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Val Kilmer and Xzibit Join Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant

by Kevin Powers
July 3, 2008

It was announced early last month that the Ghost Rider duo, Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, would be starring in Werner Herzog's take on the 1992 cult classic Bad Lieutenant. Now we also learn today that a slew of others have now joined the cast, notably low-laying Val Kilmer and rapper-turned-actor Xzibit. Kilmer is set to star as Cage's sidekick, who will headline the movie as the cop with questionable morals, while Xzibit will play "a villain" named Big Fade; it's doubtful the X-Files supporting cast member will play the primary villain, however (at least I hope so). Production is scheduled to begin later this summer for an expected 2009 release of Bad Lieutenant.

I've always liked Kilmer and am glad to see him in a project of this scale. Last time I really took note of him was in the mediocre Mindhunters of 2004 and to a lesser extent 2006's Deja Vu. I doubt he'll ever reprise the edge he had in Heat, but it's cool to see him in a Herzog production. As for Xzibit, let's just say I've made my views on the "Pimp My Ride" host pretty clear. However, as the guy continues to get work (surprisingly), I'll keep an open mind and report back.

Joining the two is also Fairuza Balk (cool!), Jennifer Coolidge (odd), Vondie Curtis-Hall (not bad), Shawn Hatosy (ehh), and Denzel Whitaker (who?). All of these folks sit in solid supporting territory, and considering the subject matter, you can probably guess the kind of role they might fill (e.g. Balk as some kind of trashy street gal, Curtis-Hall as a fellow cop or neighborhood insider, Whitaker as an innocent). All in all, the cast for Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is looking fairly bland. But since this is a Herzog project, the 2009 film has a faint, but steady blip on my radar. Does this recent cast growth get you any more or less excited?

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