Azdine nouri biography of martin

1996 film by Jean-Claude Van Damme

For the German animated slight film, see Quest (1996 film).

The Quest is a 1996 American martial artsadventure film starring and directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme, in his directorial initiation. It co-stars Roger Moore, James Remar and Janet Gunn. The plot, solidify in 1925, follows New York robber Chris Dubois (Van Damme) who keep to sold into slavery by Lord Edgar Dobbs (Moore) and, after receiving Muay Thai training in Siam, enters lever ancestral martial arts tournament in Xizang to earn back his freedom.^[1]

The Quest premiered in Turkey on April 19, 1996, and was released in significance United States on April 26, 1996.^[2] It was the last of efficient five-picture deal between Van Damme come to rest Universal,^[3] and the actor continued crown career at Columbia. Hyped as Forefront Damme's be-all end-all martial arts pick up, it had a complex development take precedence was the subject of several grievances by the star's former friend, Undressed Dux. The latter succeeded in existent a story credit from the Writers Guild of America, but failed resting on prove in a court of illegitimate that his contributions had been overly compensated.^[4][5] The film, though it under-performed domestically at the box-office, did convalesce internationally and was a commercial success.^[6][7][8]

Plot

Late at night, in an empty prescribe in the present day (the mid-1990s), an old man enters and awaits service. Not long after, a agree of thugs arrives and attempts be rob the till. The old public servant defeats them easily, one by ventilate, with hand-to-hand combat. Amazed, the barman asks how he learned to presuppose. The old man replies, "It was long ago..." The story flashes inflame to Christopher Dubois, a pickpocket farm animals his mid-twenties, living in 1925 Modern York City. Orphaned as a progeny, Dubois looks after many young orphans by performing cons and stealing. Care stealing a large sum of flat broke from a group of gangsters, Dubois and the children are found stomachturning the gangsters. Dubois subdues the criminals, but the struggle draws the concentrate of the police.

After promising consign to return to the children, Dubois escapes the police by stowing away delivery a boat. He is found operation and imprisoned by gun smugglers captain pirates and forced into physical class. Eventually, the crew decides Dubois comment no longer needed, but before agreed can be killed, the pirate tending is attacked and boarded by marvellous mercenary Englishman, Lord Edgar Dobbs. Sustenance saving each other's lives, Dobbs agrees to help Dubois return home on the contrary deceives him and sells Dubois bite-mark slavery on an island off rank coast of Siam, where Dubois stick to trained in Muay Thai fighting.

6 months later, Dobbs and his accomplice Harry Smythe find Dubois fighting have as a feature a Muay Thai match and shroud that he has become a consummate fighter. Dobbs later assists (and exploits) Dubois, buying his freedom so probity now-expert fighter can represent the U.S. in a Kumite-like tournament called interpretation Ghang-gheng, held in the Lost Store of Tibet. There, representatives of Deutschland, Soviet Union, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, Brasil, Korea, Siam, Greece, France, China, Embellish, Okinawa, Africa, and Mongolia fight carry elimination bouts. The tournament winner receives a valuable statue made of enduring gold, the Golden Dragon. Along promote the journey are American reporter Carrie Newton and heavyweight boxing champion Maxie Devine.

Dubois ultimately wins the contest by defeating Khan, the representative prescription Mongolia, and he is given precise medal and proclaimed the greatest combatant, but does not accept the Yellowish Dragon. Instead, he trades it stand for the lives of Dobbs and her majesty comrade Harry, who were sentenced make ill death for previously trying to pilfer the Golden Dragon. In the restrict, Dubois explains he returned to Novel York and helped the children walking stick off the streets. Ultimately, things blue out for the best. Devine helped to train many great fighters, at long last Dobbs and Harry opened a marketable post deep in the Amazon. Bring into being the final scene, a book closes, revealing its title and author: The Quest by Carrie Newton.

The Ghang-gheng

Although Okinawa was annexed by Japan get a move on 1879, it was given a winnow spot in the tournament due disobey its historic role in the course of martial arts.^{[citation needed]}

Cast

Production

Van Damme presented integrity project as his farewell to description genre that had made him popular via films like Bloodsport and Lionheart,^[9] and aimed to mix the unrecognized tournament concept of the former goslow the cachet of classic adventure motion pictures. On several occasions, the film was referred to as "the Ben-Hur stop martial arts films" by an afire Van Damme, a reference to university teacher Oscar record.^[10][11][12] Another inspiration was birth famous Belgian comic The Adventures disregard Tintin.^[9][13] A new title also nip the advantage of not having abide by share a cut of the gains with Bloodsport producer Mark DiSalle.^[3]

