Dwayne Johnson Due At Next Week’s Cannes Market To Talk To Buyers About A24’s UFC Movie ‘Smashing Machine’; Actor Posts “Training Schedule” Video Ahead Of Role
EXCLUSIVE: We understand Dwayne Johnson is due to be at the Cannes market next week to discuss upcoming A24 wrestling pic The Smashing Machine with potential buyers.
Of course, schedules can always change, but the plan at the moment is for The Rock to rock the Cannes market middle of next week.
More from Deadline
In the past 24 hours, the actor has posted a couple of videos of his training schedule ahead of the role.
Thanks for all the great questions.
Here’s a sense of my training schedule during my training camp for “The Smashing Machine”
Thanks for all the support- means a lot to me.
Back to work.
Have a productive week.
💪🏾👊🏾#thesmashingmachine pic.twitter.com/1g6QP288t2— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 7, 2024
Training camp for “Smashing Machine”
For the role and life of Mark Kerr
Two time @UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion World Vale Tudo Champion
Learning, sweating daily – grateful to grow.#TheSmashingMachine
Written & Directed by Benny Safdie@A24 pic.twitter.com/XshHUtnS9c— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 6, 2024
These buyer meet n’ greets with A-list talent or directors have been a fun market staple over the years but have been less frequent recently due to strikes, Covid and cost cut-backs. This will be a buzzy ticket among distributors.
In The Smashing Machine, Johnson will play Mark Kerr, the legendary MMA fighter from the no-holds barred era of UFC. Emily Blunt has been in negotiations to join.
The movie, which A24 is producing and financing, puts them back in business with Benny Safdie, who co-directed and co-wrote one of their big hits, Uncut Gems ($50 million at the domestic box office). Safdie also wrote the script for The Smashing Machine. A start date has yet to be revealed.
Johnson and Safdie have been collaborators on the project since Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions acquired rights in 2019. The pic will follow Kerr’s struggle with addiction, winning, love and friendship in the year 2000. Blunt would play Dawn Staples, the wife of the MMA champ. While trying to set up a life together, she struggles to find her place within Mark’s chaotic and contradictory world.
Kerr is a former wrestler and mixed martial artist. During his MMA career he was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, a Pride FC Heavyweight Champion, 1992 NCAA National Wrestling Champion, 1994 National Freestyle Champion and four-time ADCC World Submission Champion.
A24 and reps for Johnson declined to comment.
Best of Deadline
'Wednesday' Season 2: Everything We Know About The Cast, Premiere Date & More
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024: Photo Gallery & Obituaries
2024 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
