Production Status: On DVD
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Selected Cast: Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan
Release Date: April 6, 2007
Genre: Horror, Crime, Action
MPAA Rating: R

Sypnosis

Stuntman Mike is a former Hollywood stunt race car driver who targets and kills women with his “death proof” stunt car. In Act I, Mike surfaces in Austin, Texas to target a group of women whom he knows; Jungle Julia an outgoing, dope-smoking, radio DJ/fashion model meeting her old school friends for a night on the town whom are sentimental model Arlene, and local bad-girl Shanna, as well as bar-nut hippie Pam who tries to make Mike notice her, unaware of his sociopath and misogynist tendencies. In Act II, Stuntman Mike surfaces in Tennessee where he randomly picks another another group of women to stalk all of whom work in the motion picture business; Abernathy is a make-up girl and stand-in wanting a chance of pace in her life. Lee is a naive B-movie actress. Kim is a tough-minded stunt woman always wanting action. And Zoe is a fellow stunt woman from New Zealand visiting her friends. However, the second set of girls proves more though to get, and because of a combination of bad luck and Stuntman Mike’s carelessness, the girls decide to turn the tables on their tormentor for revenge of their own.

About her role:
Wow. Where to begin with Jungle Julia! Jungle Julia is fierce. She’s a cool, pot-smoking, radio DJ with a vast knowledge of music and as a quote in the film says which sums up Julia to a tee; She allows herself to be a bitch. And yet, you can’t help but love her (or love to hate her, if you will). Sydney is fantastic in the movie. First, she captures the screen immediately; Who is this actress? you will think. Secondly, she speaks a flawless “Tarantino accent” – shelling out line after line of memorable one liners and never missing a beat. Julia is nothing like the characters in recent memory and it’s no wonder this is Sydney’s breakout role!

Trivia and Facts

• Quentin Tarantino named the character “Jungle Julia Lucai” after his personal assistant, Victoria Lucai.

• The cheerleader costume worn by Mary Elizabeth Winstead says ‘Vipers’ in homage to the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) in the Kill Bill movies. It is also the same colors as Uma Thurman’s jump suit; yellow with black stripes.

• In one of the billboards Sydney posed in the actual Kill Bill jumpsuit. (The actual image did not make the final cut of the film, but can be seen on the dvd features). Other billboards for “Weekday Mornings with Jungle Julia” are Rollergirl, Julia of the Jungle and one of her sitting.

• The original name for Death Proof that pops up for about a frame is “Thunder Bolt.”

• At the beginning, Vanessa Ferlito’s character is drinking from a soda cup. The restaurant on the cup is the same Mexican restaurant (Acuna Boys’) that is advertised during the transition between Planet Terror and Death Proof in the original double feature cut of Grindhouse.

• The film has a lot of homages to Quentin Tarantino’s previous films. For instance: The Acuna Boys faux resturant is mentioned in Kill Bill vol II., Big Kahuna Burger is something from Pulp Fiction, The scene where the girls are having breakfast is a virtual recreation of the breakfast scene from Reservoir Dogs. Others are – One of the characters asks for ‘Red Apple’ cigarettes, a trademark brand of Tarantino.

• Michael Parks, Marley Shelton, Elise Avellan and Electra Avellan are the only performers to appear in both Grindhouse films, and play the same characters. Rose McGowan and Nicky Katt also appear in both, but they play different roles.

• The only reference to Jungle Julia in Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is a quick shout on on the radio.

Character Quotes

• “Oh, no doubt.”

• “What about ‘kinda cute, kinda hot, kinda sexy, hysterically funny, but not funny-looking guy who you could fuck’ did you not understand?”

• Arlene: “Who do you want to hear?”
Jungle Julia: “Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.”
Arlene: “Who?”
Jungle Julia: “Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mitch and Tich.”
Arlene: “Who the fuck are they?”
Jungle Julia: “For your information, Pete Townsend, at one point, almost quit The Who. And if he had, he would have ended up in this group, thus making it Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, Tich and Pete. And if you ask me, he should have.”
[flips on the radio]
Jungle Julia: “That’s my boy!”

• “Black men and a whole lota’ mother fuckin’ white men have had plenty fun adoring my ass. I don’t wear their teeth marks on my butt for nothing.”

• “But maybe a little later in the evening, you’ve had a few drinks, you’re kind of losey gosey, you’re safe with your girls. Then some kinda cute, kinda hot, kinda sexy, hysterically funny but not funny looking guy comes over and says it – then maybe you did it earlier and maybe you didn’t.”

Sydney Quotes
• “It is definitely the best acting experience, professional experience I have ever had. I am a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino and when I got the call to go and audition for Jungle Julia, I was just beyond myself with joy; and then when I actually got the script and read the part, I was ten times that joyful because she is such a cool character and so different from who I am. She’s so different from the parts that I usually get cast in that it was such an incredible opportunity and I was just so excited.”

