DeadlineHollywood.com is reporting exclusively that the release date G.I. Joe: Retaliation starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been pushed back from a June 29th release date back to March 29, 2013.
The movie will be converted to 3D in post production to maximize the potential box office proceeds, with Russia and China big consumers of 3D movies. The original 6/29 release date would have put it up against the powerhouse Avengers movie and the upcoming Spiderman reboot.
The Deadline Hollywood article states:
“Hollywood is shocked that Paramount vacated the primo date, especially because Paramount blew a wad on a Super Bowl commercial and already was starting TV and outdoor ads for GI Joe 2.”
G.I. Joe: Retaliation will hit theaters the same week as WrestleMania 29, so you can imagine WWE will be on board marketing the hell out of the movie. The Rock has already announced he’ll be at WrestleMania 29.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has put his Hidden Hills, California mansion on the market for just under $5 million. The Trulia luxury blog speculates that the 7-bedroom 9,120 square-foot estate is being lived in by The Rock’s ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia. Here are pictures of the estate, followed by the official property description from Trulia.com:
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“Guard Gated, Secure & Private, Hidden Hills Estates. Tour De Force! Exciting Ultra-Private Custom Contemporary Mediterranean View Estate At The End of Cul-De-Sac & Nestled Behind 2 Sets of Private Gates. Stainless Steel Privacy Gate Opens To Reveal An Open Motor Court W/ Stacked Stone Waterfall Entry & Abundant Parking, Including 4 Car Garage. Two-Story Gallery Entry Through Walls of Glass Leads To Radius Walled Living Room W/Mesmerizing Views of Resort-Like Lushly Landscaped Yard. Verdant Lawns, Infinity Edge Pool/Spa, Outdoor Patios, Bbq Center, Stacked Stone Waterfall & Endless Vistas of Mountains & Valley Lights Are Seen From Most Rooms.“
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has made Forbes Magazine’s list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in the world. Forbes.com has an article up looking at The Rock being one of Hollywood’s most bankable action movie stars (having grossed over $2.3 billion) and his reputation for saving movie franchises (Fast and Furious, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and now GI Joe).
Forbes estimates that The Rock made over $36 million over the last 12 months – and it doesn’t specify if that includes the millions (and millions) he’s made from working with WWE and main eventing their pay-per-view of all time, WrestleMania 28.
The article states that movie producers love The Rock’s willingness to travel in order to promote his movie, which Rock credits to his wrestling background.
“That’s the wonderful part about being in this business. I love knowing the audience and listening to the audience. Oh, and kicking a little ass, too,” Rock said.
Rock also noted he and his manager, ex-wife Dany Garcia, changed their approach to Rock’s wrestling background. “It reached a point where I felt that instead of me trying to conform to Hollywood, I needed to have Hollywood conform to me and embrace my past,” says Johnson.
The article states that The Rock’s former management team forced him to stop talking about wrestling – and his decision to return to WWE included firing those same agents.
As part of the buildup to the Rock vs. John Cena match at WrestleMania 28, The Rock held a “Rock Concert” on the March 12, 2012 edition of WWE RAW.
With the news of John Cena filing to divorce his wife this week – the lyrics of The Rock’s takes on a different meaning:
“Rock saw Cena makin’ out with Eve, Grabbin’ on her thigh, tuggin’ on her weave. Cena was havin’ the time of his life, I guess he didn’t tell her that he’s got a wife. Let’s rock. Everybody let’s rock. Divorce lawyer’s right up the block, but we’re dancing because Cleveland Rocks.”
While there’s no indication that John Cena and Eve were romantically linked off-camera, it is known that The Rock and John Cena were legitimately taking personal shots at each other during their promos hyping WM28. With TMZ.com reporting that John Cena did not hide his marital problems with his co-workers in the WWE locker room, it appears The Rock’s remarks about Cena’s wife and a “divorce lawyer right up the block” hit closer to home than we realized at the time.
Here’s the video of The Rock’s “Rock Concert” from RAW (3/12/12):
– “Rowdy” Roddy Piper posted the following on his Twitter account:
“Asked if I would shake hands with Hogan! YES I WOULD! I’m a MAN! Men are people that show the way! U can only tell a Man by his actions.”
– Jim Ross was rattled by a Twitter follower writing “stick to wrestling old man” after he posted multiple messages on the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto boxing match Saturday night:
“How about a little respect? Didn’t your parents teach you to respect your elders or are you a keyboard punk?”
