When David Mamet's Redbelt was announced, the initial simple summary seemed bizarrely incongruous: A noted playwright and dramatist making a film about martial arts? But while Redbelt involves the worlds of Jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts, it's really just another way for playwright, screenwriter and director Mamet to look at the world. As martial arts instructor Mike Terry (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is taken from his noble (but underfunded) studio and plunged into the greed and glitz of Hollywood and commercial fighting.
As Mike tries to hang on to the things that matter to him in a world that dismisses honor as unprofitable, Mamet's script and direction create a film that somehow puts a philosophical twist on traditional fight films while also embodying everything we love about them. Cinematical spoke with Mamet and Ejiofor in Los Angeles.
For many, Chiwetel Ejiofor is the guy from Love Actually or Serenity, but for me, he's Okwe from Dirty Pretty Things. He completely charmed and impressed me, and every time I see his involvement in something, the news becomes a little more interesting. On the heels of the upcoming films Tonight at Noon, Redbelt, Toussaint, and Three Way Split, Coming Soon reports that the actor has signed on to star in Pete Travis'Endgame -- a feature-length thriller about the end of Apartheid in South Africa -- a gig which will also have him starring with William Hurt.
The site had found out about the film back in February, through a discussion with the director. Travis said that it "is a true story set in South Africa about the secret talks that brought down the Apartheid regime, and it's a political thriller dealing with the politics of South Africa at that time, but it's equally a story about hope and about two men who hate each other at the beginning of the movie, because they're enemies, who basically have to learn to trust each other or otherwise, the future of their country is in jeopardy." Ejiofor will play President Thabo Mbeki, but there's no word on Hurt's role. I have a feeling he'll hit this gig out of the park.
Here it is. Just as it was gratifying to see all the hallmarks of the X-Files franchise in the X-Files 2 trailer we linked to yesterday (it's since been pulled, but will no doubt reappear in studio-sanctioned form soon), it's great to see all the David Mamet staples pop up here. Hey, there's Ricky Jay, and Joe Mantegna, and Rebecca Pidgeon! Magic tricks! Macho posturing! Hints of cons, and cons within cons! Best of all, we get to hear a little bit of that unmistakable clipped Mamet-speak:
"Excuse me. Uh, who's the...?" "It's alright. Come in." "I believe I..." "Hey Joe, take the lady's coat!"
Music to my ears. And far from straying from his usual milieu with the mixed martial arts angle, Mamet seems to have used it to create another of his shady underworlds where nothing is as it seems. For fans of the man's work, watching this trailer is like settling into a comfy old recliner.
You know, if this movie had been made by anybody else but David Mamet then I would have fully expected to catch this flick late at night on the USA network and for it to star Michael Dudikoff. One look at the trailer above, though, and you know you are not dealing with the usual action cheese.
Redbelt stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as master of Ju-Jitsu who has dropped out of the unscrupulous world of professional fighting. After he helps out a mouthy movie star in a bar one night (as played by Tim Allen) he is eventually forced back into the ring of UFC fighting to defend his honor. There is also a hint of a freaky fighter selection process involving marbles and tying your hands behind your back, but that explanation is best left to the trailer.
Appearing alongside Ejiofor are Emily Mortimer (aka, the woman with 'Avian Bone Syndrome' on TV's 30 Rock), Alice Braga (I am Legend), Ricky Jay (who you might recognize as the cameraman from Boogie Nights and a few million other films), and Joe Mantegna. Mamet, who is a big fan of Ju-Jitsu and UFC fighting, wrote the script himself, and besides a few photo releases this trailer is our first chance to see what the film is actually about. Like many, I was having a hard time reconciling a master like Mamet with this kind of subject matter, but luckily it looks like it is all going to turn out for the best. Redbelt will hit theaters in a limited release on April 25th of this year.
So to start with, I can't say I'm all that jazzed about watching a movie about Ju-Jitsu, but this is one directed by the master of snappy dialog David Mamet -- and so that definitely helped raised my enthusiasm level. ComingSoon.net now has two new exclusive photos from Mamet's sports-drama, Redbelt. News of the film hit last April, when Monika gave us the heads up that Chiwetel Ejiofor had been signed for the lead. Not long after that, Patrick gave us the word that Tim Allen -- that's right, Mr. Toolman Taylor himself, was set to play the spoiled movie star Chet Frank. Rounding out the cast is martial arts master Randy Couture, Joe Mantegna, Rodrigo Santoro, and Emily Mortimer. The first image was released in August and these latest hi-res photos give us the chance to see Mamet at work on set.
