Latest news with #BUFF
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
David Haye reveals major career move 7 years after retiring from boxing - and says he'll be 'great at it'
Boxing legend David Haye has revealed his bold new career move - swapping the ring for the big screen, seven years after retiring from the sport. The former heavyweight world champion, 44, is stepping into the world of acting with his debut role in Under The Gun, a short crime flick set to premiere next month. David, who called time on his boxing career in 2018, said acting has always been a dream of his - and now it's becoming reality. Speaking of his new career, he told The Sun: 'Being directed by Charles Belleville and shooting with the amazing cast and crew was a privilege. 'Acting is a discipline, much like boxing - it takes commitment and preparation to deliver. 'I hope the viewing audience receive my acting as well as they have supported my boxing career.' The British star also gave a shout-out to his acting mentor and producer, Alex Fidelski, and thanked the British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) for giving the project a platform. Under The Gun will be shown at BUFF on June 25, with David starring alongside Pirates of the Caribbean and The Crown actor Kevin McNally. The film is set 'deep in London's criminal underbelly' where 'two detectives join a poker game where the stakes are higher than they ever imagined,' according to the festival's description. David has never hidden his passion for acting - he first teased the idea back in 2016, saying: 'When I retire in two or three years I'd like to be an actor. 'I want to reach the heights in acting that I've reached in boxing - though that's a tough ask, I know. I'll have to start from scratch. He concluded: 'But I've always loved film and I think I'd make a great actor.' In 2018, David announced his retirement from boxing following back-to-back defeats by rival Tony Bellew. David unified the cruiserweight division before stepping up to win the WBA heavyweight crown during a stellar career. But two devastating and damaging defeats by Tony ended his hopes of regaining his world crown and, as first revealed by Sportsmail, prompted him to hang up his gloves. David was one of this country's most devastating punchers but his 16-year, 32-fight professional career was plagued by injuries. Despite becoming the first British fighter to become unified cruiserweight king and later beating Russian giant Nikolay Valuev in 2009 to become a two-weight titlist, fitness problems troubled him during his 2011 loss to Wladimir Klitschko and later cost him two fights against Tyson Fury. They also continued to haunt him when he returned to the sport in 2016 after nearly four years out. 'I'm happy, healthy, my family is financially secure so it's a job well done,' he said after announcing his retirement. 'Thanks to boxing, I have been able to live my unencumbered childhood dream; a dream my dad, Deron, facilitated the moment he took me to Fitzroy Lodge amateur boxing club as a nervous 10-year-old,' David added in a 2,000-word statement on his website. 'On reflection, my 16-year, 32-fight professional career was one of two halves. 'In the first eight years, everything ran smoothly. I had 25 fights and became the first ever British boxer to unify the cruiserweight division... I then achieved my childhood dream when I beat WBA heavyweight champion of the world. But he continued: 'It was in the second half of my career where I really discovered what it meant to fight and be a fighter. 'If I had it my way, I would have fought as many as 16 times in the second half, the last eight years. 'But, unfortunately, during this time my faulty body only allowed me to step through the ropes on seven occasions – four wins, three losses – and often it was a fight just getting to the ring in one piece.' It was these fitness problems that curtailed his hopes of beating Tony first time round, when he suffered a ruptured achilles on the way to an 11th-round stoppage defeat. But it was his performance in a second defeat at the hands of his Liverpool rival, on May 5 in London, that told him his time was up. 'The boxing gods have spoken. They will no longer protect me with the freakish speed and power I used to possess. And without these God-given gifts, I completely lose my edge,' he said. 'For my fans, it must have been like going to support their favourite thoroughbred racehorse at the Grand National, only to see their stallion stumble out the gates like a sedated mule at the Donkey Derby.' 'Of course, my ego would have loved to have retired on a win, or as a champion. But, deep down, I know my effort on May 5, 2018 was the very best I had left to give. 'I also know that underwhelming effort revealed the truth about my current abilities in a world-class boxing arena. 'This is not the end of my story. It's simply the start of something new,' he added. 'To my fans, thank you from the bottom of my heart, for dancing through the tough times with me, and applauding my efforts regardless of the result. Your kind support always meant the world to me, and I won't forget the many great nights we shared.'
