am on the 20th floor of the Buckhead Ritz Hotel on a recent Monday morning awaiting the arrival of The Rock who has flown into town to promote his latest film Gridiron Gang. It is the new feel-good vehicle of the season courtesy of director Phil Joanou, who directed Bono in several U2 videos and the film Rattle and Hum.
In the film, The Rock plays Sean Preston, a Los Angeles counselor who rehabilitates troubled young men at a juvenile detention center by inspiring them to become better humans through the game of football. Preston’s theory is that the discipline will rehabilitate these troubled souls. But, one man’s epiphany does not equal one man’s overnight success. Plenty of trials and tribulations ensue making it a tough road to get the locked-up gang bangers to the gridiron.
Filled with plenty of violence and pumped mini-music videos set to football plays, Gridiron Gang is a souped-up mainstream football film mixed with a tinge of Scared Straight. Movie purists might label this “camp,” but what’s wrong with that? With the SEC and NFL in full swing, Gridiron Gang, which opens Friday, comes at the right time. Hey, sometimes we need a little gangsta camp that makes us all want to “Win one for the Gipper.”
There is a story here bigger than the film: The Rock is getting darn good at this acting thing. Compared to his previous outings, he is believable as Sean Preston. That is why journalists like me are crammed into this hotel suite. We want a piece of The Rock so that we can understand how he is becoming better at the craft. The top-notch Ritz food is free-flowing. The journalists are showing off their movie-making knowledge. And the background buzz is being supplied from a DVD that is promoting Gridiron Gang.
As I am picking at a cup of yogurt, I am approached by one of The Rock’s handlers. I just love your Atlanta,” he says in an accent that says, “I’m not a girly man.” “You are all friendly. We went to the Bluepointe last night. This place is exciting. We would love to film here.”
After the handler renewed my faith in the community, I was ushered into another suite with three other scribes. The room was freezing. As we were discussing the state of the film industry with the compressor going full blast, I was expecting a shirtless, tattooed pro-wrestler to burst through the doors with a “ready-to-rumble” attitude. I couldn’t be more wrong. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson coolly arrived at the roundtable with his product-filled grown-out hair wearing a designer v-neck Simon Cowell-like shirt and jeans that accent his muscular physique.
At first glance, he was unrecognizable. Was this the same man who took the World Wrestling Entertainment crowd by storm with Triple H during the late 1990s?&nbs; p; From his appearance on this morning, this could have been any surfer dude from Malibu.
“How are you doing?” we ask in unison. “Everything’s good. No complaints,” he says as he slaps his jeans. “We are on the road, promoting the movie. This is about number four or five on a 12 city tour.” Suddenly I have concern for The Rock’s health. The Jewish mother in me asks, “Isn’t this tiring for you?” “Oh, it’s not bad. Is it hard or difficult? Sure. I get up at five in the morning and I am training because I ruptured my Achilles tendon.” The injury delayed the start of filming for The Rock’s next film, Disney’s The Game Plan, a kid-friendly football film. “This is one I can take my daughter to,” he remarks. “She will have to wait a few years to see ‘Gridiron.'”
While The Rock is keeping his 5-year-old away from ‘Gridiron’, families of older kids will like its message of rehabilitation. “It’s great for the community. Whether you are white, black or Asian; whatever you are, rich or poor. The message is still the same: There is no substitute for hard work,” he says. Especially if you are a kid you got to apply yourself in school. Whether it is sports or not, whether band or choir.” I must admit that after viewing the fi lm and listening to The Rock’s feelings about a work ethic, I haven’t felt this good since The Karate Kid.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s rise to this level of success happened within a 10-year timeframe. That includes his first wrestling match for Vince McMahon to now. It is not too shabby for a 34-year-old kid who bounced around from Honolulu to Connecticut and back to Bethlehem, PA. He once had dreams of playing in the NFL, but ended up in the CFL only to have those dreams squashed due to injury.
Dwayne Johnson decided to follow in his dad’s and grandpa’s footsteps and join the world of professional wrestling. After several seasons of hitting the mat, The Rock, a moniker he found in his early years at the WWE, wanted to make the transition to acting which was something he dreamed of for years. “My parents weren’t studio executives; I didn’t grow up in the business; I didn’t go to Julliard or anything like that. I wasn’t too sure how I was going to do that,” he recalls. The Rock did it by appearing in modest films including The Scorpion King and The Rundown.
The roles were small, but he persevered and won more diverse parts in movies such as 2004’s Walking Tall a nd its follow-up, Be Cool with Uma Thurman. “I’m happy and grateful to be sitting with you guys today and say that I can get a wide array of roles,” he says as he looks around the room at us. “It wasn’t always like this.”
The Rock admits that he has learned quite a bit when he transitioned to film. “Your bullshit barometer becomes very strong,” he explains. “You start to weed out the pretensions people who are trying to burst your bubble.” As that mantra keeps him going in the business, it is his understanding the value of giving people their money’s worth that motivates him to become a better actor. He acknowledges that we all get into a car to go to the theater, park and buy the tickets, popcorn and soda. “It’s not like it was when you were a kid and you pay $10 and you get everything. When you break it down like that, you start to appreciate it,” he admits. “I understand the whole process to get the person into the seat.”
That commitment to improvement shows in Gridiron Gang. It was important to the Rock and the real Sean Preston that authenticity was to be front and center in the production. “He (Sean) said, ‘If you are going to tell the story, I want you to tell it right. You got to tell it honest. It is brutal, dark and violent,'” he says. To keep that sense of realism during filming, The Rock made sure that the cast referred to him as Mr. Porter – not The Rock or Dwayne. Video games were banned as well as the jokes. Both The Rock and Porter worked with Phil Joanou to make sure that the feature remained true to the 1993 documentary of the same name. “It’s what makes this a good sports film,” says The Rock. Add Musical Director Trevor (YES) Rabin’s score and you have Friday Night Lights or Any Given Sunday with a message that hardened juvies can be rehabilitated.
Some of them had the chance to view “Gridiron.” “They cried throughout the movie and said, ‘If it wasn’t for Sean Porter, I would be dead,'” The Rock recalls. “It was really emotional. It was great to see and get their feedback.”
As we get the five minute warning that The Rock has to leave the room, I ask what he has planned for the future. “The Game Plan is happening for sure. A film called Southland Tales which I play an amnesiac was crushed at Cannes, but will find its way,” he jokes.” We are still working on a Johnny Bravo film and something called Spy Hunter as well.” He admits that he would like to host Saturday Night Live again and would have done so if they were back this week. “They are the best. For me, there is nothing that I can’t or won’t do. Whatever you come up with, they will knock it out of the park. You are surrounded by talented comedic act ors,” he says. “I look forward to going back. It’s a great bunch of people who live for those one and a half hours. The after party is great. You stay up till 5.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has accomplished more in 10 years than what most of us can accomplish in 20. Since he dispenses such mature advice, I ask what it takes to become successful in ones endeavors – especially acting and filmmaking. “You have to understand the process,” he advises. “When I started out, I was a sponge. Now, 5 years later I understand the process.”
