Latest news with #KungFury2
Gizmodo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Here's Why You Can't See Arnold Schwarzenegger Riding a Giant Dinosaur
Arnold Schwarzenegger, on top of a giant dinosaur, massive gun in hand, shooting Nazis. It was footage that launched a thousand blog posts across the internet. Leaked footage, in fact, from a movie called Kung Fury 2 which, despite being filmed in 2019 and also featuring Michael Fassbender as a cocky, over-the-top supercop, has never been released. But that's not because audiences aren't ready for all that Arnold awesomeness. It's because of money. Isn't it always? In a new interview with Variety, Kung Fury 2 star, writer, and director David Sandberg details multiple lawsuits that continue to plague the film, now over five years later. Those center mainly on Creasun Entertainment USA, the U.S. branch of a Chinese film company called Creasun Media. In 2019, Creasun signed on to help finance two-thirds of Kung Fury 2, including about $10 million in visual effects work from the company Double Negative. Production went fine, but then something changed. 'Once we started getting to VFX, things started to really slow down, and things became a bit weird,' Sandberg said. 'And then it turned out that our Chinese financier had basically stopped all payments.' A lawsuit was filed and, after about a year and a half, a settlement was reached in which Creasun was going to pay what it owed. But, apparently, that still didn't happen. So Creasun was sued again, but it didn't stop there. Creasun filed countersuits accusing producers of stealing money from the production. Sandberg says that isn't true, and Variety reports some of the other producers on the film tried to buy Creasun out. It declined. 'They just kind of stonewalled every single attempt to solve the issue,' he said. 'And it was just really heartbreaking for me as an artist who's worked on this for years. And there are so many people who have poured their hearts into this, and I feel super terrible for them.' And so the slow legal process continues, ensuring that despite principal photography being complete, as well as an edit of the movie, between $5 and $10 million of visual effects remain unfinished. In fact, the footage that leaked earlier this month had temporary effects, which were never supposed to be seen by the public. 'It's a fantastic movie and I'm so bummed that I can't show it,' Sandberg said. 'But I haven't given up on it. One day, for sure, it will get released. But we just have to power through it. But it's incredible. Fassbender is incredible. Arnold is incredible. We had such a wonderful experience on set and everyone felt the love behind it. So it's just a shame that it would end up this way. But it's not over. It will get out there eventually.' Read more from Sandberg, including some teases of the movie he's been making as the Kung Fury 2 legal battle continues to play out, over at Variety.
Geek Culture
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
'Kung Fury 2' Sizzle Reel Of Arnold Schwarzenegger & Michael Fassbender Killing Nazis Leaked
A visually intense, bat-shit crazy, high-octane 10-minute sizzle reel for 'Kung Fury 2' has been leaked, revealing Arnold Schwarzenegger as a gun-toting President, and Michael Fassbender as a mullet-sporting police officer in the vein of Martin Riggs from the Lethal Weapon series. Originally a 2015 crowd-funded 30-minute short-film by Swedish filmmaker David Sandberg, who also starred as Kung Fury, a supernaturally-imbued martial arts-kicking police officer, the 31-minute was a throwback to the 80s action films and arcade video games, with over-the-top action and green screen special effects. Hailed by audiences who embraced the visual gags, intentionally old-fashioned visual effects, bad acting and nonsensical plot, the online short has since garnered over 40 million views and plans were made to create a full-length movie sequel. Production started in 2018 and while it was completed in 2024, release of the film, starring Schwarzenegger, Fassbender, and David Hasselhoff did not proceed due to legal issues with the film's financiers. Over the weekend, the 10-minute reel, which reveals the new characters for the sequel, and much of the film's narrative was leaked online and while it has been taken down, copies started popping up everywhere. The film's director and lead actor, David Sandberg, has told Variety that the sizzle reel contains spoilers for the film, unfinished visual effects and was never intended for public consumption. Footage shows the return of Adolf Hitler (Jorma Taccone) aka Kung Führer, an army of sci-fi rejects as new characters, a plot twist, and the return of Hasselhoff as Hoff 9000, a member of Fury's team who transforms into a car ala K.I.T.T from TV's Knight Rider that saw Hasselhoff as the lead. 'I hope at least people can see the passion that we poured into the movie, the world deserves to see it as it was meant to be seen. This movie has been held hostage for the past 5 years but I promise to keep fighting for it and make sure this film gets the chance it truly deserves.' Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who's got time for those? Arnold Schwarzenegger david hasselhoff Kung Fury michael fassbender
Geek Tyrant
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
KUNG FURY: THE MOVIE Leaked Sizzle Reel is a Bonkers 80s Fever Dream with Arnold Schwarzenegger & Michael Fassbender — GeekTyrant
