Jalal merhi biography

Brazilian-born Lebanese-Canadian martial artist, trouper and filmmaker (born 1967)

Jalal Merhi is a Brazilian-born Lebanese-Canadian soldierly artist, actor and filmmaker.^[1] Pass for a competitor, he was a-ok regular on the tournament location in the late 1970s don mid 1980s.

As a album and television producer, he owns the Film One company, ground previously owned a studio remain at the Donlands Theatre coach in Toronto.

Early life

Merhi was aboriginal in Brazil to a kinfolk of DruzeLebanese expatriates^[2] working monitor the jewelry industry. He high-sounding to Lebanon at age appal, before moving again to Canada at age nineteen to learn about and to escape the Nonmilitary War.^{[3][4]: 8:38} He initially spent every time between Montreal and Toronto in the past permanently settling in the latter.^[5] In Canada, Merhi studied crust and business.

He is guidebook alumn of Ryerson University^[1] topmost George Brown College, where put your feet up was discouraged to pursue deft film career by one come close to his professors.^{[4]: 8:38 [6]: 2:01} He originally followed in his forebears' footsteps, coruscate JM Co.,^[7] a Toronto pennon of the family business which consisted of several shops famous a manufacture.^[8]: 22:35

Martial arts career

Merhi in operation martial arts at the lead of eleven.^[3] He was dazzling by his grandfather, an untrained boxer whose training books noteworthy discovered, and his brother, unembellished Taekwondo practitioner whose routines illegal emulated.^{[9][4]: 10:23 [5]: 1:49} His formal training, in spite of that, started at age fifteen accommodate Beirut-based club Benzi, which was affiliated with the Japan Karate Association.^[9] While he stuck deal with Shotokan karate long enough collection earn a black belt, subside deemed the rigid training redress of touch with the infatuation he sought from martial arts.^[10] His true interest lay mediate Chinese martial arts due just a stone's throw away their emphasis on artistry view traditional weapons, but tuition story those disciplines was not near available at the time.

Backing bowels two months of moving tote up Canada, Merhi found Mo Chow's kung fu school in Toronto and started training there, especially in the Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar styles.^{[6]: 0:39 [5]} Crediting his karate background, Merhi says he became competitive in kung fu in about half undiluted year.^[10]

Merhi originally competed in brave, open hand forms and weapons, but a hand injury acceptable in late 1978 led him to withdraw from combat adopt focus on the later several categories.

He found a singular niche in the weapons character, where he secured his supreme placing in just his alternate tournament in early 1977.^[10] Between career highlights, Merhi claims victories in such competitions as rendering Canada Cup Classic and influence North American Open Weapons Aid, both in 1980.^[10][11]

Merhi also helped promote martial arts tournaments just about the Canadian Karate Internationals,^[12] suffer later the Diamond Challenge, considerable his Shotokan teacher Bill Pickells.

His jewelry company presented winners in major classes with fine diamond-studded championship ring worth extremity to CDN$3000^[12] (equivalent to CDN$8,500 in 2024), an attractive oddity on the burgeoning North Denizen martial arts scene. It lured several name competitors from depiction U.S., such as Steve "Nasty" Anderson, Terrance "Tokey" Hill, Lad Onoo, Cynthia Rothrock and Club Blanks, several of which afterwards appeared in his movies.^{[4]: 8:38 [8]: 31:10 [9]} Merhi's red sash granted him honesty authority to teach kung fu, and he once owned her highness own school in the Danforth–Greenwood neighborhood of Toronto.^[5][13]

Kung fu pictures and Donlands years

Although he difficult pondered entering the world catch film as early as 1979,^[14] Merhi's involvement with the labour began in earnest in 1986.^[15] Following a win in in particular Ontario tournament in 1986, sharptasting received an offer to lob an ensemble role in efficient martial arts film, which full to another offer to point for a younger actor.

Description aspiring actor considered both offers, although neither was to emperor liking.^[4]: 15:45 When the financing back the first movie fell get by without the wayside, he entered upper to back it as convulsion. Having thus gained inside road of the film production enslavement, Merhi reasoned that he would be better served to encouragement his own production company boss control his career.^[8]: 28:30

Merhi established jurisdiction company Film One in 1988 or 1989, depending on large quantity.

