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Brand tries his hand at the movie game
Former Duke star, now an L.A. Clipper, is excited about role as movie producer

Ebenezer Samuel, New York Daily News

NEW YORK - Elton Brand wants to talk.

The Los Angeles Clippers forward does not often do offseason interviews. But it's a Tuesday, and the Peekskill (N.Y.) High School product is back in New York, lounging in the Regency Hotel, doing sit-down after sit-down with reporters.

The eight-year NBA veteran smiles.

"My publicist has been trying to get me to do this for years," said Brand, a former Duke star.

Brand's publicist once hoped he'd cruise the talk-show circuit. But Brand isn't in midtown to dish on the Clippers' draft strategy, the secret of the pick-and-roll or the saga of Kobe Bryant and that other L.A. team.

Brand, the movie producer, wants to talk showbiz. He wants to discuss "Rescue Dawn," his new Vietnam War flick. The film, starring Christian Bale, opened in select theaters on Wednesday.

Before "Rescue Dawn" became a feature film, Brand first saw it as the documentary "Little Dieter Needs to Fly."

"They wanted to do a feature film," he says. "Werner Herzog was attached to the project -- I did some research on him, and he's a great director. And they already had Christian Bale. ...

"I mean, we would be making a film with Batman."

Brand talks film as easily as he talks free throws. In the NBA, he has carved a niche as a low-post threat. Away from the hardwood, he is discovering filmmaking.

Three years ago, Brand and nightclub mogul Steve Marlton started a film company, Gibraltar Entertainment.

"We were acquaintances from his road trips to Portland," Marlton said. "I approached him. I had made good contacts in the nightclub industry."

Playing in Los Angeles, the workmanlike Brand always felt a little Hollywood. He lives in Hollywood Hills, down the street from Paris Hilton. He regularly talks to Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, who executive-produced "Asylum" in 2005. In 2002, Brand did a cameo on HBO's "Arli$$."

"When you're in L.A. for five, six years, you get a lot of opportunities," Brand says. "I was intrigued by producing movies."

But Brand doesn't want to merely cross into the film industry. Davis, Shaquille O'Neal ("Steel" and "Kazaam!") and Reggie Miller ("Beautiful Ohio") have produced movies -- to little acclaim.

"When people hear Elton Brand's name attached to something," Brand says, "I want them to think of good work."

Brand lists "Casablanca" and "A Clockwork Orange" among his favorite films. And the 6-foot-8, 245-pound All-Star admits he "almost teared up" during "Little Miss Sunshine."

"I like good movies," he says. "I like movies that expand your thinking, take your mind to a different place."

"Rescue Dawn," Gibraltar's first major release, is set in pre-war Vietnam. Bale plays Dieter Dengler, a pilot who crashes in Laos on a top-secret mission. Dengler is captured, tortured and taken to a POW camp. But he escapes and wanders the jungle. The plot and setting scream "Rambo," but "Rescue Dawn" is more.

"It's not a bang-bang action movie," Brand says. "It's a little artsy, more of a drama."

It also is Brand's producing debut, and proof that his work ethic transfers to the silver screen. In August 2005, Brand and his wife, Seneca, flew to Thailand to oversee the filming of "Rescue Dawn" while Marlton tied up loose ends in California.

For two weeks, they stayed in military barracks and drove a van to various filming locations in the Thai jungle. Brand balanced every aspect of production, from scheduling shooting times to selecting local extras to dealing with Herzog.

"Werner actually likes controversy," Marlton says. "In his last movie, five people died. Talk about jumping into the frying pan.

"But Elton is very gifted, a hard worker. I was comfortable with him in charge."
When Marlton arrived, taping was on schedule, and Brand had picked up behind-the-scenes footage for eventual DVD bonus material. Despite wrestling with Herzog, clashing with Thai authorities and sinking more money into the film than they'd anticipated ($12 million, Brand says), the pair wrapped up filming before the 2005-06 NBA season.

"It was a real baptism by fire for them," Bale says.

After slicing more than one-third of the two-hour film, Brand and Marlton debuted "Rescue Dawn" to rave reviews, sell-out crowds -- and some Oscar buzz -- during September's Toronto Film Festival.

"I know he's said he'd like to win an NBA MVP more than an Oscar," Marlton says. "But, wouldn't it be crazy."

Of course, Brand knows the NBA pays his bills. After taking a Clippers trainer to Thailand, Brand averaged a career-high 24.7 points per game in 2005-06. He executive-produced the coming horror flick, "There's Something Wrong in Kansas," but now, Brand is taking a break.

But he will be back. The Oscar talk continues to linger. Plus, the job has perks.

"My wife actually saves Batman," Brand says, his eyes lighting up. "Just don't blink, or you'll miss her."

Seneca, it turns out, makes a quick appearance near the end of the film. Brand says he will never step in front of the camera, but Seneca was a natural. Not to mention, she's the producer's wife.

Suddenly, if only for a moment, Brand's burgeoning film career is bigger than hoops.

"I'm the producer," Brand says. "I'll get my friends in, family, whatever.

"It's what I do."