Photo by Photo credit: Niko Tavernise – © MMXIV Paramount Pictures Corporation and Regency Engtertainment (USA), Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Director Darren Aronofsky is reportedly in early conversations to direct Breakthrough, an A24 movie that will star Dwayne Johnson. If things go as planned, Aronofsky will be returning to A24 after directing The Whale, which won an Academy Award for Brendan Fraser.
As described by the logline for Breakthrough: “In turn-of-the-millennium Southern California, an alienated young man 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 be playing a supporting role in the film. Casting has not yet been completed for the role of the young man or any of the other characters, according to published reports.
A24 will be producing and financing Breakthrough, with Shiny Penny Productions producing along with Seven Bucks Productions, a group connected with both Dwayne Johnson and Danny Garcia. Executive producers will be Jacob Epstein and Justin Wolfe of Lighthouse Management and Media.
Aronofsky’s most recent project is Caught Stealing, a thriller by Sony starring Austin Buffer and Zoe Kravitz, which will make its debut in August. This would also be the second A24 movie for Johnson, the star of Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, which is scheduled for release in October.
Dwayne Johnson also confirmed that he will be appearing as a Hawaiian crime boss opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt in a new movie by Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese. Speaking of this project, Johnson said he was “grateful for what’s been the most creatively inspiring time of my career – working closely with my friends and of course, the maestro Marty Scorsese. In the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s the mafia controlled New York, Miami, Chicago, Vegas, and ]had] a particularly strong hold on the island I was raised – Hawaii. Much more to come. Aloha nui loa.” A name and official release date for this movie have not yet been announced.