Who would play them in a movie??

[NegativeFeedback]

1. The Excellence of Execution (Adaptation of "Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World of Wrestling" by Bret Hart)

2. A Lion's Tale (Adaptation of "A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex" by Chris Jericho

3. Have a Nice Day (Adaptation of "Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks" by Mick Foley)

4. Crossface (Adaptation of "Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry" by Matthew Randazzo)

5. Blassie (Adaptation of "The Legends of Wrestling: "Classy" Freddie Blassie: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks" by Freddie Blassie and WWE Books)

6. Sex, Lies and Headlocks (Adaptation of "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment" by Shaun Assael)

7. Viva La Raza (Adaptation of "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story" by Eddie Guerrero)

8. Bruno Sammartino (Adaptation of "Bruno Sammartino: An Autobiography Of Wrestling's Living Legend" by Bruno Sammartino)


So imagine any of these films got made. There have always been rumors about certain wrestlers' autobiographies and other books being turned into films. Sadly, we have yet to see any of them hit the big screen yet. But if we did, who do you think could play them on the big screen??

Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Mick Foley, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Vince McMahon, Freddie Blassie, Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rogers, Pedro Morales, Chris Benoit, Kane, Undertaker, etc. Everyone who could potentially be in any of the above films, who do you think should play them??

 

[Broski_of_the_week]

Ryan Gosling. For Every Single One. Why? Why not! Also I'd like to suggest that Lance Storm could be played by Will Smith. And feature in every one of these movies.

I think this should probably get moved to the spam section, its not really about WWE and its not really relevant to anything going on in WWE at the moment, apart from the fact that it contains lists of dead or nearly dead people and thats what watching WWE feels like these days. BA DUM TISSS. (this is a drum noise. I can't play drums so it probably sounds like a bad drum noise. I apologise).

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There aren't many wrestling stories that are true to life that would make good movies... they'd have to be so doctored that they wouldn't really be adaptions.

Bret wouldn't want his story out there as a movie, the philandering and he kinda already has the perfect movie out there with Wrestling with Shadows... Same for Foley, they're not gonna get an actor to tell his story better than Beyond The Mat did.

Bruno is an interesting one and there has been talk of this movie, but without some "sizzle" it would be a hard sell, after all Bruno has very little scandal attatched to him and if there is any it's well buried.

The guys who could make a movie work are the ones most in the business won't support. A Benoit movie seems inevitable, indeed they approached Leiv Schreiber to play him which I could see but who from the business is going to help? They're not gonna want to be involved as it would blackball them. Likewise Owen Hart, not enough sizzle in his life to make an interesting film, but no one's gonna want to make it and risk pissing Martha off, as we all know she holds grudges and will go to court.

For any wresting movie to work it's going to need authenticity, which means use of WWE/F trademarks and their backing. It's pointless making a Benoit movie where he's the AWF world Champion called "Dave French" or something... you need to show all the true life players and moments and most will simply say no...

Now there are some guys who could make interesting movies that I could see Vince getting behind. A Ric Flair film could work, starting in 75 with the plane crash and ending when he wins the WWF title for example, there is enough in Flair's past to make that work as a 2 hour movie.

Chris Jericho is someone who could perhaps work, even with the man playing himself, again there is a little bit of spice in there, but the book/narrator style would make a good, fun movie.

There are a lot of "doom tales" they can tell, Jake, Bruiser Brody, Eddie but the reality is The Wrestler is the definitive tale for that...

Vince McMahon himself is perhaps the best subject for any movie - how he bought out his dad up to Mania III would be a great movie... if you were going to do it, put Timothy Olyphant as Vince, get Hemsworth or someome similar to play Hogan and Show could probably get away with playing Andre... hell Rocky could play his dad...

If you're going to do it through a different person with Vince as a character, then why not Gorilla Monsoon? That guy has enough to make a movie work... confronting Muhmammed Ali, his work with Heenan...

To be honest the best shot they had at this was when Dwayne was trying to get an 80's "wrestling drama" on HBO a couple of years back... something like that would be a lot of fun, they could use some of what's gone down over the years without actually having to get real permission to use people.