• “He [Quentin] had me in mind specifically for this part. I had auditioned for him in a couple of his films. I had auditioned for Kill Bill and he did an episode for C.S.I that I had auditioned for, so when he was writing the character of Jungle Julia, he had in mind actually for that just based on the auditions I had had with him. I was always going in for Jungle Julia. Originally he wanted me to read for Jungle Julia and Abernathy and then that change and he was like, “No, she’s just Jungle Julia”. So, I only went in for Jungle Julia but when I read the part it was as he said, the exact part that I was looking for because I’m always to play something so different from who I am and different from what I normally get cast as, and so for someone like Quentin Tarantino to see me in that way or to believe that I can pull it off was such an honor and I was so excited.”

• “I’m normally the nice girl or the sweet girl or the girl next door. I get a lot of those roles; the young, naïve one. I don’t usually get the tough girl roles or the bitchy girls or the really sexy girls.”

• “I used to love horror films when I was younger and then for some reason, I stopped loving them. They freaked me out too much. When I got Grindhouse I sort of started to get back into it. I started watching some horror films; I would come across one on TV and watch it. I’m back in the phase of liking the horror genre. I don’t know about all the crazy ones like Saw and Hostel and stuff that comes out in the theaters, but I definitely have a little bit more of a desire to watch like that.”

• “I think Quentin has a knack for writing dialogue and I was so shocked on how well he captured women. I was really amazed that dialogue was exactly the dialogue that I would have with my girlfriends on any old day. In fact, it was really bizarre because I would be driving around after working on set with Jordan (Ladd) and Vanessa (Ferlito) and we would be going to whole foods or something for dinner and we would be having the same conversation about boys and half way through we would stop and we would have almost verbatim the same conversation in the car in the movie and it’s trippy.”

• On working with Jordan Ladd and Vanessa Ferlito
“We, really, really, really did bond. I think part of Quentin’s genius was that he had all of the girls come to Austin, Texas three weeks early for rehearsals and he had everybody stay in the same hotel and it just became this big girlfest. Everybody was in everybody else’s room until 5 o’clock in the morning being silly and drinking and laughing and talking about guys and all sorts of things that girls talk about. By the end of the three weeks we had all really established genuine friendships and bond and I don’t know if he had some sort of special intuition in the way that he cast us, but he really cast girls that out chemistry naturally together was just awesome. I genuine love all these girls. I have a real friendship with them. By the time we got to film anything, it was already there. It didn’t have to be worked on. It was just natural and really organic.”

• “When I had to prepare for this character, I did like a mock radio show for Quentin and I sat down and recorded myself for about two hours and playing the sort of things I thought Jungle Julia would play.”

• On Jungle Julia’s music of choice
“Her musically style is lot of classic rock and classic R & B, and really old bootleg stuff that’s hard to find. In Quentin’s words, she is to music what he is to movies. She’s a real aficionado and she only plays vinyl and she only plays things from her own collection on her show. So I play a lot of stuff that would be hard to find. I went through and figured who were the local bands in Austin, Texas because she’s an Austin DJ and she would supportive of her local musicians and I listened to a lot of blues bands and 70s rock homage bands and alternative rock bands and I picked and chose what she would put on the show. It was a real eclectic mix of music.”

• “Jungle Julia, she’s Amazonian. She’s got a big ass. She’s tall and these things that was already me and he physically based her on me and so I really didn’t, but at the same time I knew I would have to be in a tiny, tiny shorts and underwear and whatever, so I definitely did my fair share of squats and lunges and tried to look the best that I could look but I knew I wasn’t allowed to “change” my body. I wasn’t supposed to lose any weight. This is Jungle Julia. She’s a strong, curvy, powerful woman and she owns her body. She has confidence in it. She feels it. She loves it. So it was more about working on the mental part of it and feeling that way about myself so that when I was in character there was no doubting. I had to move with utter ease and confidence.”

• On Tarantino’s apparent foot fetish
“The minute I opened the script, one of the first things it says is, “Arlene’s feet tapping on the dashboard, and then cut to Jungle Julia’s feet walking down the hallway”. I saw that there was already a love of feet when I opened the script and I had actually heard that he has a thing for feet; so when I went in for the audition, one of the first things I did when I started playing the part was that I walked in the audition, sat down on the chair, we got ready to go and I kicked off my shoes and I put my feet up on the table, and I think that helped me get the part because I had her body language and I put the feet on display.”

• On auditions and doors opening after Death Proof
“It’s always a challenge and it’s still challenge. This movie hasn’t come out yet and I hope that when it does, that it may be less of a challenge. I don’t really know. I’m a little spoiled now. Once you do a Quentin Tarantino film and you say that dialogue, and you’re in a move that being made by someone who is so passionate about films, it’s going to be hard to top the experience but I do hope to play more roles that are at least close to what I was able to do in this film that are really fleshed out, that really multi-faceted, interesting characters.”

