Goddammit, Michael Bay. All I want to do is make fun of you for your stupid TNT-rigged and robot-starring Transformers franchise and you just won’t let me. While we all know by now that Bay is indeed resurrecting his never-dead-to-begin-with Transformers series for Paramount, we also know that he won’t get to it until he finishes his next project ‐ a true-life tale that is going by the title Pain and Gain. The problem with Pain and Gain? It’s that there is no problem ‐ it’s a phenomenal story that’s perfectly suited to a cinematic adaptation and Bay is stacking his film’s cast with solid talent that are more than just appropriate for their roles. Dammit, Bay, you might make a fan out of me.
Pain and Gain is the unbelievable true story of a pack of Floridian bodybuilders that get involved with extortion, kidnapping, and murder, among other things. Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson are already slated for starring roles in the film, and now Bay is apparently looking to bring on Anthony Mackie to play Adrian Doorbal, another one of the dumb-bell bodybuilders who get tangled up in a messy scheme that leads to all kinds of crime. The tone of the film has been compared to something like Fargo, and while other outlets might just be calling the film a comedy, it’s not ‐ it’s a dark comedy. Really dark.
Mackie is a wonderful talent, one of those actors who I’d watch in anything. His potential involvement in Pain and Gain is just icing on the cake. Also on board for roles? Ed Harris as private detective Ed Du Bois (who cracks open the case after the cops fail to do so) and Rob Corddry as accountant John Mese, who has plays a much bigger roles in the crimes than even he might suspect.
As ever, I will continue to provide a link to the original Miami New Times report that Bay is basing his film on with every post about this production, because you really should read it ‐ and now that you can read it with certain stars in mind, you have no excuse. I read it on an iPhone on a road trip. You can read it on a computer. [Variety]
Related Topics: Dwayne Johnson
