Skiba’s Choke Hold Wraps
by Nav Qateel
Director Brian Skiba has just wrapped principle photography on his latest project Choke Hold, an Action movie set around Mixed Martial Arts fighter Zoey.
Shot in Calgary, Canada, and tonally similar to old classic Van Damme vehicle Kickboxer, Choke Hold tells the story of a girl out for revenge. Zoey uses her MMA skills against the Russian Mob, but thanks to some clever writing the Russians have contradictory motives.
MMA fighter Zoey, played by first-timer Melissa Croden, is out to avenge her father, who is played by Starship Trooper star Casper Van Dien. Zoey is assisted by her uncle, and he’s played by Kip Pardue (Remember the Titans, Outcast, Ray Donovan). You can follow Melissa Croden on Instagram here and see some fight stills from the movie.
Lochlyn Munro (Unforgiven, Scary Movie) plays Jones, a mystery promoter and ally to Zoey. Playing off of Jones is British hitman Feodore, who acts as a “cleaner” style character. Feodore looks to recover a massive debt for the Russian mob, leaving no one safe in his path. This is a man whose idea of a good time is torturing people. Feodore is played by popular indie actor Gianni Capaldi (Blood of Redemption), who has also worked on another project helmed by Skiba, a film titled Deprivation which is due out later this year.
When asked about playing Feodore, Gianni Capaldi told us: “I really enjoyed playing the part of a hitman. Feodore was a sort of blend of several characters. I was inspired by Tom Hardy’s Peaky Blinders‘ character Alfie Solomons, and The Wolf from Pulp Fiction. Had so much fun, I do enjoy playing sinister and dark characters.”
It looks like Brian Skiba has pulled out all the stops as he directs an all-out action piece with non-stop MMA style fights.
We’ll keep you up to date as news comes in about Choke Hold
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