• On Grindhouse
“I would say that it’s really a cinematic event. It’s an experience. It’s like nothing anybody has seen before, ever. It’s worth going just because it’s going to be a really wild ride for the whole night. You are going to go and spend three hours seeing stuff that just is going to blow your mind. It’s over the top. This movie has gore but it has so many other elements. There’s girl bonding, there are relationships, there’s love, there’s lost, there’s car chases, there’s crazy over-the-top action, and there’s female empowerment. I think Quentin’s movie is such a female empowerment movie. There’s all these tough, strong, kick ass brawds that are so cool. I think from that alone women will really appreciate it.”

• On Quentin Tarantino
“He spent a lot of time with his women friends just listening and observing. He’s so perceptive.”

• “I’m definitely not the one taking charge. I’m probably much more like Arlene, kind of along for the ride and there to have a good time.”

• On the Jungle Julia Billboards that were up during filming
“The first day was surreal. I didn’t even realize it was up and I was driving by to get coffee or tea or something. I saw out of the corner of my eye this huge billboard. I looked up and I almost wrecked the car. I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ Like, ‘That’s my face.’ And then they just started popping up all over the city and it was really strange. But we were shooting nights mostly so it ended up not being as weird as you would think, because we were asleep most of the day and then we were up working most of the night. It’s not like I had people being like, ‘Are you the girl on the billboard?’ I had a few like if I would go to the market and stuff, but it was cool. I liked it.”

• On Quentin Tarantino
“I think he has a real reverence and respect for women. I think his characters are so fully developed that the sexuality, like she said, was just innate in them. They really own their sexuality. They own their femininity. They’re strong, they’re confident. They have no issues about their bodies or who they are. I think he has a real appreciation for that and he really treated it really respectfully. One of the first things he said to me when I got the part was he’s like, ‘I’m going to be doing a lot of leg shots and a lot of butt shots. The camera’s going to lovingly caress your body but know that I’m a gentleman.’ And he really, really is, and so you never felt uncomfortable.”

• “Brigitte Bardot is the hot chick on the wall in Jungle Julia’s apartment. That set was amazing, her apartment was so cool, and so really Quentin. You know, you see that picture of me on the couch and the Brigitte Bardot picture and just the way it’s all done was so Quentin, and he was involved in every detail of her apartment. Of the records that went in there, he wanted a thing of, a schedule from the Alamo Drafthouse like up on her fridge, and the colors we both flipped through, and he’s like “pick anything that we wouldn’t think would be in her apartment”, so we went through and I took out something I didn’t think would be in there, and he took out some stuff that he didn’t feel was right, and stuff that he had found he put in there, some of it was his personal stuff, so it was really, it was an awesome set.”

• “Once I found her DJ voice, I had her voice, and I really started to get into character. So I would say, a lot of the embodiment of her was just my own creation.”

• “I fell in love with whatever it was he was doing. I thought it was a kinda crazy and kinda cool idea of a guy who goes around killing girls with his car, that was like, who does that. It’s just bizarre. So I was mostly just amazed by his dialogue, and he wrote the women so well, and it was so, it was funny, it was comedy, but it was also kinda creepy and strange and. So I was just really excited. I mean it’s Quentin Tarantino, I mean I would chop off my left foot to do a movie with him [laughs].” “Literally. My right entire leg! … to do a movie with Quentin Tarantino!” [laughs]

Worked at a record label in her twenties.

Auditioned for multiple Quentin Tarantino projects (Kill Bill, CSI) before ever landing Jungle Julia. Quentin recalled her from his previous auditions and wrote Jungle Julia with Sydney in mind.

Sydney is a huge music lover and even plays drum in a band!

• On co-star Kurt Russel
“He was so great. He’s such a cool guy. He’s just a really down-to-earth cool dude. He was open and generous. We’re a group of girls and he would come around and chit-chat with us in between takes and laugh with us. Quentin has this huge booming laugh and all you would hear in between takes was the two of them cracking up.”

• On auditions and doors opening after Death Proof
“It’s always a challenge and it’s still challenge. This movie hasn’t come out yet and I hope that when it does, that it may be less of a challenge. I don’t really know. I’m a little spoiled now. Once you do a Quentin Tarantino film and you say that dialogue, and you’re in a move that being made by someone who is so passionate about films, it’s going to be hard to top the experience but I do hope to play more roles that are at least close to what I was able to do in this film that are really fleshed out, that really multi-faceted, interesting characters.”

• “There’s a lot of movies that are not so great that are being made and it’s really hard because you really want to work but you also want but you also want to do a certain kind of work and so I’m just reading a bunch of stuff and I’m just looking for that next thing that impassions me.”

• “I would definitely consider myself a music lover. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say I’m a music buff in terms of, like, my knowledge of music but music is a big part of my life, and I love all different kinds of music, and I play in a band actually, I play drums. So yeah, I obviously, I love music.”

