Lost in the Thiago Silva news has been Ronda Rousey’s burgeoning acting career getting yet another boost. She’s been cast in two film properties, one currently in production and another in development.
Rousey has been tabbed for a female lead in the Entourage film. The film is based off the successful HBO show of the same name and focused on film star Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his friends as they venture through the weird, wild world that is Hollywood. Loosely based off the life of Mark Wahlberg, who was the executive producer of the series, no official role has been tabbed for her since.
Her other project is The Athena Project, based off the novel of the same name. It’s currently in development and in need of script, etc.
Editor’s Note: Inside Fights Columnist Scott Sawitz has been writing about film for a decade plus and we asked him for his thoughts on both projects.
Sawitz: The Entourage film is an interesting one, to say the least, because it’s currently in production and Rousey has a fight coming up this month. It’s pretty normal for some roles to be cast during filming, of course, because the main parts are always filled out before production is started. It’s the lesser roles, the ones where only a couple days or a week on set, that sometimes get filled late in the process. So don’t expect her to have a major part … but it’s an interesting decision, for sure.
Rousey will most likely be someone’s girlfriend in the film, my guess, Filming started on January 16th if memory holds and thus by the time she gets on set after the McMann fight it’ll be a month or so into production. Usually it’s about 2-3 months of total filming for a Hollywood project. It’s also budgeted at $30 million, thus you won’t have guys with regular careers like the crew from the show being held up for a long period of time.
It’s actually a really good project for her to get a start in. She’ll be in the Fast & Furious and Expendables sequels coming up but those won’t show much of what she has to offer. This is a good vehicle to get her recognized and if she’s a part of three films that are successful in a row in minor parts it will give her a buzz. Being a part of something successful, even if it’s a minor part, is never a bad thing. It’s why many actors will take minor parts in bigger films that should succeed instead of bigger parts in smaller films. The key to getting the next part is being in something successful on a continuing basis.
In the industry she’s already getting a good reputation which is key. When you try to transition from nay non-entertainment level of fame into acting it’s always a little more difficult. Being liked on set by high level actors is a key to getting more parts. When people who are successful like you then others will want your brand to be a part of theirs.
The Athena Project is the more interesting one. She’s being targeted in the lead for this but the key thing here is that she’s just attached to it. There’s no script and no one else attached to it right now but Warner has it under development. Most likely they’re waiting to see how she translates to film before committing a budget and getting a director, et al, because she doesn’t have anything to her credit yet. Being a part of three other films in a row that do well at the box office is something you can use to lure other people in and get a proper budget for an action film like this.
No one’s going to raise the $65-75 million for a potential action franchise based on someone with no film experience in the modern era of film making. But if she’s a part of a number of hits in a minor role, and you can get a director of proper ability and stature like Simon West (Con Air, The Expendables 2), then you can put it into development.
Studios don’t take as many risks anymore when you throw out a budget number nearing the nine figure mark ($65-75 million for a film, $35-50 in marketing, publicity and advertising). Thus this is a nice casting but it’s still in development and can stay there for years. This is a project that could find itself in development hell, too. Dallas Buyers Club, which was just nominated for an Oscar, spent 20 years trying to get made. Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York spent nearly 30 yeas in the same area as well.
The key to remember is that plenty of actors get cast in plenty of projects that never come to fruition. So until a script is delivered and a director is named, and a filming date started, don’t read too much into The Athena Project outside of the fact that Warner Bros. sees something in Rousey that translates into dollars.
