There are high profile well known directors and then there are filmmakers like Ernie Barbarash, an action lover who is more comfortable working with martial artists like Jean Claude Van Damme and Michael Jai White. Pound of Flesh was his fourth film with Van Damme, and the two have developed an onset chemistry that is unique in this world of make believe. I had the chance to speak with Ernie over the phone recently after Van Dammage at an older age and the loss of Darren Shahlevi.

Dan Buffa-After four films with Van Damme, do you guys have a speechless rhythm going on the set?

Ernie Barbarash-I think we do. When you first start working together, you don’t have the trust but after a while you develop this vocabulary with each other. Using certain words and phrases from previous films. He trusts me to make the best possible movie. He is a guy who really respects the process and he is always up for something new. There’s a reason people like to work together over and over again. There’s a trust and a way to meld something together. When people have different ideas, it’s best to not be defensive about it. 

DB-He’s an ageless wonder, turning 55 this year. It must be a thrill to work with this guy who has stuck to the action genre.

EB-Very much so. He’s in top notch shape. He does loves what he does and not only the physical work but the acting that goes with it. Inhabiting different people. When the project was brought to him, it presented itself as a character piece. He doesn’t get to do this kind of film that often. Double Impact is one of his favorite films because he got to play more than one person.  (more…)