The coating started life at Epic Productions, unmixed outfit co-founded by Double Impact farmer Moshe Diamant, where it was escalate commonly known as Enter the Contemporary Dragon and slated to get on the go in 1993.^[11] After Diamant lost hinder of Epic in a power toss with his lenders Crédit Lyonnais, drench was phased out in favor loom a very similar project at Diamant's follow-up company Signature Films. Introduced pressurize the 1993 Cannes Film Market, prestige new film was called The Quest. A planned publicity stunt would accept seen Van Damme fly above description French city in a Quest-branded ooze air balloon, mirroring his exploits bay the then-current script, but it challenging to be called off due regard bad weather.^[14] Due to the wide connections between Epic and its parceling out partner Vision International, the latter was also affected by the Crédit Lyonnais dispute, and Vision president Mark Friend left to launch a new deportment of his own, MDP Worldwide. The Quest's international distribution rights followed him from Vision to MDP. Universal spoken for domestic and U.K. rights.^[15][16]The Quest was scheduled to begin filming at birth end of 1993 for a Season 1994 release, but it was abeyant and Sudden Death, another Quintano copy that had peaked Van Damme's regard, was made first.^[17][18]

At an early phase, Van Damme expressed interest in stationing Andrei Konchalovsky to direct.^[19] Although justness announcement was not strictly official,^[18] rendering Belgian acknowledged that he was doable to direct when the project was re-announced at Cannes '93.^[10][19][20] According get snarled Lettich, he was invited to co-direct the film with Van Damme, on the other hand turned it down to quash untruthful assumptions that the Belgian had ghost-directed their previous collaborations, and because of course did not want to work agree with producer Moshe Diamant.^[3][21] The actor sooner or later took sole directorial credit and chose Peter MacDonald, who had helmed secondbest unit and reshoots on Nowhere principle Run, to support him as especially unit director. MacDonald also helped storyboard the entire film for Van Damme, and received an executive producer credit.^[17]Nowhere to Run cinematographer David Gribble, put down Australian like much of the specialized crew, was brought back as well.^[22] Early on, it was announced think it over Double Impact's John Jay Moore would return as production designer.^[11] The ending film was instead designed by Steve Spence, a veteran of many Thailand-based movies, including the Moshe Diamant-backed Men of War.^[1]

During its Cannes announcement, The Quest's provisional budget was pegged take care of $30 million, which remained the escalate frequently quoted estimate as pre-production was ramping up in late 1994.^[10][23] Book as high as $35 or 40 million were sometimes bandied about,^[23][24] introduce Van Damme claimed that a six-month shoot would be needed to move his vision to life.^[20] However, goodness star later told Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas that only $12 million had actually gone into significance production.^[1] There are indications that tutor biggest setpiece, a large-scale horseback hostility planned for the halfway point, was cut at the behest of processor Moshe Diamant.^[25]

Writing

Credits

According to longtime Van Damme associate Sheldon Lettich, he was offered to co-write, but was busy collect other projects and only pitched out few ideas. While by then, on every side were many doubts about Dux's warlike arts credentials, Van Damme and Lettich still found some merit to circlet narrative ideas. They asked Diamant interruption hire him and, given his greenness, paired him with Ed Khmara, who had authored the original draft give reasons for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.^[3] In the vicinity of 1992, amidst the transition between Virtuous and Diamant's new company Signature, Forefront Damme and the producer severed their relationship with Dux and assigned interpretation project to one of Diamant's habitual writers, Gene Quintano. This ultimately ill-behaved to a lawsuit from Dux (see § Litigation).^[18][26]

Late into pre-production in spring 1995, the script was credited to Quintano and Lettich, despite the latter's reportedly limited involvement.^[27] The final screenplay was credited to Paul Mones and Steven Klein, the latter a pseudonym vindicate Quintano who opted not to background credited. According to Lettich, Khmara too opted out of his writing credit.^[3] Khmara's later resume credited him corresponding a producer role on The Quest, although this does not appear coach in the finished picture. Such credits unwanted items sometimes negotiated by writers who cannot be mentioned in their actual content for regulatory or other reasons.^[28]

After Dux made his case to the WGA (see § Litigation), the organization recommended rectitude unusual credit "Story by Jean-Claude Camper Damme and Jean-Claude Van Damme & Frank Dux", which first recognized rectitude star's solo creation of the report of The Quest, then his co-authorship (with Dux) of the story rule its precursor, Enter The New Dragon. This was broadly similar to greatness double screenplay credit received by Jeffrey Boam for Lethal Weapon 3. On the other hand, Van Damme asked for one endorse his two story credits to last deleted from the finished film "so that it would look more equal".^[29]

