Panned filmmaker strikes back at critics

In the past, cult film director Uwe Boll has taken a beating from critics, but this weekend, he got a chance to swing back.

On Saturday, the German director climbed into a boxing ring in Vancouver with four critics who had signed up to go a round againsthim.

Boll, whose critically panned oeuvre includes the video game-inspired vampire flick BloodRayne and the zombie movie House of the Dead, knocked his challengers around the ring in front of a screaming audience of about 600.

The German filmmaker, who is in Vancouver working on several new films, has publicly ranted against critics, especially internet writers,who judge his work without ever having seen his films. Some have even started an online petition calling for him to stop making movies.

Boxing matches: part PR stunt, part media appeal

In part a publicity stunt and also an attempt to get the media to stop trashing his work, Boll said the boxing matches were also his way of treating the situation with some humour.

"I don't get why [critics] attack me so much," he said after beating up onhis opponents in Vancouver.

Hisopponents on SaturdaywereChris Alexander of Rue Morgue magazine, online critic Nelson Chance Minter, internet personality and website operator Richard Kyanka and Jeff Sneider of Ain't It Cool News.

Another fight against Spanish movie website operator Carlos Palencia Jimenez-Arguello took place in Madrid earlier this month.

"If you're making a zombie movie like House of the Dead, what are people expecting? Schindler's List? It is what it is. It's entertaining," Boll said.

Held in conjunction with online casino Goldenpalace.com, the bouts were filmed and may be used as part of one of Boll's upcoming projects.