As a whole, it was a fairly run-of-the-mill awards ceremony – some tearful speeches, a sprinkling of politics, jokes about Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating life – but got the job done.
Glaser returned to host again, offering a few fun skits (a parody of the Nicole Kidman AMC ad targeting podcasts, and a mash-up for ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and ‘Marty Supreme’ with a Fran Drescher cameo.
Yes, some of the jokes were entirely predictable, but there were some pointed jabs at CBS News (“see BS News”) and the Epstein Files.
And overall, Glaser kept the show moving (it eventually ended roughly 10 minutes late).
There were a lot of expected winners, including several trophies for ‘One Battle After Another,’ ‘Sinners’ and the latest for ‘Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet.
But the surprises were more fun –– ‘Hamnet’ scooped the Motion Picture – Drama award, while ‘The Secret Agent’ nabbed Non-English Language Film and a more unexpected (if entirely deserved) Actor trophy for star Wagner Moura.
A lot of the TV awards for drama and comedy were similar to other shows such as the Emmys, with ‘The Pitt,’‘The Studio’ and ‘Adolescence’ all winning more hardware for their trophy cabinets.
Awards shows are usually a mix of humble and heartfelt, and ‘One Battle’s Teyana Taylor certainly got that in early with her tearful acceptance moment.
Outside of acceptance speeches, Judd Apatow killed it presenting Best Director, nodding to Nikki Glaser’s history babysitting his daughters and his “quiet boycott” of the awards after ‘Trainwreck’ lost to ‘The Martian’ in the comedy category a decade ago.
Wanda Sykes was also on top form as she presented the Stand-Up category, swiping at Bill Maher and particularly Ricky Gervais, whose award she accepted “on behalf of God and trans people.”
And Snoop Dogg was… Snoop Dogg, handing out the first Podcast award, which was won by Amy Poehler for ‘Good Hang.’
There was much praise for Macaulay Culkin, who was presenting Best Screenplay, and scored a standing ovation as he took the stage.
Julia Roberts hyped up her own stint on stage Presenting Best Motion Picture Comedy, while poor George Clooney had to note that he did not get the same reaction presenting drama, a fact reiterated by pal Don Cheadle, who showed up to gently rib him.
The Golden Globes will take place on December 8th.
Despite lots of changes behind the scenes and some serious PR airbrushing, the Golden Globes never quite retained their luster. Still, they’re a big stop on the awards circuit and the nominations were announced today by Marlon Wayans and Skye P. Marshall during a press conference held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
And on the TV front, ‘The White Lotus’ and this year’s big small screen sensation, the one-shot drama ‘Adolescence’ have the most nominations for their side of the awards.
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
(L to R) Teyana Taylor as Perfidia and Sean Penn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in ‘One Battle After Another.’ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Paul Thomas Anderson, ‘One Battle After Another’ Ryan Coogler, ‘Sinners’
Guillermo del Toro, ‘Frankenstein’ Jafar Panahi, ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Joachim Trier, ‘Sentimental Value’
Paul Thomas Anderson, ‘One Battle After Another’ Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, ‘Marty Supreme’
Ryan Coogler, ‘Sinners’
Jafar Panahi, ‘It Was Just an Accident’ Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier, ‘Sentimental Value’ Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell, ‘Hamnet’
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in ‘Wicked For Good’, directed by Jon M. Chu.
“Dream as One”, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
“Golden”, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’
“I Lied to You”, ‘Sinners’
“No Place Like Home”, ‘Wicked: For Good’
“The Girl in the Bubble”, ‘Wicked: For Good’
“Train Dreams”, ‘Train Dreams’
The 31st Annual Critics Choice Film Awards Nominations have been announced.
‘Sinners’ leads the pack with 17 nominations.
The ceremony will air on E! and the USA Network in January.
After turning its box office fortunes around (and er, just being purchased), Warner Bros. is also seeing some awards success this year, with the likes of ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ nabbing nominations and taking home trophies.