– In this week’s Are You Serious? webisode, Road Dogg and Josh Mathews explain how WCW “ruined everything.” Their proclamation includes ninjas (Glacier), classical music (The Maestro), sharks (John Tenta portraying a shark character) and even titles (David Arquette winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship). Also mocked is a WCW vignette featuring Raven as a spoiled rich kid with hardcore wrestling icon The Sandman appearing as his preppy neighbor Jim at his childhood home’s pool.
— WWE.com announced Thursday that “superagent” A.W. has signed Primo, Epico and Rosa Mendes to his ”All World” talent agency, officially making the former WWE Tag Team Champions his clients.
A.W. had been courting the trio for several weeks leading up to Monday’s Raw SuperShow as he insisted that the team deserved better placement and promotion at events.
“We’re going all the way!” said A.W. at the official signing, who promising to take them to “The Promised Land.” Mendes added, “We expect nothing but the best from this new relationship,” to which A.W. replied, “You’re going to get the best and beyond.”
— In honor of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s fortieth birthday on Wednesday, TooFab.com has posted high school photos of “The Great One” and other grappling greats including The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and John Cena.
— WWE will hold a Raw live event at East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville, Kentucky on Sunday, July 29. Tickets go on sale June 2 via Ticketmaster.
— For the first-time ever, WWE.com has added a wrestler who never competed for WWE to their Alumni Section—Sting: “Sting’s charismatic personality and colorful face pant made him one of the WCW’s most popular wrestlers and the most recognizable face of the organization. For the first-time ever on WWE.com, check out Sting’s profile, photos and videos, the latest addition to the Alumni section!”
The website adds: “Remembered for his colorful charisma and struggle with The nWo, Sting has become synonymous with the Atlanta-based organization. Although he has never competed in a WWE ring, more than a decade since the demise of WCW, he remains one of the most popular and respected competitors of all-time.”
— In honor of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s fortieth birthday on Wednesday, SI.com has posted 20 rare photos of the collegiate football player-turned-entertainer.
— Mick Foley performs stand-up comedy with Rev. Bob Levy tonight at Woolands Tavern in Columbus, Ohio. Event details are available here.
– John Cena is still advertised for this weekend’s RAW brand live events, despite his speech after Extreme Rules where he told fans he’ll be taking time off.
Cena is scheduled to face Mark Henry this weekend. The main events for the RAW house shows will see WWE Champion CM Punk defending against Chris Jericho.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson turns 40 years old today. He was born on May 2nd, 1972. Happy birthday to The Rock!
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shot a fight scene with TNA Wrestling star Kurt Angle on Saturday for the upcoming 2013 black comedy film Pain & Gain. Johnson then tweeted a photo of himself with Angle and film director Michael Bay on Monday with the caption reading: “The Peoples Champ, The Maestro Michael Bay, The Olympic Gold Medalist.”
— CNN-IBN, CNN’s India news affiliate, posted a photo of the late Chris Benoit in their article recapping WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view event.
— WWE will hold a Raw SuperShow on Monday, July 2, 2012 at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas. Tickets go on sale Saturday, May 12, 2012.
— 2011 WWE video titles Randy Orton: The Evolution of a Predator and Greatest Rivalries – Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart are now available on Netflix.
– The Rock announced on Twitter that he is filming a fight scene with Kurt Angle for his new movie, Pain & Gain:
“Big fight scene today for PAIN & GAIN w/ my boy – Olympic Gold Medalist & wrestling MACHINE @RealKurtAngle. #Boots2Asses”
– Antonio Cesaro made his WWE in-ring debut on SmackDown ina “tryout match” against Tyson Kidd. John Laurinaitis stipulated that if he liked what he saw, he’d offer Cesaro a contract. Cesaro squashed Kidd in about three minutes and is expected to officially join the SmackDown roster soon.
– WWE talent Damien Sandow make his in-ring debut on SmackDown next week.
– WWE Diva Beth Phoenix posted a photo of her at a doctor’s office for an MRI this weekend witht he caption, “More tests, fingers crossed.” Sources still insist that the injury is all part of the storylines. She tweeted about her Extreme Rules match:
“I have been given my rematch this Sunday. Even if I have to wrestle on one leg, I can STILL beat @thebellatwins and win my title back.”
– Zack Ryder tweeted that WWE has once again censored his Z! True Long Island Story show:
“@WWE censored me again! WTF!!!”
