Rapper T.I., wife arrested on drug charges

Big things poppin’ again for T.I.

Coming soon: More movies for rapper, actor
BY AMY KAUFMAN
LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

LOS ANGELES – "Would you mind taking your shoes off before you come inside?" a willowy brunette asked T.I. at the door of filmmaker Brett Ratner’s mansion.

"Yeah, no problem, no problem," said the rapper-turned-actor as he bent down to pull off his immaculately white sneakers.

It was only 1 o’clock in the afternoon on a recent Friday, and T.I. – born Clifford Harris – was full-on doing the Hollywood rounds. That morning, he’d met with Academy-Award winning producer Brian Grazer.

Now, the 29-year-old and his entourage (manager, publicist, security guard, driver, reporter) had arrived at Ratner’s house, where he had been invited to discuss a role in the director’s next film.

Making up for lost time

As he waited for Ratner to enter the living room, he sipped a cocktail and surveyed the filmmaker’s expansive Benedict Canyon home. The setting, with its polished hardwood floors and plush couches, was undoubtedly far different than the one T.I. had lived in only last year.

In December, he emerged from a federal prison in Arkansas after spending roughly seven months there for charges related to purchasing machine guns and silencers.

Since then, he’s been busy making up for lost time: the Grammy winner had his first comeback show in New York earlier this month; his seventh studio album, "King Uncaged," is awaiting a release date; and he’s got a sizable role in "Takers," the heist film with an ensemble cast, including Matt Dillon and R&B singer Chris Brown.

‘Champions find a way’

"Just another day at the office," T.I. said, climbing into a black SUV after his meeting with Ratner had wrapped. "I just picked up where I left off (after prison.) Most times, you know, opportunities present themselves. I execute and take advantage.

"I wasn’t planning on meeting with Brett Ratner today, but when the call came, I knew there was an opportunity. So I had to make (things) work. Champions find a way."

That they do. Even on the set of "Takers" – in which he plays Ghost, a thief recently released from prison who’s trying to get back in good with his former posse of bank robbers – T.I. had to find a way to navigate the challenges imposed by a criminal sentence.

Complications: Curfew, guns

The shooting schedule was complicated by his curfew, which required him to be in bed by 1 a.m. During production, he wasn’t allowed to hold any gun that fired blanks – all faux weapons had to be rubber. And during one scene shot at night, the ankle bracelet he wore to monitor his whereabouts was set off, lighting up and forcing a reshoot.

But he didn’t find the various impediments distracting, he said.

"Nah, it’s never difficult to focus for me, man. Once I commit myself to something, then I mean it. That’s dead on that."

That’s not to say he hasn’t had to learn how to behave in Hollywood. On the set of his first film, "ATL" – a movie about four high school seniors growing up in Atlanta who are in a skate crew – T.I. said he was almost fired for showing up late to set.

"If I’m going to a concert and they say I gotta be there at 10, and I don’t show up until 12, everything all good because the show can’t go without me. Whereas, on a film, if you five minutes late, you late," he said.

"I had just got from music. I had just got a 7, 8 million-dollar check. So I was pulling up in Rolls Royces, smoke coming out like Snoop Dogg. ... I didn’t treat the circumstances as delicate as they were."

‘Takers prequel a possibility

After a stern talk with director Chris Robinson, he straightened up his act, and later landed a role in 2007’s "American Gangster" opposite Denzel Washington.

"I wanted to do it so much I didn’t care whether or not I made a dollar off of it," he said of the crime drama. "I ain’t made no money in movies yet, because of the fact that a movie usually takes about three or four months to film.

"At the time of ‘American Gangster,’ I was getting $100,000 a show and doing four to five shows a week. And I only probably got $100,000 for ‘American Gangster,’ something like that. But I didn’t mind. I wanted to do it. I like surprising people, man."

"Takers," which he also produced, is the first in T.I.’s three-picture deal with Screen Gems. The studio is already discussing the possibility of a prequel to the film, depending on how it performs at the box office. (The movie took in $21 million during opening weekend.)

"He has so much swagger," said Clint Culpepper, president of Screen Gems. "He’s not tall, but he walks like he’s 6-4."

Los Angeles Times staff writer John Horn contributed to this report.