Podcast 112: The Last Dragon

May 11, 2023 The Comic Book Guy Movies, Podcasting 01:14:44105MB 0 Comments
The Last Dragon

The 3 Guys Podcast

Recorded on 5/5/2023

His friends think he’s too serious. His family thinks he’s crazy. His enemies think he’s no challenge. But she knows he’s The Last Dragon. This week we are reviewing “The Last Dragon” starring Taimak, Julius Carry, Vanity and directed by Michael Schultz. WARNING: There will be SPOILERS!

The 3 Guys Rating

2.8/5

Notes From The Show

  • Quick Synopsis

  • Released: March 22, 1985

    Directed By: Michael Schultz

    Screenplay By: Louis Venosta

    Producted By: Berry Gordy, Mowtown Productions

    Cinematography By: James A. Contner

    Stars: Taimak, Julius Carry, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Leo O’Brien, Faith Prince, Glen Eaton, a bunch of other actors.

    Plot: In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.

    Taglines: He’s a martial arts master who refuses to fight. He’s a Bruce Lee fan who’s so sure he’s Oriental that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. His friends think he’s too serious. His family thinks he’s crazy. His enemies think he’s no challenge. But she knows he’s The Last Dragon.

    Need somebody to lend a foot…? Meet “Bruce Leroy” Green.

    How did this movie do?
    Budget: $10 Million
    Box Office: $33 Million

  • Casting

    • Taimak, last to be cast, had no acting skills. Julius Carry had no martial arts skills.

    • Laurence Fishburne lobbied hard for the role of Leroy Green. Wesley Snipes also auditioned & lobbied hard for the role of Leroy Green.

    • Mario Van Peebles was considered for the role of Leroy Green.

    • Denzel Washington auditioned for both Leroy & Sho’Nuff.

    • Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Ron O’Neal, Billy Dee Williams, and Carl Weathers were considered for the role of Sho’Nuff.

    • Jim Kelly was considered for the role of Sho’Nuff, but wasn’t interested in playing a villain.

    • Vanity was the first and only choice to play Laura Charles.

    • Movie featured a then unknown William H. Macy.

    • Faith Prince aka Angela Verocco, was nominated for a Tony for her role in Broadway’s “Guys & Dolls” revival.

  • Trivia

    • During the introductory training sequence, Leroy Green karate-chops an arrow as it soars past him. It was a real stunt that took 2 hours to get right.

    • The character of Angela Viracco was patterned after Cyndi Lauper.

    • When filming started, Julius Carry did not practice any form of Martial Arts.

    • The Seventh Heaven disco set was built on Camera Mart stages at 54th and 10th Avenue. One day Diana Ross visited the set and asked if she could buy it for her next tour.

    • In 1997, Busta Rhymes parodied the character Sho’nuff in his music video for “Dangerous”. In the video, the music cuts off, Busta proclaims, “Yo Leroy! Am I not the baddest…”, and replicates Sho’nuff’s first on-screen speech.

    • The song “Rhythm of the Night” went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Billboard R&B charts.

    • Leroy wears the same jumpsuit Bruce Lee wore in Game of Death (1978).

    • Leroy Green teaches “Chinese Goju”, created by Taimak’s instructor and close friend Ron Van Clief. Taimak also trained in Jeet Kune Do, and continued after filming ended.

    • Motown Records released an original soundtrack album for the film featuring songs by popular artists including: Vanity, Stevie Wonder, Rockwell, El DeBarge, The Temptations, Syreeta, and Smokey Robinson.

    • Leo O’Brien is the younger brother of Guy O’Brien, better known as “Master Gee”, from the pioneering rap group, The Sugarhill Gang.

    • Under pressure from the studio, trying to cut the budget by $2 million, director Michael Schultz and screenwriter Louis Venosta sat up all night in a hotel room, re-writing the script. When Venosta fell asleep, Schultz decided to delete 40 pages of the script. When Venosta awoke the next morning, the pair spent the day recreating the deleted material.

    • Taimak had no previous acting experience.

    • Shot in 44 days.

