Anthony Mackie's starring role in an obscure 2004 movie could have launched his TV career after Million Dollar Baby. The Spike Lee-directed project was a pilot for a TV series meant to go head-to-head with HBO's The Wire.
Most fans look back on Anthony Mackie's career and see 8 Mile as his first big break in the industry. His filmography has since demonstrated exceptional range with roles in Million Dollar Baby, Freedomland, and The Hurt Locker, but he is most popular (so far) as the McU's Falcon / Sam Wilson. In an interview with Variety, he recalled how a starring role in Spike Lee's Sucker Free City almost made for a bankable TV career; the 2004 film was made for TV and was the pilot for a planned series. Mackie said the show was a potential contender to The Wire if it was greenlighted, but the project fell through even before the pilot aired.
Most fans look back on Anthony Mackie's career and see 8 Mile as his first big break in the industry. His filmography has since demonstrated exceptional range with roles in Million Dollar Baby, Freedomland, and The Hurt Locker, but he is most popular (so far) as the McU's Falcon / Sam Wilson. In an interview with Variety, he recalled how a starring role in Spike Lee's Sucker Free City almost made for a bankable TV career; the 2004 film was made for TV and was the pilot for a planned series. Mackie said the show was a potential contender to The Wire if it was greenlighted, but the project fell through even before the pilot aired.
- 6/10/2024
- by Manuel Demegillo
- CBR
1961: Finale of daytime soap opera Full Circle aired on CBS.
1981: Gh's Susan was shocked to learn Pj was Steven Lars.
1994: Another World's "Kate" introduced herself to John.
1997: B&B's Stephanie and Eric made love."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1961: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera Full Circle. The half-hour series starred Dyan Cannon as Lisa Crowder and Jean Byron as Kit Aldrich. It was the first soap opera to be broadcast live from Hollywood. The opening credits below are from the July 1, 1960 episode.
1981: Gh's Susan was shocked to learn Pj was Steven Lars.
1994: Another World's "Kate" introduced herself to John.
1997: B&B's Stephanie and Eric made love."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1961: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera Full Circle. The half-hour series starred Dyan Cannon as Lisa Crowder and Jean Byron as Kit Aldrich. It was the first soap opera to be broadcast live from Hollywood. The opening credits below are from the July 1, 1960 episode.
- 3/11/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1961: Finale of daytime soap opera Full Circle aired on CBS.
1981: Gh's Susan was shocked to learn Pj was Steven Lars.
1994: Another World's "Kate" introduced herself to John.
1997: B&B's Stephanie and Eric made love."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1961: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera Full Circle. The...
1981: Gh's Susan was shocked to learn Pj was Steven Lars.
1994: Another World's "Kate" introduced herself to John.
1997: B&B's Stephanie and Eric made love."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1961: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera Full Circle. The...
- 3/13/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
"Chase" star Eddie Cibrian and girlfriend LeAnn Rimes are both officially divorced now -- and Eddie's opening up to "Extra" about their star-crossed romance.
After spending the past year defending their relationship, Cibrian is ready to put the past behind him. "I think now I feel comfortable where things are at, and I feel happy," he said. "I look forward to the future."
Both stars are in great shape, but the actor said LeAnn actually...
After spending the past year defending their relationship, Cibrian is ready to put the past behind him. "I think now I feel comfortable where things are at, and I feel happy," he said. "I look forward to the future."
Both stars are in great shape, but the actor said LeAnn actually...
- 10/15/2010
- Extra
Sucker Free City
Screened Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Spike Lee gets uncomfortably close to the grass roots of gang culture in America in Sucker Free City. Focusing on a diverse group of mostly young characters in three San Francisco districts, Lee, working from a rock-solid script from Alex Tse, portrays a volatile subculture that's easy to get sucked into but damn near impossible to quit.
Reverting from recent form, where Lee used overstatement and bombast to make his points, the subtle though tough-minded approach to an unnerving subject here makes this one of the best films In Lee's career. He shot the film for Showtime, but here's hoping that Sucker Free City receives more festival exposure and theatrical playdates.
The white Wade family, gentrified out of a once affordable home in the now trendy Mission District, must move to the neglected, mostly black community of Hunters Point. There they suffer daily confrontations with the vicious V-Dub gang, especially the taunts of hotheaded Leon (Malieek Straughter).
Nick Wade (Ben Crowley), 19, is anxious to move up in the corporate world but must please execs by arranging drug deals and supplement his meager salary with credit card fraud.
K-Luv (Anthony Mackie), a gangbanger with a more stable personality, tries to get Leon off the Wade family's back. He sees Nick, a computer-savvy guy, as someone who can help him in getting into the business of bootleg CDs.
Meanwhile, trouble is brewing between the black gang and the Grant Street Boys, a Chinatown gang, over control of this pirated music. Lincoln Ma (Ken Leung), who collects protection money for a triad crime boss, is playing a double game of jeopardy: He skims money off the top of his collections even as he conducts a clandestine affair with the boss' beloved daughter (T.V. Carpio).
The plot threads allow us to crisscross town to survey the current state of street gang culture in San Francisco. While judging no one, Lee and Tse paint a grim portrait of a world that refuses to change, as it pulls each new generation into a tragic vortex of crime and destroyed lives. They make no bones about the allure of this dangerous milieu or why kids look up to gangsters glorified by rap music and "respected" by people on the street.
Mackie's K-Luv is the closest thing to the film's conscience. A criminal and killer, he nevertheless tries to steer kids toward education and looks for low-risk crime. Crowley's Nick and Leung's Lincoln Ma both are searching desperately to improve their social condition but know no means other than crime.
Cinematographer Cesar R. Charlone shifts color schemes to fit the mood and style of the film's different worlds. Colors often are supersaturated, especially in Chinatown
other times color drains away, bathing, for example, high-rise offices in blue, gray and white.
Barry Alexander Brown's editing is crisp, as is Lee's direction within each scene. Some may wish that Lee had subtitled the V-Dub street lingo just as he does the Cantonese, but the point is always clear: In Sucker Free City, no one knows it, but everyone is a sucker.
SUCKER FREE CITY
Showtime
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Credits:
Director: Spike Lee
Writer: Alex Tse
Producer: Preston Holmes
Executive producers: Spike Lee, Sam Kitt
Director of photography: Cesar R. Charlone
Production designer: Kitty Douris-Bates
Music: Terence Blanchard
Editor: Barry Alexander Brown
Cast:
Nick Wade: Ben Crowley
Lincoln Ma: Ken Leung
K-Luv: Anthony Mackie
Sleepy: Darris Love
Laura Wade: Samantha Wade
Angela: T.V. Carpio
Leon: Malieek Straughter
Anderson Wade: John Savage
Cleo Wade: Kathy Baker
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 116 minutes...
TORONTO -- Spike Lee gets uncomfortably close to the grass roots of gang culture in America in Sucker Free City. Focusing on a diverse group of mostly young characters in three San Francisco districts, Lee, working from a rock-solid script from Alex Tse, portrays a volatile subculture that's easy to get sucked into but damn near impossible to quit.
Reverting from recent form, where Lee used overstatement and bombast to make his points, the subtle though tough-minded approach to an unnerving subject here makes this one of the best films In Lee's career. He shot the film for Showtime, but here's hoping that Sucker Free City receives more festival exposure and theatrical playdates.
The white Wade family, gentrified out of a once affordable home in the now trendy Mission District, must move to the neglected, mostly black community of Hunters Point. There they suffer daily confrontations with the vicious V-Dub gang, especially the taunts of hotheaded Leon (Malieek Straughter).
Nick Wade (Ben Crowley), 19, is anxious to move up in the corporate world but must please execs by arranging drug deals and supplement his meager salary with credit card fraud.
K-Luv (Anthony Mackie), a gangbanger with a more stable personality, tries to get Leon off the Wade family's back. He sees Nick, a computer-savvy guy, as someone who can help him in getting into the business of bootleg CDs.
Meanwhile, trouble is brewing between the black gang and the Grant Street Boys, a Chinatown gang, over control of this pirated music. Lincoln Ma (Ken Leung), who collects protection money for a triad crime boss, is playing a double game of jeopardy: He skims money off the top of his collections even as he conducts a clandestine affair with the boss' beloved daughter (T.V. Carpio).
The plot threads allow us to crisscross town to survey the current state of street gang culture in San Francisco. While judging no one, Lee and Tse paint a grim portrait of a world that refuses to change, as it pulls each new generation into a tragic vortex of crime and destroyed lives. They make no bones about the allure of this dangerous milieu or why kids look up to gangsters glorified by rap music and "respected" by people on the street.
Mackie's K-Luv is the closest thing to the film's conscience. A criminal and killer, he nevertheless tries to steer kids toward education and looks for low-risk crime. Crowley's Nick and Leung's Lincoln Ma both are searching desperately to improve their social condition but know no means other than crime.
Cinematographer Cesar R. Charlone shifts color schemes to fit the mood and style of the film's different worlds. Colors often are supersaturated, especially in Chinatown
other times color drains away, bathing, for example, high-rise offices in blue, gray and white.
Barry Alexander Brown's editing is crisp, as is Lee's direction within each scene. Some may wish that Lee had subtitled the V-Dub street lingo just as he does the Cantonese, but the point is always clear: In Sucker Free City, no one knows it, but everyone is a sucker.
SUCKER FREE CITY
Showtime
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Credits:
Director: Spike Lee
Writer: Alex Tse
Producer: Preston Holmes
Executive producers: Spike Lee, Sam Kitt
Director of photography: Cesar R. Charlone
Production designer: Kitty Douris-Bates
Music: Terence Blanchard
Editor: Barry Alexander Brown
Cast:
Nick Wade: Ben Crowley
Lincoln Ma: Ken Leung
K-Luv: Anthony Mackie
Sleepy: Darris Love
Laura Wade: Samantha Wade
Angela: T.V. Carpio
Leon: Malieek Straughter
Anderson Wade: John Savage
Cleo Wade: Kathy Baker
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 116 minutes...
- 9/14/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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