Bad Ass Military Advisor Talks Punisher War Zone

If this doesn't get you hyped for the new Punisher War Zone flick, nothing will. This sounds awesome already. Props go out to ComicUs for the English translation of the story. You can check out their site here

Interview begins below...



Could you tell us something about your career and how did you get to collaborating with movies productions like this one?

Well, I spent over 8 years in the United States Marine Corps infantry with combat deployments overseas. My focus in the Marines was always weapons and weapon systems and advanced urban combat, then teaching Marines what I knew.
I had friends that had gotten out of the Corps and told me about working in Hollywood with professional military advisors, and I thought that would be a very cool job to have. I came to Hollywood and started working for those advisors as well, and after some time realized that I need to reinvent how military advisors worked in Hollywood. I met Matt Sigloch while working on “J.A.G.” and he and I started Gunmetal. Over the years I’ve worked on a ton of really great projects and always try to raise the bar in military cool-ness on screen. I have a very unique and fun technique to working with actors and directors so thankfully they keep calling!

Your work on this film seems to be wide, from training to military consulting service. What was the level of this collaboration? Did you work behind the scenes or were you an active part on the set?

Both. I supervised the stage one combat training of Ray Stevenson in Los Angeles two months before the movie even went into pre productions. Lexi Alexander wanted to make the most realistic Punisher ever, so she pushed and fought to have me relocate to Canada to join her and the rest of the crew in pre-production in order to help her with the combat choreography and gun play in the film, as well as to continue Ray Stevenson’s training and train all the other actors and stunt-men in current weapon handling.
I had to supervise, and in some cases design, the types and kinds of guns and other weapons that were being used for Frank Castle. Some of what I wanted to use didn’t exist in Canada so I had to contact weapons manufactures in the States and have them build and ship what I needed. I think the final piece didn’t arrive until the day we started rolling cameras! After that I switched gears into the filming phase where every day on set I help Lexi with her vision of a true to life Marine Frank Castle. Trust me, never a dull moment working on set for moths of night shoots in one of the worst Canadian winter in years!

Was your advice requested since the beginning of the definitive version of the script or did you get onboard later to give a proper shape to the action?

Sort of. The first day I met Lexi and Ray, we started talking through the action scenes that were already in the finished script. Over the next few weeks of training, Lexi would bring up ideas and twists in the scenes and explained what she wanted to bring to life and I would give my advice on what really would or would not happen and what weapons and equipment he might use to get that job done. I told her about new weapons being developed and how Frank Castle could use them and she would listen and get excited and consequently the scenes would start to take new directions. For example, on the 3rd day of Ray’s training I was teaching combat quick draw and Ray wanted to know what the biggest and strongest handgun was. I told him it was the Smith&Wesson model 500, and then showed him a picture. Instantly he wanted it as the Punisher’s primary weapon and Lexi agreed. When I got to Montreal they handed me a new revision of the script and there was a scene written around this gun!

We can imagine that the character you worked on most was Frank Castle: his military skills required a realistic performance in the film. What was your job on The Punisher? How did you try to portray him, according to your scopes?

Basically, my job was Military Advisor and Combat trainer. After my first week I realized that I had to get my fingers into the other departments on the show and take more of an assertive role in making sure the Punisher character fit Lexi’s vision. This meant stepping on some toes from time to time and taking control of certain elements in other departments, but Lexi had told me what she wanted and by damn, it was gonna get done!
After the first week I was designing costumes, designing weapons, inventing props, training not only Ray but his stunt double and all the other actors and stuntmen, and writing and rehearsing weapon choreography! I felt like I was back in the Corps!

Did you offer your services even to characterize the villains? If yes, how did you differentiate them by the Punisher or police forces, talking about tactics?

For this particular project none of the main bad guys had military or Law enforcement back-story so I just worked on weapons safety and helped them work different types of guns into their characters. For each actor on their first day of weapons training, I had them go to a table filled with rifles, handguns, grenade launchers, and shotguns, and told them to pick one. Every actor picked different sets of weapons that complemented their back story. We then worked on how each of them, in character, would try to shoot the Punisher if he were coming after them. So basically we invented different shooting styles!

What kind of weapons have been used? Conventional or even unconventional, as sometimes seen in the comic book?

We used weapons based on need and back-story and nothing made up. All of the Punisher’s weapons currently exist and are being used in modern combat! The Punisher originated out of Vietnam, so his primary weapon in the film is an M-4 which he would feel the most comfortable with. To that I mounted a mini grenade launcher using thermo baric grenades for point detonations. I followed that up with the most powerful revolver on the planet, a Knight’s Armament/Smith&Wesson custom Model 500 .50 cal, in a breakaway leg holster as his back-up!
We created two fully automatic Beretta 92f handguns for close quarter combat.
In the opening of the film he uses ultra reliable H&K custom MP5’s in fully automatic that he carries in the small of his back, and for speed draws a H&K USP compact .45.
I also had a custom mini 13” Bolo machete combat knife created that he carries on a leg holster for hand to hand.
The result was modern weapons used in the modern time, but in full Punisher style!

Has ever occurred that you had to note that some element originally planned was unrealistic or not believable? From your point of view, what is the realism level of this movie?

This is by far the most realist Punisher ever made. Every scene, every plot point, every scenario was discussed and brought to real world scenarios. Having said that, we were still making a comic book adaptation, and Lexi was able to have freedom to make some of the action larger than life because that’s how the comic was written. As a Marine I am extremely excited about how well this movie portrays this character. I think audiences will really connect to this Punisher like never before!

Did you enjoy working on such an extreme fighter as Castle? How does this kind of character seem to a serviceman?

The Punisher will always be a symbol to the Marine Corps infantryman, as well as other branches of service, of the ultimate warrior. A guy that takes the fight to the enemy’s doorstep, then kicks his door in. As a Marine being on the front lines you have to feel no fear and have the courage to fight even when you are scared out of your mind in order to bring yourself and your buddies home. I think the Punisher embodies the true fighting spirit of what all combat troops feel when the enter a room full of people that want to do them harm. It’s important that symbols like Punisher exist for us in the military and he will always have a home with the US Marines! “Semper fi” Frank!