Also up for awards this year are the likes of ‘Hamnet’, ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Wicked: For Good,’ which have all also been getting attention during the current awards season.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
Not nearly as pleasurably anxiety-inducing as his previous films with brother Josh, Benny Safdie’s solo directing debut finds the filmmaker enabling star Dwayne Johnson’s push into the realm of ‘serious actor’ – and on that level, ‘The Smashing Machine’ is a success. The Rock rises to the occasion here with his measured, compelling, and complex portrayal of real-life UFC fighter Mark Kerr, showing vulnerability and humanity that he has largely not explored in his action-heavy resume to date.
As a film overall, ‘The Smashing Machine’ – based extensively on the 2002 HBO documentary of the same name – is less effective. It lacks context for Kerr’s story, which may leave viewers not familiar with the UFC or MMA bewildered, and it’s episodic in nature, weaving the highs and lows of Kerr’s career from 1997 to 2000 around his fraught, co-dependent relationship with girlfriend (and eventual wife, then ex-wife) Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt). Take away Johnson’s absorbing performance, and it’s a standard sports biopic with a weirdly muted energy.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Director Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson and on the set of ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
Safdie seems to take a lot of incidents and even lines of dialogue from ‘The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr,’ the HBO documentary, and his tendency to film in a cinema-verité style brings this film even closer aesthetically to the 2002 doc. The main difference, of course, is that this version features Dwayne Johnson as Kerr, and while we don’t get a lot of backstory on either him or his chosen field, we are nevertheless drawn into his struggle.
Kerr fights on several fronts even when he’s not in the ring. He’s a soft-spoken, gentle, kind man with a vulnerable center – he won’t even go on certain amusement park rides because they’ll hurt his ‘tummy’ – yet he’s also possessed of a deep inner rage that will explode out of nowhere and result in a bedroom door smashed to splinters on the floor. He doesn’t know how to handle defeat because he’s ‘never lost,’ even saying so in an interview before a match in Japan (where he frequently fought). Yet this is also a man who grudgingly realizes that he can’t win all the time, a realization borne out in the film’s final scenes.
Opioids and Dawn are what Kerr battles the most, the former for the pain and wear of his profession and the latter for the pain and wear of co-dependency. In several instances, Dawn comes out into their living room to find him sitting in a stupor, staring at the TV. She’s no angel herself when it comes to substances, with Kerr stunned late in the film when she refuses to stay away from the goodies herself in support of his emergence from rehab. ‘You’re no fun anymore!’ she shrieks at him with almost deliberate cruelty, despite Kerr’s earlier descent into addiction being nothing less than harrowing.
(L to R) Emily Blunt, Dwayne Johnson and director Benny Safdie on the set of ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
The brawls inside the ring are less emotionally fraught but more physically brutal. Boxing may be the ‘sweet science,’ but UFC fighting is frankly nothing less than barbaric. Yet the fighters themselves are respectful to each other outside the ring, even friends, which provides its own touching moments.
Safdie shoots all this, as mentioned earlier, in a somewhat detached documentary style, but the compilation of incidents from Kerr’s life and career never take on an organic momentum of their own. That may be Safdie in part trying to avoid the usual rise-fall-return of most sports biopics (and biopics in general), which is commendable. But he still can’t avoid a number of the tropes and the film almost fights itself, trying to show a documentary restraint yet not quite reaching any real emotional heights – except in Johnson’s raw performance.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt star in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
‘Raw’ is really the right word for Dwayne Johnson’s performance (which does bring to mind the Safdies’ reinvention of Adam Sandler in ‘Uncut Gems’), and fans may be unnerved to see him sobbing at several points in the film. Wearing prosthetics to bury himself more in the role, Johnson visibly digs deep and delivers, even if the viewer is aware that he’s also thinking about his award-season run.
