USA: JEAN VAN DAMME REPEATS HIS LUC DEVERAUX ROLE IN FILM " UNIVERSAL SOLDIER -THE RETURN "

Record ID: 388599

  • Title: USA: JEAN VAN DAMME REPEATS HIS LUC DEVERAUX ROLE IN FILM " UNIVERSAL SOLDIER -THE RETURN "
  • Date: 6th August 1999
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6) (RTV-LA) (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) KIANA TOM SAYING OF THE SWAMP SCENE IN THE FILM, That was the first day, first week. I'm in the swamps of Louisiana, raining, mosquitoes, mud up to my thighs, I mean, it was funny because it was my first film, so it's a good thing that that's the location I was at in the beginning, because it
  • Embargoed: 21st August 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA8LDMX9KCM2BHT259P2F5Z7D27
  • Story Text: Almost 10 years after he first made his mark on the big screen in a major Hollywood studio movie called "Universal Soldier," Jean Claude Van Damme is back in the same role in the sequel, "Universal Soldier: The Return," now playing in theaters throughout the United States.
    Once again, Van Damme takes on the title role of Luc Deveraux, the unstoppable soldier who was the last man standing at the end of the original film, first released back in 1992.But in the sequel, Luc has become more human and less soldier, with a daughter to care for and a new job as a technical expert on a special government project preparing a new, stronger breed of soldier that is more sophisticated, intelligent and agile.
    Of course, it all goes awry when the soldiers' supercomputer SETH, played by Michael Jai White, develops a mind of its own an sets about a plan to take over the world with it's army of Universal Soldiers.
    Also in the cast are television fitness expert Kiana Tom, who plays Deveraux's partner Maggie, World Championship Wrestling star Bill Goldberg as Romeo, one of Van Damme's many imposing enemies, and Heidi Schanz as Erin, an assertive tough-as-nails reporter striving for her big break.
    "Universal Soldier: The Return" is directed by Mic Rodgers, who makes his directorial debut after serving as second unit director and stunt coordinator on several high-profile projects including Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning epic "Braveheart." Rodgers is also a veteran stuntman in his own right who's been taking falls and punches for the past three decades.
    Whereas Van Damme is the veteran of more than 20 action films including "Timecop," "Double Impact" and John Woo's "Hard Target," Kiana Tom is having her first taste of movie stardom.The producers of the film cast her based on her charismatic daily appearance in the popular cable television fitness workout show "Kiana's Flex Appeal."
    "Universal Soldier: The Return" is a special film for Van Damme because the original film was one of the first big studio hits for the actor.Still, Van Damme realizes its limitations, given its modest budget which restricted the use of the high-tech special effects that are so widely used in other big budget Hollywood action movies these days.
    "Universal Soldier: The Return" opened in American theaters on Friday, August 20, and earned 4.7 million dollars in its first weekend, enough money to become the seventh top-grossing film in the United States.
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