Dwayne Johnson takes a critical flip as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine,” which has its world premiere Monday on the Venice Movie Competition.
“I have for a long time wanted this,” Johnson stated earlier than the premiere. “The transformation part was something I was really hungry to do. I’ve been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had and make the films that I have, but there was just this voice inside of me, this little voice, like what if I can do more.”
The actor, greatest recognized for giant price range motion motion pictures and comedies, is already sparking Oscar buzz for his transformation within the movie from Benny Safdie.
The competition has launched a number of latest greatest actor Oscar winners, from Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” to Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist.” Like each of these movies, “The Smashing Machine” is being launched by A24.
Ken Hirama Dunn/A24 through AP
“The box office in our business is very loud,” Johnson stated. “And it can push you into a category and into a corner: This is your lane, this is what you do, this what people want you to be in and this is what Hollywood wants you to be. And I understood that. And I made those movies, and I like them and they were fun. And some were really good and did well and some not so good.”
However he felt like he had extra to offer, to not show one thing to Hollywood, however to himself.
The push to tackle a brand new problem got here partly from his co-star and good friend Emily Blunt, who he labored with in “Jungle Cruise,” and who inspired him to attract on every little thing he’d gone by in life and put it into his work.
“When you’ve been pigeonholed into something it’s hard to know, wait, can I do that?” he stated. “Sometimes it takes people you know and love, like Emily and Benny, to say you can.”
Johnson was joined in Venice not solely by Safdie and Blunt, but in addition the person he’s portraying within the movie. Kerr is a two-time UFC heavyweight event winner and MMA fighter who retired in 2009. Often called “The Smashing Machine,” Kerr additionally struggled with habit to painkillers and opioids, overdosing twice.
TIZIANA FABI through Getty Pictures
Earlier than Johnson was greatest referred to as the star of franchises like “Jumanji” and the “Fast & Furious” sequence, in addition to a producer and enterprise proprietor, he made his identify in wrestling. A 3rd-generation wrestler, he gained eight WWE championships.
“I loved wrestling and I had such a great time, but it’s very bombastic,” Johnson stated.
He remembered assembly Kerr within the late Nineteen Nineties and stated how a lot he regarded as much as him. This movie, he stated, looks like a full circle second.
“The Smashing Machine” takes place between the years 1997 and 2000, a tumultous time in each Kerr’s skilled and private life. His relationship with then girlfriend Daybreak Staples was significantly risky.
Blunt bought to know and spend time together with her counterpart as effectively. She stated she was excited to point out the “full weather system” of a relationship.
“I’ve been part of a lot of relationships that are essentially more curated to a movie, a moviefied relationship,” Blunt stated. “This felt like the full spectrum of what a relationship really looks like. Because humans change within the hour. I think we got to show that.”
She stated it was extraordinary and just a little “spooky” to see Johnson totally disappear into this function. The prosethtics had been designed by grasp make-up artist Kazu Hiro, who helped Bradley Cooper flip into Leonard Berntstein and Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill.
Venice’s inventive director Alberto Barbera stated final week he wouldn’t be shocked to see Johnson, who he known as “absolutely amazing” within the movie, and Blunt, who performs Kerr’s spouse, among the many Oscar nominees subsequent yr.
“I’ve been scared to go deep and go intense and go raw until now, until I’ve had this opportunity,” Johnson stated.
Each Johnson and Safdie stated that Kerr had modified their lives.
“It’s such a beautiful thing to shine a light on him and learn from his experiences,” Safdie stated.
Safdie can be an actor, who lately appeared in “Oppenheimer” and “Happy Gilmore 2,” and filmmaker who, alongside along with his brother Josh, codirected “Uncut Gems.”
In his director’s assertion for “The Smashing Machine,” Safdie known as the title, “a perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, conjuring images of domination and destruction with ease.”
The movie is taking part in in the principle competitors, with titles like “Frankenstein,”“Bugonia,” “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” “La Grazia ” and “No Other Choice” additionally vying for the highest prizes, together with performing and directing awards. Winners shall be introduced on Sept. 6.
“The Smashing Machine” will open in North American theaters on Oct. 3.