• On her favorite movie genre (at the moment, quoted in 2007)
“I’m kinda into this like ass-kicking, cool woman, you know, female empowerment stuff, so I wouldn’t mind doing more of that”

• On acting
“It was always what I wanted to do, from the time that I can really remember. As I got older I did a little dabbling in High School, just in class. I never worked professionally but I took acting classes. When it came time to go to college I made the decision officially to become a drama major, I went to NYU. I went through all of college and still wasn’t working professionally but was doing a lot of theater in school, and then after I graduated I just started.”

• “I’ve found out that I really, really enjoy comedy. It’s got a rhythm all its own. When I did theater in college, I was petrified before I went onstage. But being in front of live audiences has loosened me up. It’s been good desensitization for me. Sitcom audiences are different-they’re totally on your side.”

• Her parents reaction to her wanting to be an actress
“They were always supersupportive. But I was encouraged to have some sort of backup plan. They wanted me to be cautious and to know just how difficult it is to have an acting career. So while they were supportive, they were also smart and tried to get me to think things through.”

• On her father’s success and if it helps her with her own career
“For an actress, it’s priceless having somebody to talk to who’s a veteran of the business. And people are naturally curious [about me], because I share the same name with him. I mean, you really can’t ignore it. It’s funny: I use “Tamiia” professionally, because the Screen Actors Guild said you can’t have two actors with the same exact name.”

Her mother is former actress Joanna Shimkus and her father, whom she is named after is legendary Oscar-winning screen performer Sidney Poiter. Sydney grew up in L.A. and lived a relatively normal childhood. She is the youngest of six girls that included older sister Anika and four half-sisters -Pamela, Sherri, Gina and Beverly Poitier. It wasn’t until she applied for college she embraced interest in a proffesional acting career. Although her actor parents were supportive, they always encouraged Sydney to have some sort of backup plan. Sydney attended and later graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. There she studied drama, where the mere mention of her famous name had classmates humorously thinking her father had enrolled. Poitier performed in various stage productions, including a memorable production of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, in which she played the brutalized daughter Lavinia. Following graduation, Poitier continued honing her craft at the Stella Adler Conservatory.

But by the late 1990s, Sydney found herself struggling to get her career off the ground. She appeared in her first film the independent drama Park Day as Sophia Johnson in 1998. But soon after she took a job at a record company, but her father insisted that she continue with acting and invited her to appear in a film he was producing and starring in for Showtime. So Sydney joined her father on Free of Eden (1999), an endearing drama about a teacher-turned-businessman who helps mentor a high school dropout. The elder Poitier played businessman Will Cleamons, while his daughter played his hesitant protégé Nicole Turner.

Sydney Poitier’s career picked up significicantly in 1999. She had a string of projects, including an adaptation of the novel True Crime starring Clint Eastwood, a role in the biblical miniseries Noah’s Ark as Ruth and she became a series regular for the pilot First Years, both from NBC. First Years saw Sydney playing Riley Kessler, the girlfriend of James Roday’s character, who disgraces his Peace Corp family by becoming a lawyer in the drama set in San Francisco about five first-year law graduates who live together and try to get their lives and careers in order. Soon after filming the pilot, she also shot the independent drama MacAthur Park (2001). On March 19, 2001 the first episode of First Years aired and Sydney went and reassumed her role as Riley, the series however was was short-lived, lasting only a month before getting cut off at the knees.

While she did also complete a segment entitled Happy Birthday in the 2001 TV movie On the Edge, Sydney was not seen any other projects until 2003. Still weary of her first tv show failure, Sydney really liked the stability of tv and was detirmined to find the next right television project and in In late 2002 she landed the lead the new UPN sitcom Abby and she couldn’t quite believe it. The then 29-year-old actress had been in several movies, but she’d never even guested on a TV comedy, much less starred in one, and she wasn’t sure she’d be funny enough. “I hadn’t even thought of auditioning for a sitcom, because I didn’t feel that it was a genre I had any talent for whatsoever, but my agent sent me the script and I thought, Wow, this is well developed and witty and intelligent. It wasn’t your typical sitcom” she recalls. “I went on the audition. I didn’t make it at first, so I kind of forgot about it, and I was actually a little bit relieved. I thought, Okay, I tested the waters of the comedy genre, and now I can retreat to my safe drama haven. But about a week later I got a call saying they wanted me back in, and it moved superfast from there. I got the job on Friday, and by the next Friday we’d taped the pilot. It all happened boom-boom-boom. It was crazy – a total baptism by fire.” In the series, Poitier played Abby Walker, a sports television producer living in a San Francisco apartment with her ex-boyfriend. A mid-season replacement on the network’s schedule, Abby ultimately suffered from too much retooling during its development and failed to find a consistent audience, ending its run after only nine episodes. Still determined to find her footing in television, She scrubbed in as a doctor dealing with a patient’s potential plague infection in an episode of the revamped The Twilight Zone again on UPN. Soon after, Sydney gained significant traction with a recurring part on the first season of the hit teen drama Joan of Arcadia, playing The Arcadia Herald editor Rebecca Askew and the love interest of Joan’s brother Kevin played by Jason Ritter.

In 2004, Poitier hit the big screen at the behest of her big sister Anika, writer and director of The Devil Cats, a mockumentary about a fake all-girl band based in Los Angeles; Sydney produced the film and co-starred as rocker Hellena Handbasket. The film made its premiere at the Palm Springs Film Festival, but failed to make any subsequent headway. Meanwhile, She went swiftly from Arcadia to fictional Neptune, CA as the guidance counselor of Neptune High on the teen detective series Veronica Mars. Though the series did became a cult hit, her role was excised due to a ballooning budget. Still, Busier than she had ever been in her career to date, things were going good. She appeared as Vanessa in Rodrigo Garcia’s film, Nine Lives (2005), an anthology chronicling the lives of nine women struggling with the various disappointments of their lives. Some of the most talented and popular actresses of today starred in the film, including Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek, Dakota Fanning and Glenn Close. The ensemble of the actresses, Sydney incldued won the Bronze Leopard Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival and Best Ensemble Cast at the Gotham Awards in 2005.

2006 proved more work for the budding actress. She completed work in three projects and this was the year which lead to her most popular role to date. Sydney returned to the small screen for one episode as a guest star on the season 2 of the surpise hit and at the time, the hottest TV drama Grey’s Anatomy. The episode “17 Seconds” was one of the most memorable for the series – “Your jaw will drop, you’ll hold your breath, your heart will skip a beat” one reviewer states. Sydney also appeared in The List, a romantic comedy with Wayne Brady. Sydney earned a nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie at the 2008 Image Awards for her turn as Cecile in the movie. Still, even after struggling with her career like any dedicated actress, with good projects come bad, and while it seemed to be looking up for Sydney, she did have a small role in the silly gore fest Snoop Dog’s Hood of Horror – but hey, we’ll forgive her. In a career of 20 credits since 1998, She is afterall trying out all genre waters.

It was announced in July 2006 that Grindhouse, two totally different films by pop film mavericks Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, would go into production to be played back-to-back a year later on the silver screen. “We’re going to make two, sleazy grindhouse movies that will deliver on the posters..and beyond! This isn’t some Twilight Zone: The Movie fucking thing. This is not a faux double feature. This is two fucking movies for the price of one! You’re $10 will be well spent at the Grindhouse, baby!” said Tarantino. And a role in any Quentin Tarantino film is certainly a Golden ticket for any young actress, this is the man afterall who transformed Uma Thurman into a sensasation after her performance in Pulp Fiction (1994) and reginited the career of Pam Grier as Jackie Brown (1997), heck, one might even say he even give Daryl Hannah a career boost after her assasin turned role in Kill Bill (2003). Outside of playing a leading role in a film, there aren’t that many strong supporting roles for females in the film business but Tarantino has certainly become a go-to director for actresses looking for something more to display on screen than their ‘assests’ or mediocre supporting roles. And Death Proof‘s (Quentin’s half of the film expierence) Jungle Julia is the beneficiary of a fantastic role. But getting a role in a Tarantino project is easier said than done. Sydney knows first hand of this. She’s auditioned for two Quentin Tarantino projects (Kill Bill and CSI) before the director cast her.

Although he did write with Sydney in mind, the role was not locked in for sure imediately. Quentin states that not many roles seek out for Sydney’s appearance; a 5′ 11″ Amazonian, goddess like beauty, long black hair. So while writing the role of Jungle Julia, Quentin thought back to the girl who audtioned for some of his roles with the certain look he always invisioned for JJ. Sydney also never gets the roles like Julia, All apperances aside, she says “I’m normally the nice girl or the sweet girl or the girl next door. I get a lot of those roles; the young, naïve one. I don’t usually get the tough girl roles or the bitchy girls or the really sexy girls.” so being cast as a bitchy, fast speaking, sexy, radio DJ was just fine with her. Sydney says “This is Jungle Julia. She’s a strong, curvy, powerful woman and she owns her body. She has confidence in it. She feels it. She loves it. So it was more about working on the mental part of it and feeling that way about myself so that when I was in character there was no doubting. I had to move with utter ease and confidence… She’s so different from the parts that I usually get cast in that it was such an incredible opportunity and I was just so excited.” Sydney claimes to have had best acting experience working on Death Proof in her entire career thus far. “I’m a little spoiled now. Once you do a Quentin Tarantino film and you say that dialogue, and you’re in a movie that’s being made by someone who is so passionate about films, it’s going to be hard to top the experience but I do hope to play more roles that are at least close to what I was able to do in this film that are really fleshed out, that really multi-faceted, interesting characters.” Unfortunetly given all the hype, Grindhouse did not meet box-office expectations. But in the end, it was one of the top best reviewed films of the year and those who did see the “experience” have nothing but positives to say. Grindhouse might have not been a success commerically, but it will live on as an instant cult favorite.

