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Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dwayne Johnson, future Oscar nominee? With ‘The Smashing Machine,' the box-office draw makes his prestige play
After A24 released the first trailer for The Smashing Machine with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, it didn't take long for awards pundits and journalists to start speculating about its future as an Oscar player. Truth be told, Johnson has been considered a potential Best Actor nominee for months, with only a still photo of his transformation into UFC fighter Mark Kerr in his war chest. However, now that The Smashing Machine trailer has arrived, it seems fair, even at this early stage in the calendar, with the movie still months from its debut, to wonder aloud whether Johnson could leap from popcorn star and beloved WWE wrestler to Academy Award nominee. More from GoldDerby Tony Talk: Our final 2025 nominations predictions in the top 12 categories 'Matlock' creator drops juicy Season 2 spoilers: Twists, turns, and working with Kathy Bates Bruce Springsteen on Jeremy Allen White portraying him in the upcoming film 'Deliver Me From Nowhere': 'It was quite emotional' If it happens, don't act too surprised, especially since, on paper, The Smashing Machine has a lot in its favor. Based on the documentary of the same name, and written and directed by Benny Safdie (flying solo for the first time as a director without his brother, Josh Safdie), The Smashing Machine tells the true story of Kerr, a mixed martial artist and fighter who rose to fame in the early days of the UFC while also battling a significant drug addicition. To play Kerr, Johnson underwent a substantial physical transformation with the help of two-time Oscar-winning prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro (Darkest Hour, Bombshell). 'I look what I look like,' Johnson said in an interview with GQ last year. 'I am what I am. There is no: 'Oh, Rock is just gonna disappear.' You know what I mean? However, to be able to do that in Smashing Machine, with the greatest of makeup artists — in a way, it was really freeing for me.' 'It was just funny because I remember him walking around and you'd hear people saying, 'When's The Rock going to get here? I wonder when he's going to get here,'' Benny Safdie said of the transformation. 'You'd hear all these people talking, and meanwhile he's walking amongst them.' The connection between the Oscar nominations for Best Hair and Makeup and acting is well-documented. Several times in recent years an eventual acting Oscar winner has carried the hair and makeup category as well, including Marion Cotillard (La vie en Rose), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), and Emma Stone (Poor Things). Nominees in both categories since 2008 include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which won hair and makeup and was nominated in Best Actor for Brad Pitt), Foxcatcher (nominated for hair and makeup and acting bids for Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo), The Revenant (nominated for hair and makeup and won Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio), Vice (which won hair and makeup and received three acting bids for Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell, and Amy Adams), Bombshell (which won hair and makeup and was nominated in the acting categories for Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie), Joker (which was nominated for hair and makeup and won Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix), Judy (which was nominated for hair and makeup and won Best Actress for Renée Zellweger), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (a winner for hair and makeup and acting nominee twice over for Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman), Mank (a hair and makeup nominee nominated in the acting categories for Oldman and Amanda Seyfried), Elvis (a hair and makeup nominee and Best Actor nominee for Austin Butler), Maestro (a hair and makeup nominee and acting nominee for Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan), Oppenheimer (a hair and makeup nominee, an acting winner for both Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. and a nominee for Emily Blunt), The Substance (a hair and makeup nominee and an acting nominee for Demi Moore), and Wicked (a hair and makeup nominee and an acting nominee for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande). 'You really understand the fears, the love, the sadness, the happiness,' Safdie said of Johnson's transformation. 'If somebody's open to doing that and talking about that stuff, then they're going to be able to give a great performance. Because of how physically strong he is, I don't know if a lot of people give him that opportunity.' However, even beyond its potential bids in Best Actor and Best Hair and Makeup, Johnson and The Smashing Machine could hit a sweet spot with the Academy. Several times in recent years, actors portraying fighters — either boxers or wrestlers — have been nominated for Oscars, including winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) and nominees Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Will Smith (Ali), and Denzel Washington (The Hurricane). Playing a real person is also proven to be appealing to the Academy, as evidenced by the multiple nominees and winners who have been recognized over the last two decades. Fourteen times in the previous 25 years, the Best Actor winner has triumphed by playing a real-life figure. Even Johnson's stature within the industry could become a feature, not a bug. Best known for playing action heroes in blockbuster titles like the Fast and Furious franchise and the Jumanji movies, Johnson could join a select list of actors primarily known for their box-office prowess as an unlikely Oscar nominee, including Moore, Smith, Sandra Bullock, and Julia Roberts (both of whom also won Oscars for playing real people). Regardless of the eventual awards outcome for Johnson and The Smashing Machine — and note that the movie doesn't even come out until October, and its place as a contender largely depends on the response it gets during the fall — the movie does feel like a pivot point for Johnson. Recently, he was attached to a new film with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio that has been compared to The Departed. He has also discussed reuniting with Safdie and A24 in the future. 'It's such a psychological thing here,' Johnson said of The Smashing Machine last year. 'But you know, from the moment I walk out of my house, I can't hide. But in a way, when I could disappear in a movie like Smashing Machine, and some of the other things now that we're developing, where it will allow me to disappear, with a Benny again or an A24. … Man, I love it.' Now, we wait to see if the Academy does, too. Best of GoldDerby Wes Anderson movies: All 11 films ranked worst to best Penelope Cruz movies: 16 greatest films ranked worst to best Audrey Hepburn movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Click here to read the full article.
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Gary Oldman recalls apologising to Demi Moore for drunken behaviour on the set of 1995 film Scarlet Letter
English actor Gary Oldman, renowned for his portrayals of complex characters including Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, has opened up about his past struggles with alcohol, revealing how it impacted his professionalism on the set of the 1995 film The Scarlet Letter, where he starred opposite Demi Moore. The Oscar-winning actor, played Arthur Dimmesdale in the romantic drama, which featured Demi in the lead role. Reflecting on that period in an interview with Radio Times, Gary admitted he was battling intermittent bouts of drinking during the production. 'I think the worst thing you can do is inspire disappointment. I was in The Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore, and I had intermittent bouts of boozing during filming. It was towards the end of [my drinking] where I thought, 'If I carry on like this…'' he said. Describing one particular incident on set, the 67-year-old actor recalled, 'I was in a very dark place. I drank too much in the lunch hour. It was such a destructive thing. I got back on the set to do quite a big scene and I got through it. You wouldn't really know but I was quite tipsy. And the next day, I said to her, 'I'm so sorry, you must hate me.' I was mortified that I'd been so unprofessional. And she said to me, 'I don't hate you. It's OK. I'm just disappointed'.' Gary's battle with alcohol addiction was not new at the time. He had been arrested for drunk driving in 1991 and voluntarily entered rehab in 1994. Over the years, he has candidly discussed the extent of his addiction, once admitting to "sweating vodka" and drinking so heavily that his tongue turned black. He has now been sober for 27 years and has often credited Alcoholics Anonymous with helping him turn his life around. Recently, Gary also shared warm words for his former co-star Demi Moore, who has made a major comeback with her performance in the critically acclaimed horror film The Substance. Speaking to The Post earlier this year, he said, 'I've not really been in touch with her, but I just reconnected with her because I saw her recently. She is such a wonderful person, Demi. She really is very special. I couldn't be happier for her in this moment with this film and this role. I think it's such a wonderful thing. And she's loving it and really riding the wave.'
