The Fighter

[MacGuffin]

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."

[MacGuffin]

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.

[Stefen]

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?

[©brad]

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.

[MacGuffin]

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.

[cinemanarchist]

Those two are going to murder each other! Seriously, someone needs to document this entire production.

[Stefen]

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.

[72teeth]

plus its a movie abot fighting! shits going down!

[MacGuffin]

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."

[Stefen]

Christian Bale is going to beat the shit out of her.

[MacGuffin]

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."

[Gamblour.]

I'm very excited to see Amy Adams in some rougher edged material, but I hope Russell doesn't crush her soul.

[Pwaybloe]

Act like a grown-up.  You're not a baby.

[Stefen]

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.

[Gamblour.]

Act like a grown-up.  You're not a baby.

?

A-ha!