Ving Rhames Boxing Thriller ‘Uppercut’ Has North America Rights Acquired By Grindstone Entertainment Group

Bruce Haring

25 May 2024 at 11:43 am·2-min read

Grindstone Entertainment Group has bought North American rights to Uppercut, a boxing thriller starring Ving Rhames, for Hello Moment Productions.

World sales are being handled by Sublimity Entertainment, which will be presenting the film to international distributors at the Cannes marketplace.

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Set in New York City, Uppercut begins in 2014 as Toni (Luiii), a determined fighter, seeks out Elliott (Ving Rhames), a former boxer turned gym owner in gritty Bushwick. Though Elliott first dismisses the idea of training her, an unexpected bond blossoms between them, breaking through the boundaries of boxing and exploring the complexities of respect, love, family, and personal convictions. It culminates in a final showdown that alters Toni’s destiny profoundly.

Years later, Toni, now a pioneering female boxing manager, guides Payne (Jordan E. Cooper) to his first championship fight, drawing upon Elliott’s wisdom. On this very night, Toni might not only lose a fight, but also herself, as at home, her young daughter’s health is at stake. As two worlds collide, two fighters unite.

The cast is led by Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible, Pulp Fiction, Out of Sight) as Elliott, Golden Globe winner Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Under Fire) as Rita, and Emmy nominee Jordan E. Cooper (The Ms. Pat Show, Ain’t No Mo) as Payne, and Luiii, German actress and former professional pole vaulter, as Toni.

The film was written and directed by Torsten Ruether. The producers alongside Ruether and Luise Grossmann are Matthew Berkowitz (A Violent Man, Madness Inside Me, A Look Through His Lens) and Josef Brandmaier (Iron Sky: The Coming Race, There’s a Hole in My Bucket, School of Magic Animals), and Stephen Castor, with Jim Rygiel (visual effects for Conan, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia) serving as executive producer. Riccardo Maddalosso (Armageddon Time, How to Blow Up a Pipeline) serves as co-executive producer.

Feig Finkel LLP negotiated the deal on behalf of the producers, while Alfredo Lara Orbezo and Ryan McCombs from Sublimity Entertainment brokered the deal with Stan Wertlieb from Grindstone Entertainment.

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