How do you follow up Grindhouse? Sydney was often asked. And although roles and scripts were pouring in Sydney was hesitant to jump on any projects. She did aution for several roles, but it wasn’t until late 2007 that she eventually settled and was cast as Carrie Rivai on the small-screen TV Movie remake of the 1980s series Knight Rider, Sydney has had a long time relationship with NBC. Although it won’t be admitted to a “remake” it is just that, a reinvisioning for the old series which starred David Hasselhoff and a potential launching pad for a series remake. If the film sees success, it might be made into a new tv-show-remake for a new generation, some 25 years after the original show. The tv movie will air February 17, 2008.

Only time will tell what the future holds for Sydney Tamiia Poitier. Still on a media frenzy from the Death Proof acclaim, Sydney is on the verge of breaking, if not busting down Hollywood doors. After having multiple successes in both tv and film she could certainly settle in either. When asked which she prefers, tv or film she says “I love doing films. I love being able to play different characters. I love the atmosphere of a set when you come together for a film because usually you are on location somewhere you get into this instant sort of bonding family mode. It’s a really special experience.” but she also claims to like the stability of TV. “In films it’s a longer downtime between jobs.”

Although she is lead in with a stigma of being her father’s daughter, she’s certainly got the talent to grow as an actress, and clearly armed with stunning good looks. But more than anything Sydney has the drive and determination to continue forging her path in the industry. She’s surpassed the lows and gained momentum from the highs, but still is continuing on and striving for a diverse acting career for herself.

Death Proof (2007)
… Sydney Poitier as Jungle Julia

Planet Terror (2007)

What is a Grindhouse?
“Grind House” – noun – A downtown movie theater – in disrepair since its glory days as a movie palace of the ’30s and ’40s – known for “grinding out” non-stop double-bill programs of B-movies. From groundbreaking directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez comes the ultimate film experience: a double-bill of thrillers that will recall both filmmakers’ favorite exploitation films. Grindhouse will be presented as one full-length feature comprised of two individual films helmed separately by each director. Tarantino’s film, Death Proof, is a rip-roaring slasher flick where the killer pursues his victims with a car rather than a knife, while Rodriguez’s film explores an alien world eerily familiar to ours in Planet Terror. Welcome to the Grindhouse – it’ll tear you in two!

Development Days
It was announced in July 2006 that Grindhouse, two totally different films by each director, would go into production to be played back-to-back a year later on the silver screen. “We’re going to make two, sleazy grindhouse movies that will deliver on the posters..and beyond! This isn’t some Twilight Zone: The Movie fucking thing. This is not a faux double feature. This is two fucking movies for the price of one! You’re $10 will be well spent at the Grindhouse, baby!” said Quentin Tarantino.

After being given a budget of about 50 million from the Weinstein Company and tons of excitement, the first movie of the two; Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, went into production. After he had the general idea and of a “zombie movie” in his head for years (he even wrote the first script draft shortly after 1998′s The Faculty), he had officially started casting based on a shorter version of the script. After filming througout the summer of 2006, Planet Terror was ready for editing which is where Rodriguez went in to do the rest of his work. Leaving Tarantino in Texas filming.

Shortly after wrapping Terror, Quentin and his gang began finalizing Death Proof. Like Rodriguez, he was so inspired by some of his actresses that he was able to complete his script and move in to shoot very quickly. Quentin casted Vanessa Ferlito after being so intrigued by this quirky actress after seeing her in On_Line and after remembering Sydney Tamiia Poitier from her multiple previous QT project auditions (she tryed out for Kill Bill and CSI) he imediately saw her physicallity for the role of Jungle Julia. Quentin invisioned this tall, Amazonian, beautiful physique. He states that not many roles seek out for Sydney’s appearance which is just that; a 5′ 11″ Amazonian like beauty with long black hair. So while he finished writing the role of Jungle Julia and Death Proof he was always writing it for her. After a proper audition, Sydney instantly got the part. Both films budget’s were split 50/50. Death Proof is a classic Tarantino film. Down to it’s killer Austin soundtrack, sexy and diverse female leads, and witty, often long dialogue. Planet Terror and Death Proof were polar opposites except for the ‘same-actor cameo’ now and then.

Faux Trailers, Machine Gun Legs and a History Lesson
“Groundbreaking directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are back! But this time they’re back-to-back!” Read posters everywhere. The gruesome twosome had reunited to bring what would become an instant cult classic. Grindhouse movies were traditionally a sleaze-filled saga film ride. Two insanely sick and twisted B (hell, you might even say D) movies which were to crazy for the local cinema. The films were made with little or no attention to quality or artistic merit but with the sole eye to turn a quick profit, usually via high-pressure sales and promotion techniques emphasizing some sensational aspect of the product – for instance; the machine gun leg on a hot actress would be seen as a “exploidable” element.