    • Filming began April 16th, 1984. Locations include: The Victory Theater on 42nd Street, Bernstein’s-on-Essex (an Oriental delicatessen used with its decor intact), the Harlem Karate Institute, a pizza restaurant in lower Manhattan, a Chinese warehouse on Walker Street in Manhattan, Super Amusements in Flushing, Queens, and an abandoned wire factory and warehouse at East 118th and East Side Highway in Manhattan.

    • Faith Prince did her own singing.

    • Charlene’s music video for ‘Fire’ was used in this movie to give her publicity and further her career. It didn’t and she didn’t record again for 18 years.

    • The song “Peeping Tom” was sung by Rockwell, who is the son of Berry Gordy.

    • Berry Gordy visited the film set frequently, with an entourage of Motown artists.

    • Leroy calls his baby sister Lotus Blossom, her father calls her Sophia, and her mother calls her Natasha.

    • One of two theatrical feature films, first released in 1985, directed by Michael Schultz. The other was Krush Groove (1985).

    • Though he looked older, Taimak was only 20 years old when starring in this movie and Ernie Reyes Jr. who looked younger was 12.

    • Keisha Knight Pulliam who plays little Sophia had already completed the first season of The Cosby Show by the time this movie was released. Carl Anthony Payne II who plays one of the kids in the pizza shop, would later play the role of “Cockroach” in The Cosby Show.

    • When asked what was in the fish tank, Christopher Murney revealed it was a metal pipe that he actually hit his face on. That’s why in one shot after Leroy pulls him from the tank he has a cut near one of his eyebrows.

    • In the club, Ernie Reyes Jr.’s character gets into an extended fight with his real-life father, Ernie Reyes Sr.

    • Sadly Julius Carry died in 2008 from pancreatic cancer, Leo O’Brien died in 2012 from undisclosed causes and Vanity died in 2016 from kidney failure.

    • Both of the movie’s stars had a single name: Taimak and Vanity. Taimak’s full name is Taimak Guarriello and Vanity’s was Denise Katrina Matthews.

    • After leaving show-business, Vanity became a well respected Christian evangelist under her real name of Denise Matthews.

Released: March 22, 1985

Directed By: Michael Schultz

Screenplay By: Louis Venosta

Producted By: Berry Gordy, Mowtown Productions

Cinematography By: James A. Contner

Stars: Taimak, Julius Carry, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Leo O’Brien, Faith Prince, Glen Eaton, a bunch of other actors.

Plot: In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.

Taglines: He’s a martial arts master who refuses to fight. He’s a Bruce Lee fan who’s so sure he’s Oriental that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. His friends think he’s too serious. His family thinks he’s crazy. His enemies think he’s no challenge. But she knows he’s The Last Dragon.

Need somebody to lend a foot…? Meet “Bruce Leroy” Green.

How did this movie do?
Budget: $10 Million
Box Office: $33 Million

  • Taimak, last to be cast, had no acting skills. Julius Carry had no martial arts skills.

  • Laurence Fishburne lobbied hard for the role of Leroy Green. Wesley Snipes also auditioned & lobbied hard for the role of Leroy Green.

  • Mario Van Peebles was considered for the role of Leroy Green.

  • Denzel Washington auditioned for both Leroy & Sho’Nuff.

  • Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Ron O’Neal, Billy Dee Williams, and Carl Weathers were considered for the role of Sho’Nuff.

  • Jim Kelly was considered for the role of Sho’Nuff, but wasn’t interested in playing a villain.

  • Vanity was the first and only choice to play Laura Charles.

  • Movie featured a then unknown William H. Macy.

  • Faith Prince aka Angela Verocco, was nominated for a Tony for her role in Broadway’s “Guys & Dolls” revival.
  • During the introductory training sequence, Leroy Green karate-chops an arrow as it soars past him. It was a real stunt that took 2 hours to get right.

  • The character of Angela Viracco was patterned after Cyndi Lauper.

  • When filming started, Julius Carry did not practice any form of Martial Arts.

  • The Seventh Heaven disco set was built on Camera Mart stages at 54th and 10th Avenue. One day Diana Ross visited the set and asked if she could buy it for her next tour.

