411 talks w/Eric Jacobus About His New Movie Blindsided: The Game

The 411 Interview: Eric Jacobus

Eric Jacobus is a martial artist, stuntman, actor, writer, editor, and director who has been involved in movie making since 2001 when he formed The Stunt People with friends in California. Since then, Jacobus has starred in and collaborated on various short and feature films, including the Rope-A-Dope series, Contour, and Death Grip, among others. His latest effort is Blindsided: The Game, an expansion of the successful short film, Blindsided, which was released in 2017 (you can check out my review of Blindsided here). Jacobus recently took time out of his busy schedule to participate in an interview with this writer where he discusses Blindsided: The Game and aspects of his character, the blind badass Walter Cooke.

**

Bryan Kristopowitz: When did you decide that you wanted to expand the original Blindsided short film into Blindsided: The Game?

Eric Jacobus: When people kept saying, “I wanna see more!”

BK: Was the story for The Game set up before you started the original Blindsided or did you sort of figure all of that out after you finished Blindsided?

EJ: We knew we needed a gambling scene, like in the Zatoichi films, and the stakes had to be raised with Gordon’s loan shark. We took that and moved forward with crafting this story. Seeing the location with Clayton helped build the world that Sal lives in, and Roger Yuan came with some amazing ideas for his character.

BK: How was working on The Game the same as Blindsided and how was it different?
EJ: The vision had to be the same, because we were expanding upon the original Blindsided. But this time we had Adam Eccleshall as our executive producer which allowed us to reach for the stars.

BK: Was it difficult to get back into the Walter character mindset?

EJ: I close my eyes and I’m Walter. It’s a great world to live in and I’m always eager to go back.

BK: What’s the difference, if any, between beating people with a “seeing eye” stick and beating people up/attacking people with a sword?

EJ: One stings, the other kills. The bad guys bring guns because the stakes are raised, so we treaded into samurai territory, where the story is in that very buildup. You can only swing a katana around so long before someone loses a finger.

BK: How long did it take you to master the movie’s sword fighting choreography?

EJ: I was trained in traditional Iaido by Andrej Diamantstein in Berkeley. Luke LaFontaine then translated that into reverse grip cane sword movements over multiple visits to his training space. Reverse grip cane sword isn’t a real martial art, since it could only be found in the hands of a blind samurai like Walter or Zatoichi. With that style you sacrifice more than a foot of reach just so you can draw quickly from the cane, but that’s what makes sense for Walter. That’s his edge. We really crafted that style in the months leading up to shooting.

BK: How often do you play poker? Are you any good at it? Do you think you have the ability to, one day, bankrupt Vegas?

EJ: I played Hold’em with cash and learned some chip flipping tricks to get into the mindset of a gambler. I did better when I was playing with my eyes closed. That’s the best poker face; not knowing what the hell is going on, just reacting. Walter gives all his money to a bum in the end anyway. He’s not a man who worships the green idol.

I always tell people, if you wanna win in Vegas, don’t gamble.

BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

EJ: Keep an eye out for the film I action directed in India called Man Who Can Feel No Pain and I stunt coordinated Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You where I play a mean riot cop. JB Productions will definitely be moving forward with more projects, too.

BK: What’s next for Walter? Will we see him try to make a different kind of pie?

EJ: Walter can make many pies, but apple is the one people ask for. Maybe we can do a longer form to explore that and more.

BK: What else does Walter have under his bed?

EJ: Probably some dice, more cash, and clues about his past. We still haven’t answered the question of how Walter became who he is. But we’re taking that one step at a time.

**

A very special thanks to Eric Jacobus for agreeing to participate in the interview and to david j. moore for helping set it up.

Check out the Blindsided: The Game Facebook page here.

Check out my review of Blindsided: The Game here.

Check out Eric Jacobus website here.

Check out Eric Jacobus’ YouTube page here

Check out The Stunt People website here

Eric Jacobus headshot Image courtesy of Eric Jacobus website and tonychu.com

All other images from the Blindsided Facebook page.