An Interview with DIRECTOR VLAD YUDIN for his film “THE HURT BUSINESS”

“The Hurt Business” is from renowned documentary director Vlad Yudin (Generation Iron, Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer), and the Oscar winning producer of Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11.

Extending beyond the octagon and taking a deeper look into what life is really like within the world of MMA.Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport that combines striking and grappling. There have been various forms throughout the 20^th century but it did not start gaining worldwide traction until hitting televisions in the U.S. in 1993. It actually dates back to the days of antiquity in ancient Greece called pankration. Today it has become main stream with the support of the UFC; the largest MMA promotion in the world.

The Hurt Business follows the daily lives of UFC Champions Jon “Bones” Jones, Rashad “Suga” Evans, Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm and more. Along with a look at their day to day lives, “The Hurt Business” examines how the sport went from being shunned as barbaric to the popular, celebrity-creating entertainment operation it is today.

Helmed by Yudin and Edwin Mejia of The Vladar Company with Oscar winner Jim Czarnecki, “The Hurt Business” also features Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Georges St-Pierre, Kenny Florian, Urijah Faber, Ken Shamrock, Bas Rutten, and Josh Barnett. Through firsthand telling of their remarkable experiences, the complete history and culture of MMA is explored in a more expansive way than ever before. Additionally, contributions from leading psychologists, neurologists, sociologists, and government officials analyze the grim prevalence of brain trauma and the implications of MMA’s increased popularity, and what it means for our society. It reveals how a sport that has until recently been illegal and referred to as “human cock-fighting” became accepted, and even glamorized by the mainstream culture.

Have a peek at the trailer.

I had the pleasure of interview Director Vlad Yudin on his latest film.

How did you get into film making?

I think it was my passion all my life. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to do documentary film making or scripted. I have done both but I really enjoyed documentary. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do all my life from an early age and it really has stuck with me. I have developed over time and I’m still developing my craft.

What inspired you to make this documentary?

To be honest with you I just became very intrigued by the sport. I didn’t know to much about it. Obviously I had heard about MMA and how it started back in the 90’s. but I wasn’t watching the fights or following the fighters, I only knew a couple of main stream fighters at that time. I had just finished a movie called generation iron in 2013 and it was about a different type of sport (Bodybuilding) but was spending a lot of time on the west coast (Orange county) And the guys that I had meet where really in to MMA. And they just kept talking a lot about it. It made me more intrigued in the sport. And little by little I just got more interested in it and realized I wanted to make a film about the sport. Even though MMA was a national Sport I just felt like there wasn’t an actual film that was made about the fighters and the inner doings of the MMA sport. Up to this date we see what the leagues perspective and I just wanted to show it from a different perspective. Just to really understand it more.

Would you say this is a pro MMA or anti-MMA film?

It’s really Objective. There’s no agenda about making a pro I really wanted to make a objective film that talks about different point a views.

In the trailer, Michael Chandler makes a comment that MMA is made up of delinquents, however, in reality a lot of fighters past and present have college degrees – how does this point get conveyed in the film?

I think what Michael Chandler was trying to say is how MMA might have started out. That some of these people that maybe had no other choose but to fight for a living. But that he him self is a college gradate. He was making a contrast to how it was and how it is now.

How is fighter exploitation covered in this film? (UFC sells for $4.2 Billion and some champs are still making $100,000 per fight). (Is that something you cover?)

Yes, that is something that is talking about in the film. We are definitely covering that. And something the fighters are talking about for sure. The sport has progressed and it’s still growing. But it is unfortunate that a lot of the fighters in the early 2000’s were not compensated properly. And they do talk about it. But the sport is still progressing and it will all depend on it’s progressing.

Who are some of your favorite fighters?

Michael Chandler was great to work with and Rashad Evans, John Jones. Those guys are great.

How did Kevin Costner get involved with the movie?

He was the narrator for the film. And he’s been a big fan for many years of the sport. So he was happy to be involved.

Were a lot of the fighters happy to do the film?

I don’ t think all of them have seen it yet. But I’m sure they will be happy with it.

When does it come out?

September 29^th in Theater’s near you

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport that combines striking and grappling. There have been various forms throughout the 20^th century but it did not start gaining worldwide traction until hitting televisions in the U.S. in 1993. Today it has become main stream with the support of the UFC; the largest MMA promotion in the world.

The sport actually dates back to the days of antiquity in ancient Greece called pankration.

Being a big fan for me started when my now husband took me to a live fight on one of our first dates (I know, what a romantic! LOL). Getting to know the fighters and their backgrounds made it all the more intriguing watching their journey to the cage.

I can’t wait to see the film.