Emily Blunt’s Dawn Staples is a problematic and not especially sympathetic character; while Blunt throws herself into the part (their biggest fight, climaxing in a bathroom, is intense and even frightening), the character is difficult because she’s either subservient to Kerr or selfishly manipulative toward him. Dawn is both exasperating and the typical ‘girlfriend/wife’ we see in sports biopics, but the movie never quite burrows under her skin.
Much of the rest of the film – in keeping with Safdie’s seeming desire to replicate as much of the documentary as possible – is cast with real people from the world of MMA and UFC playing either themselves or fictionalized versions of other real people. Ryan Bader in particular is quite good as Kerr’s former friend Mark Coleman, bringing sensitivity, decency, and honesty to a character whose loyalty Kerr constantly tests.
Final Thoughts
Dwayne Johnson stars in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
As we said at the top of this review, the main focus of ‘The Smashing Machine’ – Dwayne Johnson’s transformative performance – is what works best. Which is a good thing, both for him and the movie, although no doubt debates will rage over whether this is a shameless bid for awards recognition from an actor whose chops – like those of fellow wrestlers-turned-actors John Cena and Dave Bautista – have not always been taken seriously.
Still, Johnson does step up, although in the end ‘The Smashing Machine’ itself is serviceable, occasionally fascinating, and intermittently moving. We’re not sure what the film says in the end: Mark Kerr was a UFC and MMA pioneer before they became cultural behemoths, and in a sense he was passed by as a result. But since that has been chronicled already in a documentary, does a narrative version have a point? That’s the barrier ‘The Smashing Machine’ struggles to break through.
‘The Smashing Machine’ receives a score of 75 out of 100.
(L to R) Director Benny Safdie, Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson on the set of ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
What is the plot of ‘The Smashing Machine’?
Legendary mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) battles addiction, injuries, and other challenges to his career, while also entwined in a dysfunctional relationship with his girlfriend Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt).
Who is in the cast of ‘The Smashing Machine’?
Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr
Emily Blunt as Dawn Staples
Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman
Bas Rutten as himself
Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn Lyndsey Gavin as Elizabeth Coleman
Satoshi Ishii as Enson Inoue
Dwayne Johnson stars in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
‘The Smashing Machine’s Dwayne Johnson and director Benny Safdie are quickly making a new movie together.
They’ll reunite for novel adaptation ‘Lizard Music’.
Safdie and Johnson will also produce.
With their first collaboration –– ‘The Smashing Machine’, the biopic of MMA fighter and UFC champion Mark Kerr –– drawing strong reviews and awards buzz on the festival circuit, it’s perhaps not all that shocking to learn that star Dwayne Johnson and filmmaker Benny Safdie already have their eye on a new project to work on together.
Dwayne Johnson attends the World Premiere of Netflix’s ‘Red Notice’ at Regal LA Live. Photo: Kevin Mazur.
Pinkwater’s book is the story of a boy who is left to his own devices. When he stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a 70-year-old chicken named Claudia — two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible.
Safdie aims to write the adaptation and direct, while Johnson would look to stretch himself once more to play to play Chicken Man. The pair will also produce the movie.
The next step is to find a distributor for the film, which certainly sounds like it could be a tough sell –– but ‘The Smashing Machine’ is certainly generating hefty positive buzz and we’d be surprised if the duo hasn’t already started discussions with that movie’s backers, A24.
When will ‘Lizard Music’ be in theaters?
With no distribution deal yet, there isn’t a release date to relate as of now.
But you’ll be able to go and see ‘The Smashing Machine’ in cinemas from October 3rd.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
Moviefone has compiled a list of the most anticipated movies opening in theaters and/or streaming in September and October of 2025, which not only includes major studio releases but also smaller independent films that you won’t want to miss.
Paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
(L to R) Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Adria Arjona and Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville’. Photo: Neon.