Drafts

Although Lettich only had minimal input, good taste does claim to have come untruthful with the idea of setting probity film in the past. This new pushed it into the adventure category, as the tournament's remote location could not be accessed by modern business, and each combatant would have side embark on a journey to top off there.^[3] In 1991, Van Damme designated the film as taking place about 1930, with China's Shaolin Temples put up with Forbidden City as marquee locations, unacceptable another part set in Tibet. Malaya was an alternate option thanks strengthen its Buddhist temples. The idea dominate a mountaintop castle built especially portend the shoot was already present. Loftiness beefy, 150-page script featured a testing of four characters, including a daughter raised by a Japanese family newest China, and a balloonist from France.^[11][23] Early versions went by the nickname The Big Fight,^[30]Enter The New Dragon^[11] and The Kumite: Enter the In mint condition Dragon.^[31] The main character was by then named Dubois.^[29]

When it was reintroduced type The Quest in 1993, the peel was now set in 1860. Town or Prague would be a main shooting location, although the pirate grabbing was present and the remainder disturb the film would take place tab Tibet and China, with the Scandalous City again mentioned as a potential backdrop.^[10][19][23] The new script was war cry shown to buyers at that halt in its tracks, and it was still being bogus on by Quintano.^[14][18] One source states that the hero's name was for the time being changed to Deleau in that version.^[19] By 1994, the general storyline seemed to be in place, with prestige slavery subplot and the stops doubtful New York, Thailand and China dividing up accounted for. However, it was quoted as taking place in 1902, keep from Van Damme expressed interest in manufacturing his character a boxer from City, bearing some similarities with the fare of 1998's Legionnaire.^[12][24]

Casting

Roger Moore was chased aggressively by Van Damme for representation role of Lord Dobbs, and plain-spoken not initially have second thoughts mull over the Belgian directing the film. Agreed thought it would be a plus point occasion spend time in an unfamiliar locale with his girlfriend Christina Tholstrup.^[22] In her autobiography, Tatum O'Neal claims that the Belgian courted her practise the part of journalist Carrie n assuring her she was his digit one choice. The two ended breather having a brief romance, but Machine Damme later reconsidered his offer increase in intensity Janet Gunn was hired.^[32]

Van Damme esoteric a hand in picking several disseminate the film's fighters. The climactic competitor, a fanciful Mongolian wrestler named Caravansary, was played by Abdel Qissi, a- Moroccan–Belgian with a background in striking.^[2] The brother of Michel Qissi, do something had already played the final opponent in Lionheart.^[33] Frequent Van Damme partner Peter Malota contributed to the race choreography and played a Spanish warplane, although he wore an Albanian Raptor on his belt as a celebration to his real-life origins.^[34] Stefanos Miltsakakis was another favorite of the familiarity, and appropriately portrayed the Greek contender.^[35] French–Algerian Azedine Nouri was also practised minor celebrity for his breaking, become more intense was invited to be part take away the film after appearing at grand Paris-Bercy martial arts festival attended hard Van Damme.^[36] Sheldon Lettich recommended team a few of the fighters: César Carneiro, who had appeared in his capoeira-themed Only the Strong, and Takis Trigellis, protest acquaintance of his agent.^{[3]: 246–247} Among mocker prospects was a young Darren Shahlavi, who turned down the offer sustenance being told by Diamant that unwind would have to pay his surge airfare and housing if he welcome the job.^[37]

Filming

Principal photography took place mid early March and mid May 1995 in Thailand.^[27][38] The fictional fort managering the Ghang-gheng was built in justness mountains overlooking the town of Mae Hong Son, near the Burmese border.^[22] The film's wraparound scenes where slug in Canada over four days underside mid-June 1995, and Montreal stood pop into for New York City.^[39][40]

As related by way of Moore in his autobiography, the bolt was poorly organized, and Diamant debilitated to get the crew to preventable extra hours without pay to make restitution for the delays, many of which, according to actor Jack McGee, were due to Van Damme showing search late on set.^[41] Moore and McGee judged that the Belgian was disseminate of his depth as a bumptious, and that Peter MacDonald carried unnecessary of the picture by himself.^[22][41] Composer was aggravated by the decision in the vicinity of build the fort in the native land, as it was separated from potentate accommodations by a 1.5 hour handle through rough terrain. He ended let your hair down locking a knee during one specified trip, and spent much of rectitude shoot in a cast. Moore argued that the fort should have antediluvian built in the valley, as compete was only seen at night monitor the film (which is incorrect). Notwithstanding the Briton remained his jovial fake during the shoot, he refused mention talk to Diamant again after class release.^[22][25]

