Midnight Mania! ‘They Made Him Look Like A Buffoon’

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

In Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, legendary actor and martial artist, Bruce Lee, is portrayed by Mike Moh. As based on real life events, Lee instructs actress Sharon Tate in fighting on the silver screen.

It was not, however, a complimentary showcase. Lee is portrayed as an arrogant hothead, which has angered some viewers, including Lee’s daughter. As of a recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast, UFC color commentator Joe Rogancan be included in that list as well. Here’s the quote (courtesy of MiddleEasy):

That was f—ed up. He was a dummy in the movie. The problem was in real life, there was no evidence that he was an egomaniac dummy. He was a very interesting guy. Very insightful. The problem was they made him look like a buffoon. There was no evidence that he was a buffoon…It’s a movie about a real person who has a real legacy and a bunch of people love him. There was a lot of evidence that Bruce Lee was this brilliant, insightful guy and in that movie, they made a character of that. I didn’t like it. You’re making the guy looking like a f—ing idiot when he wasn’t an idiot.

Luckily, I saw the movie just a couple nights ago, so I’ll do my best to give a mostly spoiler-free opinion. In the controversial scene, Lee spars with the fictional Cliff Booth (portrayed by Brad Pitt), and both men score before the match is interrupted — so Lee clearly has some skill in the Tarantino universe given how tough Booth is proven to be.

More than that, the scene is really meant to mimic a previous conversation in the film. Early on, it’s explained that aging actors — former stars — are often scripted as the villain to be beaten up by the next up-and-coming star. It’s a way to quickly establish the new actor/character by essentially transferring the more established actor’s acclaim and toughness.

Bruce Lee is on the shortlist of martial arts icons, universally known as a badass. By having Cliff Booth go toe-to-toe with Lee, the new character effectively explains the aforementioned concept while proving himself a dangerous man to the audience.

Insomnia

Henry Cejudo responds to every callout… except Joseph Benavidez.

Mike Perry takes another shot at Colby Covington (with a guest appearance from Valentina Shevchenko in the back!)

He really went for it though:

Expert tornado kick from Michael Chandler:

Nope, can’t do that.

Teeth-chattering is an essential part of any interview:

Turning yourself into a meme is the most profitable move in sports right now:

Eryk Anders considering a return to 185 lbs.?

Slips, rips and KO clips

A nice Vicente Luque highlight to remind everyone that he’s every bit as violent as Mike Perry.

Right down the pipe!

A pair of high kicks for your viewing pleasure — click the thread for more!

Random Land

Another week, another cool lizard:

Midnight Music: On the recommendation of a team mate, I listened to little-known blues singer Jimmy Lee Williams, who only recorded a handful of tracks and lived in complete obscurity as a peanut farmer in Georgia… Don’t get much more blues than that!

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.