 

[Mr_billy]

1. Brett Hart....Joseph Gordon Leavitt, he is a good actor, and not over the top.

2. Chris Jehrico....Mark Wahlberg He can be serious and funny, and he does have a pug nose.

3. Mick Foley.... Seth Rogen, both are funny and hairy

4. Chris Benoit... Lieve Schrieber, he has intensity

5. Blassie..... This is a tough one. I can picture some one who does not take themselves seriously, Maybe Aaron Eckhart or Jeff Daniels

6. Vince McMahon..... Leonardo Decaprio... He's got the role of rich megalomaniac down pat.

7. Eddie Guerrero... Efrain Ramirez, I'm just voting for Pedro. and of only Danny Triejo wasn't so old.

8. Bruno Sammartino... John C. Reilly, he is a huge human being and a very good actor in any genre.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

I don't think a film needs WWE backing to be authentic. The Wrestler was fantastic without it.

I also think Bret Hart's story could lead to a great film.

The film takes place on the night of the Montreal Screwjob, intercut with various moments of Bret Hart's career leading up to it. You can show how important these wins and losses were to each guy, the way Bret pissed Shawn off with the Sunny Days fiasco, and everything leading up to it.

1. Brett Hart....Joseph Gordon Leavitt, he is a good actor, and not over the top.

I didn't want to say anything, because I wanted to see if people came up with the same guys, and holy shit, I immediately thought of JGL for Bret Hart too.

In a Hitman movie, I'd have:
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Bret Hart
• Stephen Arnell as Owen Hart
• Chris Hemsworth as Triple H
• Tom Hardy as Shawn Michaels
• Liam Neeson as Vince McMahon
• Norman Reedus as Steve Austin
• Jack Black as Mick Foley
• Henry Cavill as Davey Boy Smith
• Stephen Graham as Dynamite Kid
• Michelle Monaghan as Julia Smadu-Hart
• Rainn Wilson as Jim Ross
• Josh Lucas as Jerry "The King" Lawler
• Ralph Fiennes as Eric Bischoff
• Rory McCann as The Undertaker
• The Rock as Hulk Hogan (I know, sounds ridiculous, but I think he can pull it off).

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Bret Hart- Christian Bale- Bale is a versatile actor (The Machinist, American Psycho, Out Of The Furnace, The Fighter), and I can easily picture him embodying Hart's look. He just needs some long hair, and the physical transformation to bulk up won't be a problem for him.

Chris Jericho- Joseph Gordon-Levitt- Gordon-Levitt's been on a fast-track to stardom over the past couple of years, and he's got the perfect size to play Jericho.

Mick Foley- Jonah Hill- Hill's proven himself as an entertaining comedian, so you know he won't have a problem with Foley's comical side. Hill is a better actor now, and I can't picture any one else as Foley.

Chris Benoit- Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman- Think about The Wolverine and X-Men films. We all know Hugh Jackman will bring the intensity, and he's got the perfect build, but Crowe is capable of providing a believable mean streak also. And there's a better chance of Crowe delivering the better performance.

Freddie Blassie- Woody Harrelson- I'm confident Harrelson can pull off anything, and with some help from make-up, he'll have no problems with the spitting image look.

Vince McMahon- Willem Dafoe or Chris Cooper- Cooper would fit the "look" part of Vince more than Dafoe, but I believe in Dafoe for the better performance. Tough choice between the two.

Eddie Guerrero- Johnny Depp- My big concern would be Depp is too scrawny, but there's a chance he could put on the weight.

Bruno Sammartino- Tom Hardy- He's made some bad choices (This Means War), but Hardy is still one of the best actors around today. And if I'm thinking about size, Hardy is a perfect candidate for someone with a statuesque build.

 

[CeramicDuck]

1. Brett Hart....Joseph Gordon Leavitt, he is a good actor, and not over the top.

2. Chris Jehrico....Mark Wahlberg He can be serious and funny, and he does have a pug nose.

3. Mick Foley.... Seth Rogen, both are funny and hairy

4. Chris Benoit... Lieve Schrieber, he has intensity

5. Blassie..... This is a tough one. I can picture some one who does not take themselves seriously, Maybe Aaron Eckhart or Jeff Daniels

6. Vince McMahon..... Leonardo Decaprio... He's got the role of rich megalomaniac down pat.

7. Eddie Guerrero... Efrain Ramirez, I'm just voting for Pedro. and of only Danny Triejo wasn't so old.

8. Bruno Sammartino... John C. Reilly, he is a huge human being and a very good actor in any genre.

Pretty much nailed every one...