  • In 1997, Busta Rhymes parodied the character Sho’nuff in his music video for “Dangerous”. In the video, the music cuts off, Busta proclaims, “Yo Leroy! Am I not the baddest…”, and replicates Sho’nuff’s first on-screen speech.

  • The song “Rhythm of the Night” went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Billboard R&B charts.

  • Leroy wears the same jumpsuit Bruce Lee wore in Game of Death (1978).

  • Leroy Green teaches “Chinese Goju”, created by Taimak’s instructor and close friend Ron Van Clief. Taimak also trained in Jeet Kune Do, and continued after filming ended.

  • Motown Records released an original soundtrack album for the film featuring songs by popular artists including: Vanity, Stevie Wonder, Rockwell, El DeBarge, The Temptations, Syreeta, and Smokey Robinson.

  • Leo O’Brien is the younger brother of Guy O’Brien, better known as “Master Gee”, from the pioneering rap group, The Sugarhill Gang.

  • Under pressure from the studio, trying to cut the budget by $2 million, director Michael Schultz and screenwriter Louis Venosta sat up all night in a hotel room, re-writing the script. When Venosta fell asleep, Schultz decided to delete 40 pages of the script. When Venosta awoke the next morning, the pair spent the day recreating the deleted material.

  • Taimak had no previous acting experience.

  • Shot in 44 days.

  • Filming began April 16th, 1984. Locations include: The Victory Theater on 42nd Street, Bernstein’s-on-Essex (an Oriental delicatessen used with its decor intact), the Harlem Karate Institute, a pizza restaurant in lower Manhattan, a Chinese warehouse on Walker Street in Manhattan, Super Amusements in Flushing, Queens, and an abandoned wire factory and warehouse at East 118th and East Side Highway in Manhattan.

  • Faith Prince did her own singing.

  • Charlene’s music video for ‘Fire’ was used in this movie to give her publicity and further her career. It didn’t and she didn’t record again for 18 years.

  • The song “Peeping Tom” was sung by Rockwell, who is the son of Berry Gordy.

  • Berry Gordy visited the film set frequently, with an entourage of Motown artists.

  • Leroy calls his baby sister Lotus Blossom, her father calls her Sophia, and her mother calls her Natasha.

  • One of two theatrical feature films, first released in 1985, directed by Michael Schultz. The other was Krush Groove (1985).

  • Though he looked older, Taimak was only 20 years old when starring in this movie and Ernie Reyes Jr. who looked younger was 12.

  • Keisha Knight Pulliam who plays little Sophia had already completed the first season of The Cosby Show by the time this movie was released. Carl Anthony Payne II who plays one of the kids in the pizza shop, would later play the role of “Cockroach” in The Cosby Show.

  • When asked what was in the fish tank, Christopher Murney revealed it was a metal pipe that he actually hit his face on. That’s why in one shot after Leroy pulls him from the tank he has a cut near one of his eyebrows.

  • In the club, Ernie Reyes Jr.’s character gets into an extended fight with his real-life father, Ernie Reyes Sr.

  • Sadly Julius Carry died in 2008 from pancreatic cancer, Leo O’Brien died in 2012 from undisclosed causes and Vanity died in 2016 from kidney failure.

  • Both of the movie’s stars had a single name: Taimak and Vanity. Taimak’s full name is Taimak Guarriello and Vanity’s was Denise Katrina Matthews.

  • After leaving show-business, Vanity became a well respected Christian evangelist under her real name of Denise Matthews.

