Schreiber wants to make Chuck Wepner biopic

Posted on March 2, 2010
Filed Under Actors, Directors, News

MTV Movies Blog recently spoke with actor Liev Schreiber about his next project, and the news might surprise you… “There’s a guy named Chuck Wepner, ‘The Bayonne Bleeder.’ He’s the guy that ‘Rocky‘ was based on,” Schreiber said. “He went 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali in 1974 and it’s this wonderful story of what happened to that guy as a result of his rise to fame.”

“The Bayonne Bleeder” is a former heavyweight boxer from New Jersey. He won 35 out of 51 fights during his career, 17 of which were knockouts. He faced George Foreman, Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali during his years in the ring and he’s also been named as Sylvester Stallone’s inspiration for fictional boxer Rocky Balboa.

Wepner challenged Ali for the Heavyweight title in 1975. He spent eight weeks training to prepare for the March 24 fight, which took place in Cleveland. He ultimately lost to the champ of course, but he managed to send Ali to the mat in the ninth round before receiving a broken nose and more than a few facial lacerations. When asked beforehand if he thought he could make it through the fight alive, Wepner reportedly said, “I’ve been a survivor my whole life… if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali.”

Schreiber didn’t talk timetables or casting or anything like that, but he did name director Jeff Feuerzeig as the man who will helm it. “That’s the next thing I’d like to do,” the actor said. “It’s just a remarkable, hilarious film and I hope we get to make it.” Since Schreiber is a fine actor the whole thing sound very promising. Altough, since the story already has so strong connections to Stallone’s “Rocky”, there’s a chance it will feel more like a remake of “Rocky” then a biopic of Chuck Wepner. Time will tell…

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