After years of radio silence, the first-ever footage from Kung Fury: The Movie has finally surfaced online in the form of a wild, absolutely bonkers 10-minute sizzle reel that feels like it was conjured in the fever dream of an '80s-obsessed time traveler with access to every VFX plugin known to man. After the over-the-top sizzle reel initially leaked on YouTube it was taken down along with ever other time it was uploaded. But, I did find this one on X, that is still alive and ready to watch! Directed by David Sandberg, this unreleased feature-length sequel to the viral 2015 short Kung Fury was meant to take everything people loved about the original like laser dinosaurs, synthwave-soaked action, kung fu cops, time travel, and crank it up to eleven. But, for the past five years, the movie's been stuck in cinematic limbo after a legal fallout with the film's Chinese investors. In 2020, Creasun Entertainment USA was accused of pulling the plug on a promised $10 million investment, freezing the production in its tracks. But now, the legend of Kung Fury 2 lives again thanks to this insane footage, which plays like someone dared the creative team to out-crazy Turbo Kid and Deadpool in the same breath. 'This was an internal promo video that was never supposed to be seen by the public. I feel bad because it contains a bunch of plot points and temp VFX,' Sandberg told Variety in a statement. 'I hope at least people can see the passion that we poured into the movie, the world deserves to see it as it was meant to be seen. This movie has been held hostage for the past 5 years but I promise to keep fighting for it and make sure this film gets the chance it truly deserves.' The reel features Michael Fassbender as Colt Magnum, an FBI renegade with a monster mullet and explains how to make a 'justice omelette,' Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up as the cigar-chomping, shotgun-toting U.S. president President of the United States, strapped, loaded, and announcing his mission to "kick some Nazi ass." Oh, and David Hasselhoff is there too, morphing into a sentient '80s supercar known as the Hoff 9000. The story involves a eclectic team of human, dinosaur and half-human-half-dinosaur crime-fighters called the Thundercops, led by the deadpan action hero Kung Fury (Sandberg), on a mission to clean up the streets of Miami in 1985. This mission is somehow derailed by 'the worst criminal of all time,' Adolf Hitler. Check out the footage, and let us know if you're ready to ride a laser raptor into battle alongside Fassbender and Schwarzenegger. The world needs Kung Fury: The Movie now more than ever.
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
World's richest actor is a 77-yr-old with no film in years but $1.49B wealth; beat Tom Cruise, Shah Rukh, Dwayne Johnson
A new list of the world's wealthiest actors was released by Esquire Magazine earlier this year. The list, which ranks acting superstars based on their current net worth, throws up quite a few surprises and also omits a few names that rival publication Forbes includes. But perhaps the biggest surprise is right up top - as a 77-year-old who has seen no new release in 6 years has topped the list. (Also read: World's richest actress has $8-billion wealth but no hit films; richer than Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Rihanna combined) According to Esquire, action superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger is the richest actor in the world with a massive net worth of $1.49 billion. Since first becoming a billionaire in January, Arnold has increased his holdings significantly. To many, Arnold sitting at the top, way ahead of reigning superstars like Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, and Shah Rukh Khan, may be surprising. More so because Arnold's last theatrical release was Terminator: Dark Fate back in 2019. The star has not been seen in a film in six years, but will mark his big-screen comeback with two projects this year - Kung Fury 2 and The Man with the Bag. Esquire notes that Arnold's rise to billionaire status has been on the back of his smart investments. "He gained entry into the three comma club primarily by pouring his earnings into real estate, from his earliest days as an actor. As a result, he now owns a vast real estate empire along with a 5% stake in one of the world's biggest investment firms," says his citation in the report. (Also read: World's richest actress has $8-billion wealth but no hit films; richer than Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Rihanna combined) In the second spot on Esquire's list is Dwayne Johnson. The wrestler-turned-actor has a net worth of $1.19 billion, largely due to his stake in the $2-billion Teremana Tequila. Tom Cruise comes in the third spot with a net worth of $891 million, followed by Asia's richest actor, Shah Rukh Khan, who rounds off the top 4 with a net worth of $876 million, according to Esquire. The others in the top 10 include George Clooney, Robert de Niro, Brad Pitt, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, and Jackie Chan. Esquire's list also excludes people not known primarily for acting. So names like Tyler Perry (studio executive and also an actor) and Jerry Seinfeld (stand-up comic) do not feature here, even though they have both acted in multiple films and are both billionaires.
