Wahlberg, Damon step into ring
Paramount fast-tracks 'Fighter'
Source: Variety
Paramount Pictures is poised to put "The Departed" co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon back in the ring together.
Studio has fast-tracked "The Fighter," a drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world lightweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime.
Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce.
"House" exec producer Paul Attanasio is working on a rewrite that will be completed within two weeks. If they like the script, Wahlberg and Damon will commit, and each will make "The Fighter" his next film. Shooting will begin in early summer in Massachusetts.
Attanasio, who recently adapted John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" for Imagine, is rewriting a draft by Lewis Collick. Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy penned the original script. Emphasis in the rewrite is on the themes of brotherhood and redemption.
Like the Ward brothers, Wahlberg and Damon are both Massachusetts natives, and they have met several times about "The Fighter." Wahlberg, who's up for a supporting actor Oscar for "The Departed," is about to open in Paramount thriller "The Shooter" and recently wrapped "We Own the Night" for 2929 Prods. and Universal. Damon just wrapped "Ocean's Thirteen" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Requiem for a Fighter
IGN knows who may direct the Wahlberg-Damon reunion.
IGN has learned from reliable sources that there is now a director set to step into the ring for The Fighter, a fact-based boxing drama that will reteam Departed co-stars Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon.
We have learned that Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain) will helm the Paramount drama. The pic is expected to be the next project for both Wahlberg and Damon, with filming slated to commence in Massachusetts this summer.
Both Paramount and Aronofsky's reps at CAA had no comment.
Paul Attanasio recently wrote a rewrite of the Fighter screenplay, which was originally penned by Lewis Collick, Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy.
The film follows boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward's (Wahlberg) rise to the Light Welterweight world championship and his relationship with his drug-addicted half-brother and trainer Dickey Eklund (Damon).
Aronofsky previously tackled onscreen drug addiction in Requiem for a Dream.
That'd be really cool
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 26, 2007, 09:23:12 PM
Aronofsky previously tackled onscreen drug addiction in Requiem for a Dream.
That scares me. Looking at the details, he seems to have little to do with writing, but he could transform this project to become his own. Normally that is good, but I still believe Arnofsky is a developing filmmaker. The Fountain was a huge leap for him in being able really use many tools for storytelling. He was more even handed in filmmaking than before.
His earlier films were hankered by how much he focused on filmmaking through one method. In Reqiuem for a Dream, he relied too much on having the camera positioned on the actor's body. It was to show the mental breakdown that drugs had on the characters as the film moved to their manic movements. It's just that the entire film seemed to be based on that viewpoint. It drained the film and destroyed any chance for the other effects from working. Basing an entire film from that viewpoint is an effect in itself.
This looks like a pick up job for Arnofsky to get personal projects financed, but it could be good development. It could get him to develop his arsenal of storytelling effects and be able to hone down telling stories better. I think he will do good work and will give this film a deeper touch. Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon look too much like movie stars in everything they do to make it an actor's film. The Fountain, while problematic, was a major development. This film should be a good continuation.
Aronofsky in 'Fighter' shape for Paramount
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Darren Aronofsky is in final talks to helm Paramount Pictures' drama "The Fighter," which reteams "The Departed" stars Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon.
Based on the life of boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and his trainer brother Dick Eklund (Damon), the story chronicles their early days on the rough streets of Lowell, Mass., through Eklund's battle with drugs and Ward's eventual world championship in London. Wahlberg and Damon both hail from Boston, and Aronofsky and Damon attended nearby Harvard University.
The film, with its conventional narrative, would mark a departure for Aronofsky, whose "Pi," "Requiem for a Dream" and "The Fountain" offered hallucinatory explorations of existential issues.
Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson penned the screenplay. Sources said Aronofsky is awaiting a Paul Attanasio rewrite before signing on.
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Aronofsky in talks to direct 'Fighter'
Paramount film stars Wahlberg, Damon
Source: Variety
Darren Aronofsky is in talks to direct Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon in boxing drama "The Fighter" for Paramount Pictures.
Pic would mark Aronofsky's second studio project. Sci-fi romancer "The Fountain" fell flat at the box office when Warner Bros. Pictures released it last fall.
Project is based on the rise of Boston boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, who nabbed the world lightweight title with the help of his once down-and-out half-brother Dicky, who became a trainer.
While Par would look for Aronofsky to turn in a pic with broad appeal, he isn't necessarily expected to take a traditional approach.
Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing.
Wahlberg and Damon are ready to commit to making "Fighter" their next movie if they like a rewrite that scribe Paul Attanasio is doing.
If the two thesps give their OK, lensing could begin in early summer in Massachusetts.
Attanasio, who will focus on the themes of brotherhood and redemption, is rewriting a draft by Lewis Collick, Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy.
Attanasio recently adapted John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" for Imagine.
Aronofsky's other directing credits are "Requiem for a Dream" and "Pi."
Quote from: The Gold Trumpet on March 26, 2007, 10:19:14 PM]It's just that the entire film seemed to be based on that viewpoint.
i think at the very most 10% of Requiem is the Snorricam. it's just used so perfectly that you tend to remember a lot of the movie that way.
Quote from: Darren Aronofsky on his MySpace blog Monday, April 02, 2007
prague
hello friends. off to prague next week to do some writing.
been writing quite a bit. don't believe any of the hype of anything you've heard about future projects. i am about to commit to something and i'll let you all know what it is when it happens.
http://blog.myspace.com/darrenaronofsky
:ponder: interesting.
Well, I thought it was really strange that Darren would do something more commercial to get some money in the bag. That just doesn't fit him, especially after reading that ginormous article on Wired.com, a few months back.
imdb has him down as "in talks" for this.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964517/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964517/)
IMDb editors probably read Xixax and post things based on what we said... so its not a reliable source at all
from EW...
The Departed's Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon can't seem to shake the Irish, Massachusetts, or each other. They're in talks to star as real-life Lowell, Mass., boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his trainer brother (Damon) in The Fighter. Notes Damon: Director Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain) "is saying everything I, or any actor, would want to hear. [Now] we're waiting for a script."
"You were pretty ok in Good Will Hunting!"
