Los Angeles Clippers forward's first venture as a film producer, "Rescue Dawn" received good reviews -- better, certainly, than those the team got while missing the playoffs last season.
The Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand is an eight-year NBA veteran, but he's a rookie at his side job as movie producer. That's why Elton Brand was so anxious before the July 4 Los Angeles premiere of the movie "Rescue Dawn," the flagship project for Elton Brand's Gibraltar Entertainment that he co-produced with Steve Marlton and Harry Knapp.
The film, which opened nationwide July 13 and has received generally good reviews, is based on the true story of Navy Lt. Dieter Dengler (portrayed by Christian Bale), who was shot down over Laos in 1966 during a top-secret mission.
In a recent interview, Elton Brand talked about his new job, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Clippers, who look to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season.
Question: "Rescue Dawn" is based on German director Werner Herzog's 1997 documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly." What made you decide on this movie to be the first that Gibraltar Entertainment produced?
Answer: I just fell in love with the documentary. I knew that I wanted the movie, but I wasn't sure that they would let a newbie production company be a part of that.. But in the end, that may have been the reason why we got to do the film. Werner is someone who wants his vision told and he's friends with Dieter.. It also helped that the movie already had Christian Bale attached to play Dieter. It feels good to have your first movie out the gate be taken seriously in the film world.
Q: Did it surprise you how long it took to complete the movie?
A: It really did. I knew about the glamour part. How a movie is made; how it is released and then how it goes to DVD. I had to learn everything firsthand. Creating a budget and sticking to it. Finding places to shoot, getting distribution and many other things that were very tedious.. The whole process took two solid years to complete.
Q: When you started out as a movie producer, Gibraltar Entertainment received negative press regarding lawsuits you were involved in. Did that have an effect on the movie?
A: No, not at all. That's why I have so much sense of accomplishment and a feeling of pride in "Rescue Dawn." I can't help but think back to an article that ran during the [2006] playoffs in the L.A. Times that questioned what I was doing. Like I wasn't doing a positive movie. The article seemed to make me look as if I was taken advantage of.. Now that it's a good movie and the critics like it, I definitely feel some satisfaction.
Q: What gets you more excited, the opening night of one of your movies or the opening game of the NBA season?
A: For sure, it's the opening game of the NBA season. Even when I was on location with the movie shooting in Thailand, I had a team trainer, Johan Wang, working with me.. It's funny that some people thought I shot the movie last year, which they pointed to as a reason why I struggled at times last season. But that's not true. I shot the movie two summers ago and then came back and had my best season [a career-high 24.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in 2005-06]. Basketball is first with me.Q: What's the biggest difference in being an NBA player and movie producer?
A: It's funny, but you still have people after you for something. There's a whole new fan following as a movie producer. You have people who proposition you all of the time. They have scripts, movie ideas and things like that. You get a lot more mail. As a basketball player, I'm pretty used to the demand, but this is much different.
Q: Is your goal to turn Gibraltar Entertainment into a major force in Hollywood?
A: If the right project comes along, cool. But right now, I'm not trying to do three movies a year. I'm concentrating on basketball.
Q: The NBA off-season has been filled with stories regarding the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant. Have you followed the nearly daily drama?,/p>
A: I can't help but follow it. People ask me all the time about the Los Angeles Lakers. But the way I see it, they are a team that made the playoffs. They are competition to us and where I come from, you want to wish the worst on all your competitors.
I haven't seen the video of Kobe Bryant bashing the organization, but I've heard about it. Kobe Bryant has to handle the situation the way he feels that he needs to. He's an NBA veteran who knows what he's doing.
Q: Were you fatigued at the end of last season?
A: It's funny that people said that I was worn down.. But I averaged a higher shooting percentage. I had less shots because I had less touches as teams began to defend me different with double-teams and stuff. I don't think I was worn down, especially when I shot at a higher rate. It wasn't like I shot 34% from the floor. To average 21 and nine and still have people claim that I wore down is disappointing. But I just use that as fuel. As motivation for this upcoming season.
Q: The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the NBA's most disappointing teams, failing to qualify for the playoffs after reaching the second round in 2006. What happened?
A: To miss the playoffs by one half-game was very difficult for everyone. A lot of it falls on me as a leader and it falls on Sam Cassell as a leader. We have to pay closer attention to detail. We can't let up.
Q: Did the rocky relationship between Coach Mike Dunleavy and swingman Corey Maggette have an impact last season?
A: I don't think that it had an effect on the team because Corey Maggette was so professional. He came off the bench and never griped. He went at it hard every game and never tried to divide the team. We'll have to see how things go between them this season.
Q: You have an option in your contract that could make you a free agent after the 2007-08 season. Do you plan to sign an extension with the Los Angeles Clippers soon?
A: I'm not going to be like Gilbert Arenas and say that I'm definitely going to opt out. But of course, I am concerned about the direction of the team and how we're going to play this out. I definitely want to win some ballgames and we have enough talent to win now.
But really, I'm not looking at it in any way other than to let this play its course. There's no time frame. I just turned 28, and I feel that I have time to get my rings. There's no pressure or stress on me. No one ever promised me that I would get rings here. They only promised to get the best product they could. It's hard to win it all. There are plenty of teams that never won.
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