Telegraph
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Gary Oldman repeatedly turned down Churchill role... then his wife intervened
Gary Oldman has revealed he turned down the role of Winston Churchill 'half a dozen times' before his wife intervened. The 67-year-old actor, who won an Oscar, Bafta and Golden Globe for his performance as the wartime prime minister in Darkest Hour, said he was partly convinced to accept the part by Alexandra Edenborough, his now former wife. The singer and actress, who was married to Oldman from 2008 until 2015, encouraged him to 'walk on the wire', he said. Speaking to Radio Times, the Slow Horses actor said portraying Churchill in the 2017 film, directed by Joe Wright, was his 'riskiest role' to date. He said: 'It worked out OK, but I'd turned it down half a dozen times. 'It was partly my wife [Edenborough] who said: 'Go out there and walk on the wire. It could be great, but even if you fall and it's no good, you've got to stand on the set and say 'We shall fight you on the beaches'.' And I thought, 'You've got a point there'.' The film ended with Oldman delivering Churchill's renowned 'We shall fight on the beaches' speech in the House of Commons in 1940 to rally the nation against the Nazis. The actor has previously said he first declined to play the former prime minister in part because of the 'physicality' of the role, which required him to wear a 6kg fat suit and silicon mask. Elsewhere in the interview, Oldman admitted he found playing historical figures more exciting than some of the fictional characters – and villains – he has become famed for portraying. 'I find the biographical stuff thrilling,' he said, adding: 'I love being a detective and researching. It makes it tactile. You can go in and touch the history, rather than it just being all imagination. I enjoy the process.' Oldman has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of other historical figures, including an Academy Award for his role as Herman J Mankiewicz, the American screenwriter, in the black-and-white biographical drama Mank. The veteran actor also revealed he had turned down roles that resulted in critical acclaim for others in the industry, saying: 'I won't mention which, but I've passed on things that have given people their careers. 'I passed on something someone won an Oscar for… But I might not have won the Oscar. It would have been a different film, you never know.' He also criticised Netflix for cancelling popular shows after a single season, something the streaming giant has previously come under fire for from fans. Asked if he was 'keen to continue' after four seasons of the Apple TV+ hit Slow Horses, Oldman said: 'Obviously, if they want to keep us on the air and we've got an audience. It's Apple writing the cheques.' He added: 'Speaking of disappointment, have you noticed that some of the streamers can really disappoint their audiences? Like Netflix will give you a season of something or other, and they just go, 'We're pulling it.' 'Apple will not do that. We're working on writing number six. Now, I don't know whether we'll eventually end up doing it, but we've filmed five and there's eight books altogether.'
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Gary Oldman had to apologise to Demi Moore while filming The Scarlet Letter for 'being unprofessional' and 'drinking too much' on set
Gary Oldman has played a fair few drunks in his time, from Churchill to Jackson Lamb. But the Oscar winner has now admitted to once having a drinking problem which resulted in him being 'destructive' on the set of A Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore. The Oscar winner, 67, played Arthur Dimmesdale in the 1995 Romance film alongside Demi Moore, now 62. Now talking about his experience whilst filming on set, he revealed he had to appologise to Demi at the time. Speaking to this week's Radio Times, he said: 'I think the worst thing you can do is inspire disappointment. 'I was in The Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore, and I had intermittent bouts of boozing during filming. It was towards the end of [my drinking] where I thought, 'If I carry on like this…'. 'I was in a very dark place. I drank too much in the lunch hour. It was such a destructive thing. I got back on the set to do quite a big scene and I got through it. 'You wouldn't really know but I was quite tipsy. And the next day, I said to her, 'I'm so sorry, you must hate me.' 'I was mortified that I'd been so unprofessional. And she said to me, 'I don't hate you. It's OK. I'm just disappointed'.' Gary was arrested in 1991 for drunk driving and in 1994 checked himself into rehab. In recent years whilst talking about his addiction he has admitted to 'sweating vodka' and that he would drink so much that his tounge turned black. He has now been sober for 27 years and has previously credited Alcoholics Anonymous for helping him with his addiction. Oldman won an Oscar for his role in Darkest Hour, where he portrayed Winston Churchill. Telling the Radio Times he revealed the role was the 'riskiest' he had ever taken on and that his perception of Churchill changed afterwards. 