Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061972
29 Q4 2018 / CINEMONTAGE by Peter Tonguette A s a Foley artist, Nancy Parker, MPSE, is tasked with creating the sounds of major life events for characters on- screen. "I go to work and I may perform open-heart surgery, or I may saddle, bridle and ride a horse," she says. "Every day is different, and coming up with the sounds and the energy for each cue is a rewarding challenge." For one of her most significant early films, however, Parker had to ask herself: What does a kickboxing match sound like? In 1989, she was assigned to work with fellow Foley artist James Fisher on the hit film Kickboxer. The globe-trotting action thriller stars martial-arts-maestro-turned- actor Jean-Claude Van Damme as Kurt Sloane, a kickboxing trainer who ends up partaking in the foot-heavy sport himself. Co-directed by Mark DiSalle and David Worth, the film was successful at the box office when released by the Cannon Group in late summer. After all, remember what John Cusack called kickboxing in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything… (1989): "the sport of the future." In the film, Van Damme did the on-camera kicking and boxing, of course, but to simulate the sounds of the fighting, the production turned to Parker and Fisher — and a side of beef. "We brought it onto the Foley stage for me to hit with my fist, a gloved hand, a stick or a club to create the sounds for the blows to the body," she remembers. "They would want different things for each part of the body: the shoulder, the chest, the hip, the back. It was fun — and brutal." A native of San Gabriel, California, Parker grew up with an interest in fashion. Her mother was the Discovery Charm School instructor at the Sears in Pasadena and head of the department store's Fashion Team Board. "She'd take me to work and I'd help dress the models for fashion shows and get to do some mannequin modeling," says the Foley artist, who later found work at a boutique on Rodeo Drive. By then, however, Parker had studied film at Saddleback College and knew she wanted to break MY MOST MEMORABLE FILM Nancy Parker on 'Kickboxer' Nancy Parker. Kickboxer. Cannon Film Distributors/Photofest