BlackTree TVThe Reel Thing: Semi-Pro
SEMI-PRO
In the early 1970s, there were two basketball leagues in America — while the NBA ruled the sport, the ABA was defined by its outlaw flair and sensational showmanship. In the comedy Semi-Pro, Will Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the one-hit singing sensation behind "Love Me Sexy," who relishes his role as owner, coach and power forward for the fictional Flint, Michigan Tropics of the ABA.
But when the NBA announces a plan to merge with the ABA and only take with them the four teams with the best records, disbanding the rest of the ABA squads forever, Moon, assisted by former NBA benchwarmer Monix (Woody Harrelson) and flamboyant Clarence "Downtown" Withers (André Benjamin), decides to rally his motley team for an unlikely eleventh-hour pursuit of acceptance and glory.
New Line Cinema presents a Mosaic Media Group Production — Semi-Pro. The film stars Will Ferrell, who leads an outstanding ensemble cast that also includes Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Will Arnett, Andy Richter, David Koechner and Rob Corddry, as well as DeRay Davis, Josh Braaten, Jay Phillips, Andrew Daly, Peter Cornell, Matt Walsh, Pat Kilbane and Academy Award®-nominee Jackie Earle Haley.
Woody Harrelson Interview
Woody Harrelson plays Monix, a former benchwarmer for the Boston Celtics who is acquired by the Flint Tropics in a trade for a washing machine. "I have a championship ring from my days on the Celtics, but I've been dropped down to the ABA and playing for the Kentucky Colonels," says Harrelson. "I get the golden opportunity to come to Flint, Michigan and play for the Tropics. That's my character's trajectory."
An accomplished actor in film, television and on the stage, Woody Harrelson has received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Nominations as Best Actor for his critically-acclaimed portrayal of controversial magazine publisher Larry Flynt in Milos Forman's drama, The People vs. Larry Flynt.
Harrelson will be seen in the 2008 films The Grand, an ensemble comedy for director Zak Penn, and Battle in Seattle, directed by Stuart Townsand, as well as Transsiberian, directed by Brad Anderson and co-starring Emily Mortimer and Kate Mara. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Harrelson can currently be seen in the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men, a film that has garnered much attention with multiple Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Past credits include: After the Sunset, Play It To The Bone, The Thin Red Line, The Hi-Lo County, ED TV, Wag The Dog, Welcome To Sarajevo, Kingpin, Natural Born Killers, Indecent Proposal, White Men Can't Jump, The Big White, A Scanner Darkly, North Country, The Prize Winner of Definance, Ohio and A Prairie Home Companion.
Harrelson first endeared himself to millions of viewers as a member of the ensemble cast of NBC's long-running hit comedy, "Cheers." For his work as the affable bartender Woody Boyd, he won an Emmy in 1988 and was nominated four additional times during his eight-year run on the show. In 1999, he gained another Emmy nomination when he reprised the role in a guest appearance on the spin-off series "Frasier." He later made a return to television with a recurring guest role on the hit NBC series, "Will and Grace."
Balancing his film and television work, in 1999 Harrelson revived a career long commitment to the theatre by directing his own play, "Furthest from the Sun" at the Theatre de la Juene Lune in Minneapolis. He followed next with the Roundabout's Broadway revival of the N. Richard Nash play "The Rainmaker" in 2000, Sam Sheperd's "The Late Henry Moss" in 2001, John Kolvenbach's "On An Average Day" opposite Kyle MacLachlan in London's West End in the fall of 2002, and in the summer of 2003 Harrelson directed the Toronto premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth" at the Berkeley Street Theatre. In the winter of 2005/2006 Harrelson returned to London's West End, starring in Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana" at the Lyric Theatre.
A committed environmentalist, Harrelson joined his activism with his film efforts in Ron Mann's "Go Further," a road documentary following Woody and friends on their bicycle journey down the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to Santa Barbara.
Along with being daddy to his three beautiful daughters, closest to his heart is www.voiceyourself.com, a website Harrelson co-created with his wife, Laura Louie, which promotes and inspires individual action to create global momentum towards simple organic living and to restore balance and harmony to our planet.
A BlackTree Media Production
- Produced By Jamaal Finkley
- Hostess: Ms. Brooke Christopher
Monday Night Conversation with André Benjamin
André Benjamin is best known for his work as half of the world-renowned, pioneering, Grammy Award-winning duo, OutKast. Their album "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" sold over ten million copies, propelled by Benjamin's number one single, "Hey Ya!" For their distinguished body of work spanning over a decade, OutKast has received multiple Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" in 2004.
Fueled by his artistic passion, Benjamin now has turned his attention to other creative outlets and is making an indelible mark on the film and television world, having recently starred in Universal Picture's Idlewild, a musical set in the prohibition-era South in which Benjamin stars and for which he co-created the story and co-wrote the soundtrack with his OutKast partner, Big Boi; the drama Four Brothers for director John Singleton, in which he received rave reviews for his portrayal of an adopted brother opposite Mark Wahlberg; and Be Cool the sequel to the smash hit comedy, Get Shorty and co-starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, and Cedric the Entertainer. Benjamin also lent his voice to the anime feature Whasango and Paramount Picture's live-action/CG feature, Charlotte's Web.
Benjamin will next be seen in the drama, Battle In Seattle, co-starring Charlize Theron and directed by Stuart Townsend.
Benjamin is also creator and executive producer of "Class of 3000," an animated series for the Cartoon Network which is entering its second season. He also provides the voice of the series' main character as well as composes the series' music.
André Benjamin is also an accomplished painter and clothing designer, further solidifying his role as a true multi-media artist and entrepreneur. Among his many accolades, Benjamin has been named the World's Best Dressed Man by Esquire Magazine and was named as one of Premiere Magazine's "New Power Players."
André Benjamin, a musician and actor who is half of the acclaimed, multi-platinum selling music duo Outkast and has appeared in films such as Four Brothers and Idlewild, plays Clarence Withers, the flamboyant "superstar" of the Tropics. "I guess he's the most athletic of them all," says Benjamin. "He has this natural ability from the neighborhood or from the playground style of playing. He likes to go for all the shots and doesn't like to pass the ball. He doesn't even run down the court to play defense."
Will Ferrell was impressed by Benjamin's contributions to the film. "For André to be thrust into a comedy like this and have to be the best player on the court, he's been amazing. He brings his whole charisma to the film. And he may be the most stylish person I will ever meet in my life!"
A BlackTree Media Production
- Produced By Jamaal Finkley
- Hostess: Ms. Brooke Christopher
