RZA to Direct Martial Arts Flick, 'Man With the Iron Fist'

Spurred on by the discovery of a small blurb in a Billboard magazine article, CHUD decided to track down Eli Roth and get the real scoop: Was RZA, founding member of Wu-Tang Clan and now a bit of a go-to guy for musical scores, going to direct a martial arts movie with Roth producing and his mentor Quentin Tarantino standing by for assistance? The short answer is yes. RZA will be behind the camera for The Man with the Iron Fist, based on his own original script. I spoke with RZA when he was promoting the Jet Li film Unleashed, which featured his contributions on the musical score, and I came away with the impression that his breadth of knowledge about martial arts is pretty substantial. Apparently, it's damn near encyclopedic, and he's been picking up pointers from Tarantino for years, according to CHUD, and that's gotta help. Roth is equally impressed with RZA and the project:

"RZA's script is amazing...His impact on rap music and hip hop culture cannot be measured, and he's ready to add his own unique style and  vision to the world of film. This movie will have everything martial arts fans could want, combined with RZA's superb musical talent. This project has been his dream for years, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. And fans should know that yes, there will be blood...This ain't no PG-13."

I only hope people don't immediately hate this idea just because Eli Roth's name is attached somewhere. Generally speaking, that's a good enough reason, but I'm more than willing to give RZA a shot. No matter what he's done, whether it's in music or in front of the camera in Coffee and Cigarettes (a bizarre scene with GZA and Bill Murray, of all combos), he's always put out interesting work. It's not always great, but it's distinctive all the same. Of course, I'm always anxious to see anything new and different in the world of martial arts film, so this one really has my attention already.

Comments

[Jen]

I haven't seen it in years but wasn't RZA a prominent behind-the-scenes part of Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai? Not exactly a by-the-numbers martial arts film at all especially when you involve Jarmusch but another interesting part of the training ground.

Ha ha, yes re: Coffee and Cigarettes-- my favorite clip was definitely Iggy Pop meeting Tom Waits and Iggy ("Just call me Jim"... "Okay, Iggy") coming off as the normal one!