Blogocentric Formulations

Run It

"The Soundtrack of Your Life"  | Day 9

"Run It"
by DJ Snake, Rick Ross, and Rich Brian
from the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings soundtrack

I listened to this song a lot last year when I needed something energetic. It was produced specifically for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and I chose a video that included a lot of the stunts and action sequences from the movie, because the song also makes me think of Brad Allan, the Supervising Stunt Coordinator on the movie who passed shortly before its release.

If you're not familiar with the name, Brad Allan got his start as the first-ever caucasian member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. That's the team of stunt guys that doesn't just help Jackie Chan design the action sequences for his movies, they're also more often than not, his adversaries in his movies due to the complexity of the stunts and how closely they have to work together. If you're a fan of Jackie Chan movies, you've probably seen Brad Allan as someone Jackie is fighting (he quickly rose to prominence within the group for his incredible athletic ability). Here's a showreel to give you an idea of some of his work:

Later in his career, Brad went from stunt man to stunt coordinator, designing fight and action sequences in his own right. Even if you're not familiar with his face, or his work on the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, if you're at all a fan of action movies from the past ten years, I guarantee you've seen his work before. Here's a 2015 action design reel showcasing some of the action sequences he's designed from popular movies.

Brad Allan was one of those guys that I never knew personally, only by reputation. He had worked with Marvel on a number of different productions, and his passing back in August 2021 was one of those that really affected me because the world so clearly lost someone who was a truly special talent at the thing he did. He was a remarkable athlete, an accomplished stuntperson, and a memorable action designer. I'm incredibly sad that the world won't get to see any more of his work, but the work he leaves behind makes for quite a legacy.