Mamet wrote and directed the story, which centers on Mike Terry (played by Ejiofor); the chief instructor at the Southside Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Having shunned the spotlight of competition fighting, everything changes when, "At his brother-in-law's club one evening, Mike saves a famous action star, Chet Frank, (Tim Allen) from a severe beating. His defense of Frank leads to a job in the film industry, but other events conspire to force Mike to participate in a prize fight. An American samurai film set in the world of mixed martial arts, Redbelt is a story about the limits of a single man's integrity." Sounds like a perfect theme for a 'macho' director like Mamet. Redbelt opens in theaters on April 25.
There has already been plenty of talk surrounding the casting of John Singleton's big- screen version of Luke Cage. But so far, there hasn't been much attention paid to Singleton's other superhero project, The Black Panther. But now, ReelzChannel has interviewed Singleton and the topic of Panther came up. In talking about actors who could tackle the role, Singelton told ReelzChannel "Chiwetel Ejiofor could do it". Eljiofor is a British actor of Nigerian descent, who has been landing some relatively high-profile roles recently. With American Gangster and David Mamet's Redbelt on the way, Ejiofor has already signed to star in the historical epic based on the life of Toussaint Louverture.
Panther was published by Marvel comics and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The hero first appeared in an issue of Fantastic Four back in 1966. The story centered on T'Challa, a superhero with a birthright to guard his homeland. As well as being a member of the super group The Avengers, he is the leader of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Battling your usual assortment of comic book villains, the story also slipped in some occasional political commentary -- even pitting the Panther against the Klu Klux Klan. The social undertones of the comic seem like a perfect fit for the politically outspoken director.
But, Panther could still be a long way off. Christopher had already given us the news that Singleton was going to direct the Halle Berry drama Tulia first, and then he is on to his other comic book adaptation Luke Cage. But Singleton has not entirely forgotten about Panther, since he at least seems to be thinking about casting. According to Reelz, gossips had already put forward Djimon Hounso as the lead contender for the role, and long before Wesley Snipes became Blade, he had also been interested in playing the hero. But since Singleton doesn't appear to have made up his mind yet, fans should probably speak up now -- don't you think?
Radio has to be one of the most un-cinematic things on the planet; it's a guy sitting in a booth for four hours talking into a microphone, or maybe playing some music. And yet radio has a kind of special magic about it. A person's voice comes sailing through the airwaves and landing in our homes, and it has the power to captivate, to soothe and to make sense of the world. Radio has appeared in a surprising number of good movies: Wolfman Jack and Stephen Wright, respectively, provided atmosphere in American Graffiti (1973) and Reservoir Dogs (1992), Robin Williams brought humor to the troops in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Christian Slater brought hope to high school students in Pump Up the Volume (1990).
It's probably a great deal more difficult to make a movie about podcasting, and so with her new film Talk to Me, director Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou, The Caveman's Valentine) returns to the past for the story of Ralph "Petey" Greene (Don Cheadle), an ex-con who became one of Washington DC's most recognizable personalities in the 1960s and all the way up to his death in 1984. Lemmons starts her movie with a bang, with Petey's signature line: "Wake up, Goddammit!" as Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) rolls out of bed, puts on his suit and makes an excursion to prison to visit his brother (Mike Epps). Lemmons intercuts Dewey's progress while Petey "raps" about imprisonment. Dewey may be free, but he's trapped, too.
He may not be a fan of the United States government, but Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is apparently a fan of American movie stars. The radical leader, along with the Venezuelan congress and the new government-funded studio Villa del Cine, brought inLethal Weapon star Danny Glover to direct his biopic on Toussaint Louverture, the Latin American icon who led the 1791 Haitian slave revolt, which kicked off the former French colony's revolution and subsequent independence. Glover actually announced the project at Cannes last year, but at that time he was planning to shoot in South Africa. Now that Chávez has become involved, Glover is receiving a budget of about $18 million, co-financed by Venezuela and Argentina, and the production has moved to Caracas. The film should be a monumental boost for Venezuelan cinema, which has finally been growing in notice thanks to 2005's Secuestro Express.
Glover was already a supporter of Chávez before this new arrangement and he seems excited about the opportunity. The actor and political activist feels the story of Toussaint, which is what his film will be titled, deserves to be seen by Americans. The Haitian revolution is a part of history the U.S. has been ignorant of for 200 years, mainly because at the time the Caribbean nation's independence frightened American politicians worried about similar action occurring with slaves in the States. Plenty of American viewers should be intrigued by the film, which boasts one of the most impressive casts of black actors I've ever seen: Don Cheadle, who will play the title character; Angela Bassett, who will play his wife; Chiwetel Ejiofor; Mos Def; Isaac De Bankolé; and according to the original report, though not listed on IMDb, Wesley Snipes.
