TheFighter Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Hot Hollywood star Amy Adams is negotiating to star in The Fighter, along with Terminator Salvation's Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg. David O. Russell is directing the biopic of the boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, which will call for Marky Mark to dust off his tough-guy Boston accent and don boxing gloves to fight his way to the championships with help from his trainer and brother Dick Eklund, who will be played by Bale. Multiple Oscar nominee Adams will be playing Ward's love interest, a tough-talkin' bartender in Lowell, MA.

The Fighter, which will be distributed domestically by Paramount, is supposed to begin filming this summer, although with Russell's track record, whether that will really happen is anyone's guess. The project has been through several incarnations, which you can read about here, and Russell is infamous for his on-set outbursts, as is Bale. Russell's last project, Nailed, is in a holding pattern indefinitely.

So will The Fighter make it to the ring? Will Bale and Russell have a shouting match that will find its way to YouTube? Will Mark Wahlberg say "how's your mother?" And will Amy Adams, star of the upcoming Ephron flick Julie & Julia, be totally awesome? I'm voting yes on all counts!

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

While The Fighter might sound like it could have a fighting chance, bad luck has plagued the project for a while. Back in 2007, Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon were attached, and Darren Aronofsky had signed on to direct. Then Damon dropped out, and Brad Pitt signed on. Then Pitt dropped out. Then Aronofsky.

When a light-haired beau and funky director leave, the studio must find replacements! Variety reports that Christian Bale and David O. Russell are in negotiations to join The Fighter, and offer another manly trio for Mark Wahlberg, who is still pumped and ready to fight. This will, of course, be the third feature for the manic director and Wahlberg, who previously worked on Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees, and O. Russell's second mainstream grab in a row (there's also that romantic comedy).

Should things go well from here, production will begin in July on the Rocky-esque story of Boston fighter "Irish" Mickey Ward. Wahlberg will play Ward, while Bale will take Dicky Ecklund -- the brother who once decked Sugar Ray, got involved with drugs and crime, cleaned up in jail, and then helped his brother do what he couldn't.

Yes, it sounds like the typical sports drama, but I can't help but have high hopes for anything that reunites Mark and David, and mixes Bale into the O. Russell world. Now if only we could get Bale into something strange and darkly comic again...

Here's a round-up of some stuff (and things) currently causing waves online:

-- Moviefone has launched the latest installment of Unscripted, featuring stars Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks discussing their new film W. using reader questions and some of their own. Additionally, above you'll find some newly-released art for the film. Heh.

-- After breaking up with Paramount, Dreamworks has officially found a new f*ck buddy in Universal, so says Variety. The two signed a seven-year worldwide distribution deal.

-- Darren Aronofsky's The Fighter looks to be in trouble. Now that the writer-director is working hard on that Robocop remake, seems this other flick is being neglected. Brad Pitt has apparently dropped out, and Mark Wahlberg -- who's been training for the role for over a year -- doesn't seem to know the film's current status. All that being said, Slashfilm claims their scouting locations in Mass.

-- A few photos of Mel Gibson on the set of Edge of Darkness have appeared online, most of which show the man going full-Diddy, forcing some woman to hold an umbrella so the sun doesn't, ya know, shine on the poor man. In case you forgot, this film marks Gibson's return to acting as a homicide detective investigating the death of his daughter. See image to the right, click to see enlarge. [via Crabbies Hollywood]

-- A theme park in the UK is actually moving forward with a ride based on the Saw films, called Saw - The Ride. I bet folks will just kill to get on it. HAR! Apparently, we're looking at a ride with "beyond vertical drop of 100-degree from a height of 100ft, as well as a rather sinister sounding "three inversions" to add to the fun." Who's down? [via IGN]

Guillaume Depardieu, the 37-year-old son of Gerard Depardieu, died today in Paris from a bout of acute pneumonia. Depardieu, who's starred in upwards of 20 films, struggled with drugs and drinking over the years.

