{"id":351,"date":"2010-10-11T05:54:07","date_gmt":"2010-10-11T05:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/?p=351"},"modified":"2010-10-18T05:55:51","modified_gmt":"2010-10-18T05:55:51","slug":"will-%e2%80%98takers%e2%80%99-make-it-rain-for-black-film-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/?p=351","title":{"rendered":"Will \u2018Takers\u2019 Make it Rain for Black Film Company?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Will Packer talks about new movie and watching his dream come true<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
By Ricardo Hazell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/div>\n

*Once upon a time the role of an African American in films was less than desirable, but time has witnessed the evolution of the black actor\/actress, the black director and now it appears as though the black film production company is making its way to the head of the pack as well.
\nRainforest Films is no stranger to the game. Since Will Packer and Rob Hardy released \u201cTrois\u201d back in 2000 they\u2019ve been working hard to expand their brand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Will Packer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With \u201cTakers\u201d it seems as though they\u2019ve taken it to the next level.\u00a0 With an ensemble cast that features Idris Elba, T.I., Michael Ealy, Chris Brown, Matt Dillon, Zoe Saldana among others, \u201cTakers\u201d delivers on the excitement from the opening scene.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want to be spoilers, but it looks like an instant classic for this generation to us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the dream.\u00a0 To have a movie that people will consider a classic,\u201d co-producer Will Packer tells EURweb\u2019s Lee Bailey. \u201cI mean all you work for as a filmmaker is to put your product out there.\u00a0 Most filmmakers don\u2019t make a film just for themselves. You make it for other people.\u00a0 You make it to be received a certain way.\u00a0 Then you make it to make a bunch of money, you make it for the critics, most filmmakers try to do both.\u00a0 But you make so that it is received by a certain audience somewhere. So, to make a film that even has the possibility of being considered a classic?\u00a0 That would be the ultimate gratification. It would really be validation for all the hard work and effort that I\u2019ve put in. I\u2019ve been blessed enough to have some successful films, I am very proud of this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, in case you wondering what \u201cTakers\u201d is all about, here\u2019s a synopsis:<\/p>\n

\u201cTakers\u201d takes you into the world of a notorious group of criminals who continue to baffle police by pulling off perfectly executed bank robberies. They are in and out like clockwork, leaving no evidence behind and laying low between heists. But when they attempt to pull off one last job with more money at stake than ever before, the crew may find their plans interrupted by a hardened detective who is hell-bent on solving the case. <\/em><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A scene from ‘Takers’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Again, as much as we want to blurt it all out, we don\u2019t want to be a spoiler.\u00a0 But we just have to say T.I. did his thing. He truly became the character.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a testament to him,\u201d said Packer. \u201cThat\u2019s a testament to the job he did with the portrayal of that character. He did an excellent job.\u00a0 With that character of Ghost we needed somebody that was charismatic, likeable, but had edge. A lot of edge and swagger and that\u2019s him, T.I., naturally.\u00a0 If we had cast that differently it wouldn\u2019t have quite been the same. A lot of people come in with expectations for he and Chris Brown in this film and they exceeded them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chris Brown and T.I. in ‘Takers’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

EURweb.com has been covering Rainforest Films from day one. We showed \u201cTrois\u201d and its cast a tremendous amount of love 10 years ago.\u00a0 We\u2019re not certain whether anyone remembers but there weren\u2019t many films that were written, produced, directed and starring African Americans, so covering it was our pleasure.\u00a0 We\u2019ve witnessed Packer take it to the next level with \u201cStomp the Yard,\u201d \u201cThis Christmas,\u201d \u201cObsessed\u201d and now \u201cTakers\u201d is turning heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is huge for myself and for Rainforest Films,\u201d Packer humbly admitted.\u00a0 \u201cWe started off as a small production company.\u00a0 Two kids with a dream at Florida A&M University.\u00a0 We want to take this as a stepping stone to other things.\u00a0 The reality of it is I want to take this film and do bigger budget films, other genres: sci-fi, horror, comedy, comic book hero.\u00a0 I want to do it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chris Brown and Michael play brothers in ‘Takers’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And we suspect that it won\u2019t be long before Rob Hardy and Will Packer have their hands in those genres. In the mean time Packer tells us about his upcoming projects that are being released and those in development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next one to be released is \u201cStomp the Yard: Homecoming\u201d, that\u2019s about to be released soon. I am also in development on a couple of projects.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got this adaptation of the Steve Harvey bestseller \u201cAct like a Man, Think like a Woman.\u201d I\u2019m also working on the biopic of Kemba Smith, a story that\u2019s near and dear to me.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s the true story of a woman that was sentenced to over 24 years in prison because she was dating somebody who was on the FBI\u2019s Ten Most Wanted List.\u00a0 Bill Clinton pardoned her before he left office.\u00a0 Then some other really cool projects that I\u2019m looking to line up.\u00a0 We\u2019re not going to stop, that\u2019s for sure.\u00a0\u00a0 I only want to go up from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Paul Walker, Idris Elba and Hayden Christensen star in ‘Takers’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s great to see that he is mixing in projects like the Kemba Smith story, one that is sure to cause an intense emotional reaction in the viewer.\u00a0 Being wrongfully accused is something almost anyone can relate to.\u00a0 Meanwhile Rainforest Films is ready to bask in the glow of yet another quality offering.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am excited about \u201cTakers\u201d because it is an opportunity for me to show a diverse cast and to show them in the type of film that you do not traditionally see in Hollywood fare and if there\u2019s anything that I want people to take away from this is that this is another Will Packer film that didn\u2019t waste a hour and a half of my life. It\u2019s entertaining, it\u2019s fun, it\u2019s a thrill ride, it\u2019s smart and I hope audiences will see it and enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics are showering the film with accolades and we\u2019re thrilled to give \u201cTakers\u201d a big thumbs up.\u00a0 Watching a dream develop into reality is a sight to see.\u00a0 What a difference 10 years makes!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will Packer talks about new movie and watching his dream come true By Ricardo Hazell *Once upon a time the role of an African American in films was less than desirable, but time has witnessed the evolution of the black actor\/actress, the black director and now it appears as though the black film production company […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=351"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":360,"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351\/revisions\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevindkinsey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}