Redbelt will be a Jiu-Jitsu fight movie

Friday, April 13, 2007

Oh man! This will be great! I’m a pretty big fan of the UFC and of the Spike television show The Ultimate Fighter and I can honestly say I was just recently thinking they should make a movie using octagon style mixed martial arts.

It’s funny because after watching one of The Ultimate Fighter marathons, I actually gain some serious respect for Tito Ortiz. He’s not just a trash talking bragger he come across as on television. He was a heck of a coach and really…a good guy.

Sony Pictures Classics is back in business with David Mamet, who will direct his original screenplay “Redbelt,” which is set in the Jiu-Jitsu fight world of West Los Angeles.

SPC will fully finance and globally distribute the $10 million actioner, which marks a return to the indie film world — as well as the theme of con games — for Mamet, who has lately been shepherding his CBS series “The Unit.”

Set to start production in May in L.A., “Redbelt” is an American samurai film set in an underworld inhabited by bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and special forces operatives.

“Redbelt” stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a Jiu-Jitsu master who has eschewed prizefighting tooperate a self-defense studio. When he is conned by a cabal of movie stars and fight promoters, he must enter the ring to fightin order to regain his honor.

Variety

Mamet also does The Unit, which is one show I can’t ever miss. It also stars his wife, actress Rebecca Pidgeon as Charlotte Ryan.

Anyway, look for more on Redbelt in the future.

Share, Promote and Bookmark to: