The Transporter (French: Le Transporteur) is a 2002 French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen and written by Luc Besson, who was inspired by BMW Films' The Hire series.

The film stars Jason Statham as Frank Martin, a driver for hire – a mercenary "transporter" who will deliver anything, anywhere – no questions asked – for the right price. It also stars Shu Qi as Lai Kwai.

The film was released in France on October 2, 2002 and in the United States on October 11, 2002. It is the first film in a series also consisting of Transporter 2 and Transporter 3. A television series has also been announced.^[3]

Plot[link]

Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a highly skilled driver known only as "The Transporter." The titular character is a former Special Forces officer who, disillusioned with his former leadership and tortured by the memories of his past, now lives on the French Mediterranean coastline with a lucrative "backup" career. He will transport anything, no questions asked, from Point A to Point B, always on time, and he is known as the best in the business. He strictly follows four rules when transporting: Rule #1: "No new deals, when it's a deal, it's a deal", Rule #2: "No names", Rule #3: "Don't open the package", and Rule #4: "Never make a promise you can't keep".

Frank has been hired to transport "Three men, 254 kilos." When not three but four men get into his car, fresh from a bank heist, Frank refuses to move, holding fast to Rule #1. After one gang member is killed by the others, Frank leaves with the remaining robbers. On delivery to their destination, they foist new money on Frank to drive further from the city. He refuses the deal, again adhering to Rule #1. The robbers escape in another car, and Frank leaves.

Frank returns to his mansion in the south of France, and he finds out via the news that the gang was caught after crashing their getaway car in a pursuit. Later, local police Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand), who happens to be a close acquaintance, arrives to question Frank about the robbery, since his make and model of car was the same used in the robbery. However, despite his suspicions about Frank's involvement, Tarconi has no concrete proof about the heist (due to Frank cleaning up the car and changing the licence plate) and leaves his Villa.

Frank is then hired to deliver a package to an American gangster (Matt Schulze) known only as "Wall Street.". During the way, he notices that something is moving in the package, but he refuses to open the bag due to Rule #3. While changing a flat tire on the road in France, he breaks one of his rules and opens the package that was placed into the trunk at Point A. He finds the package is really a woman, and he makes a small hole in the tape over her mouth and gives her a bottle of juice to drink. He delivers the package as promised to Point B.

After receiving the package, Wall Street asks Frank to transport a briefcase. Frank reluctantly accepts the job. He takes the briefcase and leaves. On the way, he stops at a gas station to eat and rest for a little while, but the briefcase turns out to be a bomb that destroys Frank's car in the parking lot but leaves him unharmed. Frank snaps and returns to Wall Street's residence with a vengeance, dispatching several of his henchmen and then stealing a car to get away, only to find "the package" tied to a chair in the back seat.

Later on, he returns to his house, and unties the package who tells him that her name is Lai. The next day, Tarconi arrives. Lai opens the door and claims to be Frank's new cook. He makes the usual inquiries, producing a scorched license plate, and expressing suspicion that Frank's "cook" drives a Mercedes. Lai now says she is Frank's new girlfriend and supports Frank's alibi with an invented story about how they met. Tarconi leaves with no proof again. However, shortly after he leaves, missiles rain down on Frank's house, and Frank and Lai are barely able to escape the house into the sewer, swimming away from the house before it completely explodes.

At the police station, being questioned about the destruction of Frank's house, Frank and Lai are able deflect Tarconi's questions, and Lai manages to sneak onto Tarconi's computer to access information on Wall Street. She tells Frank that Wall Street is trafficking two shipping containers full of Chinese people including her own father and family, and is planning to sell them into slavery. Lai and Frank go to Wall Street's office to find the shipping docket identifying the containers. However, Wall Street reveals that Lai's family is not in the containers. In fact, her father is the man responsible for the human trafficking. Tarconi, who was following Frank, then arrives at the office. Wall Street and Lai's father accuse Frank of kidnapping Lai and attempting to blackmail them. Unable to prove otherwise, Tarconi has Frank arrested and locked up in the station.

At the station, Frank does his best to explain the situation to Tarconi. Tarconi agrees to abet Frank's escape as his faux hostage. Frank then tracks the criminals to the docks, where they load the containers onto trucks. However, Frank is spotted and is forced to fight his way through the guards, failing to stop the trucks. He then steals a small airplane and parachutes onto one of the trucks, killing Wall Street and a number of his henchmen. After getting out of the truck, Frank is then ambushed by Lai's father. However, Frank is saved when Lai shoots her own father. Afterwards, Tarconi arrives with the police and they rescue the people trapped inside the containers, and Frank and Lai help to load them in the ambulances as the film ends.

