Mark Wahlberg Talks Aronofsky’s The Fighter, The Departed 2 and 3
According to Mark Wahlberg, Darren Aronofsky’s The Fighter will begin filming this October. Awesome. You may remember that the film, a biopic on badass pugilist “Irish” Micky Ward, gained considerable traction in the press last year when Wahlberg and others compared it to a “new Raging Bull.” Brad Pitt later signed on to co-star as Ward’s brother/trainer, which was a welcome surprise after his casting debacle on Aronofsky’s The Fountain.
“I’ve been training for two years now. I’m ready,” Wahlberg told MTV. “I want to look like a champ, not a chump. …I want to do [Ward] proud. The guy did everything I wish I could have done. He came from nothing, went on to win the world title with all the odds stacked against him.”
Ward fought throughout the mid-’80s and ’90s, but he’s best remembered for three battles with Arturo Gotti in the early Oughts, two of which went down as the greatest in the history of the sport. Ward lost each one, but, well click here for a surreal refresher. Earlier this year, Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) wrapped up filming on the white trash indie epic, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke (release date TBA), so if all goes as planned, we’ll be getting one helluva manly double feature to convert us into jittery pacifists. Somebody combine the Requiem for a Dream score with the YouTube link above to induce insta-goosebumps.
Wahlberg also updated on The Departed 2…
“They’re [still] developing it,” Wahlberg sighed. “If it can be better than the first, then great. I’ll be all for it. I’m not interested in going for the paycheck. I love ‘Godfather 2’ but, then again, I don’t like ‘Godfather 3.’”
Everybody wants to be The Godfather 2 these days, eh? Nothing revelatory in the quote above, but he also mentions the possibility of a Departed 3 (a prequel a la Infernal Affairs 2) as well…
“We may do another one, because it’s based on a Hong Kong film [’Infernal Affairs’], and there is a trilogy. So we may do a sequel with a new cast, and a prequel and bring back the rest of the guys…”
That would make for some heavy dream team assembling.
Hostel 3 Moving Ahead Without Eli Roth
The franchise that floated “torture porn” into news offices this decade like a message in a bottle now looks to join the endless straight-to-DVD knockoffs it spawned. We’re speculating that Hostel 3 will bypass a theatrical release, but Bloody Disgusting has confirmed that early talks have started inside Lionsgate/Screen Gems to make a second sequel a reality. The series’ creator/director/spokesperson, Eli Roth, will reportedly not serve as writer or director on the sequel. We expect him to update his MySpace with an endorsement or a rant soon enough, and if so, we’ll update accordingly.
Last summer, Hostel 2 failed to reach $20 million at the domestic box office after a boatload of hype, and Roth later announced a big budget action/sci-fi film (not Cell) that remains under wraps. That news drew insta-press because of the PG-13 rating, leaving many outlets to report Roth’s detour from horror as the end of an era/”new low” for the genre.
A-List Secrets: Can That Quickie Hitchin’ Last?
How long do you think Nick and Mariah will stay married? L.H.
Are you insinuating a less-than-robust future between a 27-year-old rapper and diva who walks her dogs in evening wear and complains when her Jack Russell can't get an airplane seat in first class? Honestly, son. Where's your faith in hip-hop humanity?
If you must know, celebrity therapists say they've seen whirlwind relationships like Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey'splenty of times. And things rarely end well.
Click into the jump to see which insta-hitchings are still solid and who split quick.
Aside from Nick and Mariah, who are said to have dated less than two months before getting hitched, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got engaged less than two months after their first public outing in 2005. Renée Zellweger married Kenny Chesney about four months after meeting him.
Holmes and Cruise are still a match made in Thetanland, but Zellweger ended up separating from Cheney four months after her ceremony.
Oftentimes, relationship expert Dr. Gilda Carle says, cracks start to show in these kinds of marriages in a matter of months, or even weeks.
"Besides the external factors, the beauty, the wealth, does he know her, know her essence?" says Carle, who has counseled scads of celebrities. "He couldn't possibly. For a good solid foundation before marriage, I always say it takes at least a year."
It's also unlikely the two have endured any sort of hardship that could serve as a crucible for their relationship, she says.
"People really should go through several crises before they get married," Carle says. "Mariah is on a pedestal right now with Nick, but what happens when she wakes up with the flu, or she has morning sickness and she's vomiting? How is going to deal with this no-longer glittery, glamoury personality?"
How about buying a private plane for her dog?