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In theatres everywhere this Friday (July 29, 2011) is Cowboys & Aliens, a movie that is quite interesting for us at Life For Mile from a production point of view.

This Ron Howards and Brian Grazer production wrestled with the same problems that we are facing with Life For Mile. One of the major challenges is how do you combine the western moviemaking style with another genre (in C&A’s case, it is Sci-Fi) and make that work.

Producer (not director) Ron Howard’s idea was to branch out from the western genre and somehow extend from it. That was the central idea and also what director Jon Favreau had been able to achieve. Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg was involved with the same production in a previous incarnation until Ron (Da Vinci Code) Howard ultimately took over and developed it into what Cowboys & Aliens is today.

Harrison Ford who played a supporting role in the movie described the production as taking the ‘humanity of a western and folds into it a sense of contemporary interests.’ Daniel Craig, the hero of the story, is somewhat of a superhuman endowed with alien technology. He is the crucial bridge that connects the Wild West and the Alien World in the movie.

I like the word ‘humanity’ that Ford used, which means that the movie is not all Action. There are story elements that appeal to the audience on a human level instead of just an assault on our ‘animal’ senses (though many of us, myself included, rather enjoy that unabashedly as well) like a pure action movie would do.

One of the western genre masters is John Ford. His classic western movies like The Grapes of Wrath, The Quiet Man, The Searchers etc., all have interesting human dramas in them. Many John Ford’s movies are not action movies but western dramas. It is the human conflicts, predicament with the environment, the times, character studies etc. that make the drama intriguing. This is what Harrison Ford is referring to.

C&A director Jon Favreau also described Harrison Ford as the iconic actor to Jon’s generation as John Wayne was to Harrison’s generation. This John Wayne reference is particularly interesting as Wayne was a star that was very much associated with the western movies that John Ford made. One of the approaches that Favreau took in making C&A was to be true to the structures of the western movies i.e. John Ford, Sam Peckinpah etc. One of Favreau’s concerns was to make sure the western genre of C&A be authentic and not a slapstick tongue-in-cheek version of it like Will Smith’s Wild Wild West or Jackie Chan’s Shanghai Noon was.

Life For Mile would be similar in the same vein. It is a real-life historical drama that has genuine western genre elements – the frontier town, railroad construction, gunslingers etc. The story also contains mystery, horror and supernatural subplots as well but Life For Mile won’t be all action-packed and of course, no sci-fi elements.

Life For Mile is a real-life drama that took place in the 1880s where the Old West was very much part of the story.

Life For Mile Movie –

Actor/Executive Producer – Stephen Chang
Producer/Screenwriter – Ray Van Eng

Life For Mile Facebook Page

Life For Mile Pre-production stills #1


Life For Mile Pre-production stills #2

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Life For Mile Facebook Page –

The day after the Rambo Bridge Final Take event has taken place on July 10, 2011, a demolition crew started to take down the bridge. Piece by piece this iconic Kawkawa Bridge as it was known to locals will be gone. So will a part of Hollywood history that lasted almost 30 years.

Rambo fans in the hundreds turned out to reminisce and enjoyed one last stroll along the wood and steel structure before it finally disappeared. The former Mayor of Hope was on hand and told people why didn’t the government paid fans the demolition fee which is $100,000 and let them turned that into a tourist attraction. Many who were there probably had the same thought. In the name of progress and in this case, structure soundness possibly leaned heavily against saving the bridge. After all, there is a new and modern concert span running across the same section of the river serving what the old one did.

Maybe Rambo fans didn’t want to forget this part of Hollywood history but the Hollywood crowd who were most connected had chosen to ignore it. None of the original actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehey and dozens of others didn’t bother to show up to lend show, except Stephen Chang, the BC actor who played VC Commander in the movie.

All is not lost though because Stephen Chang has a new movie in the works. It is titled Life For Mile. It is a movie about the Chinese and native Indians building the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s. Life For Mile will be out in 2012.