About The Movie From IMDB

The Last Dragon | March 22, 1985 (United States) 6.8
Director: Michael SchultzWriter: Louis VenostaStars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher MurneySummary:

Photos


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Videos


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Cast

Taimak
...
Leroy Green
Vanity
...
Laura Charles
Christopher Murney
...
Eddie Arkadian
Julius Carry
...
Sho'nuff
Faith Prince
...
Angela Viracco
Leo O'Brien
...
Richie Green
Mike Starr
...
Rock
Jim Moody
...
Daddy Green
Glen Eaton
...
Johnny Yu
Ernie Reyes Jr.
...
Tai
Roger Campbell
...
Announcer
Esther Marrow
...
Mama Green
Keshia Knight Pulliam
...
Sophia
Jamal Mason
...
Roy
B.J. Barie
...
Jackie
Sarita Allen
...
Angela's Singer #1
Jacqui Lee Smith
...
Angela's Singer #2
Jodi Moccia
...
Angela's Singer #3

See full cast >>
Countries: United StatesLanguages: EnglishBudget: $10,000,000 (estimated)
Source: imdb.com
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Note: All images are property of their respected owners and used for editorial purposes.

6.8
The Last Dragon | March 22, 1985 (United States)
Director: Michael SchultzWriter: Louis VenostaStars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney
Summary: In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
Countries: United StatesLanguages: English
Source: imdb.comDisclaimer: This plugin has been coded to automatically quote data from imdb.com. Not available for any other purpose. All showing data have a link to imdb.com. The user is responsible for any other use or change codes.

Quotes

Sho'nuff: Am I the meanest?

Sho'nuff 's Goons: Sho'nuff!

Sho'nuff: Am I the prettiest?

Sho'nuff 's Goons: Sho'nuff!

Sho'nuff: Am I the baddest mofo low down around this town?

Sho'nuff 's Goons: Sho'nuff!

Sho'nuff: Well who am I?

Sho'nuff 's Goons: Sho'nuff!

Sho'nuff: Who am I?

Sho'nuff 's Goons: Sho'nuff!

Sho'nuff: I can't hear you...

Sho'nuff 's Goons: Sho'nuff!

Sho'nuff: Well, well, well. If it ain't the serious, elusive Leroy Green. I've been waiting a long time for this, Leroy. I am sick of hearing these bullshit Superman stories about the - Wassah! - legendary Bruce Leroy catching bullets with his teeth. Catches bullets with his teeth? Nigga please.

Leroy Green: The secret awaits eyes unclouded by ambition.

Sho'nuff: WHAT?

Leroy Green: Those who are bound by desire see only that which can be held in their hands.

Sho'nuff: See, now it is mumbo jumbo like that, and skinny little lizards like you thinkin' they the last dragon that gives kung-fu a bad name. Get up, Leroy, I got somethin' real fo' yo' ass in these hands.

Sho'nuff: [to Leroy] Kiss my Converse!

Eddie Arcadian: Where are you gonna go, Angie? Without me, you're nothing! Without that outfit, you're just another no-talent dental hygiene school drop-out from Kew Gardens getting by on her tits!

Angela Viracco: And in the end, Eddie, you know what? You're nothing but a misguided midget asshole with dreams of ruling the world. Yeah, also from Kew Gardens. And also getting by on my tits.

Laura Charles: I thought that maybe it would be a great idea if I got myself a bodyguard. You know, like someone to guard my body? What girl could do worse that to have her own real life kung fu master?

Leroy Green: I am no master.

Laura Charles: You sure look like a master to me.

Sho'nuff: Alright, Leroy, who's the one and only master?

Leroy Green: I am.

Daddy Green: Just direct-a your feets-a to Daddy Green's Pizza!

Eddie Arcadian: [to Angela] Don't bug me, fix your face.

[during the fight in the movie theatre]

Transvestite: Don't hurt that face, baby!

Sho'nuff: [Arcadian has just offered Sho'nuff a briefcase full of money to kill Leroy] Keep your money. You just get that sucker to the designated place at the designated time, and I will gladly designate his ass... for dismemberment!

Eddie Arcadian: Yeah! Hey! Well, whatever! Any way you want to do it. It'll certainly be my pleasure, Mr. Nuff.

Leroy Green: Hey my man, what it look like?

Johnny Yu: Well, you see, Leroy, uh... you know how you're always teaching us to master "the art of fighting without fighting"?

[Leroy nods]

Johnny Yu: Well, I did you one better. I mastered "the art of fighting... without knowing how to fight".

Johnny Yu: You see, people... people are afraid of oriental dudes. Give 'em a little move, a little scream, and lotsa attitude. Check this out.

