“The Smashing Machine” is a biographical sports drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Benny Safdie, starring Golden Globe nominee Dwayne Johnson as former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, alongside Academy Award nominee Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn Staples. The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Lion and received positive reviews for the performances, notably for Johnson’s transformational work, brought to life by multi Academy Award-winning prosthetics designer Kazu Hiro. Johnson, Blunt, and Hiro were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with me, Cody Dericks, and Dan Bayer, respectively, about their work and experiences making the film, which you can watch or listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to rent or own digitally from A24 and is up for your consideration in all eligible categories for this year’s Academy Awards. Thank you, and enjoy!
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