Boxing & Brothels
Premiering yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival was director Taylor Hackford’s latest film starring wife Helen Mirren and everyone’s favourite bad boy, Joe Pesci.
‘Love Ranch’ is based on the real life story of the Conforte’s (rechristened the Botempo’s for the film) the couple who opened Nevada’s first legalised brothel in the 1970’s.
All appears to going well with the Botempo’s risqué venture. That is until famous South American heavy weight boxer Armando Bruza is brought to train at the ranch by Charlie (Pesci), as yet another component part of the couples expanding business. However, the swarthy Bruza (portrayed by Spanish actor Sergio Peris-Mencheta) ignites the passions of Grace (Mirren) creating a dangerous love triangle, which can only end in tears and/or bloodshed.
This is the first time Hackford, who directed ‘An Officer & A Gentleman’ and more recently ‘Ray’, the biopic of Ray Charles, has worked with wife Mirren since 1985’s ‘White Nights’. The teaming of Mirren and Pesci on screen sounds delightful. We’re certainly looking forward to seeing two older actors battle it out whilst still at the top of their game.
The film was actually completed in 2008 but ended up in litigious distribution hell (no fault of the director/producer) and was delayed release several times. It’s now scheduled to hit cinemas for a limited summer release thanks to E1 Entertainment. There was also talk several years back about tex mex rockers Calexico’s involvement with the project, contributing songs to a soundtrack composed by James Newton Howard (Dark Knight, Collateral). However, there’s no mention of them in the press release. I guess we’ll just have to wait and hear for ourselves.
‘Love Ranch’ is based on the real life story of the Conforte’s (rechristened the Botempo’s for the film) the couple who opened Nevada’s first legalised brothel in the 1970’s.
All appears to going well with the Botempo’s risqué venture. That is until famous South American heavy weight boxer Armando Bruza is brought to train at the ranch by Charlie (Pesci), as yet another component part of the couples expanding business. However, the swarthy Bruza (portrayed by Spanish actor Sergio Peris-Mencheta) ignites the passions of Grace (Mirren) creating a dangerous love triangle, which can only end in tears and/or bloodshed.
This is the first time Hackford, who directed ‘An Officer & A Gentleman’ and more recently ‘Ray’, the biopic of Ray Charles, has worked with wife Mirren since 1985’s ‘White Nights’. The teaming of Mirren and Pesci on screen sounds delightful. We’re certainly looking forward to seeing two older actors battle it out whilst still at the top of their game.
The film was actually completed in 2008 but ended up in litigious distribution hell (no fault of the director/producer) and was delayed release several times. It’s now scheduled to hit cinemas for a limited summer release thanks to E1 Entertainment. There was also talk several years back about tex mex rockers Calexico’s involvement with the project, contributing songs to a soundtrack composed by James Newton Howard (Dark Knight, Collateral). However, there’s no mention of them in the press release. I guess we’ll just have to wait and hear for ourselves.
Calexico