Wahlberg Ready To Rumble For Aronofsky's 'Fighter'
Source: MTV
It's set to be the hottest corner team in boxing: one Oscar winner, one Oscar nominee, and an eclectic, fan-favorite director. If everything goes according to plan, "The Fighter" will bring together all of those elements, teaming "Departed" co-stars Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg with helmer Darron Aronofsky for a gritty sporting epic.
Recent reports have labeled Aronofsky as being in final talks for the project, but according to Wahlberg, it sounds as if the "Requiem for a Dream" director is officially onboard and ready to move forward. "I talked to him on the phone two days ago," Wahlberg revealed to MTV News. "We're going to sit down with Matt and just figure out when we can start it."
"The Fighter" tells the true story of underdog boxing champ "Irish" Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his trainer/brother Dick Eklund (Damon), following their lives from the rough-and-tumble streets of Lowell, Massachusetts to an internationally-herald bout at the world championships.
Wahlberg is adament that if they're going to make the movie, they'll do it the right way. "The whole thing is to make it look real," he said. "I want to do these guys justice. We don't want to do any over-the-top, unrealistic fight scenes."
For his part, the actor — who's also gearing up for M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening" — promises that "The Fighter" will envoke memories of an earlier boxing classic. "If it ain't gonna be like "Raging Bull," then it ain't worth doing," he exclaimed. "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."
Brad Pitt laces up for 'Fighter'
Replaces Matt Damon in Paramount drama
Source: Variety
Brad Pitt is poised to star alongside Mark Wahlberg in "The Fighter," the Paramount Pictures drama about Boston boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward and his unlikely path to become world lightweight champion.
Darren Aronofsky is directing and Scott Silver ("8 Mile") is working on the current draft of the screenplay.
David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing through their Mandeville shingle.
Wahlberg is set to play Ward. Pitt is in talks to play Dicky Eklund, Mickey's half-brother and a talented fighter who once knocked Sugar Ray Leonard to the canvas and went the distance in a title fight against that boxing legend.
Pitt will replace Matt Damon, who had been looking forward to a reteam with Wahlberg, his co-star in "The Departed" and a fellow Bostonian. Damon just had too many projects on his dance card to make the film on the schedule Par wanted.
It's believed Damon gave his blessing to Pitt, his co-star in the "Ocean's Eleven" film series.
With the exception of Pitt, all of the pic's principals have Boston ties. Wahlberg hails from South Boston. Aronofsky graduated from Harvard, while Silver is from Massachusetts and went to Boston U.
Wahlberg has been vigorously training to get into shape for the ring. Paramount is aiming to get the film into production in fall 2008.
Dicky threw his gifts away on drugs and a robbery career that landed him a sentence of 10-15 years in state prison -- but he kicked drugs, became a model prisoner and turned his life around. When he left jail, he became Mickey's trainer at a time when Ward was losing fights and was ready to hang up his gloves. Together, the brothers found the spark that led to a remarkable string of victories for Ward and the world title.
Pitt next stars alongside Edward Norton in "State of Play," the Kevin Macdonald-directed adaptation of the Brit miniseries for Universal. He'll next be seen starring in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and recently wrapped "Benjamin Button." He's starring with George Clooney in the Coen brothers pic "Burn After Reading."
Aronofsky and Pitt nearly worked together previously on "The Fountain," but Pitt dropped out of the project. Aronofsky scaled down the film's budget and made the drama with Hugh Jackman in the starring role.
Quote from: MacGuffin on September 20, 2007, 09:57:47 PM
Dicky threw his gifts away on drugs and a robbery career that landed him a sentence of 10-15 years in state prison -- but he kicked drugs, became a model prisoner and turned his life around. When he left jail, he became Mickey's trainer at a time when Ward was losing fights and was ready to hang up his gloves. Together, the brothers found the spark that led to a remarkable string of victories for Ward and the world title.
that's a great story.
too bad pitt will pull out again.
Mark Wahlberg Getting Ripped For 'Dream-Come-True' Fighting 'Irish' Flick
Becoming boxer 'Irish' Micky Ward for 'The Fighter' requires extensive training for Wahlberg and co-star Brad Pitt.
Source: MTV
BEVERLY HILLS, California — Mark Wahlberg has portrayed a football player, a fisherman, a soldier and a dozen other disparate roles. These days, however, the Hollywood everyman is undergoing his most intense transformation yet, fueled by hopes of an Oscar knockout.
"For me, it's a dream come true," a shockingly trim Wahlberg told us recently, explaining his ongoing preparation for the 2009 boxing biopic, "The Fighter." "It's much like when I did 'Invincible'; I'd always dreamed of being a football player. For five or six months, to get the pads on and do the whole thing. This is [another] dream come true."
Growing up on the working-class streets of Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the '80s, Wahlberg became enamored with "Irish" Micky Ward, a perennial underdog with a devastating left hook who'd emerged from the mean streets of nearby Lowell. For 12 months, the "Departed" star has been immersing himself in Ward's mindset, in preparation for the film to be directed by acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky and co-starring Brad Pitt.
"It will be a year, on October 13, that I have been training," explained Wahlberg, whose noticeably lean face reveals his drop in body fat. "I have another six to eight months of training before we actually start shooting. ... We're running, we're watching fights. ... I've got a full ring set up at my house."
"[We're shooting] in Philadelphia now, so it's a bit of a 'Rocky' thing. ... I am up at 4 in the morning. We go to the gym at 5 when it opens. I'm jumping rope, hitting the speed bag, the double-end bag, the mitts, and we're sparring a little bit," Wahlberg said of the intense schedule he's maintained, even throughout the shooting of other films like his upcoming thriller, "The Happening." "But I'm not doing too much sparring while working because I don't want to show up with a black eye. I don't think ['The Happening' director] M. Night Shyamalan would appreciate that too much."
Which only seems appropriate, since Ward was considered a real-life Rocky Balboa during his 20 years in the ring. " 'Irish' Micky Ward was, in my opinion, one of the greatest champions of all time, and the biggest heart that ever stepped into the ring," Wahlberg said of his role. "I am committed to making him proud, and I know that Brad feels the same way about portraying his brother Dickie. We are going to make it real."
Pitt is filling in for his "Ocean's" co-star Matt Damon, another Boston-area native who had once hoped to fit the Ward story into his busy schedule. The character is Micky's older brother, Dickie Eklund, a fallen professional fighter who once battled the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard.
