Chop Socky Boom is a comedy web series created by Darlene Sellers and Heath Ward and filmed in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. The series is broadcast on the internet and premiered on May 1, 2012. Season one includes eight episodes, with season two currently under development. Chop Socky Boom follows the adventures of misfit

indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

actors An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

cast in the fictional

kung fu film Kung fu film () is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in ''wuxia'', a related martial arts genre that uses historical ...

, “Final Zodiac Warrior.” CSB focuses on main character Khanh and her friends, Scottie, Paige, Daisy and Max, as they audition for a poorly run

chop socky Chopsocky (or chop-socky) is a colloquial term for martial arts films and kung fu films made primarily by Hong Kong action cinema between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine ''Variety'' ...

series created by Trick, an

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

like Director with his own unique vision.

History

Chop Socky Boom was created by Sellers and Ward as a tribute to the adventures and misadventures of Seattle indie filmmaking. The first season was funded in part through a crowdfunding campaign and from a small grant awarded by

4Culture 4Culture is a tax-exempt public development authority (PDA), with a fifteen-member board of directors, who are nominated by the King County Executive and confirmed by the King County Council. A Public Development Authority is a public entity creat ...

. In May, 2012 CSB premiered on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and the Web Series Channel and was featured by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE), a distribution company created by

Dead Gentlemen Productions Dead Gentlemen Productions is an independent film company based in Seattle, WA. They have released a number of films, including the award-winning cult classic '' The Gamers'', '' The Gamers: Dorkness Rising'' and '' The Gamers: Hands of Fate''. ...

. In 2014, CSB was picked up for distribution by Frostbite Pictures and is currently available o
JTS.TV

Plot

Khanh is a talented, Seattle actress working hard to find her big break. She and eleven other local actors are cast in a new action show, “Final Zodiac Warrior.” FZW is a cross between

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...

and Highlander and features twelve warriors based on the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...

. Portraying the signs of

Rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

and

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, Khanh and her friends survive the indie film making process, all the while doing battle with their own individual demons. Be it mistreatment from their fabulous and beautiful cast member counterparts, ambiguous direction from the director Trick, or even the threat of looming unemployment at the day job, the misfits boldly fight the

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

Production

Principal photography takes place in

. Locations include Kubota Gardens, the

Seattle Chinatown-International District Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...

Hing Hay Park (Seattle) Hing Hay Park ( zh, t=慶喜公園) is a public park in the Chinatown–International District neighborhood of downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The park is located on the north side of South King Street between 6th and Maynard ave ...

, the University District,

White Center, Washington White Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It lies between West Seattle and Burien. The population was 16,631 at the 2020 census. White Center is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Rat City" ...

Jet City Improv Jet City Improv is an Improvisational theatre troupe from Seattle, Washington, United States. The troupe was founded in 1992 and is operated by Wing-It Productions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit company, from their theater located at 55th Avenue and Univ ...

, and Victory Studios.

Cast

Khanh Doan Khanh Doan is a stage and screen actress from Seattle, Washington. Early life and education Doan was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States as a child. She was a dedicated student following her immigration, but also appreciated theater ...

as Khanh, the Red

*Andrew McMasters as Trick, the Director *Jen Page as Paige, the Pink

*Jay Irwin as Scottie, the Purple

*Darlene Sellers as Daisy, the Turquoise

*Brandon Ryan as Max, the PA *Lowell Deo as D'Angelo, the Gold

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

*Lisa Coronado as Eva, the Periwinkle

Goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

*Dan Humphrey as Charlie, the Blue

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

*S. Joe Downing as Dillon, the Bronze Ox *Eric Stevens as Ty, the Orange

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

Terisa Greenan Terisa Greenan (born November 15, 1967) is an American film producer, film director, writer and stage and film actress. Background Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Greenan attended Whitney High School (Cerritos, California) from 6th throu ...

as Mitzi, the Casting Director *Shawn Telford as Jerry, Khanh's Agent *Angela DiMarco as Carmen, the Line Producer *David S Hogan as Rory, the New

*Brittany Cox as Madison, the Maroon

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

*D’Angelo Midili as Jack, the Silver

Snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

*Kim Watts as Athena, the Script Girl *Cliff Lee as Bruce, the Stunt Coordinator *Bella as Herself

Reception

In 2014, the Seattle True Independent Film Festival named CSB the “Best Web Series" of the Festival. CSB has also received five Indie Fest Awards including Merit in Webseries, Directing, Writing and Editing, four Accolade Awards including Merit in Webisodes, Lead Actress and Choreography, three Best Shorts Competition Awards including Merit in Original score, Ensemble cast and Web Series, and five LA Web Fest 2013 Comedy awards including Outstanding Direction, Achievement in Sound, Outstanding Theme Song by

Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Matt Sayre, Outstanding Lead

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, and Outstanding Ensemble Cast. In 2015, CSB

Production Designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

s Cherelle Ashby and Jonelle Cornwall were nominated for the

6th Indie Series Awards The 6th Indie Series Awards were held on April 1, 2015 at the El Portal Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Eric Martsolf. Presented by ''We Love Soaps There are multiple media outlets which focus primarily on television soap operas and telenovela ...

. CSB has also screened at the

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove to ...

as part of the London Webfest,

Seattle Asian American Film Festival The Seattle Asian American Film Festival was founded in 1985 and has been revived over the years by different producers. The current iteration was founded in 2012 and made its debut in 2013 by co-founders Kevin Bang and Vanessa Au. It is a reviva ...

, Indie Film Quarterly Film Festival, the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

Catalyst Program, Emerald City Comicon, Hollyweb Festival, Vancouver Web Festival, Austin Webfest,

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

Indy, and

KOMO-TV KOMO-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue-licensed Univision a ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chop Socky Boom 2012 web series debuts American comedy web series