Archive for Gina Carano Articles Category
Gina Carano Fan Experience: In This Corner…
Tweet
Growing up, I wasn’t an athlete. I always considered myself an average girl. It wasn’t until high-school that I found out that I loved entertaining people through dance and theatre classes.
It was the summer after I turned 17 and graduated. I auditioned for The Phoenix Suns Dance Squad. I remember practicing so hard to make it on the team. All of the girls were so beautiful; I started to lose confidence. Even though I had the skill, I didn’t shine in the audition. At that point in my life, I started to hate myself. I hated the way I looked and how short I was. Everything put me through a depression.
A month later everything changed. Watching one of Gina Carano’s fights for the first time left me speechless. It was the StrikeForce Women’s Featherweight Title fight against Cris Cyborg. Even though she lost, she just seemed so superhuman to me. I was at loss for words. I just wanted to see more of her. I watched all I could until I was exhausted for school the next day. Every video I watched made me say, ” Gosh, I want to be like her.” She inspired me so much that I questioned myself thinking, “Why not… why not give it a shot?” Don’t get me wrong, I was terrified of fighting. I had never gotten into a fight or even hit anyone, and the next thing I know, I’m stepping foot into a Muay Thai Gym.
Just the sound of “Muay Thai” was intimidating. I didn’t know what to expect. The coach was a little man from Thailand. He gave me my first pair of pink boxing gloves and red Muay Thai shorts. After changing clothes, I remember looking in the mirror and thinking, “I can’t believe I’m here right now!” I then tried to pump myself up, thinking “Okay, be like Gina, be like Gina.” Walking out of the bathroom, the coach said, “Oh good, you look like a fighter now.” By the end of the class, I fell in love with it; I was so excited.
It lit a whole new fire inside me. The girl who had once hated herself now had confidence.
I wanted to learn everything, every: punch, kick, knee and elbow. I would then watch Gina’s training footage and try to mimic her combos by shadow boxing in the hallway of my house and in front of my dresser mirror. I felt […]
Gina Carano at Superbowl 47 weekend – pics & videos, interview with ESPN & USA Today (*updated 02-05)
Tweet
Gina Carano promoting Under Armour gear at Superbowl 47 weekend in New Orleans:
CLICK HERE for more candid pics.
(credit: Paul877, swinjen, & Andrey)
ESPN’s Lynn Hoppes – “Fast & Furious 6” is getting a lot of buzz. What was it like on the set for you?
Gina: “It was a great time watching all these people I grew up watching in movies my whole life. I got to see them in action and see all their different styles and personalities. It was interesting watching them either mesh together or not mesh together! It was really cool. Movies being made is a miracle.“
– You’ve been working a lot lately, with a handful of movies under your belt. I hear you have another one in the can as a starring role also coming out this year?
“That’s ‘In the Blood,’ about me tracking down my kidnapped husband. That was a quick shoot for director John Stockwell. It was one of the most extreme things I’ve done in my life. I had to zipline. I had never ziplined before. And the first time I’m doing it I have someone hanging on me swinging and screaming. It was the coolest and hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
– You’ve starred in a few projects, but what’s the latest on the female version of “The “Expendables”?
“There are several in development now and it’s all about getting the right people and who’s going to be first to the production. You have to get the right cast. It’s a competition right now.”
Speaking of competition, do you ever think of getting back in the ring?
“I am always training, because I love it. But I would have to train specifically with a fight in my mind. That hasn’t entered my mind yet. I’m just preoccupied with my next project. I want to grow in this space. It’s really challenging for me. It’s attractive to me. Not like fighting isn’t. But it’s emotionally painful to act. You want to get better even after people smash you down. You want to be better than you were before.”
– Do you think you were ahead of your time? Now female mixed martial arts is really coming into its own with the arrival of superstar Ronda Rousey.
“I love what’s happening now. I love that Ronda came along and revamped the sport, and she brought it back. It […]
Gina Carano’s early thoughts on Fast 6, The Rock, other co-stars and more
Tweet
Gina Carano shares her early thoughts on Fast 6, her co-stars and recounts Haywire to top UK based film site – Filmoria.com
First of all, congratulations on your success in Haywire. How did you get involved in the role of Mallory Kane? -Steven Soderbergh actually saw me fighting on CBS and then gave my management and agent a call. I’d just lost my first fight to Cyborg so I was just kinda depressed and he took the train up from LA and we had a four hour lunch. He asked if I wanted to do a movie and I was like, ‘yeah sure’ and then he went on to say he didn’t have a script, producers or actors confirmed and explained him and writer Lem Dobbs would get working on it. It was incredible how fast it moved. The script ended up being good for me as Mallory is nothing like me and then he (Soderbergh) had me train with a secret service guy for seven months instead of an acting coach.
It must have been an overwhelming experience being touted by a top Hollywood director. How did you feel when you got the call and met up?
-I’m from the fighting world so I didn’t really know who Steven Soderbergh was. I didn’t really know anyone’s names so I was very clueless on Hollywood. Since then, I have received the full education, believe me, and after it’s all said and done, I look back and can’t believe he did what he did and I couldn’t be more grateful. (continued…)
(James Thompson – @thommojo3)
