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David Mamet To Make Ultimate Fighting Movie
It is about time. It looks like David Mamet is going to craft a film on the subject of Mixed Martial Arts combat. We get the following news about the project from monsters and critics:
Independent filmmaker David Mamet has unveiled ‘Redbelt,’ a film about ultimate fighting, at the Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.
Mamet said he was introduced to the sport by Mordecai Finley, his rabbi and a longtime jujitsu practitioner who has a bit part in the film as one of the under-card fighters, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
‘In a lot of ways, it`s an American samurai film. I think it`s a script Kurosawa would`ve liked.’
In high school a friend of mine kept bugging me to watch this video of guys fighting in a cage. Eventually I went over to his house and we watched UFC 1. By the end of the tape I was screaming at the tv and I could not believe that the slender and unassuming Royce Grace ripped through a gauntlet of fighters to become champion. Needless to say, I was hooked.
Soon after we began watching the UFC live at bars, or on Pay Per View. We also began kicking the hell out of each other. We would wrestle at school, in the park, at our houses, in churches wherever we could wrestle we were wrestling. We wanted to choke each other out and/or secure an arm bar till the other person tapped.
Fast forward 10 + years and UFC is right where I expected it to be. It is the fighting sport of our generation and I am glad that films are starting to be made about this style of fighting. It is pretty much watered down pit fighting, and we already know that pit fighters make for excellent movie characters.
It sounds like Mamet is a fan of MMA and I find it hilarious that his Warrior-Rabbi got him interested in the sport. It was classy to give the rabbi a bit role in the movie as a nod of respect. Red Belt is also a macho name and we will have to be patient and wait for this tale of modern day gladiators.
There is already the “great” No Rules http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446010/ starring Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, Don Frye, Gary Busey and Tom Sizemore. About a small town mixed martial artist who tries to make it big.
SHAZAM! I will have to hook that up!
Sweet news. UFC is great. Cant wait for UFC 73 :D.
I really loved Mamet’s films, especially the underrated ‘Spartan’ with Val Kilmer and Kristen Bell.
I could see Mamet cronies Ricky Jay or Joe Mantegea be promoters! I just hope Mamet casts Johnny Messener (who had a bit part in Spartan) in this UFC type film. But even more interesting? Some guy performing a Kimura while yelling out…
” You see pal, that’s who I am, and you’re nothing. Nice guy? I don’t give a sh**. Good father? F*** you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here - close! You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you c**ksucker? You can’t take this, how can you take the abuse you get on a sit? You don’t like it, leave!”
(From Glengary Glenn Ross, of course)
This is going to be an interesting movie as Mamet is known for making intellectual films, but Redbelt is a movie about what many in mainstream America view as a bunch of animals fighting in a cage.
Mamet trains jiu jitsu at Street Sports in Santa Monica, CA and we’ve been documenting some of the behind the scenes here:
streetsportsbjj.blogspot.com
Johnny Messner could never, I repeat NEVER play a role in which he shows his body from the waiste down. Ever wonder why we have never seen him without something covering his legs? Because they are mis-shapen, sorry they are. As a former pro athlete (fighter) I would not except someone with such a physical deformity to act as if he could ever become a pro athlete. Johnny Messner has the worst case of inverted chicken legs I have ever seen, I am suprised he can even walk without falling down. So for all you casting directors out there make him take off his pants and get a look at those drum sticks, from a short distance, that pass for legs. His acting obviously sucks but please this clown should be in a freak show not a pro ring, even make believe, well cause’ it is just to unbelieveable.
J Messner is cute, and I did look for a pict with the legs, there are nada’.
This guy smakes ten packs of smokes a day, and with wack ass legs, please say no. How bout casting some real fighters, alot need work these days, and can act as well as chicken legs, face it, the guy is nothing special in the acting department, look to some fighters, they have families to support, Messner just his crap ass ego, said my piece.
I met him, he really is a fake assclown. One expects it form Hollywood types but man o man what a complete fake backstabbing looser, and he is a bad actor, really really really bad, horrible!