'The Smashing Machine': First Look At Sports Drama Film Starring 'The Rock' As Mark Kerr

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson recently posted on his Instagram a first-look teaser of the film 'The Smashing Machine'. The sports drama film is going to follow the life of former wrestler and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr.

The movie was first announced in December 2023, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. A24 Productions will produce the project with the help of Director, Benny Safdie. A24 Productions has previously helped with projects like 'Everything, Everywhere, All At Once', 'Midsommar', and 'Lady Bird'. The film will also feature Emily Blunt, acting as Mark Kerr's wife, Dawn Staples, as reported by Variety Magazine.

The film may follow a similar plotline to the 2002 documentary 'The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr', which was directed by John Hyams. The documentary showed how Mark Kerr got into mixed martial arts, which was back then referred to as 'No Holds Barred' or NHB fighting, and how he earned his nickname as 'The Smashing Machine'. It also delves into topics like how brutal such a style of fighting was for Kerr's physical and mental well-being, his addiction to pain medication and narcotics.

According to a Sherdog article, Mark Kerr retired in 2010 and tried to pursue a degree in pharmaceutical sales. Another long form-interview with Mark Kerr by Sports Illustrated tells us that after retirement, he eventually went to work at Toyota.

Later in life, Kerr also suffered from peripheral neuropathy, a condition caused by the damaging of nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord, which can cause symptoms like numbness, weakness, and pain. Kerr started a GoFundMe page around 2019 in order to pay off the medical expenses to cure this condition, stating in the description that "Over the last 6 months it has made it almost impossible to work. He has suffered in silence because pain medication is not a option."

While Kerr may not have reached the goal of $13,833 on his GoFundMe page, it seems he still managed to get the funds to help with his condition. Yesterday, Dwayne Johnson posted on his Instagram pictures of him and Kerr training together for the upcoming film.