I didn’t make a huge fuss when Rampage Jackson won the part of B.A. Baracus in the A-Team movie, one because the idea of an A-Team movie is way dumber than any casting choice could be, and two because Rampage is a charismatic dude.  Some people get mad when he tries to dry hump Japanese chicks in interviews, but I dunno… I could watch the guy paint a house.  (Preferably with a giant mural of himself on the side).

That said, as this clip (watch it below) from Death Warrior demonstrates, charisma doesn’t always translate to acting ability.  Hard to look like a good actor in a movie this horrible, I know, but ‘page still has a pretty bad case of the mumbles.  And he fell for the ol’ splits-to-crotch-punch move.  C’mon, man, that’s the oldest trick in the book!  It’s how my parents fell in love.

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This is the first official picture of the new A-Team; Brad Cooper as Faceman Peck, Rampage Jackson as B.A. Baracus, Sharlto Copley as Howling Mad Murdock, and Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith.  I’m not sure what they hoped to accomplish with this picture, since it looks like they’re standing in front of one of those backdrops at the mall where grandma can surf on a shark, but this is a Fox movie we’re talking, so just be thankful no one’s wearing fat suit.  I hear in the first scene, B.A. paints a giant mural of himself on the side of the van and then sideswipes a pregnant chick.

[via /Film, who have a bigger version of the picture]

The latest from the set of the A-Team movie is this fluff piece from Entertainment Tonight.  Rampage Jackson is one of the funniest, most charismatic athletes I’ve ever seen, and is always riding that line between hilarious and completely insane.  He’s basically the Tracy Morgan of MMA. I’d watch a reality show about him in a heartbeat.  But can he act?  This clip gives us a very small taste of it — once the host wearing the sensible v-neck gets through asking Brad Cooper about his diet regimen, anyway.  All Rampage says is “Damn fools!” and “Shut up, Murdock!” but it appears he’ll more or less be doing a Mr. T impression.  Anyway, gotta love Entertainment Tonight, the show for the neutered male.  Gee, I wonder what would’ve happened if they’d sent a female reporter.  I can just imagine how that would go down… (*scratches chin*) Slow zoom, DISSOLVE TO:

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Courtesy of Buzzfeed and TheDailyMail, here’s a rundown of the cast of Joe Carnahan’s A-Team, and a side-by-side comparison of the new and original actors.  Above is of course Rampage Jackson as B.A. Baracus, originally played by Mr. T.  And here I thought he’d cut his hair like that to support Kimbo. Also starring:

Brad Cooper as ‘Faceman’ Peck, originally played by Dirk Benedict.  Ironically, ‘Dirk Benedict’ is actually a way better name for a character in an action movie.

Liam Neeson as Hannibal, originally played by George Peppard.

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(In retrospect, “Cutie McPretty” wasn’t the most intimidating nickname)

The last we heard about Rampage playing BA Baracus in the A-Team movie, The Sun had reported he’d been cast, then his publicist denied it.  His casting has since been de-facto confirmed as he pulled out (and Rampage hates pulling out) of his fight at UFC 107 so he could film the movie.  Which prompted a typical reaction from UFC president and awesome cuss-word-user Dana White:

“I hate it with a [expletive] passion…You’re a fighter; you’re not a movie star. It’s so [expletive] funny because fighters want to be movie stars, and movie stars want to act like they’re fighters. Get a [expletive] grip. You’re a fighter, and you’re (not) a [expletive] movie star. Alright?” [via Fightlinker]

Someone once gave the same speech to Kate Hudson.  In sexier news, Steven Soderbergh has cast Gina Carano in his aptly titled “Knockout,” which makes me worry that she won’t have time to film the movie I wrote for her, “Rear Naked Choke.”  (It’s autobiographical).

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