When David Mamet is on, he is one of our finest writers. His script for Glengarry Glen Ross should be required reading for anyone aspiring to write for stage or screen. Mamet has put words in the mouths of some of the greatest actors in film history: Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, and now ... Tim Allen? It's true, Allen will star in Mamet's Redbelt. And it gets stranger -- the film is a "martial arts drama." I'm quite serious. Mamet wrote and will direct the film, which co-stars Children of Men'sChiwetel Ejiofor. Rounding out the cast are Emily "Brittle Bones" Mortimer, City of God'sAlice Braga, 300'sRodrigo Santoro, Crank'sJose Pablo Cantillo, and Mamet regulars Ricky Jay, David Paymer, Joe "Fat Tony" Mantegna and Rebecca "Mrs. Mamet" Pidgeon. If that cast isn't crowded enough for you, the film also stars "martial artists and fighters" Randy Couture, John Machado, Danny Inosanto, Enson Inoue, and Ray Mancini.
According to imdb, Redbelt is "the story of Mike Terry (Ejiofor), a Jiu-jitsu master who has avoided the prize fighting circuit, choosing to instead pursue a life of honor and education by operating a self-defense studio in Los Angeles. Terry's life is dramatically changed, however, when he is conned by a cabal of movie stars and promoters. In order to pay off his debts and regain his honor Terry must step into the ring for the first time in his life." Allen will play "a troubled action star with marital problems who meets the master when he is getting pummeled in a street fight." I'm sorry, doesn't this sound like something Jean-Claude Van Damme and Gary Busey would have starred in back in 1988? And, you know, I was just about to close this article with a line about how I'm not worried because you can usually trust Mamet to deliver the goods, but then I noticed his next project is something called Joan of Bark: The Dog that Saved France! If this is an Air Bud sequel, we'll know the guy has officially lost his mind.
I am quickly coming to the decision that Chiwetel Ejiofor can do anything. It all started when I watched him as the Nigerian Taxi-driving doctor Okwe in Dirty Pretty Things. Then there was his stint as Ellis Moonsong in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda. And even better yet, the creepy Operative in the Firefly spin-off Serenity. But before he could become predictable, he looked hot in his Kinky Boots, and then butched up perfectly for Children of Men. Now he's set to work with Oscar-nominated David Mamet.
Mamet also has his share of variety -- everything from The Postman Always Rings Twice to Joan of Bark: The Dog that Saved France. Now, according to Empire, he's taking on the world of Jiu-Jitsu with Ejiofor starring in Redbelt. Tell me if this sounds familiar: there's the seedy world of Jiu-Jitsu fighting in West L.A. A man who is sick of the sordid world has started his own self-defense class, trying to live the good life, when he gets conned. By whom? "A string of opportunist bastard movie stars and fight promoters" that lead him into the ring once again to save face. Empire is spot-on. It's like merging Rocky Balboa with Kurt Sloan, but with someone who could act the pants off of Sylvester Stallone or Jean-Claude Van Damme any day. I seriously cannot imagine something tastier than a premise that reflects the goofy machismo fighting of the '80's with great acting and writing. Maybe I can sneak on set and be Ejiofor's personal sweat-dabber.
If you had to choose the better year for Cillian Murphy, would you pick 2005 or 2006? In the earlier year, millions of viewers saw him in Batman Begins and Red Eye. In the later year, a few people saw him in Breakfast on Pluto(which was also seen by some in 2005) and the Cannes winner The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Okay, so I'm going by American audiences -- both were seen by a lot of people overseas. Still, 2005 was the year he seemed to shoot into stardom with higher profile roles. And he had already been widely seen a few years earlier in 28 Days Later.
Speaking of 28 Days Later, that film also featured Naomie Harris, who now co-stars with Murphy in the list of nominees for BAFTA's Orange Rising Star Award. The award debuted at last year's BAFTA Awards in order to recognize an actor or actress with great promise for the future in terms of acting talent and connection with audiences. The first winner was James McAvoy, who beat out breakthrough actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams (who was also in Red Eye), Michelle Williams and Gael García Bernal.
Most American audiences know Chiwetel from his small part in Love Actually; he played the groom to Keira Knightley's blinding ultra-white toothy smile. Americans who don't know him from that probably know him from playing the antagonist in Serenity, where he almost single-handedly managed to outshine Nathan Fillion and crew. He played the lead in last year's Sundance hit Kinky Boots, where he literally walked away with the entire film. If you haven't seen Kinky Boots, I can't recommend it enough, last year I found myself liking it despite the predictable storyline and the hit-you-over-the-head message. This guy has so much charisma that he should be marketing and selling what's left over.
