LOS ANGELES, January 26, 2005 --  On Saturday, February 12 at 8:00 PM (ET/PT), Showtime will present SUCKER FREE CITY, an original film directed by Spike Lee that takes a riveting look at the seductive, dangerous world and life choices of a diverse group of young people inextricably caught up in the unique gang culture of San Francisco.  The hard-hitting drama stars Ben Crowley, Ken Leung, Anthony Mackie, Darris Love, Laura Allen, T.V. Carpio, Malieek Straughter, Jim Brown with John Savage and Kathy Baker.

SUCKER FREE CITY is produced by 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks for SHOWTIME and directed by Spike Lee, executive produced by Spike Lee and Sam Kitt, and written and co-executive produced by Alex Tse.

The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, where Variety noted that SUCKER FREE CITY "has a dense texture, grittiness and authenticity that make it compelling drama."

 

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL" and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO", SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC xtra.  SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD®, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND". SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL®, which is a venture between NBC Universal, Robert Redford, and Showtime Networks Inc.  All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.   Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.

 

SYNOPSIS

Nick (BEN CROWLEY) is a 19 year-old white teen who skipped college to work an entry-level job in corporate America.  He finds an easy way to make a buck by arranging drug deals and credit card fraud.  He and his parents (JOHN SAVAGE and KATHY BAKER) are gentrified out of their once low-income area and forced to move into San Francisco's last slum, Hunters Point.  There, he and his family are victimized by members of the "V-Dub" gang, especially Leon (MALIEEK STRAUGHTER), the gang's second in command.  Leon is a hot head who looks for trouble and enjoys confrontations with their rival gang, the Point Mob.  Leon's behavior irks his fellow gang member K-LUV (ANTHONY MACKIE), who is more interested in money than violence.  K-LUV befriends Nick who helps him burn CDs for bootlegging purposes after seeing how profitable this has become in Chinatown.

On the other side of the city in Chinatown, Lincoln (KEN LEUNG) is a Chinese teen who leads a crew called the Grant Street Boys.  They make their living collecting "protection" money and doing the bidding for Mr. Tsing (GEORGE CHEUNG), the leader of a Chinese crime organization.  Lincoln is skimming money from the funds he is extorting from local merchants and he will do anything, including murder, to keep this a secret.  But that's not all he's holding back from Mr. Tsing -- he is secretly having an affair with his precious daughter Angela (T.V. CARPIO).  

While Nick's mother Cleo and his sister Samantha (LAURA ALLEN) attempt to make the best of their surroundings and his aging hippy father Anderson rationalizes their dire living situation, Nick hustles to make an extra buck.  K-LUV struggles with his loyalty to the V-dub crew considering the reckless and senseless actions of Leon.  Lincoln desperately seeks the approval of both Angela and her gangster father.  The conflicted lives of Nick, K-LUV and Lincoln intersect to reveal the everyday struggles of living on the mean streets of Hunts Point and the shadowy underground of Chinatown.      

 

BIOS

SPIKE LEE (Director/Executive Producer) is one of Hollywood's most important and influential filmmakers. Directing an unprecedented 18 films in 18 years, Lee most recently directed "She Hate Me," "The 25th Hour" and the documentary "Jim Brown - All American."  Exploding on the scene in 1986 with his debut film, the independently produced comedy "She's Gotta Have It," earned him the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film Festival and set him at the forefront of the Black New Wave in American Cinema.  Possessing a unique eye for talent, many of Lee's films helped to launch the careers of several young Black actors including Academy Award winners Halle Berry, and Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Wesley Snipes and many others. Lee's timely 1989 film, "Do The Right Thing," garnered an Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film and Director awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Other recent and the critically acclaimed films include "Bamboozled," "Summer of Sam," "Original Kings of Comedy," "Girl 6," "Get on the Bus," "Malcolm X," "Clockers," and "Crooklyn."   Lee is the Artistic Director and an active Professor at New York University Graduate Film School.

ALEX TSE (Writer and Co-Executive Producer) garnered the attention of Spike Lee's company, 40 Acres & A Mule with his first screenplay, "'87 Fleer," which Kustom Entertainment is producing. Tse is currently writing "Superfly," a remake of the 1970's  blaxploitation classic for Warner Brothers and Joel Silver, "Choir Boy" for New Line and Di Bonaventura Pictures and "200 Block" for MGM and Tree Line Films, starring Tyrese.  Tse is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts where he played NCAA basketball for four years. He began his career producing hip-hop videos for Hieroglyphics and Del.

Sam Kitt (Executive Producer) has worked for many years in both independent and studio filmmaking worlds.  As an executive at Universal, Mr. Kitt worked with such filmmakers as Stephen Soderbergh ("King of the Hill"), Richard Linklatter ("Dazed and Confused"), Ron Howard ("Far and Away") and Spike Lee ("Do the Right Thing").  As president of Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Kitt produced with Lee "The Best Man" for Universal, "Love and Basketball" for New Line Cinema, "3 A.M." and "Good Fences" for SHOWTIME.  Mr. Kitt is currently developing and producing films for Disney and Paramount through his own production company, Future Films.

BEN CROWLEY (NICK WADE) has appeared in SHOWTIME'S "Resurrection Blvd" and MTV's "Undressed." He has also starred in the drama pilot "Murphy's Dozen" and the series "Glory Days."  Crowley has done guest appearances on "Dragnet," "JAG," "Dead Last," and "Maybe It's Me."  Crowley has starred in numerous independent films, and remains actively involved in theatre.

ANTHONY MACKIE (K-LUV) recently starred in Spike Lee's "She Hate Me" and the independent film "Brother to Brother."  He also appeared in "8 Mile" with Emimen. He will star on Broadway this February in "McReele."  Mackie made his Broadway debut opposite Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Dutton in August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and starred last year in Regina Taylor's new play, "Drowning Crow."  Originally from New Orleans, Mackie first studied acting at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and completed his studies at Juillard. His first professional experience came in the role of Tupac Shakur in "Up Against the Wind," which launched him onto the prestigious New York theatre scene. In Spring 2002, Mackie received an Obie Award for his work in TALK at New York's well-known Public Theatre directed by Marion McClinton.

KEN LEUNG (LINCOLN MA) has appeared in the feature films "Rush Hour," "Keeping the Faith" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse." His other film credits include "Strip Search," "Face" and the upcoming "Social Grace." His work for television includes roles in "Wonderland" and "The Jury."  For the stage, Leung has performed in the Tony Award-winning "Thoroughly Modern Millie." He has also appeared in Off Broadway productions such as "Corpus Christi," "The Road Home" and "Flipzoids."
 
JOHN SAVAGE (ANDERSON WADE) makes his third appearance in a film directed by Spike Lee. The previous two are "Summer of Sam" and "Do The Right Thing." Savage has also appeared in such films as "The Crossing Guard," "White Squall," "Message in a Bottle," and "The Thin Red Line."  Perhaps best known to film audiences for his role in "The Deer Hunter," some of Savage's other film credits include "The Amateur," "Inside Moves," "Maria's Lovers," "The Onion Field," "Hair," "Salvador" and "The Godfather III."  Recently Savage starred as "Lydecker" in the James Cameron/FBC television series "Dark Angel" and currently stars as "Scudder" in the HBO's "Carnivale."

KATHY BAKER (CLEO WADE) has time and again proven her cinematic worth with indispensable performances in such films as "Edward Scissorhands" and "The Cider House Rules." In 1983, Baker became a stage name when she won an Obie for her role in Sam Shepard's "Fool for Love."   Baker then moved on to television where she won three Best Actress Emmy awards, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actor's Guild award for her role on "Picket Fences."  Additionally Baker received Emmy nominations for her performance in "Door to Door" and for guest starring roles on "Boston Public" and "Touched By An Angel."  She most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed feature film "Cold Mountain." 
 

CAST AND PRODUCTION CREDITS

Cast

Nick Wade BEN CROWLEY
Lincoln Ma KEN LEUNG
K-Luv ANTHONY MACKIE
Sleepy DARRIS LOVE
Samantha Wade LAURA ALLEN
Angela Tsing T.V. CARPIO
Leon MALIEEK STRAUGHTER
Anderson Wade JOHN SAVAGE
Cleo Wade KATHY BAKER
Kwok JAMES HONG
Ahmir ARTIMUS LAMONT BENTLEY
Edwin Leong EWAN CHUNG
Dante Ponce OMARI HARDWICK
Jessica Epstein MARGUERITE MOREAU
Mama June JUDY PACE
Stephen Cashen EYAL PODELL
Peter Wu STANFORD CHASE
Detective Zepada EMILIO RIVERA
Devon REYNALDO ROSALES
Bonnie SHAY ROUNDTREE
Cue SAM SARPONG
Michael EDDIE SHIN
Yardell AVERY KIDD WADDELL
Mr. Tsing GEORGE CHEUNG
Don Strickland JIM BROWN
Tuk CHI MUOI LO
Lil' O MILO STOKES
Fernando ANDREW ANDERSON
Killa Ski JT the BIGGA FIGGA
Giselle TAWNY DAHL
Wilson Ma PHILIP WONG
Steven Ma PRESTON HABU
Officers TOM SCHULTZ
.........JAMIE McBRIDE
Female Professor EMILY LIU
Quinn SAN QUINN
Dre SEAN RYAL
Executive TRIPP HORNICK
Gorgeous Blond Girl NOORA TELARANTE
Kid EMMANUEL L. JOHNSON
Bouncer RICHARD HAJE
Guy GORDON LEE
Redhead JULIE MINTZ
Old Woman TENG WONG
Old Man MEE YUEN WONG
Chinese Henchman KELVIN HAN YEE
Teens OMARI HUGHES, LEVETT WASHINGTON
Mah-Jongs GARY CHEW, MICHAEL CHING, JOHN SHIN, STUART WONG
Bartenders TONI RINGGOLD, CARLIN DALEY
Cruising Woman LINDA CHAUN
Shopkeeper MARK ODA
Stunt Coordinator JEFF WARD

Stunts  ROBIR SIMMS, KOFI ELAM, MARK HICKS, JALIL LYNCH, GEORGE CHEUNG

Production

Directed by SPIKE LEE
Written by ALEX TSE
Executive Producers SPIKE LEE
........................SAM KITT
Co-Executive Producer...............................................................ALEX TSE
Director of Photography............................CESAR E. CHARLONE ABC
Production Designer KITTY DORIS-BATES
Edited by BARRY ALEXANDER BROWN
Music by TERENCE BLANCHARD
Produced by PRESTON HOLMES
Co-Producer ANN KINDBERG
Casting by  KIM COLEMAN
Unit Production Manager................................................................LOPE YAP, Jr.
First Assistant Director MIKE ELLIS
Second Assistant Director CHRIS HAYDEN
Costume Designer DONNA BERWICK
Assistant Art Director LIBALELE DANIELS-HALISI
Set Decorator TESSA POSNANSKY
Property Master JIMMIE HERRON, Jr.
Key Make-up Artist  GENEVA NASH-MORGAN
Key Hairstylist KENNETH WALKER
Script Supervisor NICOLE CUMMINS
Sound Recordist FRED PECK
SPFX Coordinator BROCK JOLLIFFE
Production Sound Mixer  WALTER ANDERSON
Unit Publicist JACKIE BAZAN
Music Editor TODD BOZUNG