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The action genre has truly had some leading pioneers in action choreography and design but Eric Jacobus is a true maestro when it comes to infusing extreme martial arts action with dynamic storytelling and Jackie Chan style comedy hijinks. Jacobus is a true craftsman with decades of experience kicking ass onscreen in a host of independent action films, shorts and projects and it all essentially started with his 2004 caper film Contour.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the extreme actioner and to celebrate, the movie is primed for a true director’s cut release on Jacobus’ official YouTube channel in April. Check out the official trailer, key art and Intel on the movie that showcased Jacobus’ insane skill set as an onscreen fighter and filmmaker to the world!!!
Stuntman and action designer Eric Jacobus, known for his Tekken In Real Life shorts as well as performing Kratos’s stunts in Sony’s God of War series, is set to unveil the project that kicked off his career, his feature-length action comedy film Contour. Previously only available via limited DVD release shortened and in a cropped format, Contour will now be available up-rezzed and uncut for free on Jacobus’s YouTube channel YouTube.com/@ericjacobusofficial.
Contour follows the small-time criminal Lawrence (Law) Young, who moonlights as a crotchety San Francisco tour guide. Among Law’s latest guests is Alfonso de la Rosario, the prince of the obscure island nation of Uruvia, who informs Law of a hefty reward awaiting whomever recovers a missing (and very embarrassing) “private video” that belongs to his parents, the king and queen of Uruvia. Law sets out to recover the tape with the help of his criminal contacts, throwing Law and his tourists head first into the underbelly of San Francisco.
Filmed originally in 2004 on a shoestring budget, Contour is a non-stop roller coaster of Hong Kong Style action, with a final action sequence lasting nearly half an hour alone. Due to budget limitations, Jacobus and his dedicated team made Contour using no stunt doubles, no wires, and no special effects. Contour subsequently became a cult hit in the heyday of DVD video entertainment.
Fun facts: production lasted nearly an entire year, with over 60 days alone dedicated to the final set piece; the budget for Contour was so low that most of the cast donned ski masks to perform as random thugs in each other’s fight scenes; and everyone sustained at least one serious injury during production. In today’s entertainment landscape, when high fidelity digital video and artificial intelligence make it difficult to know reality from fiction, Contour is a breath of fresh air. It’s as real as they come.
2024 marks Contour‘s 20th anniversary. Join the celebration by watching the film’s premiere on the official Eric Jacobus YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/@ericjacobusofficialFriday, April 19 @ 7pm PDT. Immediately following the premiere, join the stars of the film Eric Jacobus and Dennis Ruel in a live stream Q&A where they’ll take your questions, host a Hong Kong action film trivia contest, give away Contour memorabilia and autographed DVDs, complain about the action film industry, and most likely insult more than a few people. So come prepared with your Hawaiian shirts, Mai Tais, and cigarettes and enjoy the free public release of Contour!
