The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021 - Issue 30

N ewly designated film director Cory DeMeyers is a 2020 Taurus World Stunt award winner for Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 Academy Award-nomi- nated film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood . He is also a former Red Bull World Champion who has worked on some of the most significant film sets in Hollywood. This year, he reached new heights in his directorial debut for the short film Danny Boy selected at the Academy qualifying film festi- val Hollyshorts. The film is a collaborative project brought to life by three contemporary musketeers, otherwise known as Hollywood stuntmen, who embarked on a journey to explore the differ- ent avenues of their careers and bring forth their talents. Cory DeMeyers is the director and producer, Jett Jansen Fernandez is an actor playing Danny and Sammy Horowitz is both writer, and actor playing Francis in the film. Fernandez has worked on projects such as Stranger Things and Street Shadows, while screenwriter and playwright Sammy Horowitz has had roles in Notorious Nick, LA’s Finest and Chicago PD. I spoke with Cory whose journey (for lack of a better word) is awe-inspiring. His life is somewhat familiar and resembles the classic Hollywood story. Originally from Davison, in Michigan, USA, he showed great discipline, mastery and determination in Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art based on karate, since the age of five. By 18, Cory was a 5xWorld Champion in the art of Tang Soo Do and had achieved the rank of 3rd Degree Black Belt. Not feeling fulfilled in his local town, he decided to pack up his bags and move to California, three months after graduating from high school. As a means to an end to survive in a new state, he taught martial arts and got introduced to parkour, which was gaining rapid popularity in the US at that time. Not long after, he got invited to Red Bull competitions and started competing in parkour professionally. Originally, he moved to California to pursue driving and build- ing sport compact race cars, but soon people started noticing him for his exceptional skills in martial arts and parkour. It bitefilmreview C ory D e M eyers Director Profile Image © Create and Destroy