"We want to do it together, as brothers," Wahlberg said of discussions he's had with Pitt, which will eventually have them combining their training programs. "We are going to figure out where it makes the most sense to just dive in. ... Not like, 'OK, I'll do my thing, and you do your thing, and we'll kind of compete.' This is about us doing it together."
Wahlberg's longtime fans undoubtedly remember the ab-tastic body he rocked during his underwear-modeling, "Good Vibrations"-rapping early days. Now, hoping to maintain the momentum of his first Oscar nomination while fighting back time as he enters his late 30s, he's committed himself to getting into the best shape of his life for the role.
"I was never involved in the Oscar-hype thing until last year," he said fondly. "And that was a surprise out of left field."
If Wahlberg is indeed fishing for a little gold statue, he could do a lot worse than working in a film genre that previously gave us such Oscar contenders as "Raging Bull," "Ali" and "Million Dollar Baby."
"We want to outdo all those other movies, as far as the boxing," Wahlberg said of discussions with Aronofsky, who has previously turned seat-squirming into a national pastime with grisly flicks like "Requiem for a Dream." "If you go back and you watch those movies [you'll see they're different from] when you watch a fight like Bernard Hopkins fighting Kelly Pavlik [recently] for the middleweight title. ... The reaction to the way people are hit, the way their faces react and contort — we want to capture that.
"It dramatically is very much a story like 'Raging Bull,' " Wahlberg said of the script about Ward, who returned from retirement in the early '90s with a vengeance, winning nine straight fights against some of boxing's biggest names. "The life that these guys live is extremely difficult and hard. ... We want to get in there, like 'Invincible,' and take the shots and make it real. We don't want to do the big, over-the-top reactions when you can clearly tell that people are selling [the pain] but not really taking it."
And if the pugilist performance earns Wahlberg an Oscar, as it did for names like De Niro and Swank? "If all that stuff happened," Wahlberg smiled, "I'd be the first one to get up there and thank everybody."
Mark Wahlberg Reveals 'The Fighter' Will Take The Ring This Fall
Source: MTV
After two years in development, Mark Wahlberg and Darren Aronofsky's long gestating boxing biopic on underdog champion "Irish" Micky Ward is finally going to begin shooting in October, the star told MTV News.
"I've been training for two years now. I'm ready," he said. "I want to look like a champ, not a chump."
But Wahlberg has more than just a few moves to his credit these days, he's also got a healthy dose of fighting words for anybody who thinks that what the world needs least right now is another boxing movie.
Yes, there have been many classic movies to center on the sport, Wahlberg admits, and, yes, he told us last year, he'd of course like it to hold up to "Raging Bull," the undisputed champion of the genre.
But ultimately, his performance as Micky Ward in "The Fighter" is for an audience of one, he said smiling — Micky Ward.
"I want to do him proud. The guy did everything I wish I could have done. He came from nothing, went on to win the world title with all the odds stacked against him. Did it with his mother and his brother," Wahlberg grinned. "He's still in the same town to this day. He's got a regular job. He knows that I'm going to put it all on the line for him. Mickey Ward is going to be [on set, watching me] every single day."
Co-starring Brad Pitt, "The Fighter" will follow Ward and his brother from their beginnigs in Lowell, Massachusetts to their world championship bouts. It is tentatively scheduled for release next year.
So let me get this straight, he's doing a movie about a professional wrestler titled The Wrestler, then he's doing a movie about a professional fighter titled, The Fighter? Or am I getting mixed up?
Quote from: Stefen on July 10, 2008, 01:08:30 PM
So let me get this straight, he's doing a movie about a professional wrestler titled The Wrestler, then he's doing a movie about a professional fighter titled, The Fighter? Or am I getting mixed up?
right? wt fin' f.
Bale in ring with Wahlberg for 'Fighter'
David O. Russell to direct film
Source: Variety
Christian Bale and director David O. Russell are poised to get into the ring with Mark Wahlberg on "The Fighter."
Relativity Media has stepped up to fully finance the film. Paramount Pictures, which initiated the project, will now be limited to distributing domestically.
The picture is expected to begin production in July, though Relativity stressed that the principals' deals are still being negotiated.
Pic tells the story of Boston fighter "Irish" Mickey Ward and how he was helped to the world lightweight championship by half-brother Dicky Eklund. Eklund once decked Sugar Ray Leonard and went the distance against the boxing legend before forfeiting his career to drugs and crime. He redeemed himself by training Ward through his Rocky-like run to the title.
Project reteams Bale with Relativity and its fledgling one-off picture division, which produced the Bale starrer "3:10 to Yuma." Over the past few years, "The Fighter" has drawn some of Hollywood's biggest talents but was KO'd on two previous occasions. The project first came together with Boston natives Wahlberg and Matt Damon toplining for director Darren Aronofsky. Damon dropped out and Brad Pitt was poised to replace him, but the picture still stalled. Then Aronofsky moved on.
Meanwhile, Wahlberg has continued to train for the pic and is in fighting shape.
David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing through their Mandeville banner. Most recent script drafts were by Scott Silver and Lewis Colick (who rewrote the upcoming Zac Efron starrer "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud").
Wahlberg will play Ward, a fighter who was losing bouts and was ready to hang up the gloves when his brother came back into his life. Bale will play Eklund, whose drugs and robbery spree drew him a 10- to 15-year sentence in state prison. There, he kicked drugs, became a model prisoner and emerged as a changed man who helped his brother reach the glory that eluded him.
Russell previously worked with Wahlberg on "Three Kings" and "I Heart Huckabees." The director gets in the ring for the first time with Bale, who'll next star in the McG-directed "Terminator Salvation" and the Michael Mann-helmed "Public Enemies." The director, who is repped by CAAhas signed on for three projects in recent weeks including "The Fighter": "Aaron and Sarah" at Fox 2000 and "The Silver Linings Playbook" for the Weinstein Co.
Those two are going to murder each other! Seriously, someone needs to document this entire production.
Bale, Wahlberg and David O. Russell on the same set is a disaster waiting to happen.
Anyone remember during the Boogie Nights SE commentary where John C. Reilly is talking about how Mark Wahlberg was picking on him and they got into a fist-fight? Then you got Bale who beats his mother and berates the rest of the cast and crew, then you got David O. Russell who from all indications is just one giant big piece of shit who doesn't respect anyone or anything.
