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LYRIAW> Thanks for being with us here tonight Braun


FBRAUNMCASH> Thanks...glad to be here with everybody.


LOISGRUBB> Braun, the fight between Adrian Paul and Donnie Yen was spectacular! Some think the action was speeded up, was it?


FBRAUNMCASH> It looks to me that the action was cranked a bit have no idea why this would have been necessary since Donny is extremely fast all by his lonesome, but, yes, it did look speeded up a bit.


DUNKNLUVR> Hi! Mr. McAsh. I liked your story in Evening at Joe’s. Now that Highlander - Endgame is in the theater what's your next project


FBRAUNMCASH> Right at the moment, I'm finishing the editing on my first instructional video tape, BEGINNING SWORD WORK FOR STAGE AND FILM which will be available starting at the Mini-Con at Vancouver this weekend. After that, I'm developing a full length novel based on the historical Dracula as a non-Highlander extension of my novella. Hopefully, I'll also be doing some fight direction and acting as well.


CENNEN> Hello Mr. McAsh. I don't have a question just came to listen.


FBRAUNMCASH> Thanks...hope you’re amused by my appalling spelling.


CONREPJAN> LOL...we don't take off for spelling, Braun. <g>

SBO> Just wanted to say hello and that we really enjoyed visiting with you at Legacy.


UNDERDOG_MN> Hi Braun. First I want to say that your fight choreography is FANTASTIC. My question is...of all the fights you've created, which one is your favorite?


FBRAUNMCASH> I guess the standard answer for that would be the one I haven't choreographed yet, but all in all, I enjoyed the fights in DUENDE as far as the Highlander series was concerned I have the greatest expertise in the use of the rapier and its ancillary weapons and the challenge of working within the construct of the Magic Circle for all the fights in the episode was very challenging.


LADYKANGA> Hi Mr. McAsh from the Olympic city of Sydney. Have you ever been down under & besides working with Adrian Paul, what other actors would, in your opinion be up there in talent & skill with the sword? I hope we see you at the HLDU con next year!


FBRAUNMCASH> Naturally, Tony DeLongis comes immediately to mind. Valentine Pelka and David Robb were both quite skillful. There are a few people I haven't had the opportunity to work with yet who have done very good fights as a performer I would like to work with Mel Gibson some time, also with Wesley Snipes. I also had a very good time working with Christophe Lambert, although our rehearsal time was a bit minimal.


BITHOS> Braun, Bertha here. Which of the fight sequences in the movie was the most difficult to stage?


FBRAUNMCASH> Each fight in the movie presented unique problems, but the one that took the longest overall was the final fight because of the fact that it was originally choreographed for an entirely different location than the one we ended up filming in. We were going to shoot that fight in Romania and ended up shooting it in Kent, England. Both were industrial facilities, of a sort (the one in Romania was the unfinished section of a gigantic building, Casa Radio,) but they were so radically different that very little we had staged and rehearsed could be transferred to the England end of the shoot.  Also, I had to choreograph the Ravenna scene seven times because of script and location changes, then dwindling rehearsal time.


HILANDVEIL> On the cruise in November, Bill Panzer said you would not be on screen in Endgame. Why did that change? We are glad it did!


FBRAUNMCASH> I had no idea that I might not. Perhaps they were thinking of cutting the scene, although I don't understand how they could have done that considering that's when Duncan meets Faith . Beats me...I didn't think I was that bad an actor...
LYRIAW> LOL


DUNCANSLADY> I loved spotting you in Endgame, it was fun. Could you please tell us about working on that movie and how you feel about the action that ended up on the screen?


FBRAUNMCASH> Actually, the only reason I'm one of the Highwaymen is that I was trying to get a bit more experience into the scene to make filming go faster and safer. In the original version I even had a close-up. As to the rest of the fights, it's axiomatic that everything you shoot isn't going to end up in the final cut. You try to choreograph only as much as is necessary to tell the story and work within the boundaries of available time, but very little survives intact. There was a lot that never made the final cut fight-wise, but what we do have, I believe, is very high quality, performance-wise.


