The film “Blizhniy Boy: The Ultimate Fighter,” released in 2007, follows the exciting journey of a wealthy businessman’s son entangled with the Russian mob. The movie, featuring stars like Cung Le, David Carradine, and Eric Roberts, explores different filming locations where the action unfolds. Read on to discover interesting trivia and facts about the film’s shoot and behind-the-scenes highlights.
Where it Filmed?
The movie was filmed in various iconic locations across the globe. In December 2005, the shoot took place in California and New York City in the USA, Toronto in Canada, Moscow in Russia, and Las Vegas in Nevada, USA.
Cast Details
| Cast Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Cung Le | Erik |
| David Carradine | Mikhail |
| Eric Roberts | Ivan |
| Gary Busey | Wizard |
| Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa | Alibek |
| Yelena Kritskaya | Ella |
| Bolo Yeung | Askar Trainer |
| Miguel Franciskovich | Erik (voice) |
| Oleg Taktarov | Oleg |
| Erken Ialgashev | Temerlan |
| Nurzhuman Ikhtymbaev | Saken |
| Michael Pinkhas | Maître d’ |
| Aki Aleong | Baurzhan |
| Teena Black | Mob Moll |
| Annabelle Bourlet | Katarina |
| Christa Campbell | Anastasia |
| Richard Chaves | Prison Guard |
| George Cheung | Detective Ishanov |
| Arnold Chun | Bulat |
| Giò Crisafulli | Anton |
| Alana Curry | Natasha |
| Jared Cyr | Russian Detective |
| Howard Fong | Abay |
| Olivier Gruner | FBI Agent #1 |
| Arthur Hagopian | Arresting Police Officer |
| Martin Kove | Detective Karpov |
| Joon Lee | Timur |
| Eliver Ling | Police Officer |
| James Logan | Russian Cop #1 |
| Kristina Markovsky | Elena |
| Daniel Sterling | Fighter |
| Nils Allen Stewart | Commander |
| Ken Hewski | Fighter |
| Elizabeth Abate | Judge |
| Andrew Rasputin | Pipe |
| Michael Sercerchi | Detective |
| Scott Sheeley | Fighter |
| Christiane Amorosia | Ring Girl (uncredited) |
| Julia Nickson | Detective (uncredited) |
| Stewart Resmer | Fight Corner Man (uncredited) |
| Victor Rivers | FBI Agent #2 (uncredited) |
| Lazar Rockwood | Thug with dynamite (uncredited) |
Trivia and Facts
- The movie was officially released in 2007.
- It is an action-packed film with a runtime of 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- The entertaining narrative tells the story of a rich businessman’s son who has connections with the Russian mob. A situation forces him to participate in a martial arts tournament.
- The film was directed by Erken Ialgashev and was written by Erken Ialgashev and Yermek Yutrsunov.
- The cast sees notable performances from Cung Le playing Erik, David Carradine as Mikhail, and Eric Roberts portraying Ivan.
- An interesting bit of trivia is that Jalal Merhi directed the first 60 minutes of the film shot in Toronto. However, due to his busy schedule, he could not travel for the Russia shoot.
Geo Location Details
- Location Name: California, USA
- Latitude: 36.778261
- Longitude: -119.4179324
- Place ID: ChIJPV4oX_65j4ARVW8IJ6IJUYs
- Map Link: Google Map
- Place Address: California, USA
- Timezone: America/Los_Angeles
- Location Name: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Latitude: 36.171563
- Longitude: -115.1391009
- Place ID: ChIJ0X31pIK3voARo3mz1ebVzDo
- Map Link: Google Map
- Place Address: Las Vegas, NV, USA
- Timezone: America/Los_Angeles
- Location Name: Moscow, Russia
- Latitude: 55.755826
- Longitude: 37.6173
- Place ID: ChIJybDUc_xKtUYRTM9XV8zWRD0
- Map Link: Google Map
- Place Address: Moscow, Russia
- Timezone: Europe/Moscow
- Location Name: New York City, New York, USA
- Latitude: 40.7127753
- Longitude: -74.0059728
- Place ID: ChIJOwg_06VPwokRYv534QaPC8g
- Map Link: Google Map
- Place Address: New York, NY, USA
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Location Name: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Latitude: 43.653226
- Longitude: -79.3831843
- Place ID: ChIJpTvG15DL1IkRd8S0KlBVNTI
- Map Link: Google Map
- Place Address: Toronto, ON, Canada
- Timezone: America/Toronto
