00:00Christopher Nolan is making a bold prediction about Dwayne Johnson's latest film, The Smashing
00:04Machine, after it underperformed at the box office. The filmmaker recently appeared on an
00:10episode of the Director's Cup podcast with The Smashing Machine's director, Benny Safdie,
00:15who was in Nolan's Oppenheimer. During the discussion, Nolan praised Johnson's performance
00:19as MMA fighter Mark Kerr as heartbreaking. He said, I think it's an incredible performance.
00:25I don't think you'll see a better performance this year or most other years.
00:29The role marked a dramatic turn for Johnson, and he had early award season buzz until audiences
00:34snubbed the film. Even though the movie won Safdie the Best Director Prize at the Venice Film Festival
00:38and received solid reviews, it has earned only $10 million domestically so far. The film cost
00:44$50 million to produce. However, despite its box office performance, Nolan shared his predictions
00:50for the film with Safdie. He said, it's a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will
00:55be understood more and more over time. I'm very proud to know you. While speaking to The Hollywood
01:00Reporter, Johnson shared how playing Kerr impacted him personally.
01:03What I learned about myself was there's such power in being vulnerable, and I know what it's like to,
01:11I don't know what it's like to be the heavyweight champion of the world in the world of MMA,
01:13but I know what it's like to struggle. I know what it's like to feel pressure to deliver. And I know what
01:21it's like to try and live up to an image. That's just hard, man. And so there is such power in being open and being vulnerable. And regardless of what the veneer may look like or the image may look like,
01:42it's okay just to just do this. For more on this story, go to THR.com. This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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