LYRIAW> Speaking of Endgame Braun, you have that wonderful move that you used twice in the movie that eventually costs Connor his head. Where did you develop that move from?


FBRAUNMCASH> First off, there is no such thing as an unstoppable move, as the script suggests. At worst, the person throwing it can stop it by simply letting go the weapon, so we had to develop something that was based on manipulation of your opponent's body including his sword-hand. Adrian and Vernon and I worked on that move for one hell of a long time to satisfy all its requirements - it's sort of a spring-and-trigger movement that throws your opponent into the blade as much as the blade to the opponent. It would have been next to impossible to have developed it alone - you need another body to work with so as to feel the tensions and get the manipulation of the second body. I believe together we got something half-way plausible. It cost us a bit of sleep, I can tell ya.


TANSYHL> Hi Braun! A question I had after watching the very enjoyable sword demos at Legacy- why would anyone chose to use 1 instead of 2 swords? And how is Peter Wingfield as a swordsman?


FBRAUNMCASH> It takes a lot of practice and experience to manipulate two swords simultaneously as, unlike rapier and dagger, two weapons of equal length have a tendency to just tangle each other up more often than not. The hardest form of rapier is CASE - the use of two swords at the same time - you have to split your body in two down the middle and use only one weapon per side, or work in opposition high-low on a St. Andrew's Cross sort of action so the weapons never oppose each other in the high or low quadrants. Peter Wingfield is a very good swordsman and a highly adept physical actor and I enjoy working with him immensely.


PJDOTD>How about a little history lesson of how you became a master swordsman and celebrity.


FBRAUNMCASH> First off, I don't consider myself a master swordsman. All my training and study only convince me of all the things yet to discover, or perfect. I've been at it now for 24 years and in some venues, I'm just getting my scratchings below the surface. As for celebrity status, if indeed I can make some claim to modest fame, I can only thank the fans and viewing public because without them, I'd still be a total unknown. I started out as a competitive fencer while in drama school. At the same time I was studying theatrical combat and taking several different martial arts. After graduating, in between work, I spent a great deal of time in England and Europe studying from masters and doing museum research. It never ends.


LIISAKING> Hi Braun! I'm still in shock that the self-proclaimed Luddite is the featured guest at a chat -- but *delighted*! Can you tell folks a little about what you'll be doing this weekend? I understand Anthony DeLongis is doing a sword class. Are you doing something along those lines too? And can you tell us what you're working on now?


FBRAUNMCASH> This weekend, I won't be teaching, but Anthony DeLongis and I will be doing some kind of demo the content of which we have yet to determine...we like working without a net...har... Apart from that, I'm working on a treatment for a novel based on the real Dracula (not an Highlander piece like in An Evening At Joe's) and I've just today finished editing the first of a possible 8 instructional videos on swordsmanship. This first video will be available at the Mini-Con and there's a website where you can find out all about them and order them directly.


FBRAUNMCASH> Hope my accent doesn't bother anyone...


LYRIAW> It's hardly discernible Braun, really...:)


FBRAUNMCASH> Maybe I can pass off the typos as unique Canadian spellings...


LYRIAW> LOL!


FBRAUNMCASH> Hey...I been sitting in an editing studio for 10hours plus since last Thurs. gimme a break

LYRIAW> You should be used to that Braun, so how horrendous were your working hours on Endgame?


FBRAUNMCASH> Put it this way...I once did two twenty hour days back to back. The average day was 12 to 15 hours, six days a week. Of course the average film working day is 12 hours but it does tend to wear you down over time. And everybody was working off the set constantly. You wonder sometimes how Adrian and the rest do it -they seem to never sleep. But It does tell on you eventually because in addition to the hours, there's a lot of physical strain when you work with weapons. Adrian and the guys shot the posse fight in Connor’s loft for 12 hours-plus a day for six bloody days.