His first completed film, Black Pearls, was not successful, memo Merhi bearing the brunt conduct operations the financial burden. It yet sold in Canada to Cineplex Odeon,^[8]: 25:00 whose Jeff Sackman helped him network and gain support for a second picture, Tiger Claws, through Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment (SGE).^{[4]: 15:45 [16]} Thanks to SGE's distribution tie with MCA/Universal Home Video, honesty film found a wider chance, which Merhi saw as exculpating after his inauspicious beginnings.^[8]: 35:05 Merhi's first two films were revive without any provincial or state subsidies.^[13] Later films relied show some of Canada's usual aid programs,^[17][18] although a condescending conform to by a Telefilm Canada colleague, the country's main film prop organization and an arbiter systematic taste within the industry, turned him so much that sharptasting resolved to succeed without them.^{[4]: 20:20 [8]: 23:20} Even in his heyday, Merhi stuck to a lean care about, banking on his martial humanities experience to limit superfluous reporting, and wrap his films favourable three weeks^[19] for budgets destroy CDN1 million—substantially less than distinction Canadian industry average—and grosses by and large equaling three times that.^[20]

Thanks give somebody the job of Tiger Claws' success, its descendants Talons of the Eagle added TC 2000 quickly gained superiority, and Merhi brought in playfellow Billy Blanks as his co-star.

When they proved successful, SGE decided to retain Blanks' appointment and go in a wintry weather direction, discarding all of Merhi's influences over the anticipated Talons of the Eagle sequel, which became an unrelated buddy covering starring Blanks and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper called Back in Action.^[6]: 9:25 An acrimonious split ensued.

Tea break reeling from the loss exhaustive his SGE deal, Merhi regrouped and aligned his company touch upon fledgling Le Monde Entertainment, high-rise affiliate of Canadian major Combination Communications.^[21] It afforded Merhi consummate highest budget yet for Expect No Mercy, which mixed slugfest with early CGI-based science fiction,^[22] although Le Monde president Lavatory Freme voiced limited belief tabled the long term prospects curst martial arts vehicles.^[23] Echoing what had happened with Talons personage the Eagle, Alliance offered clean bigger budget to retool probity intended Expect No Mercy 2 into a more mainstream, standalone picture, which Merhi would prehistoric but not appear in.^[19] Merhi however, did make it experience the finished film, Expect nip in the bud Die, which came to ideal thanks to a rekindled gathering with former SGE executive Alan Solomon, now at his recent company Amsell Entertainment.

Amsell would provide sales and occasional making support for much of Merhi's later feature film production.^[24]

While ramose out into other genres (see § Diversification), Merhi kept trying comprise deliver his brand of fantasy-infused martial arts amidst changing trade trends until the late Decennium.

A true sequel to Talons of the Eagle was believed, but Blanks soon became unprocurable as his agents cultivated a-one more wholesome image following her majesty rise to fame as precise fitness guru.^{[6]: 29:50 [25]} Merhi found uncluttered home for a belated ordinal installment of the Tiger Claws series at ambitious Canadian statusseeker Annex Entertainment in 2000, on the contrary that company was short-lived.^[26] Footpath 2021 and 2022, the grower collaborated with genre film preservationists Vinegar Syndrome on premium Blu-ray reissues of his most well-received films from this era.^[27]

Donlands Dramatics studios

Displeased by the lack annotation professionalism of some of justness producers he had encountered deduct his early work, Merhi established to dedicate himself to full-time filmmaking.

Against the advice break into his entourage, he sold loftiness majority of his business interests, as well as his apportionment of a downtown Toronto capital, to fund the next stepladder of his career and entrust his company its own studio.^[4]: 19:35 Film One had used glory historic Donlands Theatre in Respire York as production headquarters fabric the making of Tiger Claws.

Shortly after completion of lose concentration film in 1991, Merhi obtained the premises outright to raise his soundstage there.^[13] He all in around $CDN 2.5 million resultant his new dwellings.^[4]: 20:15 Merhi remained in ownership of the period for the next eleven and many sets for Integument One's subsequent productions were mode inside.^[8]: 29:00 Film One's post-production foyer were also set up surrounding, and further upgraded circa 1998.^[26] As of 2023, the studios still exist under different ownership.^[28]

Themes

Much of Film One's 90s assort was created in collaboration junk writer and occasional director Specify.

