Inspirational drama and family drama
David O. Russell used to be a master of independent film production. Some of his films are full of a unique understanding of life as well as ridiculous irony. This time, his "Fighter" is adapted from the real life of real people, telling a family story with inspirational elements. Regardless of the story, the composition of the actors, or the release time, this film is a mainstream film that is heading for the Oscars.
Fans who liked early Russell seemed unacceptable to this change, but in Russell's eyes, telling a touching story is the most important thing. Russell said: "Indeed, this is a film about family emotions. Boxing only makes this story that happened within the family more interesting and legendary. Family is such a place, even if you commit a crime in the past. Big mistake, as long as you are willing to return to the family, your family will still love you and support you as before. In my movie, I hope to grasp this subtle emotion and show people’s emotions and psychology. The conflict between people expresses the inseparable connections and emotions between people.” The inspirational elements of the film are obviously not the focus of Russell’s presentation. He said: “This is not an inspirational film, even if it contains It is full of inspirational elements; this is not a simple biographical film, even if it is adapted from the real stories of real people. In my heart, this film is the film that tells people’s most universal emotions, because in In the film, the emotional ups and downs experienced by these people are what we will encounter in our lives. There are big ups and downs, joy, and guilt-more importantly, the family’s consideration, understanding and acceptance."
Brotherhood of ups and downs
Although the movie "Fighter" focuses on family emotions, Russell still focuses on the performance of brotherhood. Russell said: "Most of the emotional scenes in the film are concentrated between Ekland and Mickey. They used to be good brothers, but they turned against each other because of some accidents, and finally came together again because of their blood relationship. This kind of ups and downs. Emotion is the most unforgettable, and it is also extremely dramatic and tension. To be honest, I like shooting such content in the film because it has extraordinary emotional appeal."
Speaking of his role and emotions in the film, Christian Bale said: "The role I play has a lot of emotions. He is a guy who has experienced the ups and downs of life. The ups and downs in life are counted for him. Nothing. What he values most is the emotion with his family-because that is the last thing he can't lose. Therefore, in the film, Ecoland must do everything possible to live a down-to-earth life with his family. Together. The role I and I play, Ekland has had a lot of contact in life, I will go out with him for some fun, bubble bar, drink beer and so on. Although he is still an addict now, But he is not a criminal, let alone a kind of gangster. In general, he is still a sincere person. He also loves the people around him, but he is not good at dealing with interpersonal relationships and sorting out his emotions. So. , If you don’t pay attention, things will be messed up by him."
When Mark Wahlberg talked about his role, he said: “This role is not as complicated as Bell’s Ekland, because he is a relatively simple person with a relatively simple life experience. However, this kind of simplicity It cannot be called superficial or innocent. He is just an ordinary boxer. For him, boxing is to make money, it is a job to support the family. Because of boxing, the whole family can live relatively stable and prosperous. Life. In the film, the reason why he wants to break with his family is entirely because he hopes he can live a better life. But in the face of the big troubles, he still chose to accept his unhappy family again. This is human nature."
Dedicated actor
David O. Russell was lucky, because for such a subject film, finding the right actor would make the film "basically successful". And he was lucky to find Christian Bell and Mark Wahlberg. Russell said: "Different actors have different ways of guiding and using them. Before them, I had many choices that were also famous actors. But I always feel that they are not too suitable for these two blue-collar workers with a hard background. Role. Bell is very dedicated. He lost a lot of weight and stayed with the prototype for a while. In addition, he will quietly take it alone on the set to experience the feeling of loneliness and loneliness abandoned by the family. It can be seen that he has worked hard to shape this role. Similarly, this role is also different from the human leader and Batman he has played in recent years, which also requires him to change his mindset. Experience the characters."
Another great contribution to the film is the male protagonist Mark Wahlberg, who has trained himself as a boxer. Wahlberg said: "Training is very hard. I have to get up very early every day and go to the gym to exercise. I will spend two hours on the machine and then three hours of boxing practice. If there are other movies being filmed. , I will ask to film my scenes in advance, and then go to the boxing ring to practice for three hours. Although there are many boxing movies, the male protagonist does not look like a boxing champion at all, and those muscles and body lines don’t look like A boxer. I think if I play a boxer, then I will play a real boxer and make myself a part of boxing. Mickey Ward is one of my favorite boxers, and we are still good friends in private. I I don’t want my performance to make people misunderstand and prejudice him. Of course, I don’t want him to be unhappy after seeing my performance."
Tidbits
Christian Bale lost another 30 pounds to play Dick Ecoland. It is said that he uses a controlled diet to lose weight. In addition, he also wore false teeth and made his hair bald.
· To prepare for this film, Mark Wahlberg spent nearly four years in physical training and boxing training. In order not to affect the shooting of other films, these trainings he did were carried out in secret.
·In real life, Mickey Ward played by Wahlberg is his favorite boxer.
·It took five years for the film to complete the script creation, finalize the actors, and complete the filming.
· The Art Ramalho Stadium that appears in the film is the real Lowell Stadium, not the set. In fact, Mickey trained here, and this stadium is still in use until now.
·More than 200 "model spectators" were used in the film's largest boxing match.
Matt Damon and Brad Pitt were both candidates to play Dick Ecoland, but the role was eventually won by Christian Bale.
Darren Aronofsky once considered directing this movie.
Michael Fassbender auditioned for a role in the film.
·Emily Blunt once refused to play a role in the film.