FBRAUNMCASH> OK...two samurai walk into a bar and...oh...OK.

LYRIAW> Ok quick question here for you Braun, what can you tell us about the infamous Kell shredder during the dinner scene? Doug loves that sword!


FBRAUNMCASH> The sword Kell uses is a variant of the eastern scimitar with one big difference - it splits in two into a Case of scimitars. I was hoping to get a sort of Kali image during the whole bloody mess. Originally, I was going to have Kell use the twin swords for the final fight with Duncan, but we decided against it as the element of surprise would have already been relinquished from the dinner scene.


CONREPJAN> Braun, I was wondering....if called upon for future projects, how would you feel about continuing your work with Highlander? Can we hope to see you still on the team?


FBRAUNMCASH> I think that goes without saying...but just in case anybody else on the "Team" is listening in, YES, of course I would.

ANGELEYES53> I guess that would be me! *g* I do the public relations for Highlander Fan Central! Thank you so much for coming and chatting with us tonight! So are you going to take your family on vacation to Romania next year?


LYRIAW> LOL


CONREPJAN> She's the evil one among us, Braun. Forgive her! LOL


FBRAUNMCASH> Yeah...when the Pope starts to attend Sabbats.


FBRAUNMCASH> Actually, I enjoyed seeing the country and was only regretful that our time didn't allow more travel in to the surrounding countryside and Transylvania. Had I known I was going to write a full length novel about Dracula, I would have done much more research. However, ....nah, I don't think so.

HIGHLANDMG> Braun I lost my question.  What is the fight scene you are bringing?  Can you tell us about it?

FBRAUNMCASH> Can you gimme that again?


HIGHLANDMG> ok the fight scene you are bring to the mini con can you tell us about it


FBRAUNMCASH> I'm not really bringing a fight scene to the Mini-Con. Anthony DeLongis and I will do an improvised sword demo. Normally, these are totally unrehearsed and we basically just pick some swords and go out and make fools of ourselves, which we enjoy immensely. So it'll depend on what weapons I bring and what sort of warped mood Tony and I are in before we hit the stage, but whatever it ends up being, it'll be fun for all concerned.


LYRIAW> Thanks a lot for sharing with us this evening Braun. Remember folks you can see F. Braun in person this weekend at Weekend at Joe’s. I believe there is space still left available. Anything else you can share with us about this weekend? Something about a fight script for auction?


FBRAUNMCASH> I think I got it covered. I just want to mention that the video series can be accessed at www.swordandstage.com . Apart from that, I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight, especially finding out the depth of my functional illiteracy regarding spelling and computer manipulation. All the best to everybody and thanks sincerely for making Highlander the success that it has become. Without you, there would never be only one.

F. Braun


PS...
I haven't chosen the script for the auction yet, but I'll try to pick an interesting one with plenty of back-up material.


LYRIAW> It will be a great thing to have. Enjoy yourself this weekend.


CONREPJAN> thank you *so* much for being here with us tonight, Braun. We really appreciate all that you do!


FBRAUNMCASH> Thank you.


LYRIAW> Group waves bye Braun!


ANGELEYES53> It was real fun!


FBRAUNMCASH> Braun flaps paw bye bye.


CONREPJAN> LOL


LYRIAW> LOL


ANGELEYES53> *snicker*


FBRAUNMCASH> H2O


CONREPJAN> let's give him a warm round of cyber-applause!


LYRIAW> Ok folks, thanks for coming, Melinda will keep the waiting room open for anyone who wants to discuss the chat.


CONREPJAN> :::::::thunderous clapping:::::::

 

Thanks to all the fans who joined into our chat.   I also want to give special thanks to F. Braun for being there, despite being in the editing studio all day. He was a fabulous guest!

 

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