TWO FLICKS FEATURING ARTISTS OF COLOR IN FRONT AND BEHIND THE SCENES DEBUT THIS WEEKEND--ILLEGAL TENDER AND RESURRECTING THE CHAMPBELOW PIC: Rick Gonzalez and Wanda DeJesus star in "Illegal Tender" RIGHT: Smauel L. Jackson and Josh Harnett star in "Resurrecting the Champ" 
"Illegal Tender" director/writer and Franc and producer John Singleton. (Photo courtesy of Steven Williams)
For writer/director Lurie, attracting a strong cast was as important as the great story. The quality of actors who signed on are Academy Award® nominees, and several Emmy and Golden Globe winners. With that, Resurrecting the Champ was primed to go the distance to the big screen.
Lurie says, “I am truly delighted with every actor who came on board this film, but to have such a powerhouse as Sam Jackson in the title role, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I like to take an actor of his caliber – one who has such an iconic image – away from that image and plant him in a role that is unexpected. Since Sam usually portrays strong-willed, strong-bodied characters, I loved the notion of casting him as someone who is, as the Champ says, ‘down and almost halfway out.’ In fact, I can’t recall an actor transforming himself into a person of the streets like this in such a unique way since Dustin Hoffman literally embodied Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy.”
"Illegal Tender" director/writer and Franc and producer John Singleton. (Photo courtesy of Steven Williams)
ILLEGAL TENDER JOHN SINGLETON BRINGS A LATIN FLAVOR TO THE SCREEN
Two-time Academy Award®-nominated director and accomplished producer John Singleton (2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers, Hustle & Flow, Boy N The Hood) teams with writer/director Franc. Reyes to bring Illegal Tender, an ultra-contemporary action crime thriller with a Latin flavor, to the screen. Wanda De Jesús and Rick Gonzalez star as a mother and son who will stop at nothing to protect one another and those they love from a team of relentless assassins.
Universal Pictures will release Illegal Tender in theaters nationwide on August 24, 2007.
Two-time Academy Award®-nominated director and accomplished producer John Singleton (2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers, Hustle & Flow, Boy N The Hood) teams with writer/director Franc. Reyes to bring Illegal Tender, an ultra-contemporary action crime thriller with a Latin flavor, to the screen. Wanda De Jesús and Rick Gonzalez star as a mother and son who will stop at nothing to protect one another and those they love from a team of relentless assassins.
Illegal Tender tells the story of Latino college student Wilson Jr. (Gonzalez) and his courageous mother Millie De Leon (de Jesus) fleeing from the thugs that killed his father (Manny Perez). After years of uncertainty about the true meaning behind their life on the run, Wilson Jr. and his girlfriend, Ana, (Dania Ramirez) find themselves in life-threatening danger. Wilson Jr. returns to Puerto Rico to unveil the dark secrets from his family's past.
Singleton states, "It's exciting for me to bring Illegal Tender to the screen with talented writer and director Franc. Reyes. It is something we have both been anticipating this for several years and it's thrilling to see it come to fruition. Even though Latinos drive the national box office every weekend (up to 18% of the market by some estimates), the studios are not actively making cool commercial films for this huge audience. We have a great director telling a great story with a hot cast, plus plenty of cars, romance, adventure, action and music. Illegal Tender brings a full entertainment experience that Latinos and all young people will love."
SAMUEL L. JACKSON AND JOSH HARTNETT GIVES KNOCK-OUT PERFORMANCES
Hollywood heavyweight Samuel L. Jackson matches up with Josh Hartnett in the knock-out film Resurrecting the Champ. Academy Award nominated filmmaker Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Last Castle) creates a explosive drama about scandal, ethics in journalism, family and legacy.
Hollywood heavyweight Samuel L. Jackson matches up with Josh Hartnett in the knock-out film Resurrecting the Champ. Academy Award nominated filmmaker Rod Lurie (The Contender, The Last Castle) creates a explosive drama about scandal, ethics in journalism, family and legacy.
The film is scheduled for release nationwide from the Yari Film Group on August 24th.
In Resurrecting the Champ, Hartnett stars as Erik, an up-and-coming sports reporter who rescues a homeless man called "Champ," portrayed by Jackson. Erik discovers that Champ is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity for him to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success, becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
For writer/director Lurie, attracting a strong cast was as important as the great story. The quality of actors who signed on are Academy Award® nominees, and several Emmy and Golden Globe winners. With that, Resurrecting the Champ was primed to go the distance to the big screen.
Lurie says, “I am truly delighted with every actor who came on board this film, but to have such a powerhouse as Sam Jackson in the title role, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I like to take an actor of his caliber – one who has such an iconic image – away from that image and plant him in a role that is unexpected. Since Sam usually portrays strong-willed, strong-bodied characters, I loved the notion of casting him as someone who is, as the Champ says, ‘down and almost halfway out.’ In fact, I can’t recall an actor transforming himself into a person of the streets like this in such a unique way since Dustin Hoffman literally embodied Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy.”
Jackson, an Oscar®-nominee for Pulp Fiction, was eager to delve into such a fascinating character. “This guy is a fallen hero of sorts, a man who wants so much to be somebody else that he winds up being nobody,” observes Jackson. “I had to dig deep into parts of myself I didn’t particularly like going to in order to find the Champ, but it was a journey well worth taking.”
Info provided by http://www.rozstevensonpr.com/
Info provided by http://www.rozstevensonpr.com/
UPDATE: According to boxofficeguru.com, last week, three national releases dumped into the late-August abyss debuted outside of the top ten with weak results. Yari Film Group's well-reviewed boxing drama Resurrecting the Champ starring Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett opened with $1.7M from 1,605 theaters for a poor $1,034 average.
Universal's Latino crime drama Illegal Tender bowed to $1.4M from 512 sites for a mild $2,785 average.
The most miserable results came from the Jon Voight film September Dawn which grossed $901,857 from 857 playdates for an embarrassing $1,052 per-theater average for Slowhand Releasing.
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