Although classically trained as a Shakespearean actor in the UK, his first film role was in Spielberg's 1997 Amistad. Since then he's also been seen in Dirty Pretty Things, She Hate Me, Four Brothers and Melinda and Melinda. He had four major film roles in 2005, and so far this year he's been in both Inside Man and Children of Men, which isn't too shabby. He has four big projects lined up in 2007, including two that pair him with Don Cheadle, and he can be seen in HBO's Tsunami: The Aftermath on Sunday, December 10.
Chiwetel ("Chewie," to his friends and Han Solo) is one of those actors who can be difficult to describe. He really has a commanding screen presence, but he doesn't have the forced "I'm the star!" quality of someone like Russell Crowe. He's more quiet and imposing without chewing up the scenery. He's played both a a cross-dressing drag queen (is that redundant? Like, a drag queen who dresses like a man? I think I just confused myself) and an interstellar bounty hunter in equally convincing and different manners. It's hard to be the Scene Stealer when you're not someone who tries to completely fill the screen with your presence, like Alan Rickman and Parker Posey do pretty well, but Chiwetel (I know that sounds like I'm on a first-name basis with the guy, but it sounded better than typing Ejiofor over and over) pulls it off in every role he's been in so far. Here's hoping he'll keep his streak running.
Besides, when's the last time we've been rooting for someone named Chewie that wasn't covered in fur?
We've been telling you all year about the long, complicated history of American Gangster, a movie that, finally, is being brought to fruition by none other than Ridley Scott. Starring A-listers Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, the film -- a 1970s crime drama about heroin smugged in the coffins of American soldiers returning from Viet Nam -- is currently shooting in New York. Based on nonexistent press reports about the movie's cast, you would be forgiven for thinking the set consisted entirely of Scott, a ton of cameras and PAs, and the very lonely Denzel and Russell. Today, though, Universal has finally told the trades about the supporting actors in the thing, and there are a ton of them. According to this morning's Variety, Ted Levine ("Put the f*cking lotion in the basket!"), Chiwetel Ejiofor, Common, T.I. and RZA are all on board in various supporting roles. That's a couple of good actors and a whole lot of rappers right there, huh? Call me a sucker, but based on ATL, I am more than willing to buy T.I. as an actor. RZA (who composes incredible soundtracks) and Common, though, I've never seen on screen. Anyone?
At Cannes supporting Bamako, a film on which he served as executive producer, Danny Glover is also taking the opportunity to talk up other projects in which he's involved, a couple of which will probably get a fair amount of attention in the US. All produced by his Louverture Films, which currently is focusing on "global African experiences and people from the global south," the upcoming films address a wide range of subjects and themes.
Among the higher-profile projects, the first to go into production is likely to be Toussaint, a drama that will be Glover's directorial debut. The movie will tell the story of "18th century Haitian revolution hero Toussaint L'Ouverture," and features a cast that is a virtual who's who of African American Hollywood. According to Glover, names attached to the project include Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mos Def, though he didn't say who would play the title role. The film will shoot in South Africa ("as a commitment to supporting filmmaking there"), starting either late this year or early in 2007.
In addition, Glover will star in an untitled film about the relationship between Albert Einstein and Paul Robeson. Playing Einstein will be Ben Kingsley; both actors will also be producing the film. According to Glover, the men were not only friends, but also political allies: They "formed part of the campaign in 1948 which tried to persuade U.S. President Harry Truman to make lynching a federal crime," and subsequently were investigated by the FBI. Screenwriters for this project are currently being courted; there's no production timeline as of yet.
Since it stars our collective boyfriend Clive Owen, Cinematical would be excited about The
Children of Men pretty much no matter what we heard about it. But, given that Owen's costars include Michael Caine, Julianne
Moore, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and that the film is being directed
by Alfonso Cuarón, who also wrote the screenplay (based on the
P.D. James novel), it's sounding pretty good. Throw in a crazy, sci-fi
plot involving a future full of spermless men and a mysterious pregnancy, and you've got a movie that's got a chance to
kick a whole lot of ass no matter who's in it.
Sadly, since the film began shooting in September, updates
have been few and far between. Now, though, Universal has thrown us a bone with the first two official pics from the
movie - though there's nothing in them that's mindblowing, one does offer a tantalizing glimpse at the world in which
the film is set. Let's see: a weird, wooden structureand guys in casual clothes, hanging out with guns and wearing
masks? Yep, I'm still excited.
The movie, currently in post-production, is due for release in September.
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There has already been plenty of talk surrounding the casting of 
He may not be a fan of the United States government, but Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is apparently a fan of American movie stars. The radical leader, along with the Venezuelan congress and the new government-funded studio Villa del Cine, 
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SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
