Rhames, "Potter" villain hit into the "Rough"

By Jay A. Fernandez

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Ving Rhames and "NYPD Blue" veteran Henry Simmons have been cast in the indie sports drama "From the Rough." "Harry Potter" regular Tom Felton is in negotiations to join the film, as well.

Taraji P. Henson ("The Karate Kid") stars as Cassandra Turner, a women's swim coach at an African-American university who gets a shot at rebuilding the men's golf team. The real-life story is inspired by Dr. Catana Starks, the first female head coach of an NCAA Division I men's team, as the golf coach at Tennessee State University.

Simmons will play the upper-class director of the school's athletic department that bumps up against Turner's blue-collar approach. Rhames will play Roger, a veteran maintenance man at the college who knows everything about everyone on campus. And Felton, who is an avid golfer in real life, will play Edward, a British golf hustler whom Turner recruits for the team.

Shooting begins in New Orleans in early October. Pierre Bagley is directing.

Rhames recently appeared in "Surrogates," "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry." He next stars in the horror revamp "Piranha 3D," which swims into theatres August 20.

Simmons has recently appeared in the features "World's Greatest Dad," "Madea's Family Reunion," "Something New" and "Are We There Yet?"

Felton has played Draco Malfoy in all of the "Harry Potter" movies, the last two of which will be released in November and July. He will also appear in the Fox reboot "Rise of the Apes" next summer and the Warner Bros. horror-thriller "The Apparition" next September.

source: ukreuters.com