life is hot in cracktown Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from Life is Hot in Cracktown, which looks to be a pretty intense ensemble drama about a group of people trying to survive on the drug-infested inner-city streets. Based on Buddy Giovinazzo's novel (he also wrote and directed the film), Life is Hot in Cracktown sports an impressive cast that includes Kerry Washington, Brandon Routh, Victor Rasuk, Lara Flynn Boyle, Evan Ross, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Ileana Douglas, RZA ... and I can keep going.

In the clip below (which may be a smidge NSFW for partial nudity), we meet Marybeth (Kerry Washington), a pre-op transsexual working as a prostitute who lives with her lover Benny (Desmond Harrington), a small time burglar. Aside from following this not-so-ordinary couple while they do their best to live an ordinary life, we also infiltrate the lives of a number of other characters -- from a welfare hotel worker to a street tough to a homeless family -- as they struggle to stay afloat in Cracktown.

Life is Hot in Cracktown hits theaters on June 26.

Tooling around online, Cinematical came across an interesting bit of casting news -- the kind that leads you to do a double take. Superman himself, Brandon Routh, has signed on for a role in Buddy Giovinazzo's Life is Hot in Cracktown; a film that has already lined up ten thesps to play an assortment of characters whose lives intertwine in a crack-infested community. Heck, Lara Flynn Boyle is playing a crack whore! Does it get any better than that? Of course, this raises the all-too-important question of the day: Will Superman put down the car and, instead, pick up a crack pipe?

The news of his casting has conveniently slipped past IMDb, and I haven't noticed it in any of the trades. However, it's listed as one of Routh's upcoming films on his website, and I was able to track down the following quote from Routh on a message board: "I'm currently filming a small role in Life is Hot in Cracktown, based on Buddy Giovinazzo's novel by the same name. This role allowed me the opportunity to stretch and play against type, while not carrying an entire film on my shoulders as such an extreme character." Since everyone in the film is either playing a prostitute, a drug dealer or your friendly alcoholic wife-beating neighbor, I think it's pretty safe to say Routh will not be flying in to save the day -- as in, he won't be playing Crackman or anything like that. I just wonder why we haven't heard anything about this? Could it be that folks are afraid this character could somehow taint Routh's image as the Man of Steel?

Six more have signed on to star in some hot roles for Buddy Giovinazzo's Life is Hot in Cracktown. Based on Giovinazzo's own book of short stories, pic will show how the lives of several people intertwine within a crack-infested community. Lara Flynn Boyle, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon, Tony Plana and Vondie Curtis-Hall have joined Victor Rasuk, Evan Ross, Michael Rapaport, Ileana Douglas and Kerry Washington in the pic, which was written and will be directed by Giovinazzo. Back when we first reported on this film, there weren't many plot details or character descriptions available.

However, the Hollywood Reporter now shares with us a whole mess of crack-related coolness -- like, how Lara Flynn Boyle will play a "cruel whore," Mark Webber will give us his take on a transvestite prostitute and Kerry Washington (who already played a prostitute in her last film, The Dead Girl) gets to go all transgender on us. Oh, but there's more to life in Cracktown; Rasuk's character is in charge of running the drug-infested tenement building, while his wife (Sossamon) cares for their sick child. Also, Plana plays an alcoholic and Edoardo Ballerini will give us his best abusive boyfriend routine. Fear not residents of Cracktown, the cops are also on the case: Nicholas (best known from his days wooing Tara Reid in American Pie) will play the rookie, and Curtis-Hall takes on the role of tough veteran. No word on who Evan Ross (son of Diana Ross) will play; all we're currently missing is a hard-edged drug pusher to wrap this feel-good story up nicely.

Intertwining stories set in urban jungles are hot these days; Crash and Traffic both thrived on the big screen, and now Buddy Giovinazzo is adapting his own collection of short stories, Life is Hot in Cracktown. Evan Ross, Michael Rapaport, Kerry Washington and Victor Rasuk have signed on to star in the pic, which follows the lives of several people living in a crack-infested neighborhood. But will it feel fresh? Young drug dealers, distraught parents, kids getting killed on the streets -- it's all been done before. Here's hoping the talented cast helps to ignite a flame that lasts throughout.

In fact, the storyline isn't too much of a stretch for the four; Washington recently starred as a prostitute/addict in The Dead Girl; Rapaport has dabbled in a slew of urban dramas; Rasuk first crashed onto the scene in the little indie drama Raising Victor Vargas; and Ross -- son of Diana Ross -- broke through with ATL and has also signed on to another drug-related flick, Brooklyn to Manhattan. And speaking of Ross (who stars in the upcoming Pride), he's been wrapped up in a bit of controversy as of late after the MPAA banned a poster for Pride that featured Ross in a pair of "tight-fitting" swimming trunks. Perhaps the best response came from the Lionsgate spokesperson: "Apparently the MPAA accused us of enlarging his bulge. He's just naturally well-endowed. That's the long and short of it." Shouldn't we all be so lucky ...