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Dustin Leimgruber On Co-Writing Hard Redemption, Reveals Favorite Scene
Image Credit: Jino Kang and Christine Lam
The 411 Interview: Dustin Leimgruber
Dustin Leimgruber is a writer, director, and producer. According to his IMDb page, Leimgruber directed the documentary short film Shine Like Stars in 2010. Leimgruber’s latest effort as a writer is the low-budget martial arts action flick Hard Redemption, co-directed by Jino Kang and Christine Lam and starring Jino Kang, Lou Ferrigno, and David Kurzhal. Leimgruber co-write the script for Hard Redemption with david j. moore. In this interview, Leimgruber talks with this writer about making Hard Redemption, working with fellow writer david j. moore, director and star Jino Kang, Lou Ferrigno, and more.
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Bryan Kristopowitz: How did you get involved as a co-writer on Hard Redemption?
Dustin Leimgruber : Well, david j. moore and I have been friends for many years. I wrote some reviews for his book, The Good, the Tough, and The Deadly and we subsequently wrote a couple screenplays together. On the strength of those scripts, Jino Kang asked us to pitch some ideas to him. He really responded to one we called Hard Lockdown, about a school under siege by a gang and the teacher who fights back. We wanted to do something that fit that classic 80’s/90’s action mold where a regular guy has to battle a rogues’ gallery of colorful villains. And like in Die Hard (1988) or Steven Seagal movies, he has a secret or a past that gives him an advantage that the bad guys don’t anticipate. Jino loved that and let us run wild on the first draft. That was 2019, and then the pandemic hit and things got delayed until around 2023. The title was changed from Hard Lockdown to Hard Redemption because “lockdown” had obviously taken on different connotations by then. But Jino and Christine believed in the project and kept it alive through all of that. And when production ramped back up, we were invited back on board to continue collaborating.
BK: Describe your working relationship with Hard Redemption co-directors Jino Kang and Christine Lam.
DL: Jino and Christine are really generous collaborators. Most screenwriters turn in a script and don’t hear another word about the movie until the premiere. And that’s if they get invited to the premiere at all. But they continued to ask for our input throughout pre-production and eventually we came on as producers and got really involved. We were on set, I shot and edited the behind the scenes material and a bunch of teasers and promo spots. It’s almost unheard of for the original writers to be so involved. I think they saw the value of what we could bring to the table beyond the written page. So, in that sense, it’s been one of the best experiences I’ve had working with directors. Jino’s a great guy. He’s a really smart, savvy business man with his school and everything. But at the same time, he has all this enthusiasm and energy like a big kid. He dreams big and sees through barriers. I love working with those kinds of people.
BK: Describe your working relationship with fellow co-writer david j. moore.
DL: Oh, david’s fun to work with. We’ve developed a pretty good style for writing together, with each of us playing to our own strengths. We live down the road from each other so our writing sessions usually involve setting up camp in a food court somewhere and firing off ideas for hours. Then we’ll go off, write solo and trade scenes back and forth by email. We have the same tastes when it comes to action and grew up on a lot of the same movies. Of course, we both fight for our own ideas sometimes, but we’re good at checking egos when the other person makes the stronger case. And he’s a great friend, so at the end of the day it’s just a lot of fun to work together. We’re really different in a lot of ways as people, but we connect where it counts.
BK: How difficult is it to work as both a writer and producer on a feature film like Hard Redemption?
DL: It’s two totally different disciplines but they need to inform each other. As the writer, you’re not worrying about how many set-ups there are or how many extras are in a scene. But when you’re scheduling your days, everything is about time and money. Fortunately, we came on as producers after things were up to speed. Jino, Christine, and Eric Gustafson were really on top of all of that.
BK: Did Hard Redemption turn out like you hoped it would?
DL: Our original script needed revisions to fit the limitations of the locations, schedule, and budget, so there were definitely changes before we came back on. Christine and Jino did their own draft during the downtime. But that’s pretty much the same on any movie and the Hard Redemption experience itself has been great. Jino knows this is an action movie and he delivers on that promise. The DP was Tim Erikson and I think this was his first feature in that role. He made this film look like a big budget studio blockbuster. I remember the first day on set, I looked at a monitor, saw what he was doing and immediately texted david, “It’s a real fucking movie, man.” And Tim was one of my favorite people. Very present and always focused on making the movie as good as possible. I hope to work with him again on something and hope people see this and give him more opportunities. The cast blew me away every day. I love actors so I spent a lot of time around them. James Aaron Oh was on fire. He’s a big star in the making. But everyone brought something special. Preston Yeung, Luke Baxter, really talented young actors. Mikaila Maei, absolutely a star. So much presence. Jordan Powers, so dedicated and great under pressure. His big fight scene got re-choreographed at the last minute and pushed to the very end of the day and he didn’t miss a beat. We were really lucky to have such an awesome group of actors. And of course, there was Lou Ferrigno. Zero ego on set. He ate lunch with the crew, joked around, did all of his own stunts. I got to hang out with him between set-ups and talk about Cage II (1994). Just a super nice guy.