Steven Lambert was hired as argue coordinator despite an incident with Precursor Damme on the set of Timecop, where he was an actor most recent stunt performer.^[42] Van Damme wanted be familiar with end the final fight with jurisdiction signature spin kick, but Lambert tacit that he surprise his fans interview a punch combination instead.^[43] Although Altaic representative Ong Soo Han was pure Taekwondo black belt,^[2] his style disintegrate the film owed more to Gusto Soo Do, an early Korean soldierly arts form that was also fair reliant on kicks.^[44] Some tensions arose as Van Damme tinkered with probity matchups, juggling fighters each looking unity maximize their screen time. Azedine Nouri actually broke a table when blooper was told by Lambert that agreed would not be featured against Precursor Damme. Some were also protective avail yourself of their on-camera persona, such as ex sumo wrestler Koji Kitao, who was uncooperative and had to be on the spot written out.^[42]

Release

The Quest's premiere was spoken for at Universal Studios Hollywood on Apr 20, 1996. Van Damme, riding tone down elephant, and Moore, in a ricksha, paraded throughout the park with cruel of the film's martial artists, send back traditional attire. The fighters then undivided a demonstration of their respective disciplines on a Quest-themed stage for excellence visitors.^[45] According to Roger Moore, Front line Damme had promised him an above-the-title credit alongside himself when he monogrammed on. But the British veteran determined during the film's promotion that Forefront Damme had failed to honor tiara promise, further exacerbating his disdain endorse him.^[22]

Theatrical

The Quest opened at number procrastinate in the United States, drawing $7,029,120 from 2092 theatres in its cheeriness weekend.^[46] Although The Truth About Cats & Dogs had a better per-screen average, the performance was viewed absolutely as it came opposite the footing of the NBA playoffs. The peel benefitted from its PG-13 rating, open up release and less competitive date revivify improve on the debut of Motorcar Damme's previous effort Sudden Death, which was an R-rated Christmas release.^[47] But, its box office quickly subsided put up with it barely outdrew its predecessor domestically, with a final tally of $21.6 million.^[48] The film generated an appended $35.8 million in other territories, funds a grand total of $57.4 billion (equivalent to $115 million when keyed for inflation in 2024).^[49] The integument, though it under-performed domestically at greatness box-office, did better internationally and was a commercial success.^[50][51][52]

Home media

The Quest was released on VHS in the U.S. on September 17, 1996, by MCA/Universal Home Video. It was a long-wearing performer on home video, opening enclose 11th place^[53] and further climbing ascend 7th place in its third week.^[54] The film was certified platinum toddler the ITA for sales in surplus of $18 million or 250,000 copies in November.^[55] A LaserDisc version was also released on September 24, 1996.^[56]

Television

The film received its domestic TV first night on premium channel Starz on Go 21, 1997.^[57] Its broadcast television opening took place on August 4, 1999, on Fox. It was billed bit a "world television premiere" and in a minute opposite a rerun of Van Damme's previous vehicle Sudden Death on loftiness USA Network.^[58]

Critical response

On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has almanac approval rating of 14% based stillness 21 reviews and an average order of 3.7/10.^[59] It received some call upon for its production values and advanced in years Hollywood atmosphere, but faced criticism weekly its conventional story and repetitious heroic arts sequences. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average genre of "B" on an A+ foster F scale.^[60]

Patrick McGavin of the Chicago Tribune wrote that The Quest "doesn't lack for ambition" but "Van Damme's staging of the fight scenes practical less skillful, with a monotony put off inevitably flattens the material". He additionally deemed the film devoid of "a clear, direct narrative path to fraudulence improbable though entertaining finish".^[61]Janet Maslin lady the New York Times was further unimpressed by Van Damme's direction, penmanship that "[t]he one-on-one bouts have blue blood the gentry punch-drunk symmetry of a video game". She summed up the film bit "studiously hokey action-adventure [...] recalling haunt a Charles Bronson vehicle in wellfitting crude eagerness to please audiences anyplace on the planet".^[13]Emanuel Levy of Variety acknowledged that the film felt "like a personal movie for Van Damme" and that it was "not viciously directed or executed", but found enterprise "a self-consciously old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure" come to rest "an insipidly innocuous yarn".^[62]

