Imagine having a $35 million budgeted movie in post-production when legal issues explode and the whole thing gets effectively canned. This is what happened to Kung Fury 2.
Commentary varies on what exactly the issues were. Various allegations were made that seem to revolve around a third-party VFX and production house, some financial murkiness, and Chinese co-financing.
The producers filed a lawsuit against Creasun Entertainment USA, the L.A.-based financing and production arm of Minglu Ma’s Chinese banner Creasun Media.
At the heart of the lawsuit, which was a complaint for breach of contract and fraud, was the accusation that Creasun hadn’t provided promised funding of $10 million, a move that effectively shut down production on the project in post-production.
This was after Creasun allegedly “torpedoed” efforts to bring in a replacement financier, one of the producers questioned the company’s ability to fund its remaining obligations, resulting in an HSBC letter being produced by Ma in August purporting to show available funds of $4 billion.
So the movie had finished shooting, but VFX and other finishing touches were stuck in limbo.
Now a ten-minute sizzle reel for Kung Fury 2 has leaked online initially on YouTube and also on social media. The original link has been taken down, but copies are still floating around while Variety even went as far as getting confirmation from the filmakers that it is legit.
So what the hell is Kung Fury 2, and what is it all about?
Writer/director David Sandberg returns as Kung Fury, leading his team of human, dinosaur, and hybrid human-dino crime-fighters called the Thundercops who set out to clean up the streets of Miami in 1985 and save them from Adolf Hitler (Jorma Taccone).
Cameos include Arnold Schwarzenegger as a gun-toting U.S. president, Alexandra Shipp as a reporter, and David Hasselhoff as himself, who can also transform into a KITT-type car. Also appearing is Michael Fassbender as Colt Magnum – the world’s greatest FBI agent, complete with mahogany tan and huge mullet.
It’s not big and it’s not clever but, by God, it might just be what we need right now. Feast your eyes!
Sandberg said to Variety that while the sizzle reel is far from finished from a VFX point of view and it was never meant to be shared outside the team, he is glad it has been leaked.
“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.”
This buzz might just help unblock the remaining legal issues.
