Post by Elemental Hero on Jul 4, 2008 11:42:05 GMT -5
Jalal Merhi, one of North American Movie industry earliest modern Middle Eastern Action Heroes.
Biography from IMDB:
Borne in Brazil from Lebanese parents Jalal immigrated to Canada to study, and eventually he built an extension of his family jewelry business in Canada, keeping his sport of competitive Martial art on the side, also keeping his eye on his true love filmmaking.
So he sold his share in a building in downtown Toronto and sold his jewelry business with some additional investment from his diamond dealers and created Film One.
From its inception in 1989, Jalal Merhi's company, Film One, has carved its niche in the lucrative action genres, Jalal's commitment to high production values is evident on the screen but his commercial savvy and organizational skills are what make him one of Canada's most prolific and successful producers.
Started his martial arts with Tae Kwon Do then 2nd dan in Shotokan then master in Choy Lay Fut and hung gar and entered over 150 tournament with a great deal of success.
That is when he was approached by a producer for a movie role.
The movie never started, but Jalal got to know many other people with influence and his career was born. He has since worked with Martial arts legends such as Bolo Yeung, Cynthia Rothrock and Billy Blanks. He has grown to be a martial arts choreographer and Director.
So he sold his share in a building in downtown Toronto and sold his jewelry business with some additional investment from his diamond dealers and created Film One.
From its inception in 1989, Jalal Merhi's company, Film One, has carved its niche in the lucrative action genres, Jalal's commitment to high production values is evident on the screen but his commercial savvy and organizational skills are what make him one of Canada's most prolific and successful producers.
Started his martial arts with Tae Kwon Do then 2nd dan in Shotokan then master in Choy Lay Fut and hung gar and entered over 150 tournament with a great deal of success.
That is when he was approached by a producer for a movie role.
The movie never started, but Jalal got to know many other people with influence and his career was born. He has since worked with Martial arts legends such as Bolo Yeung, Cynthia Rothrock and Billy Blanks. He has grown to be a martial arts choreographer and Director.
Although definetly not one of those big name Action stars, he seems to have a pretty decent fanbase especially among the B-Action/Martial Art and Straight To Video Movie fans, most of his movies kinda suck well except for Talons of the Eagle, which he co-starred with Billy Blanks that was a pretty decent actioner. It's a shame really because you don't really get to see a lot of Action heroes of Middle Eastern descent in North American movies.
Nevertheless, Merhi has been established as one of the sole torchbearers for Canadian action films, as well as one of the most prolific Toronto-area producers of the 1990s.