Maker Series - Chapter 54
Karate Kid Legends
Maya Sigel, Production Designer, Texas USA
Still from Karate Kid: Legends
Fabrik: You've worked on a host of very exciting projects such as Apple TV's 'Hello Tomorrow' & Netflix's 'I Am Not Okay With This', as a production designer, but we want to talk to you about your upcoming work on Jonathan Entwhistle's 'Karate Kid Legends'. How did that come about?
Maya: Jonathan and I had worked together on two projects and when he signed on to direct Karate Kid Legends, we started talking about it. Eventually I read the script and met with the producers and came onboard officially.
Fabrik: Karate Kid is one of the most recognisable IPs in the movie industry, did you feel a lot of pressure working on something so well know?
Maya: I was very excited to have the opportunity to design a film in the series of Karate Kid movies. It's so nice to know how beloved the IP is and how many people this movie will reach. I grew up watching the original movie a million times on VHS. It was interesting to watch the movies again as an adult and a production designer, seeing some things a little differently than I'd remembered. I really wanted this one to honour the 80's films, for example to build the Miyagi house as faithfully as possible to what it looked like in the first couple movies.
What's new and fresh about this one is that it not only takes place in New York City but that our Karate Kid is a Chinese teenager and we first meet him in Beijing where he's a gifted student of Kung Fu. My team and I did a lot of research to build out the world of Mr. Han's (Jackie Chan's) Kung Fu School. As for NYC, I really wanted it to be a beautiful, nostalgic, timeless, and warm version of the city. I designed and built much of the NYC sets on soundstages including Li's apartment, Victory Pizza, the alley, a rooftop set and an entire city block. Because of this, we were able to accommodate the stunt team for all of the great fight sequences in addition to really crafting the visual world of this movie in a controlled environment.
A Still from Karate Kid: Legends
Fabrik: There’s a hell of a stacked cast for this movie, including the legendary Jackie Chan, do you have any stories or fun memories from set?
Maya: Jackie Chan is an absolute legend and a pleasure to work with, truly. He's got the best ideas and is always thinking ahead so that we could figure out how to make things happen. He talks to everyone on the crew, makes jokes, takes photos with people and is generally just so joyful and generous. It's mesmerizing watching him do his own stunts. I'll never forget him teaching us magic tricks till late at night at a dinner he threw for the whole crew. I was a big fan and still am.
A Still from Karate Kid: Legends Promo
Fabrik: Well congratulations on what looks to be a fantastic revisit to a fan favourite franchise, have you got anything else lined up that you can tell us about?
Maya: Thank you so much! I'm looking for my next project right now and hoping that some of the projects my friends/collaborators have in development get greenlit.
Fabrik: Thanks for chatting to us Maya, before we go, what made you sign up for Fabrik?
Maya: My friend Justin Brown DoP who shot Karate Kid Legends, I Am Not Okay With This, and Hello Tomorrow! has his site on Fabrik and that's how I heard of it. I really liked the minimalism of the templates and the ease of creating my site. I'd also like to say that the customer service/tech team was very helpful and fast when I had questions about customising my website.
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