Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 11:28PM 'The Fighter' Couldn't Possibly Have a Sequel, Could It?
Hopefully, the majority of you out there saw The Fighter when it was in theaters this past holiday season. If you didn't, you missed out on one the best films of the year. And, if you did, then you don't need me to tell you just how full of heart and packed with powerhouse performances it was. But what you might not be aware of was that star Mark Wahlberg battled in the depths of development hell for a decade to get this film made.
Now that it has proven a financial success and earned co-stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo a bunch of shiny new statues, Wahlberg wants to continue the on-screen story of boxer Mickey Ward. But how exactly?
Extra caught up with Wahlberg on the red carpet of Sunday night's Oscars where he had this to say:
"Now we’re gonna talk about doing No. 2. We’re gonna do the Ward /Gatti trilogy and make it real."
What the actor/producer is referring to is the trilogy of fights that put Mickey Ward on the map. Ward fought Arturo Gatti three times in the early 2000s, twice in 2002 and the rubber match in 2003. All brutal. All vicious. All boxing classics that saw each fighter take a beating worthy of boxing's blood thirsty stigma. Gatti even broke his hand in the third and final bout and continued the fight. So in other words, if The Fighter was Mickey Ward's Clark-Kent-in-Smallville film, the sequel would show us what happened after he became The Man of Steel.
Obviously, Wahlberg wants a sequel. I'm sure the Ward/Eklunds wouldn't object to it. And, I really doubt any screenwriters out there would turn down the job. So the real question now is would director David O. Russell and newly crowned Oscar winners Bale and Leo want to return? The pros that they are, I can only see this happening if everyone involved could match the same energy and raw emotion they brought in the first film. And, this is the only way I think a lot of people out there, myself included, would want a sequel.
So how do you guys feel about a Fighter follow-up? I gotta admit, seeing the Ward/Gatti fights on the big screen would be INCREDIBLE. Just check out the highlights from their first bout...
Reader Comments (6)
The film is a success, and sure, if Rocky won an Oscar and got multiple sequels, why can't The Fighter?
But that's kind of milking it. What I loved about the film were the characters & performances. You grew attached to Mickey Ward & wanted him to succeed even if his family didn't always feel the same way about it.
But the film succeeded on the merits of everything but the plot/story. It felt like normal "underdog" movie through and through, only the characters made it fresh. A sequel would probably make the focus on the plot, not the characters, which is why I'm not interested in another film, regardless of how successful the original film was.
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The fighter is a movie everybody can live without. A totally forgettable straight to dvd drama heavily marketed as an Oscar worthy fluff. It'll be remembered only as a Christian Bale vehicle that earned him his first Oscar. And it's a shame he got his Oscar for this film, because so far it's the worst movie he's been a part of, much like Terminator Salvation that couldn't get an Oscar buzz tag to it anyway because it was sci-fi.
Dr. Explosion - Christian Bale was in Newsies. Do you really want to stick with the claim that The Fighter is the worst movie he's been a part of?
As for the sequel prospects, I think Bale would be the toughest sell. It's a physically demanding role that he lost a bunch of weight for and no doubt had to work his ass of to pull off. I'm not sure there's a really compelling reason for him to put himself through all that again, especially after he won the Oscar. And without him, the sequel doesn't work.
Dr. Explosion - and really a lot of movie fans are like you these days, sad to say - but I suppose if Bale won it for Batman or any other comic book movie, you'd probably be ecstatic. I bet you - and probably many like you - probably wouldn't have even seen 'The Fighter" if it didn't have "that guy who was in Batman'.
It sounds like an interesting idea expanding on "The Fighter", there's a lot there with the family drama in addition to the fight stuff. i just don't know that it has enough appeal to warrant the expansion, and it really comes down not so much to the movie they make but how they sell it. Then of course in order to sell it they may have to stretch the actual story a bit and that might strain the credibility. I think they got away with the most genuine chapter and even though there may be more to tell, they should take their prize and get out with what they got rather than possibly goin' down in two more rounds.
Dr. Explosion u are dumb!! "much like Terminator Salvation that couldn't get an Oscar buzz tag to it anyway because it was sci-fi." So sci-fi cannot have Oscar buzz as you say it? Have you ever heard of Inception or District 9? How about Avatar? Terminator Salvation did not create any Oscar buzz because it simply SUCKED!! Obviously you know nothing if you did not like The Fighter or Bales performance in it. To say it is his worst movie and then follow that up with Terminator Salvation deserved to be an Oscar nominated film tells me you should lock yourself in a closet and never watch another movie in your life.