A few new images of Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac in the new film Soul Men have arrived in the Cinematical inbox. Check them out in the gallery below.

Back in March, Darren Aronofsky was in talks to direct The Fighter -- a fast-tracked boxer biopic about "Irish" Micky Ward, starring Mark Wahlberg as the boxer, and Matt Damon as his trainer/brother. Although no official word has been released about the director signing on, MTV got the scoop from Marky Mark that Aronofsky is, indeed, directing it. The actor said: "I talked to him on the phone two days ago. We're going to sit down with Matt and just figure out when we can start it." That might take a little bit of scheduling magic -- each of them has some projects to work around. Aronofsky is attached to a ballet thriller called Black Swan, Wahlberg's got The Happening and The Brazilian Job on his plate and Damon will be starring in the war drama Imperial Life in the Emerald City.

Back in February, when Ryan Stewart first blogged about the project, he mentioned the sappiness in the current rewrite, which is highlighting "themes of brotherhood and redemption." However, Wahlberg is already making big claims for the film: "If it ain't gonna be like Raging Bull, then it ain't worth doing." How's that for pre-production confidence?! Statements like that always make me queasy, because as soon as you compare something to a really beloved film, expectations skyrocket. Why invoke that pressure? Wahlberg went on to say: "These guys, they have the story. Their lives are incredible. The things that they went through, and the things that they overcame and endured. It's one of those amazing stories that I hope I get an opportunity to tell in my career. It's going to be one of them gems." If only confidence was enough to make a good film. At least the talent is there to potentially back it up, and Wahlberg is there to make sure it's done right: "The whole thing is to make it look real. I want to do these guys justive. We don't want to do any over-the-top, unrealistic fight scenes." Well, if anyone can make it look harsh and real, yet appealing to the eye, it's Aronofsky. Requiem for a Dream was agonizingly beautiful, so I can only imagine what he'd do with boxing.

It is an experience that many great filmmakers before have had to go through. Now it is Darren Aronofsky's turn. He flopped big with a pet project, last fall's The Fountain, and now he must work as a for-hire on a studio film he's not personally invested in. Fortunately Aronofsky's strengths as a filmmaker are enough that he won't be stuck with just any old project. Instead he may be able to work with actors as popular, talented and bankable as Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg, both whom are set to star in Paramount's boxing biopic The Fighter. Aronofsky is currently in talks to helm the movie, which we told you about in February.

If Aronofsky signs on, it will likely be his next film, probably even ahead of Black Swan, which was put on the fast-track back in January. But if he passes on the project, it could be because he's a big fan of Billy Elliot (you know, for choosing ballet over boxing). It is hard to imagine Aronofsky making a mainstream boxing movie focusing on themes of brotherhood and redemption -- this is how the studio has been describing the concentration of Paul Attanasio's rewrite of the script -- but this only makes me hope that he takes the job. Sometimes it is more interesting to see a stylish filmmaker take on work that is unexpected of him. There's always the possibility for disaster, but there's also a great chance that it will at least be a cool-looking disaster.

Paramount Pictures is apparently interested in grabbing some of that Departed magic. This morning's Variety reports that the studio has fast-tracked The Fighter, a biopic of contemporary boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, to star Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. The story will center on Ward and his half-brother Dicky, a boxer and trainer who delved into a life of drugs and criminality. A number of writers are involved in the project: Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy wrote the original script and Paul Attansio is currently rewriting a draft that was penned by Lewis Collick. The piece notes that Wahlberg just finished shooting The Shooter and Damon just finished The Bourne Ultimatum, so both will be available to begin shooting in early summer.

The story also says that the rewrite underway will highlight the "themes of brotherhood and redemption," which sounds a little sappy. How about a boxing film that's about lots of blood and teeth on the canvas, for once? Ward is a 41-year old fighter who recently retired after a long career in the ring. He has never won any of the major three world titles, although he is known to have earned the respect of boxing afficionados and fans for capturing a light welterweight title late in his career.