BK: Do you have a favorite scene in Hard Redemption?
DL: Strange to say it as one of the writers, but my favorite scene is one that Jino completely improvised on set. There’s a moment when he comes around the corner and runs into one of the most intimidating bad guys in the movie. There was some time pressure to make the day, so, on the fly, Jino scrapped the original plan and reworked it so he takes the guy down in one shot. He called it his Seven Samurai moment. Not only is it funny as hell, but it really sells how bad ass Jino’s character is. It’s the biggest, baddest dude and Jino just wipes the floor with him. Incredibly satisfying. That was all Jino. I also love the moment when the school secretary, Joyce, gets her revenge after being terrorized all day. I don’t want to ruin it but the actor, Anna Dennis, was so great. I’m glad she got her big pay-off moment.
BK: According to IMDb you produced and directed a short documentary called Shine Like Stars back in 2010. What was that experience like?
DL: Yeah, Shine Like Stars was a really special experience. I was at a music festival in Milwaukee with my friend Al Hagemann and we stumbled across this U2 tribute band. They called themselves U2Zoo, they dressed up like U2 and did full concerts with lights and everything. But they were good. Really good. It wasn’t a joke. So, I approached them and pitched a documentary where I’d follow them around and shoot their shows. I sold it to them as a kind of U2Zoo: Rattle and Hum. And for some reason they said yes. So I followed them around Wisconsin for a year and shot ten shows, did interviews and everything, with Al co-producing with me. They played some huge shows with thousands of people and I’m up there running around, shooting from the stage. It was the most fun you can have behind a camera. We got into festivals, sold out our screenings, did morning TV interviews. It was an amazing ride and we learned a lot.
BK: Do you hope to direct something again in the future?
DL: I actually just wrote and directed a horror film called Wake that’s coming out later this year. We’re in post-production now. It’s a sort of psychosexual monster movie with a big chip on its shoulder. I’m really excited for people to see it.
BK: Any moviemaking heroes?
DL: Well, I mean probably too many to mention. I’m the kind of physical media collector that organizes my Blu-rays by director. But certainly, Jim Henson was my biggest influence from the start. And later James Cameron, Oliver Stone and John Waters. Cameron is just the high bar from The Terminator (1984) all the way through Titanic (1997). Perfection. Stone was a huge motivator for me to become a filmmaker instead of just a screenwriter. Natural Born Killers (1994) was a revelation. And John Waters is a national treasure and should be sainted. Recently, I’m really into Hirokazu Koreeda. I think he’s making the most beautiful, authentic films around. I’ve always loved all movie genres so my heroes tend to be from across the whole spectrum.
BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
DL: Like I mentioned, Wake is coming out this year which I’m really excited about. I’m currently producing the special features for the Blu-ray of a David Lynch-related documentary called I Know Catherine, The Log Lady. It’s directed by Richard Green, the magician from Mulholland Drive (2001). Really powerful film. And once I wrap post on Wake, I’m planning to start pre-production on a feature I wrote and will direct called Dreamland. But I like to juggle a lot of projects all at once, so you never know what else might end up in that mix.
BK: What do you hope audiences get out of Hard Redemption?
DL: I hope it takes them back to a time when action movies were more straight forward and grounded and had a sense a humor. I love that we wrote a story that only has one gun and it’s locked in a desk somewhere no one can access it. The whole movie is raw physical action and the characters are forced to step up and confront the challenges head on. It makes everything more personal. I hope people appreciate that stripped down approach. I’m also really proud that the diversity of characters we built into the original script has made it to the screen. I hope everyone in the audience finds themselves represented somewhere in Hard Redemption.
BK: Any interest in a potential Hard Redemption 2?
DL: Oh hell, yeah! We already have ideas. Jino and Lou are pretty interested in doing more so we’ll see. I don’t know why we’d even have to stop at Hard Redemption 2. They’re a great duo. There are endless possibilities there. If the movie finds its audience, we’ll be back.
BK: Do you think you could take on a martial arts gang by yourself in real life?
DL: I’m not sure if I’d win the day or not, but I would go down fighting.
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A very special thanks to Dustin Leimgruber for agreeing to participate in this interview and to david j. moore for setting it up.
Check out the official Hard Redemption Facebook page here!
Check out my review of Hard Redemption here!
Check out Dustin Leimgruber’s official website here and official Facebook page here!
Dustin Leimgruber with knife and Dustin Leimgruber and Lou Ferrigno images courtesy of Dustin Leimgruber. Dustin Leimgruber, Jino Kang, and david j. moore image courtesy of david j. moore. All other images courtesy of Jino Kang and Christine Lam.
