Published: September 7, 2005
SAMUEL L. JACKSON AND EUGENE LEVY STAR IN A HILARIOUS COMEDY, THE MAN, OPENING SEPTEMBER 9TH
Samuel Jackson &
Eugene Levy in "The Man"
In The Man all eyes turn toward, Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Vann a hardcore undercover federal agent. When another agent turns up dead on the mean streets of Detroit, it’s learned that the agent was “on the take” in a multi-million dollar arms heist. Vann is given 24 hours to recover the stolen arms and find the cop killers. However, he’s about to stumble upon an unlikely ally…
Enter Andy Fiddler (Eugene Levy), an affable, optimistic dental supply salesman in town for a two-day convention. When the bad guys mistake Andy to be the buyer in a stolen arms deal, Vann is forced to utilize the talkative salesman as "the face" of his sting operation. With the clock ticking, this unlikely duo speed through the streets of Detroit in an intense and hilarious adventure that uncovers much more than they could have ever anticipated.
Jackson describes Vann as a man who’s “more of a cop than a husband and father. He’s probably more of a loner than a partner. Even though he seems to not really care about what happened to his partner, you find out he does.”
In his efforts to locate the large stash of guns stolen from an ATF vault and find his partner’s killer, Vann resorts to drastic measures – particularly in his relationship with Andy, which starts as an adversarial one, but eventually evolves to include a level of respect for each other. The change is most evident in Vann.
Although Andy and Vann seemingly possess nothing in common, both are fathers of young daughters. “On a character level, it’s finally the only way that Andy has anything to talk about with Vann,” says Les Mayfield. “Andy’s a much better father, and that’s what Vann begins to recognize, that there’s something I can learn from this guy. Because under his hard persona, Agent Vann wants to be a good father.”
“Andy helps me understand that Vann has an empty space that’s not being filled,” says Jackson. “The interaction that he forces Vann to have with his daughter humanizes Andy in another kind of way for Vann, because he realizes this is a man who has a family, who’s still connected to it. He’s not just a tool to be used in this plan he has to catch up with the bad guys, and he eventually sees Andy as a person that needs to get out of this world and back into his own.”
The unlikely pairing of Levy and Jackson was in fact a meeting of like minds. Each has a deep-seated dedication to their craft and in working together, they were able to observe each other’s approach and, as a result, developed a mutual admiration for each other’s talents.
“Having this opportunity to interact with Eugene has been really fabulous,” says Jackson. “I watched him, I watched his process, and learned things about comedy. It’s fascinating to see a guy who’s that funny take comedy that seriously and enjoy it at the same time. Comedy is actually serious business. It’s a lot more serious than most people think. Eugene has written songs and scripts and he’s directed, so he knows what he’s doing. He trusts his instincts and I trust mine, so we’re a good match.”
Samuel L. Jackson (Coach Carter, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction) and Eugene Levy (American Pie, Bringing Down the House) star in the fast-paced action comedy, The Man, which co-stars Miguel Ferrer (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”), Luke Goss (Blade 2), Anthony Mackie (Million Dollar Baby, 8 Mile), Susie Essman (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Horatio Sanz (“Saturday Night Live”) and Rachael Crawford (Pale Saints).
The Man is directed by Les Mayfield (Blue Streak) and produced by Rob Fried from a screenplay by Jim Piddock & Margaret Oberman and Steve Carpenter, based on the story by Jim Piddock & Margaret Oberman. Bill Straus is the co-producer. The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Adam Kane, production designer Carol Spier, editor Jeffrey Wolf, A.C.E., costume designer Delphine White, and composer John Murphy.
New Line Cinema will release The Man (rated “PG-13” by the M.P.A.A. for “language, rude dialogue and some violence”) nationwide on September 9th, 2005
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