The MMA community can’t wait to see The Smashing Machine.
Based on the life of combat sports legend Mark Kerr, the film stars Dwayne ‘The Rock‘ Johnson in the lead role with Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems) behind the camera. The film also stars Emily Blunt, who worked with Johnson on Disney’s Jungle Cruise movie, and a slew of real-life fighters like Oleksandr Usyk, Ryan Bader, and Satoshi Ishii.
Also appearing in the film is former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten, who apparently had a bit of a clash with Blunt while the A Quiet Place actress was researching her role as Kerr’s ex-wife and former Playboy model Dawn Staples.
“Emily Blunt came to me. She says, ‘Hey, I, uh, want to sit down with you in a little bit.’ Oh, by the way, she walks up to me and goes, ‘Hey, dang, dang, dang.’ I go, ‘Oh, that’s always nice to know,’” Rutten told Matt Serra.
Then she says she wants to sit down with me because she needs to talk; she needs to get in character for Dawn. She says, ‘What was the conversation you had with her?’ And I go like, ‘Uh, I said one thing to her one time.’ She goes, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Get the hell out of this place right now.’ That’s the only thing I said.
She goes, ‘Why would you do that?’ And I go, ‘Because Mark is lost and he’s completely down.’ And she walks in and says, ‘You look like a beginner. You look like a freaking loser. What were you doing out there?’ And I go, ‘Get the f*ck out of here! Who’s doing this? Who does that to somebody you love?’”
“So Emily started laughing,” Rutten continued. “Then when she talked to Dawn, she came back and said, ‘Uh hey Bas, I got some information for you.’ I go, ‘Okay.’ She says, ‘Yeah. She told me she was very jealous of Bas because once Mark went to Bas, Bas got all the attention. And I was young. I was stupid. Looking back on it, it was just childish. But that’s why I was constantly like—we would drive in the car—and he was constantly talking to her on the phone for hours. And I’d say hang up the freaking phone! Stop focusing on fighting.’
But she was so needy at that moment because—like she said—she was just young. You know? But that was it. She was just jealous, apparently, and that’s why we never had a relationship.”
Early reviews suggest that The Smashing machine is not the film fight fans are expecting
Last month, reports from an early screening of the film delivered mixed reviews, with some criticizing the ‘gonzo’ tone of the film and that it ‘almost plays like a spoof of the biopic genre.’ Fortunately, MMA fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out for themselves.
The Smashing Machine hits theaters on October 3.