Life For Mile is based on a true story and a real-life character, Ming, a Chinese railroad worker who used Kung Fu to unite with the aboriginals and the Asians. Together they fought discrimination and mistreatment of the days and ultimately restored some degree of dignity for themselves. History books have forgotten Ming’s story until now. Life For Mile is projected to have a theatrical release date of summer 2012.

VIDEO – Life For Mile takes shape

Rambo Bridge – Kawkawa Lake Road, Hope, BC

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On July 10, 2011, the iconic wood and steel bridge in Hope, BC that was featured in the 1982 movie Rambo: First Blood bid an emotional farewell to movie fans in an event dubbed Rambo Bridge Final Take.

Many movie fans dressed up like Sylvester Stallone in Rambo and offered themselves up for a voluntary arrest and have their pictures taken by friends and family just to capture a piece of Hollywood movie history that will soon be gone forever. Because starting from the next day, the structure that was known as Kawkawa Bridge by locals was scheduled to be taken down piece by piece by a demolition crew.

Not all will be forgotten though. At least one man will have memory of the bridge etched forever on canvas by artist Mary Haymes who finished the work in 2003. He was seen cradling the artwork in his arms anxious to share with anyone about the painting.

On its last glory day of existence, the bridge was surrounded by hundreds of Rambo fans, some of whom came from as far away as Australia and England. Hope Mayor Laurie French reenacted the sheriff role that Brian Dennehy portrayed to the delight of many who stood by and watched.

Almost the entire cast of Rambo: First Blood which consists of Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, David Caruso etc. were a no-show. The only star that showed up was BC actor Stephen Chang who played VC Commander in the Vietnam vet turned unstable civilian flick.

Stephen Chang used the opportunity to sell some autographed copies and promoted his new movie Life For Mile, a feature film about the Chinese and aboriginal involvement in the construction of the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s. Life For Mile is executive produced by Stephen Chang and he will act in it. He is currently producing the movie with Producer/Screenwriter Ray Van Eng of V21 Media.

The Final Take event began at 11:00 AM with a Rambo look-a-like contest and later a helicopter fly-by over Coquihalla Canyon as demoed by Valley Helicopters. Props such as a 1980s police car, a jeep and an army vehicle were on display to beef up the presentation.

When the day’s activities were finished, a screening of Rambo: First Blood was shown at 3:00 PM at the Hope Cinema. Rambo fans paid $5.00 to catch the matinee show.

VIDEO –Rambo Bridge Final Take & New Movie ‘Life For Mile’

Kawkawa Lake Road, Hope, BC

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Life For Mile News!

As the Life For Mile movie has a 50-50 split in terms of cultural representation between the Chinese and First Nations subjects, we shall attend the Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2011 this weekend (July 8-10, 2011) at the Capilano Indian Reserve.

The event is scheduled for three days with a Grand Entry at 7PM on each day (Sat. July 09, 1PM & 7PM). While thousands of aboriginals from across Canada and the U.S. will come to celebrate this annual gathering, about a hundred native dancers in full regalia would participate in the Grand Entry dance. It will be quite a sight.

Fans of the Life For Mile production are welcome to join us as well. Actor/Executive Producer Stephen Chang, Producer/Writer Ray Van Eng and other actors and crew members will be present.

Life For Mile Facebook Page

http://www.powwowtime.com/

Life For Mile is a movie currently being produced about the Chinese and First Nations involvement in the construction of the transcontinental railway in the 1880s that united Canada as a nation.

Here’s a video of the Squamish Youth Pow Wow 2010 last year


100 Mathias Rd, Vancouver BC

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Just for fun, for the fans, we slapped together this quickie movie trailer for Life For Mile. Hope you guys like it!

Life For Mile is a Historic Drama/Western/Kung Fu/Mystery/Action/Comedy movie. It is based on the true-life story of the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) laborers who worked together in the construction of the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s.

