July 21, 2011

Birmingham to play Routh's father

Twilight’s Gil Birmingham Joins Crooked Arrows CastGil Birmingham, known for his role as Billy Black in the Twilight Saga films, will join Superman Returns Brandon Routh in the film Crooked Arrows, a story about a Native American high School Lacrosse team forced to compete against a better equipped and trained local prep school team. Birmingham will play the tribal chairman and father of the entrepreneurial son played by Routh.

The film centers on Joe Logan (Routh), a 30-year-old mixed-blood Native American, who wants to modernize the reservation but must first prove himself to his father (Birmingham), a traditionalist tribal chairman, by rediscovering his spirit. Joe postpones his casino-building dreams to coach the fledging Native American lacrosse team against the prep school in which he used to star. As a result, Joe inspires the Native American youth and teaches them the true meaning of tribal pride. The sport of Lacrosse dates back to the northeastern Native American tribes in the 1100s.

“The intense relationship between the father and son and the conflict between modern ways and tradition is what appealed to me most in Crooked Arrows,” said Birmingham, who is part Comanche. “Wrapped in a movie about a sports competition is the human element of a man and his son trying to find their way in a sometimes confusing world.”
Comment:  How old is Birmingham...his mid-40s? And Routh is 32? The math on that doesn't quite add up.

Since Routh's character is "mixed blood," I wonder who will play his white mother.

Is Birmingham going to cut his long locks for the role? Most tribal chairmen have short hair just like politicians and business executives everywhere. Voters want practicality, not flamboyance, and short hair signals that.

For more on the subject, see Crooked Arrows Seeks "Authenticity" and "Superman" Star to Play Native Coach.

1 comment:

dmarks said...

Birmingham looks much older than his 40s to me.

Of course, this is the 2nd time this Native actor has played in the movies as the Native father to a non-Native actor playing a Native character.

"The sport of Lacrosse dates back to the northeastern Native American tribes in the 1100s."

Wikipedia says that the sport is no older than the 1600s. But the wording implies that it was discovered then. But still it is not a good Wikipedia entry.