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“My only response was ‘Because of the question you just asked,’ Howard recalls. “When I first met Jim, I was absolutely exhausted. I had just come off that Oscar buzz and I was tired of smiling for the cameras. Jim asked me the question and I felt my entire mood shift. I wanted to find out where his power came from. It stems from his ability to care about people.” In 1971, Ellis founded the Philadelphia Department of Recreation (P.D.R) Swim Team, based at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center in Philly’s Nicetown section. Today, the predominantly African-American team enjoys national recognition and has become a model for other urban swim programs. Directed by South African born Sunu Gonera and filmed in New Orleans – which doubles as Philadelphia - Pride tells Ellis’ story. Bernie Mac plays Elston, the rec center’s janitor, while Kimberly Elise portrays Sue Davis – a city council member who is initially in favor of tearing down the center. Swim team members include Puddin Head (Brandon Fobbs), Reggie (Evan Ross) and Willie (Regine Nehy). “{During the time period depicted in this film} Jim was also a Math teacher,” Howard reveals. “He took care of his family and graded homework for about thirty-four students. In addition, he took his son to the pool every morning at 5 am and every evening at 3.35pm. He obviously cared for his family, but he also took on the responsibilities of children who had been abandoned by their own parents and the social system.” Thirty-five years after the events depicted in Pride, Ellis still teaches children how to swim and inspires them to seek a college education and professional careers. “Jim Ellis has achieved his goals without any help from the local school board or the recreational department,” Howard notes. “Apparently, he’s spoken to the governor and mayor (about aid) and no-one has offered any assistance. He still has a swimming pool that doesn’t have heat, so he runs a hose every morning to heat up the water. I have nothing but respect for this man.” Besides visiting Ellis in Philadelphia and studying his coaching style to get a strong vision of the program, Howard – who had limited swim experience prior to this project - underwent an extensive workout regimen. “It felt like I was training to be an astronaut,” he laughs. “I was swimming nearly four thousand yards each day. It’s twenty five yards across the pool, so I was swimming 150 to 200 laps per day. My shoulders were tired, I was all wrinkled up and I felt like I was 95 years old.” And more was on the way. Howard also experienced a harsh training schedule at the hands of Darrell Foster, who trained US boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard. “Darrell demanded an hour of lifting and at least forty five minutes of running each day.” says Howard. “We started running at 5am and we ran again every evening, even if we finished shooting at 12.00am. Whether or not we had a 5 am wake up call the following day, we had to put the time in. If we missed time on one day, we would have to make up the lost time on the following day.” At the time of this interview, which takes place in early March, Howard is gearing up to film Iron Man – a big screen adaptation of the comic book of the same name – which revolves around a billionaire (Robert Downey Jr.), who utilizes a special life support suit to fight evil and crime. Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow also star in the film, helmed by Jon Favreau, which is currently slated for a May 2008 release. “The movie stars Robert, so get ready for some real action, Howard muses. “I love Robert and Jon because you cannot predict what they’re thinking. Then you add Jeff and Gwyneth to the mix. So you say to yourself ‘Ok, you want to be an actor. Every one of these people has been nominated for an Academy Award, or they’ve actually won the Award. Well, let’s see what you’ve got.’” |
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© Simon Bacal / ENTAction.com 2005 / All Rights Reserved. |
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