So I am gonna try casting back ups for all the parts

1. Bret Hart Gregory Smith

2. Chris Jericho Ryan Philipe

3. Mick Foley Jonah Hill

4. Chris Benoit Ryan Gosling

5. Freddie Blassie Michael Douglas

6. Vince McMahon John Hamm

7. Eddie Guerrero Benjamin Bratt

8. Bruno Sammartino Jackie Earl Haley

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Bret Hart- Christian Bale- Bale is a versatile actor (The Machinist, American Psycho, Out Of The Furnace, The Fighter), and I can easily picture him embodying Hart's look. He just needs some long hair, and the physical transformation to bulk up won't be a problem for him.

I also thought of Bale for Bret Hart. I think it's kinda weird (and awesome) how different people have the same ideas.

 

[enviousdominous]

The problem you have here is that pro-wrestling fans are a fickle bunch, the ones that can afford to go see a movie anyway. If you betray their trust by casting someone who doesn't live up to their adoration for a specific wrestler, it loses most of its base audience. If you're going to have someone play a character like Bret Hart, you would have to cast someone who looks convincingly like Bret Hart.

I remember when a movie about Andre the Giant was being made in 2005 and they wanted to have Matthew McGrory in the lead role. They never completed it because, rest his soul, Matthew McGrory passed away before they could finish filming. Either way, I highly doubt that Matthew McGrory could have pulled off Andre the Giant convincingly.

Maybe throw a wig on him and after months of training, you could have Christian Bale play Bret Hart. I can see him having the discipline and dare-devil instinct to at least be ring ready so we don't just get a bunch of scene's involving backstage drama. Good call by the way, I just noticed that other people think he'd be a good pick as well.

I'm thinking, maybe Aaron Eckhart for Chris Jericho. Aaron hasn't impressed too many people lately, but his early work is great.

To play Mick Foley, I'm thinking that the obvious choice might be Jack Black. Mick Foley's characters have always been somewhat spastic in their demeanor, which I don't see Jack Black having any trouble of emulating.

Chris Benoit is a tricky one, in that I don't think very many wrestlers will be willing to make a cameo or even have anything to do with the film. If somehow a movie is made and Vince is cool with it, I imagine that maybe they could get Michael Paré.

Blassie would be a fun character for someone to play. I'm leaning toward Will Sasso for that one. Will has always been a huge pro-wrestling fan and his acting only gets better if the role is more outlandish. He wouldn't have to do much with his physique and I'm sure that the make-up department can do a decent job of making his face look like Blassie's.

Vince, if he's still alive at the time, would probably hand pick who plays him in a movie, so that rules out any short actors. I imagine that he might be able to hire up Daniel Day Lewis, who would no doubt do a superb job playing up every aspect of Vince's character.

Eddie is somewhat tricky, but a lot of people do love a good tragedy. I'm going to throw out a name, more because I love the actor and less because I think he'd do a convincing job. I'd like to see Javier Bardem play Eddie Guerrero. Javier is an excellent character actor and I can see him giving Eddie's role the same dedication and gravitas that he gives to all of his roles.

Bruno is tricky. I'm sure that scores of actors would want to play him, but his fan base would want an actor and not a star in the lead role. I have two ideas. If it was up to me, I'd like to see either Tom Hardy or The Rock take on this kind of role. Tom Hardy is the obvious choice of the two in that he has a stronger track record of serious performances. The Rock on the other hand is money no matter what he sets his sights on, and I imagine it would be a dream role to end all dream roles if he was allowed to become Bruno Sammartino. Obviously it would take a great deal of make up to hide the tattoos and get his facial features right, but I know that The Rock would endure any requirement if it mean he was able to portray the most legendary performer in pro-wrestling history.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I also thought of Bale for Bret Hart. I think it's kinda weird (and awesome) how different people have the same ideas.

Bale is a natural choice, and he's the first one that popped in my mind. If we're talking about a film focused on an older version of Hart, then I would go with Gary Oldman. Thought about Alan Arkin for an older Hart, but Arkin is 79, so that's pushing things too far.

And if we're going with an appearance for Stephanie in Vince's biopic, I would go with Anne Hathaway. I could picture something resembling her performance as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises, with a more commanding presence, and without all the sexual innuendos.