BlackTree TVThe Reel Thing: Never Back Down
Djimon Hounsou
Monday Night Conversation with BlackTree TV's own Nan Khan as she sits down to talk with Never Back Down star Djimon Hounsou. In this candid conversation, she discusses, the new movie, Never Back Down, the importance of training, and Congress investigating steroid use of popular athletes like Roger Clemons, and Barry Bonds. Sit down and enjoy this 'Monday Night Conversation'.
A BlackTree Media Production
- Produced By Jamaal Finkley
- Hosted by Ms. Nan Khan
NEVER BACK DOWN Hollywood Premiere
The world premiere of NEVER BACK DOWN with director Jeff Wadlow joined by cast Djimon Hounsou, Sean Faris, Amber Heard and Cam Gigandet. Other celebrity guests include Tito Ortiz, Jenna Jamison, Michael Jai White, Kimora Lee Simmons and many more.
Set against the action-packed world of Mixed Martial Arts, NEVER BACK DOWN is the story of Jake Tyler, a tough kid who leads with his fists, and, often, with his heart. Jake Tyler, played by Sean Faris (Yours, Mine and Ours), is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He has recently moved to Orlando, Florida with his family who has relocated to support his younger brother's shot at a professional tennis career. Jake was a star athlete on the football team at home, but in this new city he is an outsider with a reputation for being a quick tempered brawler.
Summit Entertainment released NEVER BACK DOWN on Friday, March 14th, 2008.
This film is rated "PG-13" by the MPAA.
A BlackTree Media Production
- Produced by Jamaal Finkley
- Co-Produced by Earl Crowe
- Personality: Melanie Nolen
NEVER BACK DOWN
Set against the action-packed world of mixed martial arts, Never Back Down is the story of Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), a tough kid with a big heart, who has to learn that in life, everyone has their fight.
Orlando, Florida may as well be the moon for Iowa-native Jake with its ten-million dollar mansions set ten feet apart. The privileged teenagers of this American Dream on steroids want for nothing; they zoom around upscale neighborhoods in expensive cars, wearing bikinis and flip-flops, affecting the jaded ennui of kids with too much, too soon. Life is one big party for them.
Jake was a star athlete on the football team back home, but in this new city he is an outsider. Considered "the new kid" with his taciturn attitude and lumberjack attire, Jake's not winning friends anytime soon, and that's OK with him. Quiet and withdrawn, he's silently suffering from the recent loss of his father. It's not long, however, before Jake's troubled past re-emerges when a clip of a spectacular football-field fist fight from Iowa is forwarded around his new school.
Making an attempt to fit in and at the invitation of a flirtatious classmate, Baja, played by Amber Heard (Hidden Palms, Alpha Dog), Jake goes to a party where he is unwittingly pulled into a fight with a bully named Ryan McCarthy, played by Cam Gigandet (The O.C., Who's Your Caddy). While he is defeated and humiliated in the fight, a classmate introduces himself to Jake and tells him about the sport known as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). He sees a star in Jake and asks that he meet with his mentor, Jean Roqua, played by Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, In America).
It is immediately apparent to Jake that MMA is not street fighting, but rather an art form he wants to master. Roqua will take Jake under his wing, but it is up to Jake to find the patience, discipline, willingness and reason within him to succeed. For Jake, there is much more at stake than mere victory. His decision will not just settle a score; it will define who he is.
Summit Entertainment's Never Back Down stars Sean Faris, Djimon Hounsou, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet and Evan Peters. The action drama is directed by Jeff Wadlow from a script by Chris Hauty. The producers are Craig Baumgarten and David Zelon with Bill Bannerman serving as co-producer. Lukas Ettlin is the director of photography. Academy Award® nominee Ida Random is the production designer. Judy Ruskin Howell is the costume designer, and Victor Du Bois and Debra Weinfeld are the film editors.
