Kevin Tancharoen didn’t originally intend for the world to see his “Mortal Kombat” work. The 27-year-old director of “Fame” and “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie” made an eight-minute video last year called “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth” that featured a new, grittier setting and origins for characters from the 19-year-old video game fighting series. His intention was to show the short to executives at Warner Bros. and its label New Line Cinema and demonstrate that despite his background in choreography and directing the unsuccessful 2009 remake of “Fame,” he was the right choice to bring Mortal Kombat back to the big screen after a 14-year absence.
However, a YouTube snafu resulted in “Rebirth” being posted publicly on the site, where it garnered millions of views thanks in part to supportive tweets from celebrities such as “The Guild” creator Felicia Day, who, like Tancharoen, is represented by International Creative Management.
Based on the short’s viral success, Warner Bros. gave Tancharoen $2 million to produce a nine-episode Web series, called “Mortal Kombat: Legacy,” in support of the new Mortal Kombat game it released in April. Now New Line has agreed to make a new Mortal Kombat movie with Tancharoen directing. Shooting is expected to start in March, with the movie coming out in 2013. The director talked to Hero Complex contributor Ben Fritz about the road so far.
BF: In all honestly, when you made “Rebirth,” how likely did you think it was you’d be here now, about to direct a full-length feature film?
KT: It was such a crapshoot for me. I honestly felt it was 50/50. Previous to doing it I had some discussions with Warner executives about Mortal Kombat, but they didn’t go anywhere. This video was meant to be a showcase that I didn’t only have to do dancing stuff, even though that was primarily my background. I was desperate to get into the genre space. As a director you can get typecast just like an actor. I knew nobody would risk putting my name in front of a genre movie. There would be an outcry by fans with everyone asking, “Why are you getting the guy who did ‘Fame’ to make ‘Mortal Kombat’?” I knew I had to get some credibility.
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