Always one for mixing up his projects and keeping things fresh, Sylvester Stallone recently announced that he’ll face off against Robert De Niro in… a boxing movie? What? C’mon.
Can we start over?
Okay: Never one to mix up his projects and frequently displaying a firm preference for excessive sequels, Sylvester Stallone recently announced that he’ll face off against Robert De Niro in Grudge Match. Another boxing movie. Seriously.
Well, Alan Arkin has signed on to train ol’ Stallone in Get Smart director Peter Segel’s new flick. And don’t be fooled by the title of this article: Arkin will train Sylvester Stallone in the film, not in real life, although that would definitely make for an interest documentary or something. He’ll play “Lightin'” Louis Epstein, because that’s the kind of name that boxing trainers have in films.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
Stallone plays Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp, who retired after winning his last fight against Billy ‘The Kid’ McGuigan (De Niro), a passionate pugilist who never recovered after losing his belt to Razor and being denied a rematch. Now an out-of-shape restaurant owner, The Kid longs to be back in the spotlight and jumps at the chance to take another shot at Razor.
So for now throw this in with the “old men fighting” genre (Stallone owns all the rights to that particular genre) and pray that it’s not too embarrassing for its stars when it hits theatres, I suppose.
Production is set to kick off in 2013. What do you reckon on the cast so far?
Source: The Film Stage