©Courtesy of A24
“Winning is the best feeling there is. It’s 40,000 people in there cheering you on. There’s no other high like it in the world.” So says Mark Kerr, the legendary MMA fighter brought to life by Dwayne Johnson.
In the first trailer for “The Smashing Machine,” Dwayne Johnson demonstrates his most dramatic on-screen transformation yet, as he relates the story of two-time UFC heavyweight champ Mark Kerr. A24 unveiled the drama on Tuesday morning.
Benny Safdie, one of the two Safdie brothers who worked on both co-directing and writing “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time,” is directing his own film for the first time. Other cast members include Emily Blunt who plays Dawn Staples, BAs Rutten, Lyndsey Gavin, and Oleksandr Usyk, in addition to Johnson.
Johnson and Blunt have collaborated on two films, “The Smashing Machine” and “Jungle Cruise“, and they are set to team up with Leonardo DiCaprio on a Hawaiian crime thriller from Martin Scorsese.
The 2002 HBO documentary entitled “The Smashing Machine” that detailed Kerr’s journey and struggles with addiction to pain killers, focusing on his journey as a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion as well as tumultuous relationships with his girlfriend and trainers. In the trailer, which is set to Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way,’ Johnson wears prosthetics on his face to better resemble Kerr, and speaks with an Ohio-area accent instead of his trademark booming voice.
Johnson previously told Variety that he wanted to work with Safdie on “The Smashing Machine” because “Benny wants to create, and continues to push the envelope when it comes to stories that are raw and real, characters that are authentic and at times uncomfortable and arresting. I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past. I’m at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.”
The film co-written by Kerr and Safdie. Produced by Safdie, Johnson, Danny Garcia, Eli Bush, Hiram Garcia and David Koplans. Tracey Landon serves as an executive producer.
“The Smashing Machine” comes to theaters on Oct. 3. Watch the trailer below.