Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is making his way towards an upcoming A24 movie that may have him going back to his wrestling roots, but in a totally unrecognizable way. He’ll be portraying MMA fighter Mark Kerr in his A24 biopic The Smashing Machine, which gives us a deep look at the man behind the jabs. However, its director, Benny Safdie, gets real about one aspect of his new movie that he was “obsessed” with while making it, and now I’m even more pumped.
The best sports movies that have won over audiences in the past were about overcoming the odds of beating your opponent, like in Rocky, The Karate Kid, Bring It On, and more. But when Benny Safdie is behind the camera, you’ll be expected to get a completely different viewing experience within the genre. Just when I thought I couldn’t get more pumped for The Smashing Machine, the indie director got real with Empire about one particular element he was “obsessed” with nailing for the MMA flick:
