Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did odd jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts sports action film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux, a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner, who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. Based on Dux's real-life claims, the film was marketed as a true story. It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.
The women in prison film is a subgenre of exploitation film that began in the early 20th century and continues to the present day.
Man with the Screaming Brain is a 2005 science fiction/slapstick film co-written, produced, directed, and starring Bruce Campbell. It is Campbell's feature film directorial debut. The film was co-written by David Goodman and co-stars Ted Raimi.
Analyze That is a 2002 American crime comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and produced by Paula Weinstein and Jane Rosenthal. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film Analyze This. The film starred Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal who respectively reprise their roles as mobster Paul Vitti and psychiatrist Ben Sobel.
Bloodsport is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. All of these versions exist in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe.
Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite is a 1996 martial arts sports directed and produced by Alan Mehrez, from a script written by Jeff Schechter. It is the standalone sequel to Bloodsport (1988), and the second installment in the titular film series. The movie stars Daniel Bernhardt, a new character in the series; and was released through limited theatrical distribution, before debuting on home video in 1996.
Bloodsport III is a 1997 martial arts sports action film directed and produced by Alan Mehrez, from a script written by James Williams. It is a direct sequel to Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite, and the third installment overall in the titular film series. The movie starred Daniel Bernhardt, reprising his role as Alex Cardo. It was released direct-to-video in 1997.
Ivan is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name Iōánnēs from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānnān meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bulgarian Saint Ivan of Rila.
Sheldon Lettich is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Jean-Claude Van Damme and his work in the action film genre.
Ivan Ivanov may refer to:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Rupert Wyatt and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the Planet of the Apes film series and its seventh installment overall. The film stars Andy Serkis as Caesar, alongside James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and David Oyelowo. In the film, Caesar, a chimpanzee genetically enhanced and raised by William Rodman (Franco), goes from living in captivity to eventually leading an ape uprising against humanity.
The Expendables 2 is a 2012 American action film directed by Simon West, written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone and based on a story by Ken Kaufman, David Agosto and Wenk. Brian Tyler returned to score the film. It is the sequel to The Expendables (2010), and is the second installment in The Expendables film series. The film stars an ensemble cast of largely action film actors consisting of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the film, The Expendables undertakes a mission which evolves into a quest for revenge against rival mercenary Jean Vilain, who murders one of their own men and threatens the world with a deadly weapon.
Daniel Bernhardt is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist. He made his acting debut in the leading role in Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), and appeared in two of its sequels, Bloodsport III (1997) and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999). Also known for playing villainous characters, he starred opposite Chuck Norris in The Cutter (2005), Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kill 'Em All (2017), Sylvester Stallone in Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019), and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), John Wick (2014), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021).
Crawlspace is a 2012 Australian science fiction-action-horror film directed by Justin Dix. The script was co-written by Dix, co-star Eddie Baroo, and Adam Patrick Foster. A team of elite commandos are sent to a secret military base to extract a scientific team under attack by escaped prisoners. It was released on October 18, 2012 to largely negative reviews from critics.
The Suicide Squad is a 2021 American superhero film based on the DC Comics team Suicide Squad. Produced by DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) and the 10th film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was written and directed by James Gunn and stars an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and Pete Davidson. In the film, several convicts join a task force known as the "Suicide Squad" in exchange for lighter sentences. They are sent to the South American island nation of Corto Maltese to destroy all traces of the giant alien starfish Starro the Conqueror before it falls into the local government's control.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is an upcoming American science fiction action film directed by Wes Ball and written by Josh Friedman. It is the standalone sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise, and the tenth film overall. The film stars Owen Teague in the lead role alongside Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H. Macy.
The Bloodsport franchise consists of American martial arts-sports action-thriller installments including two theatrical films, two straight-to-home video sequels, and one limited release reimagined genderswap-followup. Based on the purported true story experiences of Frank Dux, which have since been called into question, the series centers around the original story written by Sheldon Lettich. The plot involves American characters who compete in underground life-or-death mixed martial arts tournaments, while also competing for the honor of their instructors.
Extraction 2 is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by Sam Hargrave and written by Joe Russo. It is based on the graphic novel Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Fernando León González and Eric Skillman. It is the sequel to Extraction, where Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani and Adam Bessa reprise their roles from the first film, while Tornike Gogrichiani, Tornike Bziava, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Daniel Bernhardt, Olga Kurylenko and Idris Elba appear in pivotal roles. In the film, Tyler Rake is initially hired to rescue the family of an abusive crime lord from a prison in Georgia.