When his wife Ashley (Adria Arjona) asks for a divorce, Carey (Kyle Marvin) runs to his friends (Dakota Johnson and Michael Angelo Covino) for support, only to learn that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.
Michael Strassner in Jay Duplass’s ‘The Baltomrons’. Courtesy of Jon Bregel. An Independent Film Company Release.
After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff (Michael Strassner) embarks on an unexpected May/December adventure through Baltimore with Didi (Liz Larsen), his emergency dentist.
(L to R) Ruby Cruz, Zoey Deutch, and Jonah Hauer-King in ‘The Threesome’. Photo: Vertical.
Connor (Jonah Hauer-King) is a kind and unassuming young man, who, along with his long-time crush Olivia (Zoey Deutch), engages in a threesome with a sweet, alluring stranger named Jenny (Ruby Cruz). This encounter sparks a relationship between Connor and Olivia, leading them to plan a life together. However, their romance faces challenges when Jenny reappears, thrusting all three into a difficult journey toward true accountability and adulthood.
(L to R) Orlando Bloom as “Boxer” and John Turturro as “Boz” in the Psychological Thriller film, ‘The Cut’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
A retired boxer (Orlando Bloom) intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer (John Turturro), he embarks on an intensive and illegal weight-cutting program.
When Mary (Michelle Dockery) finds herself at the center of a public scandal and the family faces financial strife, the entire household grapples with the threat of social disgrace. The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepares for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future.
(L to R) Joshua Odjick as Parker, Jordan Gonzalez as Harkness, David Jonsson as McVries, Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, and Charlie Plummer as Barkovitch in ‘The Long Walk’. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate.
Every year, fifty teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as “The Long Walk.” Among this year’s chosen crop is “Maine’s Own,” Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman). He knows the rules: that warnings are issued if you fall under speed, stumble, sit down. That after three warnings- you get your ticket. And what happens then serves as a chilling reminder that there can be only one winner in the Walk. The one that survives.
Dev Patel appears in ‘Rabbit Trap’ by Bryn Chainey, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo: Andreas Johannessen.
When a musician (Rosy McEwen) and her husband (Dev Patel) move to a remote house in Wales, the music they make disturbs local ancient folk magic, bringing a nameless child to their door who is intent on infiltrating their lives.
(L to R) Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest in ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’. Photo: Bleecker Street.
Now estranged, Spinal Tap (Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest) are forced to reunite for one final concert, hoping it will solidify their place in the pantheon of rock ‘n’ roll.
Rebekah Kennedy as “Abigail” in the horror film, ‘Traumatika’, a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.
A young boy’s night terrors become reality when his mother begins showing signs of demonic possession. What he’s about to experience will haunt him for the rest of his life and claim countless lives across generations.
Sarah (Margot Robbie) and David (Colin Farrell) are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present… and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
(L to R) Jeremy Ray Taylor as “Julian” and Josh Duhamel as “Tommy Ward” in the action comedy ‘London Calling’, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
After fleeing the UK from a job gone wrong, a down on his luck hitman (Josh Duhamel) is forced to babysit the son (Jeremy Ray Taylor) of his new crime boss (Rick Hoffman) and show him how to become a man.
Omari Hardwick in ‘Xeno’. Photo: Blue Fox Entertainment.
When a fearless teenage girl (Lulu Wilson) stumbles upon a mysterious alien crash-landed in the desert near her home, she discovers that it’s not the kind of extraterrestrial she expected—it’s powerful, unpredictable, and on the run. As government agents (Omari Hardwick) close in, she must protect her new otherworldly friend while uncovering a secret that could change the fate of both their worlds.
Madelaine Petsch as Maya in ‘The Strangers — Chapter 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
On the final day of their cross country road trip, a couple’s vehicle breaks down, forcing them to take refuge in a remote Airbnb. As night falls, three masked strangers terrorize them until dawn. The film stars Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath.
Emma Thompson in ‘Dead of Winter’. Photo: Vertical.
