Crowe to kung-fu in �Man with the Iron Fist�

The Grammy-winning producer and hip-hop star, and former leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA (aka Robert Fitzgerald Diggs), has cast Russell Crowe to star in his upcoming action film The Man with the Iron Fist.

The script was co-written by RZA and actor Eli Roth (Inglourious Basterds) who also wrote Grindhouse. It marks the multi-talented RZA�s directorial debut. He will also appear in the film as �a weapons-making village blacksmith in feudal China�.

RZA has composed film scores for Quentin Tarantino�s Kill Bill Volume 1 as well as songs in Eminem�s 8 Mile and Knocked Up. He has appeared in American Gangster with Crowe and will co-star in Paul Haggis�s thriller The Next Three Days, which opens November 19.

Speaking with cable channel E! online, RZA said �Russell�s gonna be the baddest man alive. That man will knock you out�.

Production begins in December in Shanghai with a release in 2011