Ang Lee’s adaptation of Ben Fountain’s BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK has quietly been amassing a nice little supporting cast, including Steve Martin, Kristen Stewart, and Garrett Hedlund. However, the undoubtedly-Oscar-baity drama has just received an injection of proven box-office appeal, via the stars of the FAST AND THE FURIOUS and RUSH HOUR franchises.
Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker have signed onto Tristar’s flick in undisclosed roles. This’ll be the first time these two megastar 90s breakouts will have ever appeared together, and the fact that it’s not for a buddy comedy or action movie of some sort is certainly something of a surprise.
Even though their parts will pale in screentime in comparison to lead Joe Alwyn's (as the titular football player/war vet), I’m excited by the prospect of seeing both of these guys in a serious-minded drama. Chris Tucker is notoriously picky about what roles he takes, having made only one appearance in a non-RUSH HOUR movie (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) since 1997. But, as prolific as he’s been over the past few years, Diesel hasn’t really done any serious “acting” since 2006’s underrated FIND ME GUILTY (also featuring The Dink). We forget that the guy made his bones on dramas like BOILER ROOM, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, and his self-directed STRAYS, before primarily being known for his growling, muscle-teed action persona. It’s great that he’s in the position to do both these days, and I can’t wait for him to turn in work that’ll shut up all those who like to pigeonhole him as a monosyllabic former bouncer.
So now we got Steve Martin, Chris Tucker, and Vin Diesel starring in an Ang Lee-directed football movie about the Iraq War. There are still some hours left in the day. Let’s see if you hear anything weirder.
BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK is getting ready for production, and should be released sometime next year.