A widowed fisherwoman (Emma Thompson), traveling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl’s only hope.
(L to R) Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield in ‘Play Dirty’. Photo: Prime Video.
Expert thief Parker (Mark Wahlberg) gets a shot at a major heist, but to pull it off he and his team must outsmart a South American dictator, the New York mob, and the world’s richest man.
Maddie Hasson in Bleecker Street and LD’s ‘Bone Lake’. Credit: Bleecker Street and LD Entertainment.
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
(L to R) Guy Pearce and DeWanda Wise star in ‘KIlling Faith’. Photo: Film Bridge International.
In the summer of 1859, a widowed physician (Guy Pearce) reluctantly agrees to take a recently freed slave (DeWanda Wise) and her mysterious Caucasian daughter on a five-day journey through the bloody West to find a distant town’s Faith Healer. The woman believes her daughter is possessed. The doctor believes she simply carries The Sickness. Either way the fact remains that every living thing the girl touches mysteriously dies.
A highly sophisticated Program called Ares (Jared Leto) is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.
(L to R) Daniel Bernhardt and Patton Oswalt in ‘Deathstalker’. Photo: Shout! Studios.
The warrior Deathstalker (Daniel Bernhardt) is tasked by an old witch lady to obtain and unite the three powers of creation – a chalice, an amulet, and a sword – lest the evil magician Munkar get them and use them for nefarious purposes. After obtaining the sword, Deathstalker joins with other travelers going to the Big Tournament to determine the strongest warrior. The false king holds the true princess in captivity, and plots to have Deathstalker killed, and Deathstalker must fight to free the princess.
(L to R) Mark Coles Smith as “Leo,” Maximillian Johnson as “Stan,” Joel Nankervis as “Will,” and Lee Tiger Halley as “Teddy” in the thriller film ‘Beast of War’. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.
When their boat is sunk while crossing the Timor Sea during World War II, a young troop of Australian soldiers must find a way to survive the harsh seas on a quickly shrinking life raft. Hundreds of miles from anywhere, they must confront interpersonal conflicts, enemy attacks, and the advances of one very large, very hungry great white shark.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
‘Pets on a Train’ opens in theaters on October 17th. Photo: Viva Pictures.
When a train unexpectedly starts up, taking only pets with it, the animals discover that Hans, a badger with a grudge is behind it all. While the crash seems inevitable, the animals can count on Falcon, a roguish Raccoon who will do anything to save them.
(L to R) Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller in ‘Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost’. Photo: Apple TV+.
Ben Stiller tells the story of his parents—comedy icons Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara—exploring their impact on popular culture and at home, where the lines between creativity, family, life, and art often blurred.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves as Gabriel, Seth Rogen as Jeff, and Aziz Ansari as Ari in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo Credit: Eddy Chen.
A well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) and a wealthy capitalist (Seth Rogen).
Four years after escaping The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), Finney Blake (Mason Thames) is struggling with his life after captivity. When his sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake, the siblings become determined to solve the mystery and confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.
Tessa Thompson stars as “Hedda Gabler” in ‘Hedda’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson) finds herself torn between the lingering ache of a past love and the quiet suffocation of her present life. Over the course of one charged night, long-repressed desires and hidden tensions erupt—pulling her and everyone around her into a spiral of manipulation, passion, and betrayal.
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company (Emma Stone), convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
(L to R) Margaret Qualley and Ethan Hawke in ‘Blue Moon’. Photo: Sony Pictures Classics.
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.
‘Last Days’ opens exclusively in US theaters on October 24th. Photo: Tanasak “Top” Boonlam.
Determined to fulfill his life’s mission, 26-year-old John Allen Chau (Sky Yang) embarks on a dangerous adventure across the globe to convert the uncontacted tribe of North Sentinel Island to Christianity, while a detective from the Andaman Islands races to stop him before he does harm to himself or the tribe.
Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere.’ Photo: 20th Century Studios.
Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White), a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past
(Left) Dwayne Johnson attends the World Premiere of Netflix’s ‘Red Notice’ at Regal LA Live. Photo: Kevin Mazur. (Right) Darren Aronofsky (director, ‘Caught Stealing’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Preview:
Director Darren Aronofsky is circling the new thriller ‘Breakthrough’.
Dwayne Johnson is taking a role in the movie.
A24 is backing this one.
Earlier this month, the news broke that Dwayne Johnson was looking to add another dark drama to his To Do list, after once again dipping his toe in edgier waters with the upcoming A24 MMA biopic ‘The Smashing Machine.’
Johnson is taking a supporting role in the company’s new thriller ‘Breakthrough.’
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Now, via Deadline, comes word that Darren Aronofsky, no stranger to such darker fare, is in early conversations to direct it.
Assuming a deal goes through, it would mean a reunion for the filmmaker and the studio, for which he made ‘The Whale’, which saw Brendan Fraser win an Oscar.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘Superpowered: The DC Story.’ Photograph by Courtesy of Max/Warner Bros.
The new script comes courtesy of up-and-coming talent Zeke Goodman.
Set in turn-of-the-millennium Southern California, the movie follows an alienated young man who comes under the influence of a motivational guru, whose intoxicating charm masks his morally questionable methods of manipulation and his own concealed darkness.
Johnson will play the role of the guru, with casting still underway for the lead role and other characters.
The filmmaker will next release ‘Caught Stealing’, which stars Austin Butler as ex-baseball player Hank Thompson, who unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in a dangerous struggle for survival amidst the criminal underbelly of 1990s New York City, forced to navigate a treacherous underworld he never imagined.
‘Caught Stealing’ will hit theaters on August 25th.
When will ‘Breakthrough’ be on screens?
Even assuming Aronofsky agrees to direct, it might take a while to come together given the time needed to get the movie into production (and Johnson’s ever-busy schedule, though his taking a supporting role and not the lead will likely help with that).
A24 hasn’t yet slotted this one on its schedule.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
Dwayne Johnson attends the World Premiere of Netflix’s ‘Red Notice’ at Regal LA Live. Photo: Kevin Mazur.
Preview:
Dwayne Johnson is taking a role in new thriller ‘Breakthrough.’
Zeke Goodman wrote the script about a potentially risky motivational guru.
A24 is backing the movie.
Dwayne Johnson has been through a few phases in his career. He kicked off with supporting, action-focused roles in the likes of ‘The Mummy Returns,’ moved through the kid-friendly likes of ‘Tooth Fairy’ and slowly built himself into a movie-opening, franchise-launching, big-name machine.
But more recently, he’s revisited his attempts to branch out from the usual ‘Fast & Furious’ and ‘Jumanji material. Back in the day, he tried to stretch himself in the likes of ‘Southland Tales,’ but he’s been aiming for more success with the upcoming MMA biopic ‘The Smashing Machine.’
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And he’s clearly had a good time working with ‘Smashing Machine’ studio A24 as Deadline reports that Johnson is looking to get back in business with the company for new psychological thriller ‘Breakthrough.’ So interested is the actor, he’s jumping aboard to produce and play a supporting role rather than the lead.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘Superpowered: The DC Story.’ Photograph by Courtesy of Max/Warner Bros.
The new script comes courtesy of up-and-coming talent Zeke Goodman.
Set in turn-of-the-millennium Southern California, the movie follows an alienated young man who comes under the influence of a motivational guru, whose intoxicating charm masks his morally questionable methods of manipulation and his own concealed darkness.
Johnson will play the role of the guru, with casting still underway for the lead role and other characters.
Johnson continues to be a filmmaking powerhouse, in addition to keeping on down the movie star route of heading up a number of other businesses (a sports gear line, a tequila brand and a male grooming products company among them).
He’s attached as a producer to a variety of projects and is still looking for lead roles that challenge him.
Earlier this year, he set up ‘Ripped,’ an adaptation of the short story by Joe Ballarini, at 20th Century Studios, with an eye to produce via Seven Bucks and potentially star. He’s also set to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt in an untitled Hawaiian crime pic to be directed by Martin Scorsese.
On the bigger scale front, he’s still attached to the franchise-extending likes of the ‘Jungle Cruise’ sequel, ‘Fast X: Part 2,’ and Disney’s live-action version of ‘Moana,’ in which he reprises the role of Maui that he voiced in the animated original.
That movie will be on screen July 10th next year.
And, of course, up next for the actor is the aforementioned ‘Smashing Machine,’ a biopic of fighter Mark Kerr, which is being seen a possible awards contender from director Benny Safdie, slated for release October 3rd.
When will ‘Breakthrough’ be on screens?
While the movie is listed as in pre-production, the fact that there’s no director on board yet, not to mention Johnson’s busy schedule, means we could be waiting a while for this –– unless the actor manages to squeeze it in among other gigs (and his many, many workouts).
Right now, A24 does not have a release date on the books.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘The Smashing Machine’. Photo: A24.
Dwayne Johnson in ‘Superpowered: The DC Story.’ Photograph by Courtesy of Max/Warner Bros.
Preview:
Dwayne Johnson has been developing a movie about MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
‘Uncut Gems’ Benny Safdie will direct.
It promises to be more straightforwardly dramatic than some of The Rock’s recent franchise entries.
Dwayne Johnson is not the first name that springs to mind when you think “weighty A24 drama.” He’s more the big, action-packed franchise blockbuster star of series such as ‘The Fast & the Furious’ or the standalone likes of ‘Rampage’ and ‘Skyscraper’.
So to learn he’s set to star in a new film from Benny Safdie, more usually associated with the lower-key (but incredibly tense) likes of ‘Uncut Gems’ for indie arthouse studio A24 might be something of a surprise. But should it be?
Johnson has, after all, made smaller, more dramatic movies in the past such as ‘Southland Tales’ and ‘Pain & Gain’ (if a movie directed by Michael Bay can ever truly be described as “small”).
And from the sounds of this latest, ‘The Smashing Machine’ as reported by Deadline, it’s something of a passion project for the star, who will lead the film as real-life fighter Mark Kerr.
Kerr is a former wrestler and mixed martial artist. During his MMA career he was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, a Pride FC Heavyweight Champion, 1992 NCAA National Wrestling Champion, 1994 National Freestyle Champion and four-time ADCC World Submission Champion.
In 2003, Kerr was the subject of an HBO documentary ‘The Smashing Machine’, which detailed his MMA career fighting in Vale Tudo, the UFC and Pride.
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‘The Smashing Machine’: The Story So Far
Johnson has been overseeing this one as a producer since he first bought rights to Kerr’s story in 2019 and set it up via his Seven Bucks Productions company. He got in touch with Safdie, who wrote the script and came aboard to direct.
The movie will follow Kerr’s struggle with addiction, winning, love and friendship in the year 2000.
It marks the first solo project for Safdie, who has largely directed movies with his brother Josh such as 2017’s ‘Good Time’ (which starred Robert Pattinson) and the aforementioned ‘Uncut Gems’ (starring Adam Sandler), among A24’s highest-grossing movies to date.
A24 on the new film
Benny Safdie is Edward Teller in ‘Oppenheimer,’ written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.
A24’s Noah Sacco appears excited by the prospect of the team-up.
Here’s what he said in a statement:
“Dwayne and Benny are singular talents, and their shared vision for Mark’s inspiring story is electrifying. We are deeply honored to have their trust as collaborators in bringing this incredibly special project to life.”
With the movie not yet shot, it naturally has no release date yet.
Dwayne Johnson arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
