RZA is getting ready to drop some mad knowledge on the film world. Universal will be backing his directorial debut “The Man With The Iron Fists” which the Wu-Tang Clan member will direct himself based on a script co-written by himself and Eli Roth.
The film, which as been in the works now for a couple of years is, according to Roth, RZA’s “reinventing the Kung Fu movie genre.” RZA tried to describe the project late last year and frankly, we didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about:
“I don’t think I want to really describe [the premise], I think I just want to say that we’re striving to do what I did in hip-hop for film. It’s striving to bring the originality and excitement that I brought to hip-hop to the silver screen. I don’t want to give the movie away. You know, it’s action, it’s a certain genre, but I think I’ve got a certain twist of originality and a certain way of filming, a certain way of seeing scenes, that only a few people in Hollywood see. And definitely only a few people of my generation see. So I don’t know if that gives you any information or not.”
Thankfully, a few more details have emerged and the film will find RZA playing “the title character, a blacksmith who forges weapons for the inhabitants of a village in feudal China. They are forced to defend themselves, and before you know it, everybody is kung fu fighting.” It’s not like these kinds of movies need much in the way of plot anyway.
Well, whatever it is, RZA has been working hard with Roth, who adds “RZA went to China to shoot test footage on his own, with all the choreography. It was very visual and I think he will bring to life a script that mixes kung fu with a spaghetti Western mindset and a hip hop influence. RZA has imagined every tribe, every fighting style, every costume. He knows kung fu like I know horror.”
RZA, who will also be composing the film’s soundtrack, will begin production this September in Hong Kong and has been given a $20 million budget to work with.
–Written by Kevin Jagernauth