Cast[link]

• Jason Statham as Frank Martin/The Transporter
• Shu Qi as Lai Kwai
• François Berléand as Inspector Tarconi
• Matt Schulze as Darren "Wall Street" Bettencourt
• Didier Saint Melin as Boss
• Doug Rand as Leader
• Ric Young as Mr. Kwai
• Adrian Dearnell as Newscaster
• Vincent Tulli as Thug (uncredited)

Releases[link]

Theatrical release[link]

The Transporter premiered in 2,573 theaters, grossing $25,296,447 in the United States and a total of $43,928,932 worldwide.^[2][4]

Cut and uncut releases[link]

In the United States, the United Kingdom and several other countries, certain sequences of violence were either cut or toned down. These include:

• The fight on the bus, which included Jason Statham using a knife.
• The final fight on the highway, where Frank Martin fights Wall Street. In the original French version, Wall Street is crushed beneath the wheels of the truck after Frank throws him from it. In the PG-13 version, he is simply thrown out of the truck and onto the highway.

The uncut fight on the bus can be seen in the "Extended Fight Sequences" on the North American DVD, but with no sound.

Home media[link]

The DVD version was released on October 23, 2003. It included fifteen minutes of extended fight scene footage and a feature-length commentary. On August 23, 2005, the film was released again in a "Special Delivery Edition". This version included all the features of the original release plus a new behind-the-scenes documentary, a making-of featurette, and a storyboard-to-film comparison. The film was also released as a part of "The Transporter Collection", which featured the first two films in the series. A Blu-ray format was released on November 14, 2006.

Reception[link]

Critical response[link]

Rotten Tomatoes has The Transporter at an average rating of 53%^[5] and Metacritic has it listed at 51%.^[6] The consensus is that "The Transporter delivers the action at the expense of coherent storytelling."^[5]

Manohla Dargis, of the Los Angeles Times, complimented the action, saying, "[Statham] certainly seems equipped to develop into a mid-weight alternative to Vin Diesel. That's particularly true if he keeps working with director Corey Yuen, a Hong Kong action veteran whose talent for hand-to-hand mayhem is truly something to see."^[7]

Roger Ebert took the opposite stance, stating, "Too much action brings the movie to a dead standstill."^[8]

Eric Harrison, of the Houston Chronicle, says, "It's junk with a capital J. The sooner you realize that, the more quickly you can settle down to enjoying it."^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

	France portal
	Film portal

• The Transporter at the Internet Movie Database
• The Transporter at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Transporter at Box Office Mojo
• The Transporter at AllRovi

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross (often stylized as RICK RO$$), is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap and Teflon Don, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC In The Game.^[3]

Early life[link]

William Leonard Roberts II was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi.^[1] and raised in Carol City, Florida, near Miami.^[2] After graduating from Carol City Senior High School, he later attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.^[4]

Music career[link]

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam umbrella since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Ross toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.^[2]

[edit] Port of Miami (2006)

His debut album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, with sales at 187,000 units after its first week.^[5][6] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would be "the summer's biggest rap record".^[7] The second single was "Push It", which samples "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)", the theme song off the gangster film Scarface.^[8] The music video for "Push It" was modeled after the film.^[9] During that time, Ross made guest performances on two singles from DJ Khaled's debut Listennn... the Album: "Born-N-Raised" and "Holla at Me". Port of Miami received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8, 2006.

[edit] Trilla (2008)

In March 2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of Miami had, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.^[10] Its lead single "Speedin'" featuring R. Kelly peaked at #121 on the Billboard Hot 100; the next one, "The Boss" featuring T-Pain peaked at #17 on the Hot 100. The third single "Here I Am" featured Nelly and Avery Storm.^[11] MTV News ranked Ross on the fourth spot in its 2008 "Hottest MCs In The Game" list among ten rappers.^[12] The fourth single "This Is The Life" featured Trey Songz and was released in July.

