Bruce Willis to star in upcoming Boxing biopic, Cornerman.
Soon to be seen in the trilogy bookend of M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable series, Glass and recently appearing as the lead in Eli Roth’s Deathwish remake, Bruce Willis has apparently decided that he wants to leave the shores of straight-to-DVD Island & once again become a legitimate movie star.
Now comes the news that Willis is set to take the lead in the upcoming biopic based on the life of legendary boxing trainer/manager Constantine ‘Cus’ D’Amato, with Variety reporting that the Die Hard star will take the lead in Cornerman.
D’Amato is credited with the creation of the “peak-a-boo” style of defence, which involved a hands-high-held defensive posture and the pugilist swaying from the hips to deliver sharp counter-punches in response to their opponent’s attacks. D’Amato was responsible for the careers of a host of world champions including Jose Torres and two time champ Floyd Patterson, who at the time was the youngest ever heavyweight champion. This record was later beaten by D’Amato’s most famous protege, Mike Tyson.
Cornerman is said to take place in the 1980s, focussing on D’Amato’s famed tutelage of Tyson who was 13 years old and in a correctional facility when the two first met. Tyson was eventually adopted by D’Amato and has gone on record as stating that if it had not been for his mentor, that he would have ended up with a very different and possibly much shorter life. No announcement has been made yet as to who will take on the role of the young version of arguably the world’s most famous heavyweight star.
The casting announcement was made on the eve of the Cannes Film Festival and is the brainchild of Homeland actor Rupert Friend, who is set to make his directorial debut with the feature. Friend will also produce, joined in that capacity by Aimee Mullins of Circus Florist Films and Marc Butan and Ara Keshishian of MadRiver Pictures.