Tag Archives: Fisher Stevens

Keanu Reeves & Fisher Stevens Co-Producing Documentary About Benny “The Jet” Urquidez

Posted on by
Reply

Benny “The Jet” Urquidez’s life story is getting the Hollywood treatment.

Keanu Reeves is partnering with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens to co-produce a documentary on the life story of the 71-year-old half Spanish/Mexican American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor, an iconic athlete who introduced mixed martial arts to the world.

Benny “The Jet” UrquidezTitled The Jet, the film is currently in production under the direction of Emmy-nominated sports documentary editor turned filmmaker Jennifer Tiexiera.

The film’s financiers are Chris Quintos Cathcart and Tyler Boehm of the newly formed Unapologetic Projects, a company dedicated to working with underrepresented creators.

Maura Anderson and Zak Kilberg of Stevens’ recently launched production company Highly Flammable will also serve as producers along with John Scalise and his FAYA Project.

Benny “The Jet” UrquidezNancy Weisler, Brian Maya and Chris Quintos Cathcart & Tyler Boehm of Unapologetic serve as executive producers on the project slated for release in 2025.

Nicknamed for his explosive spinning back kick, Sensei Benny “The Jet” Urquidez had a profound impact on martial arts in mainstream culture, as an actor, fight coordinator, and trainer to the stars.

Known for his exceptional skills in kickboxing and karate, he held six world titles in five weight divisions and remained undefeated over the course of his 20+ year kickboxing career.

In addition to his competitive achievements, Urquidez is renowned for his contributions to martial arts cinema, having appeared in numerous action films during the 1980s and 1990s.

Notable film credits include The Octagon, Road House and Grosse Pointe Blank. Over the years, he also trained and worked with the likes of Jackie Chan, Muhammed Ali, Elvis Presley, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Kidman, Kurt Russell, Patrick Swayze, Nicolas Cage, Michelle Pfeiffer, Duff McKagan and many others.

“Benny’s fighting career was born out of his struggles with identity, poverty, and race, but he didn’t let those things define him,” Tiexiera said. “The result is a story about how struggle and sacrifice evolved into one about love, spirituality and deeper meaning.”

Stated Reeves, “Benny is a true mentor, and has had such a profound yet underappreciated impact on both cinema and martial arts. I’m very excited to help share his story with the world.”

John Leguizamo to Take Part in The People’s State of the Union

Posted on by
Reply

John Leguizamo is heading to State…

The 53-year-old Colombian actor/comedian will take part in what’s being dubbed as The People’s State of the Union.

John Leguizamo

Taking place a day before U.S. President Donald Trump deliverers his State of the Union speech, Lequizamo will join celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, activists, and representatives from political organizations in New York City on Monday, January 29.

The goal? To unite against Trump’s agenda and spur voters to win back U.S. Congress in the mid-term elections.

“In essence, it’s a better reflection of our state of the union based on a more populist point of view, based on the people’s point of view,” Ruffalo told People of the event. “I think it’s important because we have a president who has a difficult time with the truth, who has a radical, divisive agenda, and spends an enormous amount of time focusing on the negative and hopelessness and despair.”

“We want to celebrate this moment that we’re in of what is now probably one of the most influential and powerful and really beautiful movements to come into play in the United States since the civil rights movement,” Ruffalo continued, going on to describe the event as “a celebration of the power and the beauty of this movement, but also of our accomplishments and to focus on what’s to come in the immediate future.”

Other participants will include Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Nixon, Michael Moore, Kathy Najimy, Wanda Sykes, Lee Daniels, Rosie Perez and Fisher Stevens, as well as Andra Day and Common, who will perform their song “Stand Up for Something” from the film Marshall.

To watch the speakers and hear the topics discussed, tune into the live-stream at peoplessotu.org.

Leguizamo’s One-Man Show “Ghetto Klown” to Become an HBO Special

Posted on by
1

John Leguizamo will be klowning around on HBO next spring…

The 49-year-old Colombian American comedian/actor will be bringing his Ghetto Klown to HBO.

John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown

The pay cable network will tape Leguizamo’s hit one-man show on November 16 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theatre for debut next spring.

Ghetto Klown, for which Leguizamo received a Drama Desk Award, is a semi-autobiographical show about his path to stardom based on his memoir Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends. 

Ghetto Klown, written by Leguizamo, will be directed by Fisher Stevens, who also directed the successful 2012 Broadway production and national tour.

It’s Leguizamo’s first HBO special in 11 years and the fifth one-man show to become a special on HBO.

His other shows include Mambo Mouth (1991); Spic-O-Rama (1993); Freak (1998), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award; and Sexaholic…A Love Story (2002).