This is going to be awesome.
plus its a movie abot fighting! shits going down!
Melissa Leo in the ring with 'Fighter'
Actress to play Bale and Wahlberg's mother
Source: Variety
Melissa Leo is in negotiations to star opposite Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in Relativity Media's "The Fighter."
Paramount Pictures is distributing the David. O. Russell-helmed drama domestically.
Leo will play the mother of Bale and Wahlberg.
Film, which is scheduled to lense in the summer, tells the story of Boston fighter "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and how he was helped to the world lightweight championship by half-brother Dicky Eklund (Bale).
Leo, whose series "Treme" has been picked up by HBO, will be seen opposite James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart in the upcoming indie "Meet the Rileys."
Christian Bale is going to beat the shit out of her.
Amy Adams set to join 'Fighter'
Circles drama starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Amy Adams is in final negotiations to star opposite Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in "The Fighter," which David O. Russell is directing for Relativity Media. Paramount is distributing the drama domestically.
The movie revolves around the life of boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and trainer-brother Dick Eklund (Bale), chronicling their early days on the rough streets of Lowell, Mass., through Eklund's battle with drugs and Ward's eventual world championship in London.
Adams will play Charlene, a tough, gritty bartender and former college high-jumper from Massachusetts who ends up dating Mickey.
Melissa Leo also has been cast as Wahlberg and Bale's mother.
Mandeville partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing with Paul Tamasy and Dorothy Aufiero.
The movie begins shooting next month in Lowell.
Adams next appears opposite Meryl Streep in Nora Ephron's "Julie & Julia," which opens Aug. 7. The actress, now onscreen as Amelia Earhart in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," also has wrapped production on Anand Tucker's "Leap Year."
I'm very excited to see Amy Adams in some rougher edged material, but I hope Russell doesn't crush her soul.
Act like a grown-up. You're not a baby.
I can't wait to see how they recreate the Mickey Ward/Arturo Gatti fights. 3 of the best fights I've ever seen. I wonder who is going to play Gatti.
Quote from: Gamblour. on July 01, 2009, 04:21:14 AM
Quote from: Pwaybloe on June 30, 2009, 01:30:48 PM
Act like a grown-up. You're not a baby.
?
Reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMVILMo1Cq0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMVILMo1Cq0)
I was this close to googling that too.
Trailer here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k1WfAXTrQ0)
If that weren't a David O. Russell movie, I would say it looks really boring.
no way i like how this looks.
only because it's another case of wahlberg choosing a role he was born to play. even tho he hit big with boogie nights it has never stopped feeling like every film he makes is him trying to prove himself somehow (whether as an actor or a box office draw). the thing about this particular role that strikes me as true to him is the bit where he says how he's embarrassed that he lost the fight cos he told everyone he'd win..
does anyone else remember when Wahlberg said he was going to quit acting in 2010?? years and years ago he said he was going to keep acting for some number of years and then quit to spend time with his family.. and that presumably every role he was choosing was some kind of investment in his future. well that obviously didn't really pan out for the most part.. (max payne.. the happening.. what the fuck was that one where he was set up and he was a sniper or something? :yabbse-huh: )
anyway, this will be one of those rare films where he doesn't have to walk away embarrassed.
I get that. We all know there's only 3 directors that can get a good performance out of him. But outside of investing in Wahlbergs career, this looks like a generic Oscar season true life Rocky story. And if they're not going to scuzz it up good Wrestler style, whats the point?
How did the Wrestler scuzz it up good? I think less and less of that movie as time goes on...
I didn't think that much of it to begin with because underneath it's just another one of these movies.
Quote from: P on September 16, 2010, 10:14:02 AM
does anyone else remember when Wahlberg said he was going to quit acting in 2010?? years and years ago he said he was going to keep acting for some number of years and then quit to spend time with his family.. and that presumably every role he was choosing was some kind of investment in his future. well that obviously didn't really pan out for the most part.. (max payne.. the happening.. what the fuck was that one where he was set up and he was a sniper or something? :yabbse-huh: )
I do remember that
but dont know how long ago he said that (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000242/news?year=2005).
scroll down to the 7th news bit or keep reading...QuoteWahlberg Will Quit Acting at 40
3 August 2005 | WENN |
Mark Wahlberg will quit acting when he hits 40 so he can concentrate on raising his daughter.The 34-year-old is devoted to two-year-old Ella Rae - his daughter with girlfriend Rhea Durham - and wants to dedicate the next six years to making enough money so he never has to work again. He says, "She's a much bigger responsibility than anything I have going. That's why now it's so important that my movies make money. "I want to work hard for the next six years, then put all the emphasis on family. I'd be disappointed if (later on) I'd have to work to provide for my family. That would be a failure. I don't want much. I just want to wake up when I feel like it, go to my little girl's soccer games, and make sure she has whatever she wants." And he isn't concerned about abandoning a successful movie career: "I've always looked at my career as an athlete would look at his. I won't play forever. Some don't know when to walk away, but the smart ones do."
and that sniper movie is The Shooter (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822854/).
boom
from my blog (http://modage.tumblr.com/post/2303033518/the-fighter):
After a 6 year hiatus, (during which he directed and abandoned the political satire Nailed), David O. Russell is back. During the 90's, Russell was part of a crew of "Hollywood outsiders" who seemed to have snuck into the studio system to make big budget movies. (See also: David Fincher's Fight Club, etc.) My hope was that if these guys did get swallowed up by the studio system, they'd end up making those movies better. The Fighter seems to be a perfect example of this. It's an underdog sports movie, which is something I couldn't be less interested in seeing again, but it feels so alive.
The movie is a true story, but you'd hardly know it from the first hour. It's full of energy and life and propelled by an incredible performance by Christian Bale. Bale is a force of nature in this movie. By contrast, Mark Wahlberg's performance (and character) are much more subdued. I've never been a big fan of Wahlberg, but David O. Russell is 1 of 3 directors that knows how to elicit a great performance out of him. (The others are PT Anderson and Martin Scorsese.) Not until the film's second half do you really start to feel the film's "inspirational sports movie" structure in place. By that point you are genuinely invested in the outcome, which is a pretty amazing accomplishment for a story as familiar as this one.
You get to see everything. I'm jealous. :yabbse-angry:
It doesn't come easy. I devote an inordinate amount of time trying to find screenings for movies. I spent about 2 months looking for a Black Swan screening. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. The Fighter opened on Friday though, so that was easy.
