The Rock announces plans for movie on former MMA star Mark Kerr
Image: Sherdog
At a Friday press conference in New York City, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced he and his Seven Bucks Productions company are going to create a movie about former UFC star Mark Kerr.
Kerr, a former NCAA Division 1 championship wrestler, was one of the early pioneers of the sport and competed in the UFC four times (all in 1997) before moving onto PRIDE and other organizations. He retired in 2009.
Kerr’s story was told in the well-recieved 2002 HBO documentary “The Smashing Machine: The Life & Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr” that covered his career and struggles fighting painkillers.
The movie will be a scripted one and the 50-year-old Kerr will be involved, giving the project his blessing. Johnson didn’t announce any details about the anticipated release date of the movie. Seven Bucks Productions released this year’s “Fighting With My Family”, a biopic of now-retired WWE women’s star Paige.
Johnson is in town for Saturday’s UFC 244, presenting the BMF title to the winner of Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.