Dwayne Johnson takes a serious turn as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine,” which has its world premiere Monday at the Venice Film Festival.
Reviews aren’t out yet, but the actor is already sparking Oscar buzz for his transformation in the film from Benny Safdie. The festival has launched several recent best actor Oscar winners, from Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” to Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist.” Like both of those films, “The Smashing Machine” is being released by A24.
Venice’s 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 in last January, I thought it could be a good out of competition contender,” Barbera told The Associated Press earlier this week. “But then when I saw the film, I realized that it’s a great movie.”
Kerr is a two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner and MMA fighter who retired in 2009. Known as “The Smashing Machine,” Kerr also struggled with addition to painkillers and opioids, overdosing twice.
Before Johnson was best known as the star of franchises like “Jumanji” and the “Fast & 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 filmmaker who, along with his brother Josh, codirected “Uncut Gems.”
In his director’s statement for “The Smashing Machine,” Safdie called the title, “a perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, conjuring images of domination and destruction with ease.”
He added, “Dwayne, Emily and I kept thought ‘what is it like to really be Mark Kerr, what is it like to really 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” also vying for the top prizes, including acting and directing awards. Winners will be announced on Sept. 6.
“The Smashing Machine” will open in North American theaters on Oct. 3.
For more coverage of the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.
