"What we tried to show is how, under odd circumstances, a convicted murderer and a convicted rapist are capable of a moment of grace," said Hill. The more we wrote, the more we wrote away from the Tyson story." Hill says he was really interested in what happened when "a heavyweight champion goes to the toughest environment possible in American culture, the American prison system." Our story looks at how a tough guy and celebrity would handle life in prison. However Hill says while the Tyson case was the departure point, "There are a number of prize fighters who have been in trouble with the law.
Hill went and wrote some paragraphs about the idea then he and Giler wrote a full script.
Giler said they thought "it's amazing how no studio has made a film out of this basic situation of the heavyweight champion of the world going to prison, the toughest environment in the world," said Giler. Hill and Giler were having lunch one day and discussed Mike Tyson, who was sentenced to prison for rape in 1992. The other side is that boxing has a power and a beauty and a drama and fascination that makes it a very compelling sport." However, that's only one side of the coin. "There are a lot of terrible things about boxing. Hill had always wanted to make a boxing film, being a fan of the sport since he was young. Then, I decided I wanted to work again." I was fortunate enough that I could buy my children a hot lunch. "While Coppola's intentions were honorable, I think he made a bad situation worse. "One, it was embarrassing and, two, it made me think about quitting," said Hill. Hill had just come off the science fiction film Supernova on which he had been recut by Francis Ford Coppola among others. The film was based on an original script by Walter Hill and David Giler.
All hell breaks loose with the haughty professional champ going all out against the unputdownable prison warrior. Ripstein, a lifelong boxing fan, proposes a match and Warden Lipscomb (Arndt) is persuaded to look the other way.Īs all the arrangements are finally organized, an eagerly awaited fight night arrives. Sensing the brewing hatred for the heavyweight champion, an incarcerated mob boss named Ripstein ( Peter Falk) senses potential in a match between the modest Hutchen and the egomaniacal Chambers.
Flashbacks to Hutchen's own boxing career shows that he was sentenced to life at Sweetwater after he assaulted his adulterous girlfriend.
The most popular boxer behind bars is Sweetwater's undefeated Monroe "Undisputed" Hutchen ( Wesley Snipes), who ends up in solitary confinement after Chambers picks a fight with him in the mess hall. Criminals fight in boxing matches with very lax rules, thus making it a very addictive and lucrative venture for the syndicate. The prison camp, within its own walls, has a riveting competition on which a betting syndicate thrives. Unaware of the prison's ways and its unique hierarchy, the pompous and bratty Chambers tries to impress upon the inmates his status as a champion boxer. The high-security facility is populated by hardened criminals. Heavyweight boxing champion George 'The Iceman' Chambers ( Ving Rhames) is convicted of statutory rape and sentenced to Sweetwater, a new prison in the desert.