Never Back Down star Sean Faris was recently interviewed by Lanie Barron of The Seaholm Highlander, a high school newspaper in Birmingham, Michigan.   I hope Lanie’s okay, because Faris sounds dangerously hardcore.

"I don’t have any fear or insecurity of anyone who wants to approach me and start something," added the self-assured actor.  "I will happily defend myself.  When they see that I have no fear, they’re like, ‘what have I gotten myself into?’"

Omg, run for your lives he’s a male model! Of course, his confidence isn’t limited to the octagon bars where Paris Hilton hangs out.   

Sean is also in the middle of producing his own independent film, The Glass Eye, a film he feels especially passionate about. "It’s phenomenal.  Sean Penn will sit down and watch that movie and say, ‘Damn, that was a good movie.’  I’m doing those to gain respect."

Wow, Sean, you’re a really cool guy. What can high school kids do to be like you?

"I don’t recommend going to college if you want to be an actor… If you want to be an actor the thing you need to do is go to classes in LA and go take the college of life."

Apparently, classes at "the college of life" involve modeling and Michael Bay movies. I think they should add a new Oscar category for keeping it real and give the award to Sean Faris, seeing as how he keeps it so real.  They could set up a bookshelf next to the podium and when they announce his award, Faris could smash through it in a yellow Hummer and then jump out and do that WWE crotch gesture thingie and be all like "Suck it, books!" And then he’d headbutt the presenter and leave the stage with Disturbed playing – OOO WHA AH AH A! 

OPENING THIS WEEKEND:

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who
Guaranteed to clean up on a weak weekend, and actually looks kind of good. Reuters headline: "Moviegoers can’t ignore elephant in theaters". Get it? Because it’s about an elephant?  Omg that’s so clever I want to slam my weiner in the door!

Doomsday
The only question is: Will it be bad or awesomely bad? Either way it’ll be a great Bentley commercial. 

Never Back Down
Fail. Though if you do go, be sure to bring your Fox Racing gear.

Funny Games
Watch Tim Roth and Naomi Watts get tortured by the neighbor boys.  Or not.

The Grand
Poker movie with a Brett Ratner cameo.  Thought you’d sneak it by me, didn’t you, fuckers.  Not a chance – I know what nachos smell like.

Lance Recommends:  In Bruges.  An odd little movie that keeps messing with your expectations.  Worth seeing for the dialogue alone. 

Here’s a new clip from Never Back Down. Not since xXx has there been a more contrived Frankenstein turd made of "this is what the young people are into now, right?".

SICK CRIBS! BREAK DANCING! YOUTUBE CLIPS!  PARTY LESBIANS!  DRINKING GAMES!  ELABORATE HANDSHAKES! HIPPITY HOP MUSIC! 

I’m just surprised no one wrote a rap song extolling the virtues of a breakfast cereal or the local pizzeria.  But try to look grateful when you find the DVD in your stocking come Christmas time – grandpa’s heart was in the right place, he’s just old.

(Sidenote: Is it just me, or is the sound editing in this really bad?  It’s like being at a club where the music’s so loud you have to grab the bartender by the hair and scream directly into his ear drum to get the right drink.)   

IESB today has this and more video interviews with the cast of Never Back Down - a movie that hopes to be The Fast and the Furious of MMA (trailer here).  I was most interested in their talk with the star, Sean Faris.  His character, as you’ll remember from the film’s original synopsis, "is a a tough kid who leads with his fists, and, often, with his heart."

I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the talk-about-your-character-as-if-he’s-a-real-person portion of the interview, but sadly, mostly they just discuss the mma training.

"I’m trying to stick with it.  I better – once this movie comes out, God knows how many people are gonna wanna fight me."

Yeah, probably anyone who pays for a ticket.  But he trained mma for eight weeks, he should be able to handle a couple teenagers from Arizona.  [Editor's Note - that's a burn] 

Being that I enjoy few things more than sweaty man wrestling, I was watching UFC Fight Night live last night and was able to catch this, the trailer for Never Back Down. Basically, Never Back Down is to mixed martial arts as How She Move is to… uh, steppin? 

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, is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He has recently moved to Orlando, Florida with his family who has [sic] 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. Making an attempt to fit in, at the invitation of a flirtatious classmate, Baja (Amber Heard) [Baja? Is that an attempt to subtly imply that she goes down?] Jake goes to a party where he is unwittingly pulled into a fight with a bully named Ryan McDonald (Cam Gigandet). While he is defeated and humiliated in the fight, a classmate introduces himself to Jake and tells him about the sport known as Mixed Marshall [sic] 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. [From Apple.com]

Oh boy, what can I say about that one?  Some things make satire obsolete.  Break out the tribal tattoos and Fox racing gear.  GRR, RAP METAL’S STILL COOL!