I have an unfortunate knee-jerk reaction to the title Soul Men. Almost against my will, my mind is flung back to that 1986 C. Thomas Howell atrocity Soul Man, in which rich white kid Howell tried to pass himself off as black man to secure a scholarship. (Excuse me while I try to calm down the tremors shaking through my body.)

Happily for everybody, Malcolm D. Lee's Soul Men bears no relation to that earlier film. Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac star as two feuding back-up singers who reunite for a tribute concert. Jessica Barnes detailed the plot and gave us a look at the first picture from the production a few months ago, a back stage shot with Isaac Hayes, who is playing himself. Cinematical has received the great-looking image above, showing the Soul Men in performance.

Reportedly, Jackson and Mac are doing their own singing and, even though they're playing back-up singers, I'm hoping we get to hear them solo -- or duet. Jackson was mighty impressive as a blues guitar player and singer in Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan, even if that movie is better remembered for Christina Ricci's naked display of her physical assets than Jackson's musical prowess. I can't remember Bernie Mac singing in any of his roles, but he's such a great stand-up presence that I can really see him excelling in this part.

Are you ready to watch Sam and Bernie as the new Soul Men when the film opens on November 14?

So am I the only one who thinks that in the first picture for the musical comedy Soul Men, Samuel L. Jackson looks a lot like good old Ordell Robbie? But I guess there are only so many different hairstyles and beards you can try before you start running into some repeats. The first picture for Malcolm D. Little's film has popped up on the official site of music legend and former 'Chef' Isaac Hayes. Hayes, who will appear in the film as himself, stars alongside Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sean Hayes (Will and Grace), and Sharon Leal.

Soul Men centers on two feuding back-up singers named Louis (Jackson) and Floyd (Mac). When their band splits, Louis and Floyd go there separate ways with varying degrees of success. More precisely, Louis robs banks and becomes a convict and Floyd becomes a laundromat baron and retires in style. When the leader of their former band dies, the two men put aside their bad blood and go on a road trip to the Apollo Theater to hold a tribute concert.

When I write up these casting bites, I can't help but wonder who might be tomorrow's next star... Maybe it will be one of these people, all courtesy of Variety:

• Garret Dillahunt seems to be on fire these days. He popped up with solid roles in two of last year's best films -- No Country for Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Topping that off, he's been the uber-creepy machine after John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Continuing his good actor fortune, he's going to star in the remake of Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left as Krug, the convict who tortures an innocent family. Production begins on that remake next month, in South Africa of all places.
  
• Really, it would be hard to improve on your first feature if its Mexican Werewolf in Texas, but Sara Erikson continues to try. After a lot of brief parts in shows from Boston Legal to Hannah Montana, the actress has nabbed a lead role in Soul Men, the Bernie Mac/Samuel L. Jackson music movie. She will play someone named Chastity, but there's no word on her role. Is she a singer? A hanger-on? A lover? Or, is she just chaste?
• Last, but certainly not least, Mousa Kraish, is continuing to build up his resume. He just wrapped You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and has had gigs in Munich, King of California, and Superbad. Now, he's signed on for the role of Yusef in 20th Century Fox's remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The remake of the sci-fi flick about alien visitors and giant robots already stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly.

When I first blogged about Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac hitting the road together in the new film Soul Men last September, I likened it to A Mighty Wind. Now they're getting one of the film's actors, some Hayes, and a bunch of musicians. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the kooky Jennifer Coolidge and Isaac Hayes have signed on, along with Sean Hayes (that Will & Grace dude, not an Isaac relative). Also joining the mix are musician John Legend, Affion Crockett (Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins), Adam Herschman (Walk Hard), Fatso Fasano (Weeds), and Jackie Long (The Comebacks).

So, Jackson and Mac are former bandmates who have to reunite when their third, who will be played by Legend, passes away. "The pair fight with each other all the way across the country when they're forced to take a road trip together for a reunion concert." Coolidge will play Mac's love interest, Isaac will play himself in what I imagine will be some sort of short stint or cameo, and the other Hayes will take on the typical "obnoxious manager" role. As for the rest, there's no word on who they're playing.

The comedy is currently filming in Shreveport, Memphis, and LA, and producers are hoping to release this in October. So, what say you? Are you ready for a little male Soul?

Those of you anxious to see Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac singing and dancing (without the aid of performance doubles) will be happy to know that Soul Men has not been affected by the strike. According to Variety, the musical road trip comedy is set to begin production January 21 with Undercover Brother director Malcolm D. Lee at the helm. Not to be confused with that beloved 1986 classic Soul Man starring C. Thomas Howell and Rae Dawn Chong, Soul MEN sounds more like a loose mix of The Blues Brothers and It Happened One Night (which one is Claudette Colbert, I wonder?). Written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone (Man of the House), the movie will follow two estranged backup singers who are reunited after 20 years to pay homage to their recently deceased band leader.

It's pretty cool right now to get traditionally non-singing actors to perform their own vocals in musicals. Of course, it's a bit more exciting to think about Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd than Jackson and Mac in Soul Men. Chances are, the most interesting thing about this movie will be the few moments we get to actually see the duo performing, while the rest of the road trip banter will be uninspired and tedious. Maybe it's just easy to be skeptical because of Jackson's last antagonistic team up, with Eugene Levy, or Mac's team up with any one (rather than any eleven, or twelve, or thirteen). Considering not even the Coen Brothers with George Clooney were able to salvage a movie scripted by Ramsey and stone, there simply can't be much hope for Lee, Jackson and Mac.

Imagine musical reunification from the likes of A Mighty Wind, add in some traveling entertainment, perhaps like the upcoming Walk Hard, and top it off with a little soul. What do you get? Soul Men. Variety has reported that, believe it or not, Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac have signed on to star in the musical comedy. Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone, who penned Intolerable Cruelty, wrote the feature, which is about two men who used to be backup soul singers who were part of a famous group. They haven't been in contact with each other for 20 years, but when the band leader dies, they agree to reunite and travel together for a tribute reunion tour.

That's right -- Jackson will be singing and dancing right along with Mac, and it looks like they're going to do it to songs from the Stax Records catalog (unless that will just be background music). This is probably the last thing that I ever thought the Pulp Fiction star would be involved with, especially since Mac's starring flicks don't work half as well as his ensemble stints (Guess Who -vs- the Ocean's series). Nevertheless, we'll soon see him belting out the tunes and being wacky with Mac. While I'd like to see Jackson singing on-stage, I'm not so sure about this whole plan. How about you? Are you ready for Sam and Bernie, the soul singers?