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Edinburgh hit one-man play BUFF coming to town
A one-man play about body image and social media jealousy is coming to Ipswich. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit, "BUFF," will be performed at Eastern Angles on Saturday, May 31, as part of its UK tour. The play, written by Ben Fensome and directed by Scott Le Crass, tells the story of a plus-sized, gay, primary school teacher who sublets his flat to an Instagram model after a break-up. The play explores themes of dating, 'hook-up culture', and the harsh realities of online apps for people like the protagonist, played by Jamal Franklin. BUFF will be performed at Eastern Angles on May 31 (Image: Kieran Vyas Photography) Ben Fensome said: "BUFF came out of a discussion Scott and I had about contemporary LGBTQ theatre and who usually gets featured in those stories, which actors get cast, what marketing usually looks like, etc. "We wanted to explore a character that we hadn't seen be centred before, and out of that discussion, our character in BUFF was born. "We've been really blown away by the response from LGBTQ audiences who have related to us how they haven't really seen a character be centred like this particularly in queer theatre. "I hope it is a call out for the community to look out for each other more, and the centre point of that is, of course, the ability to love and accept ourselves." The tour, presented by Emmerson and Ward Productions, will also visit Birmingham, Harrogate, Bath, Sale, Lancaster, Leicester, Banbury, Nottingham, Hull, Newcastle, and Bristol. Tickets for the Ipswich show can be purchased from the Eastern Angles website. The show is advised for audiences aged 15 and over with tickets costing £12 each. The tour is supported by Curve and Arts Council England.
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The Boston Underground Film Festival returns to the Brattle
Nicolas Cage is back in crazy Nic Cage mode in ' The Surfer ,' the fest's opening-night film. This would be at the top of my list, because it sounds like a cross between the Patrick Swayze-Keanu Reeves movie 'Point Break' and the Aussie macho horror classic, 'Wake in Fright.' In search of the tastiest of waves, Cage travels to the Australian coast with his son. Unfortunately, the guys who run the beach don't take kindly to strangers. Violence ensues, and Cage's response is perfectly in tune with the guy who made movies like 2018's blood-soaked revenge movie 'Mandy.' (Wednesday at 7 p.m.) Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Readers know Chain Reactions ' sounds right up my alley. Director Alexandre O. Phillippe ('Lynch/Oz') has assembled an exciting list of people (Stephen King, Karyn Kusama, Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike) to discuss what Tobe Hooper's groundbreaking 1974 masterpiece means to them. (Thursday at 6 p.m.) Advertisement For those awash in hometown pride, there's ' The Dunwich Horrors ,' one of several shorts programs BUFF is presenting. Shorts are movies, too! And sometimes, they're hidden gems. 'Damn Handy' is the one that caught my eye. The synopsis reads: 'When a plumber visits the remote farmhouse of two murderous sisters, he'll need a trick up his sleeve to survive.' Works for me. (Friday at 5 p.m.) Still from "The Ugly Stepsister." Marcel Zyskind As counterprogramming to this week's release of the live-action Disney remake of 'Snow White,' BUFF brings you ' The Ugly Stepsister ,' a far less family-friendly fairy tale. This Norwegian-language film crosses Cinderella with 'The Substance.' Director Emilie Kristine Blichfeldt presents a gruesome, stomach-churning treatise on beauty. Horrible images of surgical procedures and bodily fluids await the daring viewer — my former editor Advertisement Midnight madness fans will find what they want at the intriguingly named 'Trigger Warning — Midnight Shorts ' program. I'd go just because the title sounds like a dare. (Friday at 11:45 p.m.) Since I love music videos, the ' Sound + Vision ' shorts program appeals to me. I don't recognize 95 percent of the performers listed, but that's because I'm old. (Saturday at noon) I do recognize the names Ethan Embry and Michael Patrick Jann. They're the star and director of ' Alma & the Wolf ,' a BUFF world-premiere screening. Embry was in Reese Witherspoon's 2002 comedy, 'Sweet Home Alabama,' and Jann directed the 1999 comedy 'Drop Dead Gorgeous.' I'm sure people will drop dead in this gruesome tale about a mysterious wolf in the woods, and I'm equally sure that the results won't be gorgeous. (Saturday at 6:45 p.m., with Jann in attendance) Would you rather have some onscreen sexy time? BUFF has you covered with a movie whose title I can't print in this paper. It's called '[BLEEP]Toys' and is about a cursed sex worker. Comparisons to Russ Meyer, Radley Metzger and Doris Wishman are in the synopsis. If you know their movies, this one might be for you. (Sunday at 6 p.m.) If you're still able to stand up after that, look into ' Escape from the 21st Century ,' a Chinese martial-arts time travel movie that sounds a lot like something Empire Pictures would have put out back in 1981. (Sunday at 8:30 p.m.) Advertisement Still from "Re-Animator," Jeffrey Combs, 1985. © Empire Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection ©Empire Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Let's say you only have time for one movie. May I recommend the 40th-anniversary screening of the H.P. Lovecraft-based splatter classic, ' Re-Animator '? Stuart Gordon's masterful tribute to Grand Guignol once held the unofficial record for the most blood splashed all over the screen. This darkly funny take of reanimating the dead stars Jeffrey Combs and the Barbara Steele of my generation, the great Barbara Crampton. (Crampton will be in attendance.) As gory and controversial as this movie is, it earned some unexpected movie-critic fans. Tickets available at . Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
