Tag Archives: benny-safdie

With a title like The Smashing Machine, one might expect writer-director Benny Safdie’s first solo-directed feature to be a brutal, grinding sit. The film is based on the 2002 documentary of the same name about the life of Mark Kerr, one of the first American stars of mixed martial arts, …

B enny Safdie desperately wants to tell me about the time he got punched in the face. Over a long breakfast at Old John’s Luncheonette — the kind of New York diner that, despite a recent renovation, still emanates a distinct greasy-spoon vibe — the 39-year-old writer, director, and actor …

Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson reflected on the opportunities he’s been given in Hollywood since becoming an actor during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival. Johnson plays UFC champion Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s wrestling biopic The Smashing Machine, which premieres at the festival today and is due in …

On the rink, he was a tough player who could have used a few skating lessons. On the green, however, Happy Gilmore’s killer slap shot helped him score the kind of long drives that could make Mike Austin scream profanity out of frustration. Hockey’s loss became golf’s gain, and Gilmore’s …

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson steps out of the WWE ring and into the UFC Octagon in a new trailer for The Smashing Machine, where he portrays UFC icon Mark Kerr. Benny Safdie wrote and directed the movie, which also features Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Ritten, and Oleksandr Usyk. Kerr …

This post contains spoilers for the finale of The Curse, which is now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime. Early in the concluding episode of The Curse, “Green Queen,” Asher and Whitney’s Shabbat dinner turns into a debate about Cara’s well-publicized decision to quit the art world. Whitney, of course, is …

This post contains spoilers for this week’s episode of The Curse, which is now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime. Prior to this week, The Curse allowed the many problems in the Seigel marriage, and in the production of Fliplanthropy, to gradually simmer. With the penultimate episode, “Young Hearts,” all aspects …

Benny Safdie talks about his split from brother and partner-in-film Josh — and reveals he doesn’t know if and when the Uncut Gems duo will reunite — in a new interview. Since the release of the Safdies’ Adam Sandler-starring hit in 2019, the brothers have collaborated to produce docuseries like …

This post contains spoilers for this week’s episode of The Curse, which is now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime. “Down and Dirty” begins with the inevitable catastrophe that Whitney created by letting the expensive jeans store keep her credit card on file to pay for all the shoplifters. Of course, …

This post contains spoilers for this week’s episode of The Curse, now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime. After a few midseason episodes that raised questions of whether this was all going somewhere interesting — or, at least, whether Fielder, Safdie, and company had enough to say to fill 10 hours …