A24 biopic The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (wearing a wig!) as legendary MMA fighter and UFC pioneer Mark Kerr, had its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Related: The Smashing Machine Starring The Rock as MMA Fighter in Theatres This October
The Smashing Machine is a drama based on the story of Mark Kerr, the legendary MMA fighter from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career. He struggles with addiction, winning, love and friendship in the year 2000.
Director Benny Safdie said that The Rock approached him about six years ago to make a movie about Mark Kerr. After Safdie watched the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, he understood why. Not only was there something complicated about Kerr that Safdie wanted to explore, there was something complicated about The Rock that he wanted to explore too.
Mark was the greatest fighter in the world at one point, but this film is not even really about fighting — it’s a love story. . . .about Mark and Dawn in this relationship, and it’s a love story about Mark and the love that he had for the thing that he did — his struggle with trying to deliver [in the ring], his challenges and his overcoming. As you know, Mark OD’d twice, and he’s lucky to be alive — and that’s part of why this story is so special. — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Production in Vancouver wrapped in July 2024 with most of it on a Tokyo Dome ring set in the Pacific Coliseum,. where they staged a series of Pride Fighting Championships with dark-haired Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn Staples (and later wife and ex-wife) plus hundreds of local background actors in the crowd.
Japan’s Pride FC once billed itself as The Premiere Mixed Martial Arts Contest in the World during the late 1990s and 2000s.
Related: First Look at The Rock as MMA Fighter Mark Kerr aka The Smashing Machine
Kerr aka The Smashing Machine won four fights between Pride 2 and 6 with his ground-and-pound style, taking his opponents down to the mat and then finishing them off quickly with knees to the head and other submission tactics.
Then came Pride 7’s controversial fight in 1999 between Mark Kerr and Igor Vovchanchyn, who is played by World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Oleksandr Usyk in his acting debut.
Kerr overpowered Vovhanchun in size but not in striking power. The Ukranian knocked Kerr out with kick strikes but the win was overturned because of rules (since changed) that didn’t allow them.
Kerr went on to win at the Grand Prix Open Rounds in 2000 but the MMA was changing. At a rematch with Igor Vovchancchyn at Pride 12, the Ukranian won by decision.
The Smashing Machine:
BC filming dates: May 2024 – July 16 2024.
Related: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Shooting MMA Biopic The Smashing Machine in Vancouver
Director: Benny Safdie
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, Ryan Bader, Zoe Kosovic.
Appearances by: Mark Kerr, Bas Rutten, Ryan Bader.
Soundstages: Ironwood Studios.
Producers: A24 Films.
Filming locations:
Lions MMA gym.
Related: The Rock’s The Smashing Machine Movie to Shoot at Vancouver’s Lions MMA
Rogers Arena entrance as Tokyo Dome entrance.
Related: The Rock’s THE SMASHING MACHINE Turns Rogers Arena Entrance into Tokyo Dome
The Pride 7 Tokyo press conference at the Pan Pacific Hotel.
The Tokyo Dome ring set in the Pacific Coliseum.
The Smashing Machine will be at the Toronto International Festival on September 8th and 9th and released in theatres on October 3rd.
