From the hardwood to Hollywood, Elton Brand has everyone buzzin'
Elton Brand wants to talk.
The Los Angeles Clippers forward doesn't often do offseason interviews. But it's Tuesday, and the Peekskill High product is back in New York, lounging in the Regency Hotel, doing sit-down after sit-down with reporters.
The eight-year NBA veteran smiles.
"My publicist has been trying to get me to do this for years," he says.
Elton Brand's publicist once hoped he'd cruise the talk-show circuit. But Elton Brand isn't in midtown to dish on the Los Angeles Clippers' draft strategy, the secret of the pick-and-roll or the saga of Kobe Bryant and that other L.A. team.
Elton Brand wants to talk showbiz. He wants to discuss "Rescue Dawn," his new Vietnam War flick. The film, starring Christian Bale, opens in select theaters on Wednesday.
Before "Rescue Dawn" became a feature film, Elton Brand first saw it as the documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly." "They wanted to do a feature film," he says. "Werner Herzog was attached to the project - I did some research on him, and he's a great director. And they already had Christian Bale. ...
"I mean, we would be making a film with Batman."
Elton Brand talks film as easily as he talks foul shots. In the NBA, the former Duke star has carved a niche as a low-post threat. But away from the hardwood, Elton Brand is discovering a second career: filmmaking.
Three years ago, Elton Brand and nightclub mogul Steve Marlton started a film company, Gibraltar Entertainment.
"We were acquaintances from his road trips to Portland," Marlton says. "I approached him. I had made good contacts in the nightclub industry."
Playing in L.A., the workmanlike Elton Brand always felt a little Hollywood. He lives in Hollywood Hills, down the street from Paris Hilton. He regularly talks to Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, who executive-produced "Asylum" in 2005. In 2002, Elton Brand did a cameo on HBO's "Arli$$."
"When you're in L.A. for five, six years, you get a lot of opportunities," Elton Brand says. "I was intrigued by producing movies."
But Elton Brand doesn't want to merely cross into the entertainment industry. Davis, Shaquille O'Neal ("Steel" and "Kazaam!") and former Knick-killer Reggie Miller ("Beautiful Ohio") have all produced movies - to little acclaim. After flopping at the box office, Shaq has moved to reality TV.
"When people hear Elton Brand's name attached to something," Elton Brand says, "I want them to think of good work."
Elton Brand lists "Casablanca" and "A Clockwork Orange" among his favorite films. And the 6-8, 245-pound All-Star admits he "almost teared up" during "Little Miss Sunshine."
"I like good movies," he says. "I like movies that expand your thinking, take your mind to a different place."
"Rescue Dawn," Gibraltar's first major release, is set in pre-war Vietnam. Bale plays Dieter Dengler, a pilot who crashes in Laos on a top-secret mission. Dengler is captured, tortured and taken to a POW camp. But he escapes and wanders the jungle. The plot and setting scream "Rambo," but "Rescue Dawn" is more.
"It's not a bang-bang action movie," Elton Brand says. "It's a little artsy, more of a drama."
It is also Elton Brand's producing debut, and proof that his work ethic transfers to the silver screen. In August 2005, Elton Brand and wife Seneca flew to Thailand to oversee the filming of "Rescue Dawn" while Marlton cleaned up loose financing ends in California.
For two weeks, they stayed in military barracks and drove a van to various filming locations in the Thai jungle. Elton Brand balanced every aspect of production, from scheduling shooting times to selecting local extras to dealing with Herzog.
"Werner actually likes controversy," says Marlton. "In his last movie, five people died. Talk about jumping into the frying pan.
"But Elton is very gifted, a hard worker. I was comfortable with him in charge."
When Marlton arrived, taping was on schedule, and Elton Brand had picked up behind-the-scenes footage for eventual DVD bonus material. Despite wrestling with Herzog, clashing with Thai authorities and sinking more money into the film than they'd anticipated ($12 million, according to Elton Brand), the pair wrapped up filming before the 2005-2006 NBA season.
"It was a real baptism by fire for them," says Bale.
After slicing more than one-third of the two-hour film, Elton Brand and Marlton debuted "Rescue Dawn" to rave reviews, sellout crowds - and some Oscar buzz - at last September's Toronto Film Festival.
"I know he's said he'd like to win an NBA MVP more than an Oscar," Marlton says. "But, wouldn't it be crazy."
Of course, Elton Brand knows the NBA pays his bills. After bringing a Clipper trainer to Thailand, averaged a career-high 24.7 points per game in 2005-06. He executive-produced the upcoming horror flick, "There's Something Wrong in Kansas," but now, Elton Brand is taking a break.
But he will be back. The Oscar talk continues to linger. Plus, the job has perks.
"My wife actually saves Batman," Elton Brand says, his eyes lighting up. "Just don't blink, or you'll miss her."
Seneca, it turns out, makes a quick appearance near the end of the film. Elton Brand says he will never step in front of the camera, but Seneca was a natural. Not to mention, she's the producer's wife.
Suddenly, if only for a moment, Elton Brand's burgeoning film career is bigger than hoops.
"I'm the producer," Elton Brand says. "I'll get my friends in, family, whatever.
"It's what I do."
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