Dwayne The Rock Johnson Oscar buzz after The Smashing Machine receives 15-minute ovation at Venice

Before Johnson was best known as the star of franchises such as Jumanji and the Fast & Furious series, as well as a producer and a business owner, he made his name in wrestling. The third-generation wrestler won eight WWE championships.

“I loved wrestling and I had such a great time, but it’s very bombastic,” Johnson said.

He remembered meeting Kerr in the late 1990s and said how much he looked up to him. This film, he said, feels like a full circle moment.

The Smashing Machine takes place between the years 1997 and 2000, a tumultuous time in both Kerr’s professional and personal life. His relationship with then girlfriend Dawn Staples was particularly volatile.

Blunt got to know and spend time with her counterpart as well. She said she was excited to show the “full weather system” of a relationship.

“I’ve been part of a lot of relationships that are essentially more curated to a movie, a moviefied relationship,” Blunt said. “This felt like the full spectrum of what a relationship really looks like. Because humans change within the hour. I think we got to show that.”

She said it was extraordinary and a little “spooky” to see Johnson fully disappear into this role. The prosthetics were designed by master make-up artist Kazu Hiro, who helped Bradley Cooper turn into Leonard Bernstein and Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill.

Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera last week said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson, whom he called “absolutely amazing” in the film, and Blunt among the Oscar nominees next year.

Johnson said: “I’ve been scared to go deep and go intense and go raw until now, until I’ve had this opportunity.”

Both Johnson and Safdie said Kerr had changed their lives.

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“It’s such a beautiful thing to shine a light on him and learn from his experiences,” Safdie said.

Safdie, also an actor, recently appeared in Oppenheimer and Happy Gilmore 2. As a filmmaker, along with his brother Josh, he co-directed Uncut Gems.

In his director’s statement for The Smashing Machine, Safdie calls the title “a perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, conjuring images of domination and destruction with ease”.

The film is playing in the main competition. Titles such as Frankenstein, Bugonia, The Voice of Hind Rajab, La Grazia and No Other Choice are also vying for the top prizes, including acting and directing awards. Winners will be announced on September 6.

The Smashing Machine will open in Australia on October 2.

Associated Press

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