Rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube has teamed up with Disney-based Gunn Films to bring the sports-themed comedy “De-Fense” to the big screen. Written by Ice Cube, who will produce the film through his Cube Vision production company, and re-written by Tiger Williams (“Menace to Society”), the project is described as “The Bad News Bears” set in the world of football.
Ice Cube will not star in the project, which is about a suspended National Football League (NFL) player sentenced by the league to return to his hometown of Los Angeles to coach a high school football team. While dealing with the teens and the sport, he finds the love of the game within himself.
Ice Cube will soon be seen in the MGM comedy “The Barbershop” and New Line Cinema’s “Friday After Next,” which he wrote and produced. He is also in production on Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Torque” for producer Neal Moritz. Finally, Cube is also rewriting and co-executive producing the MGM comedy feature “Race” for Hyde Park Entertainment and First Entertainment.
As previously reported, “The Barbershop” opens Sept. 13 in U.S. theaters, and also features another rapper, Eve, as well as Cedric The Entertainer and Sean Patrick Thomas. Released yesterday (Aug. 27), the film’s Epic soundtrack features music by Fabolous, P. Diddy, Jagged Edge, Glenn Lewis, and Amel Larrieux, as well as lead single “Stingy” by Ginuwine, which is No. 15 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and No. 47 on Billboard’s Hot 100.