Cultural content-wise, the movie is 50% Chinese and 50% First Nations. Western genre movies are often about cowboys or cowboys and Indians, but Life For Mile is different. This movie is about the true-life accounts of the Chinese and indians (First Nations) railroad workers who united together to go against their railway cowboy masters and ultimately restored some degree of dignities for themselves. Life For Mile is executive produced by Hollywood actor Stephen Chang. [Music by Kevin MacLeod.]

Life For Mile Facebook Fan Page

VIDEO – FOR FANS ONLY Life For Mile Movie Trailer

Shell Road, Richmond, BC

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It’s 1889, the year that this Shand Mason Horse-Drawn Steam Fire Engine was made. More relevant, it is just four years earlier in 1885 that the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation was finished and soon after that, Vancouver was incorporated as a city.

These dates are important to the movie: Life For Mile. It is in the same period. And as I watched the steam fire engine at work as the pistons pumped up and down, I couldn’t help but let my imagination runs wild. I thought about the life of the Chinese railroad workers back then. They had no means of going back home as the Canadian government (and railroad company) conveniently forgot to pay their return boat fare that was promised when the Chinese were hired. Some of the Chinese died and were buried in Boston Bar, the city of Kamloops and other places along the Fraser Canyon where the transcontinental railroad was built. The infamous Head-Tax was legislated into laws that kept more Chinese from coming into Canada amidst waves after waves of anti-Chinese sentiments among a largely European population which went on for decades.

Life For Mile is a Historic Drama/Action/Kung Fu/Mystery/Romance/Comedy feature film based on true events about the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) laborers in the construction of the transcontinental railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s. It has been said that for every mile that the Canadian Pacific railroad was laid, one Chinese life had been sacrificed, hence the title of the movie) but it is rarely ever mentioned about the native Indian’s contribution. Those two compelling historical facts and unique Canadian heritage have also rarely been put in the entertainment media in the past until now.

Life For Mile is executive produced by Stephen Chang, a Kung Fu Grandmaster and Hollywood actor (VC Commander in First Blood ” Rambo “) and produced by Ray Van Eng with a script written by Ray Van Eng based on a treatment by Stephen Chang. Mr. Chang also acted in such movies as Double Happiness (1994 – 2 Genies), International Rescue (1990 Hit) Icarus (2010) and TV series such as The X-Files, Twilight Zone, Kung Fu – TLC (1996 Warner Bros.) Psych (2011), The Evidence (2006) and dozens of other productions. Mr. Chang has spent the last 35+ years in conceiving this movie after he met the real-life character, a Chinese railroad worker named Ming, in the early 1970s who told Chang the true-life story that is now being produced as a feature film planned for a world-wide theatrical release on the big screen.

For the latest updates and info, please visit the – Life For Mile Facebook page

Stephen Chang, Actor/Executive Producer IMDB Page
Ray Van Eng, Producer/Writer – Vancouver21

2 Water Street, Vancouver BC

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A few nights ago, I watched the movie Bonnie & Clyde (1967) on TV again. Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman etc. Directed by Arthur Penn who also made Little Big Man (1970), an American Indian movie, that as a producer/writer of Life For Mile, I feel that I can derive inspiration or borrow some techniques from these two Hollywood films.

The last sequence in Bonnie & Clyde just before the crime couple is shot in a hail of bullets is so memorable to me. There is a very fast sequence of editing of the two looking into each other’s eyes. Those split seconds of shots (or montage, if you like) are so powerful that I remembered them very well throughout all these years since I first watched the movie in the mid-70s. Beautifully depicted is the moment when they realize what’s coming but can’t escape it. The fatality of it with no time left to say goodbye. So tragic and poetic.

Splicing it all together by hand first was Dede Allen, the three-time Oscar-nominated editor who executed it so well. Bonnie and Clyde is classic Hollywood moviemaking with the use of genres and superb film language articulation.

Working on the movie Life For Mile brings together many of the things that I learned in movies in the last 35+ years.

Here’s to Hollywood! And my tremendous respect I reserved for those who work in the industry, past and present.

Movie: Life For Mile Facebook page

Bonnie and Clyde

Little Big Man

NEWS RELEASE

VANCOUVER, May 27, 2011 For Immediate Release.