Christian Bale looks awesome in the ads for this. Is this guy the actor of his generation or what
Say something stefen.
lol. It's pretty good. Spoilers, I guess. I avoided reviewing it because I had a huge beef with it. As a huge boxing fan, I knew that Mickey Wards whole career was pretty much personified by his trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti. As I was watching the film, I was loving it because I knew it was leading up to these epic matchups. But it wasn't. Instead the movie ends right before he even faces Gatti then just gives a card that says he faced him. wtf? That's like making a movie out of a random night of my xixax posting, but ending it right before I get drunk. It's still good tho. P punched it in the face when he said Marky Mark only plays roles that he's made to play, but after reading an interview with him where he said the only reason he did The Happening is because he got to play a teacher, I can see why he sticks to his strengths, because that's all he is, strength and muscles. He's the classic abrasive, could fly off the handle at any second, can't spell his own name, but respects women and family type dude you find on the East Coast. But it works because that's pretty much Marky Mark. Bale nails it, but that's a given because he's pretty great even if he is a grade A jergoff. I didn't even know Melissa Leo was in it until the end credits. She took white trash method acting to a whole other level. Seriously, her double wide was floating in the air. It's aight. It's not ground breaking or anything and it's got enough edginess to not be a complete by the numbers underdog story, but it's okay. Nothing at all really stands out from it. I guess if you had to pick something, it would be Bale. But as someone who hangs around boxing message boards from time to time, all was not well with Dickey (Bale's character). It ends the film acting like he got sober, found peace and was living happily ever after but the dude is ALWAYS getting arrested for drugs, violence, armed robbery, etc. So if you know the real story, it's not really a feel good story at all.
A couple things.
Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin is featured in the film, and I thought it was like a big deal to get a Zeppelin song in a film. I remember the big deal made when Almost Famous got them, but then they showed the trailer for Axe Body Spray: The Movie aka Sucker Punch and that featured When the Levee Breaks. Did the Zep sell out?
Also you know I love NatPo, but this weekend at the cinema was pretty much NatPo overload. We had Black Swan, but then also trailers for THREE movies she's in -- Thor, Royal Highness and some looks stupid as shit romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher. Did NatPo sell out?
EDIT: UGh.
Quote from: Stefen on December 22, 2010, 02:44:20 PM
Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin is featured in the film, and I thought it was like a big deal to get a Zeppelin song in a film. I remember the big deal made when Almost Famous got them, but then they showed the trailer for Axe Body Spray: The Movie aka Sucker Punch and that featured When the Levee Breaks. Did the Zep sell out?
School of Rock had 'em, too.
Ugh, Arturo is my favorite boxer ever (used to live about 2-3 miles from where he grew up) and I was really saving the surprise to see what the guy who played him would look like. Fuck me.
It annoys me to death when these movies make awful people look like angels and I guess it happens 99% of the time. The worst ever was Hurricane with Denzel. That shit was not only annoying, it was fucking irresponsible. That real Rubin Carter dude was a real dangerous criminal that attacked old black ladies with knives and what not. And not even that good a boxer. The movie turned it all the way around.
Anyway, the Fighter still looks awesome, I love Bale and I can't wait to see it.
Here's the 9th round from their first fight. One of the greatest rounds ever. These guys were fighting on pure grit at this point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZP-IfSZxl0
Quote from: polkablues on December 22, 2010, 03:24:07 PM
Quote from: Stefen on December 22, 2010, 02:44:20 PM
Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin is featured in the film, and I thought it was like a big deal to get a Zeppelin song in a film. I remember the big deal made when Almost Famous got them, but then they showed the trailer for Axe Body Spray: The Movie aka Sucker Punch and that featured When the Levee Breaks. Did the Zep sell out?
School of Rock had 'em, too.
I'm not sure why they would need to sell out because didn't they make plenty off that song they wrote with puff daddy on the godzilla soundtrack?
That was just Jimmy Page wasn't it? He sold out when he kept dying his hair in the 80's. Get old, nerd.
Quote from: Stefen on December 22, 2010, 07:20:39 PM
Here's the 9th round from their first fight. One of the greatest rounds ever. These guys were fighting on pure grit at this point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZP-IfSZxl0
That's a fight straight out of Rocky. Gatti was the man, and he died like a man (choking on his own vomit/suicide/murdered by his wife)
Quote from: Stefen on December 22, 2010, 07:20:39 PM
Here's the 9th round from their first fight. One of the greatest rounds ever. These guys were fighting on pure grit at this point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZP-IfSZxl0
true grit haha
to me walhberg epitomizes boston hard asses and the wtf face
I enjoyed this okay. I don't know that I'd ever see it again, but it was entertaining.
Gonna bullet-point this one: (some mild spoilers)
- It's no Rocky. Movies that want to be the first Rocky need to stop wanting to be that because they can't. I'll never get as excited for a movie boxing fight than I do with Rocky (and most of the sequels even).
- It's too Scorcese at times. There are like three montage scenes with Rolling Stones music played over it. I get mad at Scorcese when he does that now days and he started that shit.
- People say that D O'R is one of the only directors that can get a decent performance out of Marky Mark, but I don't think he really did it this time. Sure, he starts out fine, but once it gets into the heavier emotional material, he loses it and starts sounding like he's Dirk Diggler again (whiny, high-pitched, crackling sad-voice worked in Boogie, but it doesn't here).
- Somehow this family cranks out two handsome boys and nothing but the ugliest girls in the world.
- I kind of like trashier Amy Adams. I want her to fight my mom.
Oh, and Stefen, I think you missed the end. Bale's character is clearly back on drugs.
Quote from: RegularKarate on December 28, 2010, 04:30:20 PM
There are like three montage scenes with Rolling Stones music played over it.
1
^ lol. but dammit whyd that make me look just higher at the spoiler in the last line of Regular's post? sheeeit.
^It happened to me too. Fuck!
RegularTroll.
Quote from: I Love a Magician on December 28, 2010, 08:41:23 PM
Quote from: RegularKarate on December 28, 2010, 04:30:20 PM
There are like three montage scenes with Rolling Stones music played over it.
1
Okay, but 1 is too many.
There's got to be at least one other montage that's similar though... maybe no Stones, but similar.
