When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared in Venice last weekend for the premiere of “The Smashing Machine,” he grabbed headlines in a way that few expected.
While there were many takeaways from the screening, including positive early reviews and a 15-minute standing ovation, many were focused on the wrestling and Hollywood star’s significantly slimmer look.
After spending his entire adult life as a bulky wrestler, and recently becoming even larger to play MMA fighter Mark Kerr, many considered The Rock’s new look to be much more trimmed down.
There was initially little information as to why Johnson had such a transformation. However, during a question-and-answer period following a screening of “The Smashing Machine” at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), he finally explained that it’s for an upcoming project.
“I’m teaming up with Benny Safdie again and we’re going to make a film called ‘Lizard Music,’ which is based off a novel written by Daniel Pinkwater,” Johnson was seen describing in a video shared by Rotten Tomatoes. “A little bit of the backstory for you guys here is Benny pitched me the movie after ‘The Smashing Machine,’ and after about 45 minutes, his pitch ended and I said, ‘I am your chicken man.’ What that means is, without giving too much away, the role that I will play is a very whimsical and eccentric 70-something-year-old man called ‘The Chicken Man,’ and his best friend is a 70-something-year-old chicken. [Crown laughs] Yeah, so that will be my next role with Benny Safdie. I’m so excited to hopefully get a chance to transform again like I was able to do in ‘Smashing Machine.’
He later added: “That’s why I’ve been slimming down, to play ‘The Chicken Man,'” per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. “I’ve been eating less chicken. This is me slimmed down. In the process of slimming down. I still have a long ways to go.”
An extended trailer for “The Smashing Machine” was released by A24 this week. The film, set for a theatrical release early next month, is based on an early 2000s documentary that followed heavyweight MMA trailblazer Mark Kerr as he competed in an unforgiving industry while grappling with addiction and marital issues.
