Vitals
- Products: The A-Team
- Franchises: The A-Team
- Genres: Action Adventure
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Notable Characters: B.A. Baracus, Faceman Peck, Hannibal Smith, Howling Mad Murdoch
- Writer: Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Liam Neeson, Patrick Wilson, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley
- Producer: Iain Smith, Jules Daly, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott
- Director: Joe Carnahan
- Associated Luminaries: Stephen J. Cannell
In 1997 I saw a movie called Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane at its debut at the International Feature Film Market in New York City. I went bananas for it and corresponded a bit with its writer, director (and star!) Joe Carnahan. Indeed, I was the first person ever to publish an interview with him.
So when I spoke to him on the phone today about the forthcoming Smokin' Aces 2 DVD (the full transcript of which to go up shortly) and the publicist tried to cut our conversation down to six minutes, Joe was quick to back me up when I said I needed more time. "Hey, this is like old pals talkin'!"
As much as I love Smokin' Aces, I needed to talk about The A-Team.
Joe isn't shy, and I got an earful of tape I'll be sharing with you as soon as possible - but the breaking, and exciting, news is this:
Jordan Hoffman: Why isn’t Mr. T. doing a cameo?
Joe Carnahan: I don’t know that he’s not, brutha, I don’t know that he’s not! That book is not yet closed. Benedict and Schultz are in it, the thing with T is that he’s very vocal that he didn’t want to play anyone other than B.A. . . I've been reading, and I don't know why I read the things I read, because literally half of it is made up, but. . .there's this legacy. I mean, there have been a few tense moments out in the Vancouver nightlife with Rampage when people say, “you are playing Mr. T.” and he very quickly corrects them, “I’m playing B.A. Baracus.” Mr. T. is a guy. So we need to fight this tremendous legacy of who is the character B.A.
[After a conversation about how Dwight Shultz and Sharlto Copley hung out quite a bit and got very close during a day of shooting.]
Jordan Hoffman: What characters do Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz play?
Joe Carnahan: Well, it’s kinda under wraps, I can’t give it away fully. Just know that they, um, well, they are associated with their namesakes in the current film. And that’s all I’ll say. And that’s as much a scoop I’ve given there, dude, that one is for you.
How to interpret this? Is Mr. T. in the movie? Joe knows that's how his comments will be interpreted.
And what about Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz? Are they playing Face and Murdoch's older cousins? Fathers? Animal spirit guides?
Sound off your theories in the comments below.
Our script review of 
Jessica Biel Spotlight.
Quinton Rampage Jackson in Death Warrant.