Benjamin Button dies at the end.
This was some boring shit. The best part was how over the top all of the sisters were. The boxing scenes looked good, but really this felt very uninspired. And RK's right, Russell is basically just doing Departed boxing movie.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.blogs.indiewire.com%2Fimages%2Fblogs%2Ftheplaylist%2Farchives%2Fdavid-o-russell-spike-jonze-motmi.jpg&hash=ef7595bdd2929ebfc6ed952cd59038b1581ebf41)
David O. Russell Almost Made A 'There Will Be Blood'-Like Film About The Industrial Revolution
Says Darren Aronofsky's Version Of 'The Fighter' Was Much Darker Than His & Many Other Things Gleaned From A Recent MOMI Talk With Spike Jonze
Source: ThePlaylist
"If you don't like any of my movies, just give it ten years."
As we mentioned yesterday, on Wednesday night the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens kicked off their David O. Russell retrospective with a screening of "The Fighter" followed by a Q&A with the director and guest moderator Spike Jonze. The hour-long conversation covered Russell's entire career and topics wide ranging from discussing his influences, risking his life for "The Royal Tenenbaums" and watching his debut "Spanking The Monkey" (an uncomfortable comedy about incest) with his 16 year old son. The evening had a great casual vibe and it was really interesting seeing the two filmmakers discussing their work so candidly, even pausing briefly as Jonze decided to pass Russell's Altoids out to the crowd.
Jonze started by asking Russell to name how old he was, what kind of music he was listening to and what kind of person he was during the making of each of his films. Though this concept got lost by the time they reached "Three Kings" it was a great way to start the conversation. The night also included a brief interruption from actress Rosie Perez and Jonze's own mother Sandy, who asked the night's final question. Here are the many highlights from Wednesday nights epic interview, including right off the top something we've never heard about before, a lot David O. Russell project the filmmaker shelved right before making "Three Kings."
Prior to "Three Kings" Russell almost made a "There Will Be Blood"-type film about the industrial revolution but thought it would be arrogant...
"I was, kind of, I think impressed by Quentin Tarantino at the time and I think I was kind of interested in trying something that had some more octane to it. I just wanted to try something different. I wanted to try to do something that had some propulsiveness to it. Weirdly, I was researching a movie that turned out to be a lot like "There Will Be Blood." I was researching [a story] about a father and a son that at the beginning of the oil thing, in the Oklahoma oil fields. I went to Princeton University and I met the history department and I was going to do this whole thing about the 20th century and what industrialization meant. I ended up thinking that it was just arrogant to try to make a judgement about the 20th century. And I thought that that was kind of easy and kind of a cheap shot to say that technology [was bad], cause for every bad thing it had done you can name twenty good things it had done. So I decided not to make that."
The origins of the long-gestating boxing drama, "The Fighter"...
"This movie was going to be made by Darren Aronofsky and he picked very different things than I would have picked and he would have made a very interesting film. I think he's a great filmmaker. So it's the things that I look for the things that i think are funny the things that I think are emotional. Like with "The Fighter," I think I've learned a lot. You kind of learn a lot about what interests you and it also changes over the years. And I would say right now what interests me the most is something that's very real and emotional and raw but also kind of fascinating in a way that certain characters or people can be. You know it when you see it...characters that kind of make my mouth hang open like "who are you?" When I saw this family in their photo album and Darren's script didn't really have the mothers or the sisters as much or the girlfriend. The women were much smaller and it was much more dark about Dickie's dark crime stuff. When I got to know the family I saw that was really only one part of the story and what really fascinated me about the story that I'd never seen was a mother who was as strong as that, who had done that with that gang of sisters. And the girlfriend who's so tough and the impact [of] how they were with these men. It's just a world. Right away you're like, "this is a world that is very interesting to me." People call it dysfunctional and all that and that was a word they threw around with "Spanking The Monkey." I don't like that word so much. I think that everybody is dysfunctional. Would you look at "Raging Bull" and go "those were some dysfunctional people?" You'd go, "those are some amazing people."
On "I Heart Huckabees"...
"I was trying a little something more conceptual in that. Something that in retrospect I wish I had made more visceral. And I think the parts of it that I like best are the more visceral parts with Mark [Wahlberg] and Jason Schwartzman. I think I was more interested in comedy too. Coming off "Three Kings," you know I did this movie that was very heavy, or heavier, and even though I always have to see comedy in things. Things to me that are are always funny and sad, that's what interests me the most."
Russell has seen "The Royal Tenenbaums" more than 50 times including while he's driving in LA. His Ford Escape has a TV screen that had never been disabled when the car is driving (as it was supposed to be), but Russell was unaware. He says he usually ends up playing the film repeatedly while he's "in traffic."
"That's a film that when it first came out, we were a little bit of a group with Wes [Anderson] and everybody and Sofia [Coppola]. Wes shared that script with me when it came out and I didn't really get it when I read it. I was like 'Wes, I dont know if you know that there's no 375th Street in New York?' And he was like 'No, I'm making up New York.' And when I saw the film I still didn't really get it. I thought it was precious and I was a huge fan of "Rushmore," there was no bigger fan of "Rushmore." The funny thing about it is how your feelings can change about cinema. So if you don't like any of my movies, just give it ten years. Ten years later, I just fell in love with [Royal Tenenbaums]. I just watch it and I see so much brilliance
On cribbing from influences, and pleasing Woody Allen...
"I was really into Woody Allen at the time of "Husbands and Wives," so that was kind of my pitchfork. I always tell people not to worry about that too much, because you read about Bob Dylan or The Beatles and I always thought "That's cheating, you cant write that way" but that's how everybody writes. A lot of people write that way. Bob Dylan said the way he writes all his songs is [that] he has somebody else's song in his head all day. It could be a Roy Orbison song, it could be a Hank Williams song. All day he's talking to people, people think he's really talking to them but he's really just listening to this song in his head and at some point he jumps off into his own thing. And John Lennon would say 'oh we thought we were doing a Roy Orbison song' and you kinda look at it and go 'that really doesn't sound anything like a Roy Orbison song to me.' So when "Husbands and Wives" was in my head, and not ironically Woody Allen loved the film ("Flirting With Disaster") and invited me to come meet him after that 'cause he thought "finally a filmmaker who is ripping him off a little bit" because I remember he said that Paul Thomas Anderson was ripping off [Martin] Scorsese. And I think that he was happy someone was finally going his way a little bit."