Rambo Bridge Final Take Celebration. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

On July 10, 2011, the bridge that Rambo got arrested on in FIRST BLOOD will be torn down. There are some good people and Rambo fans who want to save the bridge, yet unfortunately it will be demolished. But we’ll have a Final Take Celebration! EVERONE IS INVITED! We expect thousands of movie fans to show up!

Rambo First Blood is a 1982 production starring Sylvestor Stallone and Brian Dennehy. Actor and Kung Fu Grandmaster Steven Chang also appear as VC Commander in the movie and will be there to host the Final Take Celebration. The movie was made mostly in and around Hope, BC and the nearby Hell’s Gate.

The Rambo movie series have more than 36 million fans worldwide! So we are looking forward to seeing many of you there at the Final Take Celebration. On July 10, 2011, a re-creation of the Rambo bridge scene will be performed by actors for the audience. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

If you look or sound like Sylvestor Stallone or Brian Dennehy, send your resume & head shot to Richard Strobel We may have part for you. Please have the scene memorized for the audition. It will be a fun day for everyone, a great chance for two actors to also take part in the 30th anniversary party in Oct of 2012.

Rambo First Blood Bridge

Hell’s Gate Production is currently producing Life For Mile, a movie about the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) involvement in the construction of the transcontinental railway in the 1880s. Hollywood actor and Kung Fu Grandmaster Stephen Chang will lead a cast of Canadian, American, Chinese and First Nations actors in Life For Mile. Get the latest updates at the Life For Mile Facebook page.

Movie: Life For Mile is executive produced by Stephen Chang, a Kung Fu Grandmaster and Hollywood actor (VC Commander in First Blood ” Rambo “). Stephen starred in such movies as Double Happiness (1994 – 2 Genies ), International Rescue ( 1990 Hit ) Icarus (2010) and TV series such as The X-Files, Twilight Zone, Kung Fu – TLC ( 1996 Warner Bros.) Psych (2011), The Evidence (2006) and dozens of other productions.

Stephen Chang’s IMDB page

Web site: http://www.grandmasterchang.com

Follow Grandmaster Stephen Chang on Twitter http://twitter.com/RAMBO_VCCOMMAND.

For further information, contact Ray Van Eng at rayvaneng@hotmail.com or call (604) 354-7181.

In pre-production right now is Life For Mile, a dramatized movie based on real facts about the Chinese and Indian (First Nations) workers in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway that united Canada as a nation in the 1880s.

Back then, thousands of Chinese laborers were brought in from China to help build this transcontinental railroad. Because the task was dangerous and safety hazards were many, the fatality of these Chinese workers was very high. Often, it was a Chinese that was assigned the task of placing dynamites deep inside the mountain to blow up rocks in order to dig through the tunnel. Many Chinese go in either didn’t come out or their lifeless bodies were carried out for a hasty burial. It was said that for each mile of railway that was constructed, one Chinese life was sacrificed. Hence the title of the movie ‘Life For Mile’.

Life For Mile is executive produced by well-known Hollywood actor Stephen Chang who will also play a leading role in the movie. He is also a grandmaster in Chinese Kung Fu. You might remember him as VC Commander in Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo, First Blood. Stephen also starred in such movies as Double Happiness (1994 – 2 Genies ), International Rescue ( 1990 Hit ) Icarus (2010) and TV series such as The X-Files, Twilight Zone, Kung Fu – TLC ( 1996 Warner Bros.) Psych (2011), The Evidence (2006) and dozens of other productions.

Currently, the ‘Life For Mile’ production is generating quite a bit of interest from various parties including the First Nations, Telefilm Canada and local and international investors. Anyone interest in following this project is welcome to join in the conversation and get updates from this ‘Life For Mile’ Facebook page

Stephen Chang’s IMDB page
Google Stephen Chang and you’ll get plenty of links as well.

Life For Mile is a Hell’s Gate Production movie.





Boston Bar, BC

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