His debut film opened at number one, and Columbus Short's follow-up flick is looking at a high-profile opening later this month. So, what project does the fast-rising actor want to use his newfound clout to help bring to the screen?
"We need to do a live-action 'Thunder Cats,'" the "Stomp the Yard" star grinned. "I might produce that next."
Although Short might be joking about making plans to scream "Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!" anytime soon, he is quick to point out that he ain't no "Ho!" either. Instead, the 25-year-old has been carefully building a stable of intriguing projects, turning down high-profile paychecks in flicks like "Justice League", and getting ready to knock his profile up a few pegs when the Chris Brown-starrer "This Christmas" hits theaters on the 21st. (After the jump, Short talks teaming with Kate Beckinsale, thieving with Matt Dillon, and his first horror movie)
"I'm in a movie with kitty-cat-Kate," he joked, revealing a playful nickname for his "Whiteout" co-star Ms. Beckinsale. "That one drops next October and it's me, Kate, and Gabriel Macht. It's a suspense/thriller that takes place in Antarctica. I'm a U.S. Coast Guard pilot, she's a U.S. Marshall, and we're on this track to figure out the first murder in Antarctica; it's going to be an interesting tale."
After that is "Armored," a thriller from the slick filmmaker behind Beckinsale's "Vacancy." "That's one I'm really excited about," he said of the movie, also due in late 2008. "It's me and Matt Dillon, and it's a blue-collar heist movie that turns into a thriller. [Dillon coerces my character] into stealing $42 million dollars, and it's the whole adventure that follows."
Short revealed that his busy calendar no longer includes a "Monster's Ball"-quasi reunion, at least for the time being. "'Tulia' went on hold, because Halle Berry is pregnant," he shrugged. "But that was a passion project for John Singleton, with Billy Bob [Thornton starring] ... [they've said they're] coming back together, so we're probably going to do that after she has the baby."
Instead, Short will bump up the next flick on his docket, and make his first horror film. "I'm about to start a movie with Jay Hernandez called 'Quarantine,'" he said of the "Hostel" star, who will appear alongside Short in the tale of a Los Angeles rabies outbreak. "[It also has] Jennifer Carpenter, Jonathan Schaech and Steve Harris; it's really going to be a scary movie, but not like blood and slasher horror - like really creepy. It's going to creep you out like how 'Blair Witch' creeped me out."
