:46:20] LHL: All right. And our clincher question, a time machine gives you one hour with your younger self, what do you say?
[0:46:27] MN: Get your – together.
[0:46:30] JA: Same.
[0:46:33] LHL: Good advice.
[0:46:33] JA: So good. Yeah.
[0:46:35] LHL: Thank you so much for being on the podcast.
[0:46:37] JA: Yeah, thank you.
[0:46:38] MN: You're welcome. Happy to be a part of it. Much appreciated.
[0:46:40] LHL: Yeah. I feel like we've learned so much. We dove into this really awesome, fun, just so textured world with awesome stuff that we see all the time on anime and TV and films and everything, but we don't really think about. And your film that was at Creative Guts was fantastic. Again, we are so honored we got to show it. It was so enjoyable and fun and just really made everybody smile.
[0:47:03] MN: Very, very honored to hear everybody's reaction. I was in the back just shaking as I covered my face. Much appreciated.
[0:47:11] LHL: Awesome.
[0:47:11] LHL, JA & MN: Show us your Creative Guts.
[0:47:18] LHL: What a conversation. A huge thank you to Minh for bringing his Creative Guts to the show. Holy moly.
[0:47:25] JA: Man, what a pleasure to talk to this guy. I wasn't sure. Obviously, I was super impressed with his short film, Double Impact, that was at our short film festival. And he is so much just a cool stunt double, director guy, anime nerd, movie nerd. I was like, "Oh, this is going to be a fun conversation." And it was.
[0:47:48] LHL: Yeah, it was amazing. I didn't have as much knowledge of the Black Sheep Guild. And I think that he did such a great job of promoting them, hyping them up. He was very central with them and level of removing ego from everything. Speaking with him, there is no ego. He is really about the craft and the people he works with and uplifting others. And I love seeing that because he is just trying to evolve himself and help others around him evolve, and that freaking rocks.
[0:48:19] JA: Yeah. Yeah. Right? The ethos behind the Black Sheep Guild is so awesome. And yeah, I just kept feeding off his energy. I was just vibrating from talking to him today. It was so cool.
[0:48:30] LHL: Yeah, I know. And now I've got to see Taken to see how crappy it is again. Yes, yes. I know. A lot of great recommendations, Minh. Thank you for sharing those. But a huge thank you for just sharing your craft with us and allowing us to dive into your mind. And I've never learned so much about stunts and the behind the scenes of this part of filmmaking before.
[0:48:51] JA: We'll keep you updated, everybody, on the projects that he's got coming through. We're really excited about it.
[0:48:56] LHL: It sounds like he's got a lot of cool things in the works. So we will definitely keep folks updated when we see that things have been released as well for future projects. Want to see some of Minh's work? All the links that he mentioned earlier are in the episode description and over on our website, creativegutspodcast.com. Thanks again, Minh, for showing us your creative guts.
[0:49:16] JA: And hey, for those of you listeners, why don't you guys come hang out with us? Creative Guts is on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Discord. Not big on social media? No problem. Join our newsletter on Substack. Sign up through the website and you'll always know what's next.
[0:49:30] LHL: We'd like to thank Kennebunk Savings Bank for sponsoring this podcast. And this episode is also sponsored in part by the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. And a big thank you to Art Up Front Street for giving Creative Guts a wonderful place to record in.
[0:49:44] JA: If this episode gave you something like a laugh, an idea, or maybe even a little push, here are a few ways to send that energy back. Leave us a review. interact with our posts, grab some merch, or make a donation. Every bit keeps the mics on and we genuinely appreciate you.
[0:50:00] LHL: Thank you for tuning in. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Creative Guts.
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