Urijah Faber interacts with media during the open workouts at Urijah Faber’s Ultimate Fitness on July 10, 2019 in Sacramento, California. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Featherweight Andre Fili makes his acting debut in the thriller
Few films made speculatively are ever picked up by a major distributor. Luckily for producer Urijah Faber, his first time up at bat was a home run when Green Rush found a home at Lionsgate. A cannabis farm twist on the classic home invasion thriller, Green Rush takes place over a few short hours, as the family that runs the operation realize their dealings in a legal gray area has put them into black market business with the wrong people.
While the plot is not specific to MMA fans, the team behind the film has strong roots in the MMA world. Green Rush was created by Rick Lee, who has both writing and producing credits on the picture. Lee has been behind various projects with the UFC, such as UFC Embedded. In turn, director Gerard Roxburgh has experience as a producer of The Ultimate Fighter and the Evan Tanner documentary Once I was Champion (2011). Lee and Roxburgh brought Faber on to help produce. Longtime MMA writer Danny Acosta also has a writing credit on the film.
The MMA connection was not limited to just behind the camera—featherweight Andre Fili makes his acting debut. Fili has credited Team Alpha Male with saving his life (and famously got a tattoo of Faber on his leg) and it appears as though his loyalty has been rewarded with a unique opportunity. In an interview with MMA Junkie, director Roxburgh said Fili was “a total pro” and praised his ability to nail a scene on the first take.
As for Faber, Lee credited ‘The California Kid’ with making things happen for the project—particularly the deal with Lionsgate. Faber has long had an entrepreneurial spirit, with his business interests stretching far behind simply fighting. Lee brought Faber on knowing his business acumen would be a great asset for the Green Rush team.
Lee went on to say, “The movie involves a lot of twists and turns. It’s pretty dark – it’s pretty dark. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised. It’s not 100 percent true as far as everything that happened in real life, but the movie is based on true events. We did our research.”
Not only is the film based on true events, but true events that happened to a mutual friend of Lee and Roxburgh. After hearing their friend’s story, the MMA filmmakers knew they had to make Green Rush a reality.
Green Rush will be available at your local Redbox April 14th. It can also be found on UHD and On Demand.