'It worked out OK, but I'd turned it down half a dozen times,' he said. 'He wrote more words than Shakespeare and Charles Dickens put together. He wrote about 50 books, all those famous speeches. And not only did he write all those, but he wrote all the day-to-day stuff, like memos and letters. 'The achievement of one guy who could write all that, paint those pictures, take on the Nazis, smoke that many cigars, drink that much in his life – I had great admiration for him.' Having most recently played the role of Jackson Lamb, a drunk, unkept, failed MI5 agent, in the last three seasons of Apple TV's Slow Horses, Oldman said they're now talking about season six with season five to be released this summer. 'Obviously, if they want to keep us on the air and we've got an audience,' he said. 'It's Apple writing the cheques. We're working on writing number six. 'Now, I don't know whether we'll eventually end up doing it, but we've filmed five and there's eight books altogether.' It comes after Gary recently praised his former co-star Demi for her recent success. 'I've not really been in touch with her, but I just reconnected with her because I saw her recently. She is such a wonderful person, Demi,' Gary told The Post earlier this year, 'She really is very special.' He continued: 'I couldn't be happier for her in this moment with this film and this role. 'I think it's such a wonderful thing. And she's loving it and really riding the wave.' Demi has been dominating this year's awards season for her role in The Substance, winning both a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for Best Actress for her performance as Elisabeth Sparkle in the horror film. Gary was also nominated at the 2025 SAG Awards for best actor in a drama series for his role in the Apple TV+ thriller Slow Horses. However, Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada took home the prize for his incredible performance in the TV series Shōgun.
The Independent
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Pride and Prejudice fans have Matthew Macfadyen to thank for the film's romantic ‘hand flex' moment
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice, director Joe Wright has shed some light on Mr Darcy's iconic 'hand flex' scene. Wright's romantic-drama, which returns to cinemas to mark the milestone anniversary, stars Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett and Matthew Mafadyen as Mr Darcy. The famous moment occurs in the early stages of their budding romance, with Elizabeth preparing to leave Netherfield after spending weeks nursing her sister Jane (Rosamund Pike) back to health. When the carriage arrives to take her home, Mr Darcy gives her his hand to help her into it. The camera lingers on their hands and as he walks away, the camera zooms in on his hand, which he flexes as if to shake off the intense moment. The so-called 'hand flex' has caused a stir on social media where fans of the film praised the moment as a 'perfect' encapsulation of Mr Darcy's repressed feelings at the time. Focus Features, the production company behind the film, is now selling merchandise of the hand flex, including T-shirts and badges, to commemorate the milestone anniversary. In a new interview with People, Wright – who also directed films including Darkest Hour (2017) and The Woman in the Window (2021) – confirmed that the moment would not have happened without Macfadyen's improvisation. 'It wasn't in the script, but that was an important moment in the book,' Wright said. 'This sudden realisation, as they were parting, of what they meant to each other or the kind of disturbance they caused in each other.' the fact that pride and prejudice was released 18 years ago and they still ask matthew macfadyen about mr darcy and the hand flex — sandra (@folkausten) July 24, 2024 Wright went on to explain that the moment shows that while Mr Darcy physically recognises his feelings for Elizabeth, his mind has not caught up yet. 'Our bodies are so much smarter than our minds often. Although their conscious minds are fighting against each other, their bodies are two magnets drawn to each other,' Wright said. 'As they touch, even that little hand lifting helping her, which is pure etiquette of the period, somehow creates this kind of electronic shock wave through them both, and he has to shake it away.' In another interview with The New York Times for a piece solely focused on the 'hand flex', Wright said he has been 'humbled' by the reception 'because it feels like it's taken on a life of its own.' Elsewhere, Wright revealed to Mashable the origins of another beloved moment – the line spoken by Charlotte's character, in which she says: 'I'm 27 years old. I've no money and no prospects. I'm already a burden to my parents, and I'm frightened.' Wright revealed that he and screenwriter Deborah Moggach approached Emma Thompson, who had previously won an Oscar for her adaptation of Austen's Sense and Sensibility, for some assistance with 'a little bit of the dialogue', which gave birth to the now iconic line. Pride and Prejudice will return to UK cinemas next week.