“Exploitation” films feature forbidden sex, wanton violence, drug use, nudity, freaks, gore, monsters, destruction, rebellion and mayhem. Such films have existed since the earliest days of moviemaking, but they were popularized in the 1960s with the general relaxing of cinematic taboos in the US and Europe. Since the 1990s, this genre has also received attention from academic circles, where it is sometimes called paracinema.

Some popular Grindhouse titles include Chain Gang Women (1974), Superchick (1973), Don’t Answer the Phone (1980), Women in Cages (1971) and Coffy (1973) among several others. Some of the most popular Grindhouse film stars are Pam Grier and Sid Haig. Companies would often use the same actors in different titles and then double-bill them.

While Grindhouse films mostly flew under the radar until Tarantino and Rodriguez reignited the “franchise” with their announcement and plans for Grindhouse, if you did get to experierence Grindhouse films in their prime (1960s-early 1980s) you were treated to babes, boobs, blood, explosions and more. The movies that were featured at Grindhouse theatres (also Drive-ins) would usually ship from New York to California through out a year. The movie that started of in NY was not the same film by the time it hit California. The reason being for the “missing reels”. Theatre workers would often ‘slice’ out the film’s frames, the scene could be a high octane chase at the brink of finding out “who the bad guy is” and it would cut of for 30 seconds of so with a note saying “Missing reel, appologies from Management” only to cut back on minutes later and you see everyone is all friends. A serious case of “What the fuck just happened?!”. Or sometimes even more disapointing for some – a leading lady strips down to her birthday suit or a sexy scene would often get nipped right on out – as Death Proof actress Rosario Dawson put it “Ohh, Pam Grier takes her tom off here … *snip* *snip*.” The prints would also get so damaged and the quality degraded, the movie would have tons of dust, ‘scratches’ ‘pops’ and ‘crackles’, sometimes the entire print would be washed out in a magenta/reddish color (like a scene done on purpose with Rose McGowan and Quentin Tarantino in Planet Terror.) To emulate this ‘effect’ Robert and Quentin deliberately ruined their prints with CGI and special effects, and even going as far as removing entire scenes for the “missing reel” segments and most drastically, when Robert Rodriguez completed the script for Planet Terror he cut out 10 minutes! They even brought on their director buddies Eli Roth (Hostel), Rob Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) to helm faux trailer segments along with the already cut Machete trailer (by Rodriguez) which would be seen before and in between the film (of course after the real previews). The duo said they wanted not only give audiences their money’s worth, but give them the total Grindhouse film experience.

Cut to the year 2007. Grindhouse is in the can, online sites are gearing up for mega promotions, there is plenty of excitement in the air when the bomb is dropped. Grindhouse a film that has took every step to be a legit “Grindhouse” motion picture will be split in two?! Variety reported that since the double-bill concept is alien to many filmgoers around the world, Grindhouse was be going out as two pics in some parts of the globe, while the US and a few other English-speaking territories will see it as one singular experience. But most non-English-speaking territories have little tradition of a Grindhouse double bill. So the central conceit of the film – two short exploitation films, separated by faux trailers for upcoming cheapies – would be lost. Thus the fases of Grindhouse seperation began.

After being released in the United States on it’s scheduled April 6th 2007, as two films back-to-back it turned out as though American audiences didn’t hack it and Grindhouse flopped miserably at the Box Office. “Although the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez B-movie double feature Grindhouse seemed to have the most buzz going into the Easter weekend, there didn’t seem to be an audience willing to sit through three plus hours of the filmmakers’ tribute to B-exploitation movies, as it failed to dethrone last week’s returning movies and a new comedy sequel starring Ice Cube,” said ComingSoon.net. “Despite an abundance of media coverage, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature Grindhouse opened with just $5 million on Friday struggling to $11.5 million over the weekend, less than half what many expected the movie to make based on Tarantino and Rodriguez’s past track record. Opening in fourth place, Grindhouse is unlikely to make back its reported $53 million production budget in theatres, at least not in the US.”

While the film contiuned to barely make it’s money back in the US and a shorter list of expanded countries, Grindhouse was being recieved as one of the best films of the year for it’s sheer energy, originality and – dare I say – awesomeness? Most critics and the fans who did see the movie, not only got the concept, but loved it and begged for more! Fans shrieked for sequels, or to have the faux trailers made into actual motion pictures. While it seemed unlikely there was some things to wet the thirsty appetites; Robert Rodriguez announced he would be making Machete over the summer and Eli Roth taunted about making Thanksgiving a full film. Instead, he settled on his next project, Trailer Trash, A full length movie compiled of nothing but faux trailers, inspired by the Grindhouse idea. Rumor is he’s even considering allowing fellow friends/directors to make their own like he was got the privellage to with Grindhouse. Critics ate up Grindhouse with a spoon, hailing Q & R and the cast as well. Critics and audiences ate up Jungle Julia and Sydney in the role! Going as far to claim she was one of the most original, interesting and badass chicks on screen in history.

After the film was eventually split – becoming Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof and Grindhouse Presents: Planet Terror officially, the movies saw some success overseas and on DVD releases. Robert Rodriguez said on his Planet Terror DVD commentary that there would, in fact, be a double edition of Grindhouse DVD to come out soon. To the true fans, it seems the concept wouldn’t be lost after all!

Still, after the continuing unfortunate Box Office results, it seemed as though Grindhouse succeeded in the one thing it always meant to do. No, It didn’t blow the ceiling of the “Grindhouse” films franchise, but it did ignite interest. It didn’t make loads of dough and catapult actors into worldwide fame but it did do this – It will remain a cult favorite, not unlike, well, Grindhouse films.

The Double-Bill Films

Death Proof

Character: Carrie Rivai
Production Status: Completed
Directed by: Steve Shill
Written by: David Andron, Glen A. Larson

Selected Cast: Val Kilmer (voice), Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo
Release Date: February 17, 2008
Genre: Action
MPAA Rating: n/a

Sypnosis

This two-hour movie event, based on the iconic 1980′s hit television series, stars Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. In addition, David Hasselhoff – who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series’ run, returns as the same character during a special guest-star appearance.

As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body — thanks to its creator’s work and nanotechnology – is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal good cop partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car – and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.

Trivia and Facts
• If the TV movie is successful, it’s rumored that it will be a relaunching vehicle (no pun intended) to a remake of the series.

Sydney Quotes

• MostQuotes are from the Knight Rider Online interview with Sydney.

• On the 1980s Knight Rider
“My sister and I used to watch it. I mean, who wasn’t?” [laughs] “Who didn’t watch it in the 80s? That was the thing to watch.”

• “I just got a call about it from my representative, and he said “Do you want to go in and read for Knight Rider?” At first I was like “Really? I don’t know, that’s a tough one to touch. How’s it going to work out?” Sometimes it’s tricky when you redo these things because the originals were so special in their own way and cool. They have such a loyal following of fans. Are you really going to be able to please them? I don’t know. But then I read the script and Dave Andron did a really great script. And it was just really true to the original and supercool, but sort of takes everything to another level. So I thought “All right, I’ll go in” and I went in and auditioned and went through the whole process of auditioning, which in TV is kind of long and arduous sometimes.”

• “I think that times have drastically changed since back then, and it’s a lot hipper and more true to the way the world works now to have strong women and interesting characters. I think it affords to more sexual tension and things between characters.”

• On the new movie
“It’s more provocative than it was back then.”

• “I play Carrie Rivai, she’s an FBI agent, and she has a very strong sense of what’s right and wrong. When she’s working, she’s all business. She’s very tough and very strong. But she also has a real sense of fun. She enjoys herself, and she’s a surfer, and she’s kind of a no-nonsense grounded down-to-earth kind of girl.”

• “There was no hardcore training but I think if it does go to series there may be a little bit more of that. In the pilot, my character has a little bit of fighting to do but nothing too complicated. So we did do some stunts, a couple days of coordinating that partcular fight. Justin did a lot more because he had a lot more fight stuff.”

• “It doesn’t reveal that in the script initially, what the connection between Charles and Rivai is. But they know each other very well, and she definitely cares for him. And she makes sure that they find out what happens to him and try to get him back safely. It is absolutely her number one priority.”

• “Initially my character was a lesbian, and then I think they’re planning on making her bi, so it kind of opens up the possibilities. So there could be something happening. At least that’s what they said, but I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not.” [laughs] “So there’s definitely a possibility. Nothing exists in the pilot. Mike’s romantic interest is Sarah. So who knows what will happen down the line.”

• “Everybody is fantastic. The producers just did a really great job of putting together a group of people that are like-minded and very down-to-earth cool people that just want to do good work and have a good time. From the crew, to the other actors, to the higher-ups: the producers, everybody’s fantastic.”

• “I hope that you get to see a little bit more of her personal side. In the pilot it’s all business. It’s just down to business. We only see her in a professional setting, with the exception of the opening scene. So it would be nice to kind of get to know her as a person more because I think as a person she’s a lot different than she is as an FBI agent. And hopefully she’ll get to do a little bit more driving and fighting and fun stuff.”

• “Even though it is a TV movie at the moment, they do have the option to turn it into a series so everybody had to sign a series deal, so you sort of commit to the length of the series. Which is usually six years, if they do decide to do it. Which is a big commitment, and kind of scary. But once you shoot the pilot and see how everybody is supercool, you’re having a good time and it seems less daunting. Other than that initial going into it.”