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Eli Roth presents a mashup of martial arts and hip-hop in ‘The Man With the Iron Fists’

By Steven Zeitchik
Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Universal Pictures: Dave Bautista (left) and RZA in “The Man With the Iron Fists.”

On Friday, moviedom will see one of the stranger hybrids you can imagine: the only known cinema offering in history, and certainly the only martial-arts flick, ever to be directed by a rap-music pioneer, written and produced by a horror impresario and starring actor Russell Crowe.

  • A scene from “The Man With the Iron Fists.” A scene from “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Russell Crowe in “The Man With the Iron Firsts.” Russell Crowe in “The Man With the Iron Firsts.”
  • Dave Bautista in “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Dave Bautista in “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • RZA in “The Man With the Iron Fists.” RZA in “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Lucy Liu and Russell Crowe in “The Man With the Iron Firsts.” Lucy Liu and Russell Crowe in “The Man With the Iron Firsts.”
  • Byron Mann in “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Byron Mann in “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Cung Lein “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Cung Lein “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Cung Leand Lucy Liuin “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Cung Leand Lucy Liuin “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • RZA (left) on the set of “The Man With the Iron Fists.” RZA (left) on the set of “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Lucy Liuin “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Lucy Liuin “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Rick Yunein “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Rick Yunein “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • A scene from “The Man With the Iron Fists.” A scene from “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Russell Crowe in a scene from “The Man With the Iron Firsts.” Russell Crowe in a scene from “The Man With the Iron Firsts.”
  • Jamie Chungin “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Jamie Chungin “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • RZA in “The Man With the Iron Fists.” RZA in “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Russell Crowe (from left), RZAandEli Rothon the set of “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Russell Crowe (from left), RZAandEli Rothon the set of “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Jamie Chungin “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Jamie Chungin “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Cung Lein “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Cung Lein “The Man With the Iron Fists.”
  • Lucy Liuin “The Man With the Iron Fists.” Lucy Liuin “The Man With the Iron Fists.”

Did we mention it’s a martial-arts flick?

The film is “The Man With the Iron Fists,” and it tells a story of a Chinese feudal blacksmith who must defend his village from encroaching barbarians.

Wu-Tang Clan member RZA directed from a script by Eli Roth. It was shot in China, part of a wave of American entertainment heading to the Asian nation. Lucy Liu is in it, too. So is Pam Grier.

But lest it sound like the world’s largest genre/ego stew, Roth said there was a method to the mashup madness.

“We wanted to make a movie that showed our love for those old kung-fu movies, but we also wanted to make it modern, with hip-hop,” he said. “So, you know, a guy has magic blades, that kind of thing.”

The trailer offers a concrete example, to wit: “When you forge a weapon, you need three things: the right metal, temperatures over 1,400 degrees, and someone who wants to kill. Here in Jungle Village, we got all three.”

Directing offered a new challenge for the Staten Island, N.Y., Grammy winner RZA, who, as he began prepping the movie, told the Los Angeles Times that this presented a different hurdle from making music. “It’s 10 times the focus, 10 times the pressure of putting out an album,” he said. “Also 10 times the blame.”

At a point in the development process, Quentin Tarantino, whom Roth has worked with, agreed to present the film, something that wouldn’t have happened, Roth said, “if the writing hadn’t been up to a certain level.”

The “Hostel” helmer said that in crafting the “Fists” script, he paid particular attention to elements of human behavior. The desire came from years of watching the genre’s classic titles and finding them lacking in a certain regard.

“Kung-fu movies don’t care about character,” he said. “It drives me crazy. Why don’t they add more of those layers?”