Antoine Fuqua To Direct ‘Southpaw’ Starring Jake Gyellenhaal
When we firstreportedonSouthpawback in 2010, it was a DreamWorks movie with Eminem attached to star. Since then, it’s suffered several setbacks and a lot has changed. But now it’s finally getting back on track, as a Weinstein Co. project starringJake Gyllenhaal. A major piece of the puzzle fell into place this week asAntoine Fuquaclosed his deal to direct. Get all the details after the jump.
Deadlinegot the news. Although Fuqua only recently finalized his deal, he’s been attached to theKurt Sutter-scripted boxing drama for years. He begancirclingin 2011, when Eminem was still expected to star. As the project changed hands from DreamWorks to MGM to The Weinstein Company, Fuqua stuck with it.
Also set for the movie now is Gyllenhaal, whoentered talksin November. His casting came about long after Eminem had dropped out; Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner were also said to bein the runningafter Eminem’s departure. Gyllenhaal will play the lead role of a left-handed welterweight whose career soars as his personal life falls apart.
The other lead role of Titus “Tick” Willis has yet to be cast. Tick is a former fighter who was forced into retirement after losing his eye. His attempt to refashion himself as a pro trainer is derailed when his son is killed.Deadlinesays that Southpaw “plays to cultural diversity,” which I guess means Tick is likely to be played by a non-white actor.
Gyllenhaal is coming off of a pair of well-received films with Denis Villeneuve, last year’sPrisonersand the upcomingEnemy. He is currently shooting the survival thrillerEverestand has the crime dramaNightcrawlerdue out in the near future.
Fuqua scored a big hit last year withOlympus Has Fallen. His next release isThe Equalizerwith Denzel Washington, which already has a sequel in the works at Sony. Although he’s been linked to a number of different projects,Southpawlooks likely to be his next directorial effort.