[edit] Deeper Than Rap (2009)

"I look at the game and the business and all different aspects, it's a lot of great lyricists on the corner that will never properly understand the business and know how to market themselves and get in a position where they can gain capital. I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records? That intrigues me. To see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves."^[13]

A track from the album called "Valley of Death" was what stood out to MTV reporters. In the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard. "Keep it trilla, nigga, never had a gun and badge," which he stresses, leaving the word that he was indeed an officer of the law. "Kept a nice watch, smoking on a hundred sack/ Back in the day I sold crack for some nice kicks/ Skippin' school, I saw my friend stabbed with an ice pick/ Can't criticize niggas trying to get jobs/ Better get smart, young brother, live yours." Later, he implies that while he was working as a corrections officer, he was on the streets. "Only lived once and I got two kids/ And for me to feed them, I'll get two gigs," he raps. "I'll shovel shit, I'll C.O./ So we can bow our heads and pray over the meatloaf." Although, he still provided no explanation for lying about being a C.O. to begin with, nor did he explain why he failed to pay child support for his children.^[14][15]

The cover of the May 2009 issue of XXL magazine, titled "Rick Ross Up in Smoke", featured Ross wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses. After publication, a spokesperson for the luxury-goods maker contacted XXL to inform them that Ross was sporting fake sunglasses in the cover image.^[16] It was later revealed that the rapper was wearing authentic Louis Vuitton sunglasses which were altered by Jacob Bernstein, known as "The Sunglass Pimp". Bernstein defended his customizations despite Louis Vuitton's insistence that such modification and resale of trademarked property is not legal.^[17]

[edit] Teflon Don and other works (2010)

Rick Ross released his fourth studio album entitled Teflon Don, which was released on July 6, 2010. The lead is "Super High" featuring Ne-Yo. Actress Stacey Dash made an appearance in the music video. A second official single was released titled "Live Fast, Die Young" which features and is produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 selling 176,000 copies in its first week.

In November 2010, rapper and frequent collabourator, Diddy, who in 2009 signed Ross to a management deal with his Ciroc Entertainment, announced from his YouTube account, that him and Ross are working on an EP together, which is going to be released in 2011.^{[dated info]} A single has been released for the project, called "Another One".^[18]

[edit] God Forgives, I Don't (2011 - present)

Rick Ross had also announced the release of his next album, "God Forgives, I Don't", for December 13, 2011, however it was confirmed on November 17, 2011 it has been pushed back for release in 2012.^[19][20]

Rick Ross premiered two songs from his new album "God Forgives, I Don't", titled "You The Boss" and "I Love My Bitches".^[21]

Along with his music projects, Rick Ross was nominated by The Source as its "Man of the Year".^[22]

Rick Ross performed at BET Awards 2011, which aired on June 26, 2011.^[23] He also received a nomination for Best Male Hip Hop Artist.^[24] In early 2012, Ross was named the Hottest MC In The Game.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Correctional officer photos[link]

In July 2008, The Smoking Gun produced details linking Ross' social security number to an eighteen month stint as a correctional officer at the South Florida Reception Center, along with a photograph purporting to be Ross in his correctional officer uniform.^[25] Ross initially denied that the photograph was of him;^[26] after overwhelming evidence of his past came into the public's eye, Ross later admitted that he did work as a correctional officer in Florida during the early 1990s.^[27] In a 2008 interview with AllHipHop.com,^[28] "Freeway" Ricky Ross, claimed offense that Roberts used his name and identity when he learned that The Smoking Gun posted documents revealing Roberts' previous employment as a Florida correctional officer.^[29]

Legal issues[link]

Mugshot of Rick Ross taken in 2008.

In January 2008, Ross was arrested on gun and marijuana charges. During a deposition of Officer Rey Hernandez, a Miami Beach cop who arrested Ross, Ross's lawyer, Allan Zamren, asked Hernandez why Ross’s case was assigned to the gang task force. The officer stated that it was because Ross claimed affiliation with Carol City Cartel and other known gang members. Zamren then pressed Hernandez for a personal link between Ross and the gang members, but ultimately one could not be established.^[30]

In August 2008, YouTube entertainer DJ Vlad filed a lawsuit against Ross for assault and battery. Vlad claimed Ross organized an ambush on him at the 2008 Ozone Awards in Houston, Texas for asking questions about his past as a correctional officer.^[31]

On June 18, 2010, Freeway Ricky Ross sued Rick Ross for using his name,^[32] filing a copyright infringement lawsuit in a California Federal Court.^[32] Jay-Z had been called to testify in the lawsuit, as he was CEO of Def Jam when Ross/Roberts was signed.^[32] The reformed drug kingpin was looking for 10 million dollars in the lawsuit.^[32] Also, the release of his album, Teflon Don, was threatened to be blocked by Freeway Ricky Ross. A week after the filing of the lawsuit, Rick Ross responded to the charges: "It’s like owning a restaurant, you’re gonna have a few slip and falls. You get lawsuits, you deal with them, and get them out your way…sometimes you lose."^[33] He then denied rumors that he would change his name to "Ricky Rozay" as a consequence of the lawsuit. The lawsuit was thrown out of court on July 3, 2010^[34] and his album, Teflon Don, was released on July 20 as scheduled.

