) is along for the trip as co-producer/co-writer/advisor/scary dude. The Rza is starring, his first real leading role, as a blacksmith who forges weapons for a small town in feudal China. They eventually get attacked and are forced to defend themselves. I'm sure there's a ancient, sacred text involved somewhere. There's always a sacred text in these old martial arts flicks. Last I had heard, there was a rumor that Russell Crowe was coming on board as well, but that's still yet to be confirmed. Crowe and Rza recently worked together in American Gangster
, and I guess they shared a love of old kung fu flicks and UTFO or something. Rza somehow managed to secure $20M of funding from Universal to produce the film, which I think is roughly $20M more than anything the Rza's ever directed before. I've seen enough clips of Rza's Wu-Tang vs. the Golden Phoenix to know that he can certainly present the feel for those old movies exactly right, but he's clearly very green as a filmmaker. So it's a good thing that Roth is on hand to assist. Regardless of Crowe's involvement, I'm very excited to see how this one turns out. It's the Rza. It's kung fu. It's crazy high-wire fights. How could I not love it already?