[Johnny flails around move after move through the air with no intended target in sight making sounds like a Bruce Lee movie, then one of the other students kicks him in the head, knocking him face down on the floor]

Leroy Green: Johnny, to seek safety, one must go into the heart of danger.

Johnny Yu: [Rolls over to look up at Leroy] Huh?

Leroy Green: I do not even have a paint brush.

Sho'nuff: The Shogun is back on the scene, and the Shogun is the master!

Theater Patron: Why don't you sit down and shut up?

Sho'nuff: What? Why don't I sit down and what?

Theater Patron: I said why you don't you sit down and shut up?

Sho'nuff: Why don't anybody who wants me to sit down and shut up come down here and make me? Why don't any fifty of you who wants me to sit down and shut up come down here just for the fun of it?

Richie Green: [after seeing Leroy kissing Laura] I'm gonna slap that sucker silly with a suit for alienation of affection! If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't even know who she was! Chocolate-covered yellow peril!

Eddie Arcadian: I applaud you, Leroy. That was a great finish. Not quite the ending I had in mind, but it was a great finish. You see a .45 will put an end to all this kung fu crap. All it takes is one little bullet. So take your final bow, scum sucker.

[Leroy's eyes widen anticipating the shot, Arcadian fires]

Disco Kid: [sees Laura kissing Leroy] Yo, man, check out the cornball!

Richie Green: He ain't no cornball! He's my brother. And he's the master.

[Leroy apparently "defeated" Sho'nuff, but then...]

Sho'nuff: Leroy!

[Leroy turns to see that Sho'nuff disappeared. He searches around for him. Just then, a low ominous tone reveals that...]

Sho'nuff: Yeah...

[Sho'nuff is now pulsing with the power of "The Glow", albeit an evil one]

Sho'nuff: [sneers to Leroy] Playtime's over, boy.

[a enraged and frustrated Sho'nuff lifts Leroy up from a barrel of water as he was drowning him to force Leroy to acknowledge him as "The Master"]

Sho'nuff: All right, Leroy. Who's the one-and-only Master?

Leroy Green: [rejuvenated] I am.

Sho'nuff: [screaming] AAAH!

[Sho'nuff, furious at Leroy for the "wrong answer", attempts to give him a fatal blow, but the punch is blocked by Leroy, who now has "The Glow" of power for the good; Sho'nuff groans in pain]

Leroy Green: [glowing in gold] I am.

Sho'nuff: [Leroy grabs and starts crushing Sho'nuff's left knuckles as Eddie watches in total shock; groaning in pain] What the... oh, shit... oh, goddamn!

[Leroy laughs as Sho'nuff's power is severely drained]

Sho'nuff: Let me go, motherfucker! Let me go!

[Sho'nuff finally releases himself from Leroy, who now uses "The Glow" to spin around his arms as he readies himself to take Sho'nuff on]

Eddie Arcadian: [shocked] Holy shit!

Sho'nuff: I'm gonna get you, Leroy, because I am the Shogun! I will not rest until everybody knows the Shogun is the master!

Sho'nuff: [to Leroy] Now, when I say, "Who's da mastah?" you say, "Sho'nuff!"

Angela Viracco: Oh Eddie, you're all wet!

Richie Green: [about Leroy] I'm tellin' you, pop. The boy's an awkward. Stupid old clothes, won't mess with no babes... People talk, you know.

Mama Green: Richard, leave your brother alone.

Richie Green: I can't help it if he's weird. You're weird, man! Really weird!

Sho'nuff: [Twisting challenger's foot] YOU'LL... NEVER... USE... THIS... FOOT... AGAIN!

[bites challenger's ankle]

Leroy Green: Sometimes it is hard to live the way of the wise.

Leroy Green: [Throws a dart at Eddie Arcadian and hits an object near Eddie's face] Next time I will not miss

Eddie Arcadian: [Eddie fires a couple of shots at Leroy] Next time I won't miss either!

Sho'nuff: Come on, Leroy. Teach me something.

Sho'nuff: Get him, girls! Maybe you can get a rise out of this limp wimp.

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