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Dwayne Johnson took a while out of his notoriously busy schedule to point out nice admiration and respect for the individual he’s portraying within the upcoming A24 movie The Smashing Machine, directed by Benny Safdie. Simply this previous week, the celebs of the movie, Johnson and Emily Blunt, attended the UFC Corridor of Fame Induction of Mark Kerr, whom Johnson portrays within the sports activities drama. The UFC Corridor of Fame is an incredible honor for individuals who take part within the sport, and having Kerr inducted proper earlier than the discharge of a biopic about his contributions to the game feels becoming.

Extra than simply attending, Johnson introduced the trophy to Kerr, which comes with induction into the UFC Corridor of Fame. Particularly, Kerr grew to become the twenty first member of the Pioneer Period Wing of the Corridor of Fame, and the ceremony occurred on the T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas. Emily Blunt performs Daybreak Staples-Kerr, Mark Kerr’s first spouse and a pivotal character within the movie, which tells the story of Kerr’s early profession and hardships in the course of the early levels of the UFC sport.

Having Johnson and Blunt attend the induction ceremony additional proves that the forged behind the movie are invested within the real-life those that they’re portraying. Whereas The Smashing Machine could also be about Kerr’s preliminary highs and lows early in his UFC profession, it should be rewarding for him and Johnson, who has turn out to be so intimately acquainted with Kerr’s historical past, to see how far the athlete has come. Furthermore, Kerr’s induction may pave the best way for UFC fans to be fascinated by his profession and take a look at The Smashing Machine when it hits theaters later this yr.

‘The Smashing Machine’ Challenged Dwayne Johnson in a Manner No Different Function Has

Dwayne Johnson is sort of unrecognizable as Mark Kerr within the first trailer launched for The Smashing Machine, having remodeled his bodily look and used prosthetics to carefully resemble the real-life UFC Corridor of Famer. The actor, who has been identified to star in quite a few blockbusters with much less substance than a movie like The Smashing Machine, would inform Pat McAfee that he supposed to discover materials with extra depth, which might show to be a problem for the actor. As Johsnon would say, his position in The Smashing Machine was all in service of doing one thing he’d by no means achieved earlier than:

“I like making the larger blockbuster motion pictures. They’re a variety of enjoyable. They’re laborious as s*** to make, and lots of people take pleasure in them—hopefully, knock on wooden world wide—however I needed extra. I needed a problem, and I simply needed the chance to vanish into one thing and disappear into a component and a job that may actually problem me in ways in which I’ve by no means been challenged earlier than.”

The Smashing Machine is the primary mission that Benny Safdie will solely direct, as all of his earlier movies are ones that he co-directed along with his brother, Josh Safdie. Curiously sufficient, Josh Safdie can be directing his personal sports activities movie due for launch in December 2025, titled Marty Supreme, which is loosely primarily based on the desk tennis legend Martin ‘Marty’ Reisman, with Timothée Chalamet enjoying Marty Mauser. It is going to be attention-grabbing to see how every director’s mission seems upon launch with out counting on one another’s collaboration.

Supply: Pat McAfee Present