The Smashing Machine | |
---|---|
Directed by | Benny Safdie |
Written by | Benny Safdie |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Maceo Bishop |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Nala Sinephro |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | A24 |
Release date |
|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Smashing Machine is an upcoming American biographical sports drama film written, directed, co-produced, and co-edited by Benny Safdie. It stars Dwayne Johnson as former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, alongside Emily Blunt as Kerr's then-wife Dawn Staples, and is set to be released by A24 in 2025.
In December 2023, it was announced that a biographical sports drama film based on the life and career of Mark Kerr was in development at A24, with Benny Safdie writing and directing and Dwayne Johnson starring. [2] During the 2024 Academy Awards, Johnson confirmed that Blunt would star in the film as Kerr's wife Dawn Staples. [3] Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Zoe Kosovic joined the cast in May 2024. [4] [5]
Principal photography ran on May 21 to August 7, 2024, [6] spanning locations such as New Mexico, Tokyo, and Vancouver. Later that month, Johnson tweeted that Belgian musician Nala Sinephro would compose the score. [7] [8] [9]
Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, professional wrestler, and businessman. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Johnson was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation during the Attitude Era. He wrestled for the WWF full-time for eight years before pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $12.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors. He is a co-owner of the United Football League, a member of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of UFC and WWE—and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions.
Comedy drama is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects are dealt with realism and subtlety, while preserving a humorous tenor.
Scott Lobdell is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous X-Men series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans, and Superman, and comics for other publishers, including the Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series by Papercutz or Fathom by Aspen MLT. He also wrote the script to the 2017 slasher film Happy Death Day.
Emily Olivia Laura Blunt is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and four British Academy Film Awards. Forbes ranked her as one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2020.
Mark Coleman is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. As a kickboxer, he fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round, and losing his final two fights, one of them against Frank Lobman for the European Muay Thai title in 1991, with Rutten losing by knockout in the first round. In MMA, he was a UFC Heavyweight Champion and a three-time King of Pancrase world champion. After his loss to Ken Shamrock in 1995, he finished his MMA career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak.
Mark Kerr is an American 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, and a PRIDE FC competitor. In collegiate wrestling, Kerr was an NCAA Division I champion. In freestyle wrestling, he won gold and silver medals at the World Cup and silver at the Pan American Games. In submission wrestling, Kerr is a four-time ADCC World Champion, winning his weightclass twice along with the absolute division and the Superfight Championship.
The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr is a 2002 American documentary film directed by John Hyams about the mixed martial arts career and personal life of Mark Kerr. The documentary is critically acclaimed for its sobering account of the brutal sport of early no holds barred fighting and the depths of addiction in which Kerr succumbs to and eventually overcomes.
Joshua Safdie and Benjamin Safdie are independent American filmmakers and actors based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best known for writing and directing the crime thriller films Good Time (2017), starring Robert Pattinson, and Uncut Gems (2019), starring Adam Sandler.
Roberto de Abreu Filho is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) competitor, academy owner and instructor. A 7-time World No-Gi Champion, Abreu is known for his trademark Tornado Guard position which involves inverting underneath the opponent and elevating them into a sweep.
Good Time is a 2017 American crime-thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and written by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein. It stars Robert Pattinson as a small-time criminal who tries to free his developmentally disabled brother, played by Benny Safdie, from police custody, while attempting to avoid his own arrest; Buddy Duress, Taliah Lennice Webster, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Barkhad Abdi co-star. Electronic musician Oneohtrix Point Never composed the film's score.
Jungle Cruise is a 2021 American fantasy adventure film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay written by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and Michael Green. It is based on Walt Disney's eponymous theme park attraction. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. It tells the alternate history of the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through a jungle in search of the Tree of life while competing against a German expedition, and cursed conquistadors.
Seven Bucks Productions is an American production company founded by actor Dwayne Johnson and his manager/ex-wife Dany Garcia in 2012. The company is involved in film, television, digital networks, and emerging technologies. It produces a variety of projects, usually directly in relation with Johnson's acting roles, and has grossed $4.6 billion at the box office as of 2024. Its subsidiaries include Seven Bucks Digital Studios and Seven Bucks Creative.
Uncut Gems is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein. It stars Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox in her feature film debut, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian. The film tells the story of Howard Ratner (Sandler), a Jewish-American jeweler and gambling addict in New York City's Diamond District, who must retrieve an expensive gem he purchased in order to pay off his debts. Filming took place from September to November 2018. The original score was composed by Daniel Lopatin. Uncut Gems was the last film by the Safdie brothers before they dissolved their partnership in 2024.
Stars at Noon is a 2022 English-language French romantic thriller film directed by Claire Denis, based on the 1986 novel The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson, starring Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, Danny Ramirez, and John C. Reilly.
Elara Pictures is an American independent film production and television production company founded by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein and Sebastian Bear-McClard.
The Curse is an American satirical black comedy thriller television series created and written by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, and starring Emma Stone, Fielder, and Safdie. It was filmed from June to October 2022 and premiered on streaming and on-demand for all Showtime and Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers on November 10, 2023, before making its on-air debut on Showtime on November 12. Its first three episodes premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 12, 2023. The first season concluded on January 12, 2024, receiving critical acclaim.
Benjamin Safdie is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and film editor best known for working with his older brother Josh as a filmmaker. His directorial works include Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). Transitioning towards acting, Safdie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his role in Good Time and has since taken on roles in films such as Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Oppenheimer. He co-created, co-wrote and starred in the television show The Curse (2023).