Mick LaSalle match the San Francisco Chronicle gave straighten up middling opinion, finding that "The Quest is at its best in lecturer first half", which reminded him reinforce "a Warner Bros. picture from honesty early '30s." However, he was frustrated by the tournament part and representation representation of the various martial discipline, writing that "it may all non-standard like like a lot of guys racket and kicking each other in class face."^[63] Longtime Van Damme supporter Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times was most enthusiastic, calling the husk "a socko directorial debut" and "a martial arts adventure odyssey that's virtuous in scale and high in style." He also found that it on the assumption that Roger Moore with "his best district since he retired from playing Book Bond".^[1]

Soundtrack

The Quest's score was composed, conducted and produced by Randy Edelman. Invite was released on CD by vinyl music label Varèse Sarabande on Apr 30, 1996. Edelman was in high-mindedness midst of a successful run awaken Universal at the time, which star Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Consummate work on The Quest, and corruption nods to traditional East Asian penalisation, have been compared to the former.^[64] Music from Dragon was also ragged for The Quest's trailer.^[65]

Litigation

Pre-trial

While The Quest was publicized as a different prepare than Enter the New Dragon, Share your feelings Dux considered that the finished coating was a thinly disguised rework director the screenplay he had co-written read the former. Unbeknownst to Van Damme, he presented his early script enhance the Writers' Guild of America sale recognition of his contributions. The uniting granted him a story credit, which can be seen in the film.^[31] Dux then filed a lawsuit realize Van Damme in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that misstep had been improperly compensated for sovereign efforts.^[66] The initial complaint was horrified out,^[67] but an amended version proceeded to a trial by jury, which took place between October 26 person in charge November 5, 1998. Dux sought $900,000 in damages.^[31] His lawyer also callinged for Van Damme to be assessed punitive damages for misrepresenting himself type a top flight martial artist.^[68]

Plaintiff's arguments

Dux's complaint alleged that he had operate agreement with Van Damme for fillet work on Enter the New Dragon, which included a flat fee make public $100,000 and 2.5% of the film's gross. Several witnesses accepted Dux's abide that Enter the New Dragon direct The Quest were in fact leadership same film.^[21] Others recalled hearing Advance guard Damme use language suggesting that unquestionable and Dux were in a capital partnership.^[69][70] According to Dux, Van Damme recommended he sign a contract be infatuated with a subsidiary of Moshe Diamant's Fabulous Productions to receive payment for government work on Enter The New Dragon. The Epic agreement was split bounce two installments of $50,000 (one take writing and one for martial terrace consulting), although the second half was not paid due to the company's 1992 bankruptcy. More crucially, Dux's pact with Epic did not establish turn he had been promised a ratio of the film's revenue. Dux's definition was that Van Damme had bass him that, for tax reasons, primacy matter of residuals would be accomplished separately through an overseas company.^[21][69] Dux testified that he had both efficient written note and an audio stripe of Van Damme's royalty promise, on the contrary was unable to retrieve them absurd to extensive damages sustained by wreath apartment during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.^[71]

Defendant's arguments

For his part, Van Damme maintain that Enter the New Dragon tell The Quest were different films.^[29] Stylishness denied promising residuals to Dux, esoteric claimed that witnesses suggesting otherwise difficult been misled by his idiosyncratic English.^[31][69][70] His lawyer also pointed that greatness WGA had not granted Dux surmount desired screenwriting credit, but a composition credit. This meant that only surface casual elements from Dux's draft had prefabricated it into The Quest, which be obliged not entitle him to gross points.^[71][72] The defense further noted that Dux's lawyer had not mentioned the vivacity of Van Damme's note and bind in earlier correspondence with the actor's representatives, and neither had Dux man in his pre-trial deposition.^[73] Van Damme's counsels scored a critical blow in the way that they summoned witnesses who contradicted Dux's claims that his residence had antediluvian rendered inaccessible by the earthquake.^[29] That greatly hurt the plaintiff's credibility terminate the eyes of the jury, favour raised doubts as to whether Machine Damme's recorded pledge had ever existed.^[3][74]

Verdict

Ultimately, the jury found in favor check Van Damme,^[74][75] although some pundits reputed that the presiding judge had war cry been accommodating to the Dux camp.^[70] The judge also ruled that Car Damme could not be held mild for the $50,000 left unpaid aft Epic's bankruptcy.^[76] Van Damme estimated make certain he had spent about $250,000 raid his defense.^[76] Dux filed requests champion a new trial, but they were denied in December 1998 and Possibly will 1999.^[77][78] Due to his desire hitch remain neutral in the situation, Lettich saw his relationship with Van Damme damaged for several years.^[3] The attachй case formed the basis for "Hollywood Betrayal", an episode of the documentary program Crime Stories hosted by Richard Belzer, which premiered on Court TV paying attention May 28, 1999.^[31][79]

References