‘Uppercut' Interview: Ving Rhames and Luise ‘Luiii’ Grossman

Moviefone speaks with Ving Rhames and Luise "Luiii" Grossman about new boxing movie ‘Uppercut’. “It was about the human condition," Rhames said of the film.

(Left) Ving Rhames as “Elliot” in the thriller 'Uppercut', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate. (Right) Luiii as “Toni” in the thriller 'Uppercut', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Opening in theaters, on digital and on demand February 28th is ‘Uppercut,’ directed by Torsten Ruether, and starring Ving Rhames, Luise ‘Luiii’ Grossman, Joanna Cassidy, and Jordan E. Cooper.

‘Uppercut’ is an English-language remake of the German film ‘Leberhaken,’ with the original movie’s writer/director, Torsten Ruether, and star, Luise ‘Luiii’ Grossman, joined in the new version by the legendary Ving Rhames, star of ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ and all eight ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies.

Moviefone spoke with Rhames and Grossman about working together, the differences between the two films, their characters, and how Grossman prepared for the role physically, as well as Rhames thoughts on the upcoming 'Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning' and working with Tom Cruise on the franchise.

Related Article: ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ will Move From June 2024 to May 2025 in New Delay

Ving Rhames as “Elliot” in the thriller 'Uppercut', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Moviefone: Ving, had you seen the original movie? How did this come about for you?

Ving Rhames: They approached my manager. I read the script. It touched me, and I realized in America, we don't make films about the human condition, the human experience. This film has a boxing backdrop, but it was about the human condition, the human experience, so that drew me towards the film.

MF: Luiii, you played the role in the original German version. Aside from this one being in English, how is this version different from the original and did you approach it any differently?

Luise 'Luiii' Grossman: I think it's different in almost every way because I regarded this as a totally new project. I mean, not just because I was working with someone like Ving Rhames, which was also different than in the German movie when I was with a German co-star. Of course, there were parts we took from the original movie to this one. My character still wants to get trained by a boxing legend and so on. But we were shooting this as a New York City story. My character developed also with the addition of the second time layer. So for me, this was a totally new approach compared to the German original.

Luiii as “Toni” in the thriller 'Uppercut', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: What is interesting for you to play a character at two ends of her career?

LG: I think this was pretty interesting to me, to have this strong female character in the first part where she's wild, impatient and sometimes even over the top. She's trying so hard to get what she wants. Then later she's this young businesswoman in a male-dominated boxing industry. This was something really interesting to me, to have this strong lead and these two time layers that were so different. To be able to bring this together and show the development of the character -- that she's not becoming a professional boxer as you would expect, but becoming a boxing manager, was for me the more interesting approach.

MF: Ving, what attracted you to the character of Elliot in particular, and how would you describe him and his history as this boxing legend who's in this very different part of his life?

VR: Well, as my father would say, there's nothing like an older Black man. He has nothing to lose, he can be himself, he can say what he wants. So Elliot gave me a lot of freedom and a lot of understanding of my dad really.

Luiii as “Toni” in the thriller 'Uppercut', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: You've done your share of movies that have boxing as a background. What do you think makes that backdrop of the boxing world so compelling and able to tell such a wide variety of stories?

VR: Like people, sports is universal, so I think having that backdrop, there's a certain amount of fear in sports. You're either good or you're not. You either win or you lose, in all sports. So I think something about that element adds to the human experience.

MF: Luiii, how did your background as an athlete help you prepare for doing the movie and for the training portions of the movie?

LR: I was a professional athlete in my youth. I did track and field, in particular, and I think having this background helped me because I know my body quite well. I know what I have to do to get in shape. I'm still now working out almost every day. I'd never done boxing before these boxing movies, but I really like the sport and how complex it is. It's not just about power -- it's so complex and you need your whole presence in this very moment. I found it really interesting. I worked in Germany with a former world champion and she trained with me two weeks and we had really intense training sessions.

(L to R) Ving Rhames as “Elliot” and Luiii as “Toni” in the thriller 'Uppercut', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: Ving, what was it like doing these very long takes, where it almost seemed like you two were doing a play, especially as opposed to many modern movies that are cut, cut, cut all the time?

VR: Well, I think a lot of American movies are cut, cut, cut. But whenever I've done something international, it's more about taking your time, getting to know the characters, finding a natural flow, and that's what I think we did in this.

MF: Luiii, I think I understand that there was a lot of improvisation between the two of you. Can you talk about that and also working opposite Ving?

LR: Yes, of course. It was a great honor for me to work with Ving and such a joy, to be honest, because when we first met, there was this openness and this curiosity about each other, and I think this made it easy for us to work. But then we also had the time, really, on set to talk about the scenes beforehand. We talked with Torsten, the director, so there was no pressure. Although we had a lot of pages a day, we could take time for every scene. To have these long takes is a great opportunity to really dive into the moment, into the character. It gave us a lot of freedom to really [connect] with each other.

(L to R) Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg in 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One' from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

MF: Ving, you have another movie coming out this year that's a bit different from this one. What can you say about 'Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning'? Does it feel like it's the last one?

VR: It does. I had a very good time, enjoyed the full experience. It's the first time I've ever done eight movies with basically the same crew of actors, so that helped me as an actor.

MF: You and Tom have been the cornerstones of the franchise -- the only actors who have been in all eight movies.

VR: I'm going to have to hand it to Tom because Tom is willing to take a risk. He's willing to break norms. When I first read the first script, I died in the first 10 pages. I said, "Tom, why is it the Black man always dies in the first 10 pages?" He said, "Yeah, why is that?" So now I just finished number eight, so I thank him.

Uppercut

"Two worlds collide. Two fighters unite."

R1 hr 44 minFeb 28th, 2025

Watch Uppercut Online

What is the plot of ‘Uppercut’?

A young female boxer named Toni (Luise ‘Luiii’ Grossman) tracks down former boxing legend Elliot (Ving Rhames) in his gym and asks him to train her, leading them to forge an unlikely connection through a long night of getting to know each other – with Toni eventually embarking on a much different future.