Dwayne Johnson will take a serious turn as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in “Smashing Machine,” which has its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Monday.
Reviews aren’t out yet, but the actor is already generating Oscar buzz for his transformation into Benny Safdie’s film. The festival has launched several recent best actor Oscar winners, from Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” to Adrien Brody in “Brutalist.” Like both of those films, “Smashing Machine” is being released by A24.
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson, who he called “absolutely amazing” in the film, and Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s wife, among the Oscar nominees next year.
“When I saw the first images last January, I thought it might be a good contender,” Barbera told The Associated Press earlier this week. “But then when I saw the movie, I realized it was a great movie.”
Kerr is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion and MMA fighter who retired in 2009. Known as “Smashing Machine,” Kerr also struggled with painkillers and opioids, overdosing twice.
Before Johnson was best known as the star of franchises like “Jumanji” and the “Fast and Furious” series, as well as a producer and business owner, he made his name in wrestling. A third-generation wrestler, he won eight WWE championships.
Safdie is an actor who recently appeared in “Oppenheimer” and “Happy Gilmore 2” and a filmmaker who, with his brother Josh, co-wrote “Uncut Gems.”
In his director’s statement about “Smashing Machine,” Safdie called the title “the perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, easily conjuring up images of domination and destruction.”
He added, “Dwayne, Emily and I were thinking, ‘What’s it like to be Mark Kerr, what’s it like to actually be Dawn Staples?’ We wanted to empathize with these characters in a way that felt like our own feelings… I wanted this movie to exist as a memory for everyone who watches it.”
The film is playing in the main competition with titles like “Frankenstein,” “Bugonia,” “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” “La Grazia ” and “No Other Choice,” which are also competing for top awards, including awards and directing prizes. The winners will be announced on September 6.
“Smashing Machine” opens in North American theaters on October 3rd.
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To learn more about the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit the website