How the fight scenes in "The Fighter" had to be different from "Raging Bull" and other boxing movies...
"I loved 'Raging Bull' but we were certainly not going to do what he did. I wouldn't even attempt to. "I feel like I have "Raging Bull" and "Rocky" sort of in my [mental] hard drive and I did not need to look at them again. I knew I was not going to do what they did. And everything [Scorsese] did the camera is inside the ring and very often inside the fighter. It's very often between the fighters and Mark [Wahlberg] specifically wanted to do something that was more real than that, which I thought was interesting. So I knew it was more challenging for me as a filmmaker to make it intense where everything is from outside the ring. So what we got saved by, was how much footage we had. We had 6 HBO cameras and then we had 2 free floating cameras, so that's 8. And he said to make sure when you were shooting, it was a little ADD with 8 monitors, just make sure certain shots you had were money. To me the money shots were always the rougher ones that were looking up into the lights, that were sort of messed up. And the DP [Hoyte Van Hoytema] wanted to shoot with the original beta that they had used [during the real HBO fights] in 1990, which when you blew it up gave it a very rough look. We had 79 hours of fight footage. In 3 days we did the fights. In those 79 hours, that was a very big task [to edit the fights together]. That was kind of the bane of our existence in the editing room for a while, you'd be like 'oh thats the fight, there's the fight.' You'd watch it and go 'well that kinda sucks.' You'd look at it and it's like, 'well thats not very compelling.' So it took a lot of times before we whittled it down to where that's like 'that's intense, that's good.' "
On "Spanking The Monkey"...
"I was in my early thirties and I was listening to Nirvana and this band that's in the movie Morphine and Mark Lanegan—I was really into those guys, all that kind of intense which kinda was reflected in the movie. We came out of the 80's which were all poppy and all of a sudden it was really attractive to be heavy. And to be kind of unflinching."
On showing "Spanking The Monkey" to his 16 year old son...
"I kind of always dreaded him seeing that film because it's a very uncomfortable film. I used to call it a 'feel bad film.' Then he wanted to watch that and I said, 'I don't want to watch that. That's just going to be horrible for about 500 reasons.' And he said 'well lets watch it,' so we watched it and like the first half of it was just such a horrible uncomfortable experience for me, squirming, gross. It's just gross emotional content and also because it's your first film so just every single novice performance thing that happens on the part of the actors that I didn't catch as a director. I completely realized why he liked it. I realized that he loves it because he's into being an anguished adolescent. He's like really into that 'you don't understand how lonely and horrible it all is' and that horrible anguished feeling is dialed right into that movie."
All of the interview segments in "The Fighter" were unscripted.
"I just fell in love with the found footage of them on the couch. We did not have scheduled time for those interviews and [they were all] unscripted. They would just sit down and I just threw questions at them. We would do it between setups, like in the middle of the night. I said 'just sit on the couch', I'm very proud they were so comfortable. That's the best thing, I think the thing the director can be most proud of is when the set is so comfortable that the actors are so in character they're comfortable to do anything like that. To just say 'sit down in character and I'm going to throw questions at you'."
About being proud of the the conclusion of "The Fighter"... [spoilers]
"It just seemed very fitting emotionally, it seemed like a knockout punch to me emotionally to see Dickie so humbled. And when Christian [Bale] cried that was unexpected. You know, it just happened. I think he was so in character that he felt what it was like to give that over for his brother and to be happy for his brother but sad for himself all at the same time."
On being able to have his creative way with the "The Fighter" despite years of development...
"It was different for me certainly because I had brought Mark [Wahlberg] scripts twice before, I had brought him "Three Kings" and I had brought him 'Huckabees' and this was a case of him bringing me something that Darren Aronofsky had had. I think I've had a bumpy few years writing many things and sort of tying myself up in knots writing things and you know, that can happen. So I was happy to have a simple thing that I saw how it could be done. And I had a very clear take on it. Mark is very loyal to me and very much a protector of me so I knew I wasn't coming in somewhere where I was not going to be able to do what I wanted to do. And that's the only way I know how to do things. So I came in and I said 'This is how i see it, this is how i want to do it,' and they just cleared the way out and they let me do that."
The final question of the night was asked by Jonze's own mother who was in attendance. She said that she had listened to an interview with Russell on Fresh Air and got to know him better through that interview. Because he identifies with so many diverse characters in his films and is able to humanise them she asked what is it that enables him to do that. Russell, for the first time that night, was speechless and said he didn't know how to answer the question. So his friend Spike Jonze answered the question for him. "I think [David is] a very present person and when he's with people he's very present and he's very open. He's got one of the most genuine laughs, he really sees humor everywhere and a lot of times he makes me feel a lot funnier than I think I am because he laughs at things that I don't think are that funny but he sees some little weird idiosyncratic thing in the way I might have said it or something and he genuinely is just a very open person. And I have incredible conversations with him about everything and I think he has that ability with pretty much everyone he meets, wherever they're from and whatever they do."
If you haven't seen "The Fighter" by now, you really should. It's a great example of the best in studio filmmaking as well as one of the best films of last year. Russell took a concept as well worn as a boxing movie and really injected it with some new life. (The film played even better for this writer the second time around.) And that opening credits sequence alone, wow. As for Russell, we hope that whichever project of his that manages to bubble up first (and there are a lot of possibilities), that he'll make it into something great.
Folks can listen to the interview here (http://www.movingimagesource.us/dialogues/view/335)
hey whaddya know I'm interested in seeing The Fighter now.
I LOVED this! I was jumping out of my seat during the boxing sequences, totally forgetting I was watching a movie instead of a live fight. I wanted to high five everyone in the theatre after it was over. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I so involved in a movie. Christian Bale was amazing, as was Melissa Leo. They totally deserve their oscar nods (Bale should probably win).
This movie made me love movies again. I was starting to forget how happy a film could make me. I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed watching True Grit and Inception, etc. But It's been awhile since I've felt this good after watching a movie, especially after going Winter's Bone/Blue Valentine back to back a couple of weekends ago (sorry wrists).
I died every time Bale hopped out of a window. Each time it killed me. Couldn't stop laughing. Drugs are a hell of a cocaine.