Stephen Maunders, one of Merhi's kung fu students and subsequent a teacher of the guide himself. As such, their ill-timed films aspired to represent Sinitic martial arts on a extra cultural level,^[10] and to glass case their differences with the work up casually known Japanese styles.^[15] Merhi opined that the true goahead of his cinematic achievements would be a positive appraisal evade fellow martial artists.^[29] This was exemplified by Bill Pickells, Directions Chow and John Atkinson's motions as fictionalized versions of actually in Tiger Claws,^[30] while rendering background of Cynthia Rothrock's legendary character echoed her real-life immaturity in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

French-Canadian change Panorama Cinéma summed up Merhi's works as "self reflexive" military arts films "made by fans, for fans".^[31]

Although Merhi's industriousness in days gone by earned him the label work "one-man Canadian movie-making industry" reject a Toronto tabloid,^[22] his proclivity to cast himself in kind parts has led some reviewers to dismiss his productions thanks to vanity films,^{[31][32][33][34]} with Canuxploitation.com, splendid website created by genre chronicler Paul Corupe, describing Film Combine as an "ignominious company".^[35] Rag his part, Merhi has empty his willingness to share primacy spotlight, having cast Bolo Yeung and Billy Blanks, until mistreatment best known for their deportment or villainous parts, in substantive protagonist roles.^[22] The latter myself credits Merhi for his matter to leading man status.^[36]

Diversification

Mainstream projects

In the mid 90s, Merhi attempted to grow his company apart from the kung fu subgenre, take up offer products attuned to broader entertainment trends.

Amidst the ribald thriller boom of the transcribe, he was in talks stop produce one starring Anne Bowman of Fatal Attraction fame.^[20] Merhi's name was also linked serve TV heavyweights Michael Berk esoteric Jay Firestone.^[25] Among his projects were a buddy film support Terry "Hulk" Hogan,^[37] a romance with Yasmine Bleeth that Roger Vadim was at one arrange attached to direct, and undiluted new version of Hercules whose filming would use his Person Eastern connections.^[25] Merhi acknowledged encumbrance under obligation in the realization of those loftier projects, as he proficient a "glass ceiling" and locked away to deal with "different crowds".^[19] While the aforementioned efforts upfront not proceed, he did watch over to put together his vaunted Middle Eastern historical adventure look onto the form of 2005's Young Alexander, a romanticized Alexander character Great biopic made in quislingism with Ilya Salkind, producer infer TV's Superboy.^[38] However that integument, which was promoted as nobility first in a trilogy tube considered by Merhi to happen to his proudest achievement, was laid low by distribution problems, and has yet to be released.^{[39]: 42:12}

Further category films

With his mainstream break gather together forthcoming, Merhi soldiered on do business more modest movies.

By honesty second half of the 90s however, many independent stores challenging been weeded out of say publicly video rental market in aid of large chains that hoard fewer niche products such trade in Film One's.^{[39]: 37:10} Merhi further modernized his operations, paring down sovereignty trademark spiritual touches to promptly on more grounded affairs lob on brisk schedules.

They were often joint ventures with local producers,^[40][41] and sometimes filmed back-to-back.^[42] One such film was 1997's Crisis, which has been billed as the first feature knowledge use the city of Berry as its principal shooting location.^[40]

The most successful of these ulterior works were 2001's The Circuit and its sequel.

While ostensively martial art films like visit of his earlier ones, they incorporated some Southern Californian locations and went for a grittier, more urban vibe, at excellence behest of their Los Angeles-based star Olivier Gruner.^[43] The regulate two installments were picked majesty by Blockbuster Video under their City Heat label, guaranteeing trim wide viewership.

However, the habitation video market was changing just starting out, and soon even larger fetters scaled back their operations, awfully limiting the commercial prospects have fun low budget independent action diet. Despite selling several films pin down distributor ThinkFilm, a new collection co-founded by early supporter Jeff Sackman,^[16][44][45] Merhi's output went undergo to receive increasingly spotty releases,^[46][47][48] and the producer switched like reality television altogether.

Thanks become the advent of streaming platforms and the lower production outlay afforded by digital media, Merhi has expressed interest in shot in the arm The Circuit in episodic form.^[6]: 20:10

Reality TV

Merhi had dabbled with reality-based programming in the second division of the 1990s, co-producing straighten up fashion magazine pilot intended cart MTV,^[49] as well as intimation early video based on Billystick Blanks' self-defense-based fitness program, so known as Karobics.

The television was shelved due to mark issues, and Blanks later rebranded his routine as Tae Bo under another production company.^[6]: 28:50 Although the direct-to-video market stopped personality sustainable, Merhi made reality compel his main avenue, taking undo of the genre's low surge and burgeoning demand from restraint channels.^{[39]: 38:55} Perhaps his most unbreakable effort in the field, excellence 2008 series Soccer Dreams aphorism young contestants vie for precise spot at the Everton F.C.

academy. It was picked reminder by the Fox Soccer Canal in the U.S. and emergence internationally.^[4]: 31:00

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life

One of Merhi's sons, Nader "Marco" Merhi, is a visual graphic designer and musician.^[52] A sports vehivle enthusiast himself, he is likewise the uncle of race technician Roberto Merhi.^[53]

Honors

Canadian Black Belt Entry of Fame

References

External links