On March 26, 2011, Ross was arrested in Shreveport for possession of marijuana. According to the police records, a strong odor of marijuana was detected from his room at the Hilton in Downtown Shreveport.^[35]

Religion[link]

Rick Ross is a Christian,^[36] and in an interview with Corey "Coco Brother" Condrey on Lift Every Voice, he indicated that "I had told myself at one point no matter what I go through, I never question God."^[37] In addition, Ross indicated that he prays every time he goes on stage to perform.^[38]

Seizures[link]

On October 14, 2011 Rick Ross suffered two seizures in the same day, once in the morning and once again early evening. Following the morning seizure, he was unconscious and CPR was being performed. He did, however, post a video to his Twitter account later in the day saying that he was OK.^{[citation needed]} Ross boarded another plane later in the day and suffered another seizure. On October 14, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital confirmed that Ross had been admitted to the emergency room. TMZ, who first reported the seizure, updated their story originally posted at 4:45 PST, stating that Ross was in stable condition.^{[citation needed]}

Feud with 50 Cent[link]

In January 2009, Ross started a feud with rapper 50 Cent because he supposedly looked at him the wrong way at the BET Awards. 50 Cent told news sources that he did not remember seeing Ross there.^[39] In late January, "Mafia Music", by Ross, leaked onto the Internet. There were several lines that seemed to diss 50 Cent. Days later, 50 Cent released "Officer Ricky (Go Head, Try Me)" in response to Ross's disparaging remarks on his "Mafia Music" song.

Before going to Venezuela, 50 Cent uploaded a video entitled "Warning Shot," wherein he stated: "Rick Ross- I'mma fuck your life up for fun." In addition, 50 Cent released the first of a series of "Officer Ricky" cartoons. Early in February, 50 Cent once again made a video which he uploaded to YouTube in which he interviewed "Tia", the mother of one of Ross's children. She verifies that he was a correctional officer and claims his whole persona is fake and fraudulent.^[40] On Thursday, February 5, 2009, Game, who 50 Cent has a long-standing "beef" with, called up Seattle R&B station KUBE. When asked about the beef between 50 Cent and Ross, Game sided with 50 Cent and said that things are not looking good for Ross. He offered to help, stating, "Rick Ross, holla at your boy, man," and, "50 eating you, boy."^[41] On his album Deeper Than Rap, Ross references 50 Cent in the song "In Cold Blood". A video for the song was released that portrayed 50 Cent's mock funeral. Upon release, Ross stated that he has ended 50 Cent's career.^[42] That same day Ross released a new diss track called "Push 'Em Over The Edge". The next day 50 Cent released the controversial video "A Psychic Told Me", dissing DJ Khaled. On February 12, 50 Cent responded with "Tia Told Me", along with Lloyd Banks' response "Officer Down" and Tony Yayo's "Somebody Snitched".

In an interview, 50 Cent said Ross is "Albert From CB4. You ever seen the movie? He's Albert," he added. "It never gets worse than this. You get a guy that was a correctional officer come out and base his entire career on writing material from a drug dealer's perspective."^[43]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• 2006: Port of Miami
• 2008: Trilla
• 2009: Deeper Than Rap
• 2010: Teflon Don
• 2012: God Forgives, I Don't ^[20]

Maybach Music Group Albums[link]

• 2011: Self Made Vol. 1 (with Maybach Music Group)
• 2012: Self Made Vol. 2 (with Maybach Music Group)^[44]

Collaboration albums[link]

• 2009: Custom Cars & Cycles (with Triple C's)
• TBA: Bugatti Boyz (with Diddy)^[45][46]

Compilation albums[link]

• 2007: Rise to Power

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rick Ross

• Rick Ross Official Def Jam Website
• Rick Ross at the Internet Movie Database

Jason Statham
Jason Statham, 2011
Born	(1967-09-12) 12 September 1967 (age 44)[1] Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present