Yeah, that was great. I loved all the comedic touches Russell put on this. Like when the porch scene where the dad drives up, then immediately gets back into his car when he sees whats going on. Those types of gags seem kind of lame in concept, but it's handled so tastefully in the film that it becomes funny and very endearing to the characters. My favourite part might be when Mickey and Dickey are singing along to Whitesnake.
I feel like another director, like Aronofsky, would've taken this material WAY too seriously. The reality is so over the top, that a lot of it could've just been boiled down to melodrama. Russell handles it perfectly. I also like how it's not as cinematically stylized like black swan or something. Felt real and raw, but without looking "raw."
Oh, just saw the article above. yep.
I still can't forgive it for not including even the first Ward/Gatti fight. I mean, seriously, if you include just one fight, like if you only have 10 minutes, you include the first fight. That would have been the best one for the movie, but they didn't even touch it. That alone has it out of my top 5.
It's like making a movie out of David O. Russel's career but leaving out The Fighter.
Quote from: Stefen on January 26, 2011, 03:35:09 AM
It's like making a movie out of David O. Russel's career but leaving out The Fighter.
that's really clever, well done.
makes me want to see the fighter AND the missing fight.
i dint like it
This was the second film I saw yesterday after 'True Grit' and to me at least, it seemed like the most conventional film David has put out. The addiction sces were brutal and yet darkly comic to watch. Sad and introspective film but if I didn't know it was a david o russel film I wouldn't pegged it as one.
And, just like the scarves, Stefen pretty much calls it....
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/mark_wahlberg_contemplating_sequel_to_the_fighter/
It was a travesty that they didn't include the fights in the first film. Hollywood is so up its own ass they didn't even stop to think about what the movie was about. They just saw pretty actors get dirtied up and act like, as they see it, mere peons of the outside world, not classy like they usually are.
Christian Bales acceptance speech was so phony, too.
Quote from: Stefen on March 01, 2011, 02:31:31 PM
It was a travesty that they didn't include the fights in the first film. Hollywood is so up its own ass they didn't even stop to think about what the movie was about. They just saw pretty actors get dirtied up and act like, as they see it, mere peons of the outside world, not classy like they usually are.
Christian Bales acceptance speech was so phony, too.
It works better dramatically if it's only one fight. As for sequels the subsequent fights will work but it seems like all the family stuff was resolved. That is, from what i know of it.
They would either have to create drama or turn those sequels into a rocky type film. They should just let it go.
I think a sequel would be nice. Maybe do could do a the Fighter 2 and it would be the Gatti story and then The Fighter 3 with the fights between the two oh man that'd be great
Gatti had a fucked up life too, he was murdered by his wife/commited suicide/chocked on his vomit/died weirdly after all
Quote from: Pas on March 01, 2011, 06:17:05 PM
he was murdered by his wife/commited suicide/chocked on his vomit/died weirdly after all
wow he died almost as many times as rasputin.
except rasputin never fought The Fighter, he just banged his wife.
Not you. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_kGWWHwUXs)
David O. Russell Says He's Ready To Write The Sequel To 'The Fighter'
Source: The Playlist
With "The Fighter" now on DVD/Blu-ray it's fairly safe to say most people have seen it at least once by now. (The film actually plays better the second time.) The true story of underdog boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his somewhat dysfunctional family was nominated for a ton of awards and ended up just shy of $100 million at the U.S. box office. But the real underdog story is the resurrection of director David O. Russell's career. After an unintentional six-year hiatus (where he eventually abandoned his troubled political satire "Nailed"), the writer/director reunited with his pal Wahlberg to take on "The Fighter" after filmmaker Darren Aronofsky left the project. Though he helped develop the story, switching the focus from the drug escapades of Christian Bale's character to the strong female characters in the family, it was his first film without a writing credit. But with "The Fighter" proving his biggest box office and critical success along with Oscar wins for co-stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo, Russell has his pick of potential follow-up projects. (Of which there are many.) One of those projects is a proposed sequel to "The Fighter," potentially focusing on Ward's three legendary fights with Arturo Gatti. Walberg recently talked up the potential for a sequel and it seems like Russell would be game. In an interview with MTV News the director says, "I think that would be awesome, I just love those characters and I think we could do a lot of fun and interesting stuff." Though the project is "in its infancy" (and likely wouldn't be first on his plate), the director said he would do it "whenever anyone says they're ready, I'm ready to write it." When asked if that meant he would take over scripting duties as well, he said he would "definitely want to be involved in that," which isn't really surprising. Russell is an auteur who likes to have full control over his projects, so even though taking this directing-only gig ended up panning out so well, we can't see him sitting in the backseat on all his future projects. Describing the story, he said "I think Micky's story has a lot of heart whichever way you cut it. You'd go towards the Gatti fights and you could go into the history of the family more. I really like the sisters." However, Russell has a lot of films on his docket. Will we ever see this film, let alone soon? It remains to be seen frankly, but then again, between 2005 and 2010 Russell attached himself to several projects that seemed like they would run before "The Fighter" and they fell by the wayside, so anything's possible.
It would be great. They'd need to focus on Arturo Gatti more though, who has a very similar family as Ward. Also Gatti once said that fighting Ward was like fighting his twin. That has to make good cinema.
That's what the first movie should have been.
Not really interested in seeing this story again, even if it includes the epic fights.
I'll argue Mickey Ward/Arturo Gatti is the perfect sequel story. Regardless of their epic fights, their last conversation happened over the telephone when Ward was prepping to make the The Fighter and Gatti was going to Brazil for his son. The two were planning to get together in the Boston area during the filming of the movie. Of course, that trip to Brazil was the infamous one so the reunion never happened, but their final end note runs as a perfect lead into the first film. I liked the Fighter. It's a fine film, and I think a Ward/Gatti sequel story would be even better than the first film.
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 22, 2011, 04:37:00 PM
David O. Russell Says He's Ready To Write The Sequel To 'The Fighter'
Source: The Playlist
I wrote this. :yabbse-grin: And I was *this close* to putting in Stefens quote.
Quote from: Stefen on January 26, 2011, 03:35:09 AM
It's like making a movie out of David O. Russel's career but leaving out The Fighter.
But just couldn't figure out how to work it in and give credit.
hah. You guys can steal any sentences of mine you want. No credit needed. :yabbse-grin: