Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
scarface the Chippendale
Scarface. The Chippendales. Ben Stiller. Not three things that ordinarily go together, but bear with me...
Ben Stiller has worked on some varied projects over the years: directing Reality Bites in 1994, then The Cable Guy; starring in Wes Anderson’s masterpiece The Royal Tenenbaums; directing and starring in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty… but this new project is perhaps the most intriguing of all.
His new film, called I Am Chippendales, is being described as a combination of Magic Mike, Scarface and the new Netflix show, GLOW. The story focuses on the creation of the now iconic male stripper franchise in 1980s Los Angeles, and features Ben Stiller as a kid’s TV show producer who (among other things) played a pivotal role in the recruitment of strippers and choreographing the shows. While a comparison to Magic Mike seems more apt, it appears the film will draw heavily from Scarface in chronicling a rise to power, the corruption of the American Dream and some cold-blooded murder. In addition to Ben Stiller, the film will also star Dev Patel as Chippendales founder Steve Banerjee.
The comparisons to GLOW apparently come from the grimy LA location and the creation of niche entertainment organisations that developed cult fanbases. Sounds like a reach to me, but whatever it takes to get people talking.