Jason Statham ( /ˈsteɪθəm/;^[2][3] born 12 September 1967)^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]} is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Statham appeared in supporting roles in several American films, such as The Italian Job, as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Death Race, Crank, The Bank Job and War (opposite martial arts star Jet Li). Statham also appeared alongside established action film actors Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren in The Expendables. He usually performs his own fight scenes and stunts.^[10]

Early life[link]

Statham was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, the son of Eileen (née Yates) and Barry Statham, a lounge singer.^{[7][11][12][13]} He moved to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where he chose not to follow his father's career working the local market stalls, and decided to pursue the arts. He grew up with football player Vinnie Jones, alongside whom he would later go on to act. Jones introduced him to football, and Statham went on to play for the local grammar school (1978–83), which he had attended since the age of eleven, but his real passion was diving.^{[citation needed]} He practised daily in perfecting his diving techniques – in particular, he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992.^[14] He was also a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for twelve years.^[15][16]

Statham's life in the media began when he was spotted by a talent agent specialising in athletes while training at London's Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Afterwards, he became a model for the clothing brand French Connection.

Career[link]

Statham in 2007

While working as a model for French Connection (FCUK), he was introduced to fledgling British director Guy Ritchie^[17] who was developing a film project and needed to fill the role of a street-wise con artist. After learning about Statham's past as a black market salesman, Ritchie cast him to play the role of "Bacon" in his 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.^[18] The movie was well received by both critics and audiences, and helped catapult Statham into the public eye. Statham's second collaboration with Ritchie came in the 2000 film Snatch, playing the role of "Turkish". Cast alongside popular actors Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina and Benicio del Toro, and with the movie earning more than $80 million in box-office revenue, Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two movies in 2001: Ghosts of Mars and The One.

Statham was offered more film roles and in 2002 was cast as the lead role of driver Frank Martin in the action movie The Transporter, in which his background in martial arts enabled him to do most of his own stunts.^{[citation needed]} He has studied Wing Chun kung fu, karate, and kickboxing.^[19] The film spawned two sequels, Transporter 2 (2005) and Transporter 3 (2008). He also played in supporting roles in Mean Machine (2002), The Italian Job (2003) (in which he played Handsome Rob), and Cellular (2004) in which he played the lead villain. In 2005, Statham was once again cast by Ritchie to star in his new project, Revolver, which was a critical and box office failure.^[20] He also played a dramatic role in the independent drama London in 2006. In 2006 he played the lead role in Crank. Statham compares his role in Crank to his real life in the September 2006 issue of Maxim. The success of Crank led to a sequel in 2009 titled Crank: High Voltage.

In 2008, Statham starred in the British crime thriller The Bank Job which was both a critical and box office success. In 2008, American film critic Armond White hailed Statham's ascension as the leading international action film star. On the occasion of Death Race, White championed Statham's "best track record of any contemporary movie star."^[21] Later in 2008, White praised Statham's Transporter 3 as a great example of kinetic pop art.

Statham in 2006

In 2009, Statham started to develop a new movie written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples (Twelve Monkeys). Statham stated "We've got a movie we're trying to do, written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, in the vein of an old film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It’s not a remake or anything, but it's a little bit like that, about relationships and how greed contaminates the relationships these three people have. The working title is The Grabbers."^[22]

In 2010, Statham appeared alongside fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke, among others in The Expendables. Statham plays Lee Christmas, a former SAS soldier and expert at close quarters combat using knives. In 2011, Statham starred in the remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film, The Mechanic, and returned to British film in the police drama Blitz.

He also starred in the action film Killer Elite. The film was based on real events, which were the subject of Sir Ranulph Fiennes' fictional novel The Feather Men. Statham played an assassin named Danny who comes out of retirement to save an old friend, who was played by Robert De Niro.^[23] In August 2011, he is to begin filming Parker, for director Taylor Hackford; Statham will star as Parker, the criminal antihero previously played by Mel Gibson in 1999's Payback and by Lee Marvin in 1967's Point Blank.^[24]

Personal life[link]

Statham was in a seven year relationship with model Kelly Brook, until 2004.^[25][26] Since April 2010, he has been dating Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.^[27]

Filmography[link]

Box office performance[link]

Since 1998, Statham has appeared in over twenty films. Several have been box office hits, such as Snatch and The Bank Job. He has starred in two film series, The Transporter and Crank. The films he has been in have grossed a total of more than $1 billion USD at the box office, with the highest individual film being The Expendables.

Video game voice-overs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	England portal
	Biography portal
	Films portal

• Jason Statham at the Internet Movie Database