Shortly after Ryder’s tweet, Eve Torres responded that she is the person responsible for Ryder’s show being censored for the past two weeks.
– The Rock posted a shout out to WWE staffers on Twitter this weekend:
“To all @WWE corporate & production employees: THANK YOU. #ThatsAll”
– WWE will return to the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana on June 30th, 2012. Tickets go on sale May 12th, 2012 at 10 AM.(Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– Earlier this week, a fan suggested to The Rock on Twitter that he should play President Obama on the big screen. He replied, “But I plan on being President too.”
At Tuesday’s CinemaCon Convention in Las Vegas, The Rock was asked by Fox411.com whether he’d seriously consider getting into politics. “I wouldn’t rule it out. I think in order for politicians to be successful, you have to be passionate about politics,” Johnson said. “I care about our country, but right now I can make impact in other ways.”
When asked what his campaign slogan be, Rock laughed and said, “I can’t tell you that now, I’d have to wait.”
WrestleMania 28 main eventer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was in Las Vegas this week to take part in Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation (accepting the “Action Star of the Decade” award) and to promote the new movie GI Joe: Retaliation.
The Rock is currently filming Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain, the film that is based on the The film is based on the true story of the “Sun Gym Gang,” a pair of bodybuilders named Daniel Lugo and Adrien Doorbal, who led an extortion and kidnapping plot before being arrested. Johnson is playing Paul Doyle, a barman who got caught up in his friend’s plans.
“(Michael Bay is) a brilliant, brilliant filmmaker, to be able to take that spirit and engage it in a passion project that he loves,” The Rock stated in Las Vegas, “I have had the greatest time playing this character, because the craziest part about this is that every day when I wrap … whether it’s 3:00 in the morning or 6:00 at night … I go home thinking, Jesus Christ, this shit really happened, all this crazy shit happened.‘
Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle site scored a few exclusive pictures of The Rock on the set of Pain and Gain – which you can check out here.
Posted April 25th, 2012 in News. Tagged: The Rock.
– Monday’s 3-hour RAW Supershow ranked #2 on cable in terms of social media activity for the evening, according to Trendrr.tv.
– Indy promotion Vendetta Pro Wrestling announced on their website that one of their wrestlers, Austin Draven, has signed a developmental deal with with WWE.
– A new trailer has been released for The Rock’s upcoming summer blockbuster, GI Joe: Retaliation, which hits theaters on 6/29:
— Mixed martial artist-turned-actress Gina Carano is in negotiations with Universal Pictures to join the cast of the next installment of Fast & Furious movie franchise. The Hollywood Reporterreports Carano’s character would join Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s character’s team in the movie, which is scheduled to begin filming later this year. Fast & Furious 6 is slated for release on May 24, 2013.
— ESPN.com published an article acknowledging John Cena’s birthday, who turns 35 years old Monday. Included are “five interesting facts” on the WWE Superstar.
— WWE will hold a Supershow at the Civic Center in Augusta, Maine on Friday, June 15, 2012. Bell time is 7:30 p.m.
— The April 20 episode of WWE Vintage Collection featured matches from WCW’s annual Spring Stampede pay-per-view event: British Bulldog vs. Curt Hennig (1998), Steve Austin vs. The Great Muta (1994), Chavo Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon (1998), Diamond Dallas Page vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage (1997).
— Irvin Muchnick’s book, Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death, will be re-released as an E-book by ECW Press.
The Rock recently told Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming GI JOE: RETALIATION movie will feature a drastic “creative shift” than the last film in the series:
“I can tell you this one is creatively much different [from the first]. It’s rooted, it’s grounded, it’s real. The studio came to me and I loved the idea of starring in the movie because I grew up on G.I. Joe and it’s a massive property.”
“I spoke to the studio and they told me about the creative shift that they wanted to make with the movie, which made it easy for me to sign on.”
GI Joe: Retaliation opens on Friday, June 29, 2012.
Check out this new movie poster for GI Joe: Retaliation featuring Th Rock:
Following this week’s news that WrestleMania 28 was the most-ordered pay-per-view in pro wrestling history, the chances of a Rock vs. Cena rematch at next year’s show have increased. Whether or not the match takes place at next year’s WrestleMania, Rock and Cena will almost certainly have a rematch over the next 12 months.
The Rock dropped a bombshell on RAW the night after WrestleMania 28 when he revealed his “vision” to once again win the WWE Championship. As of this week, WWE’s plan for the main event of WresteMania 29 is for The Rock to wrestle either John Cena or Brock Lesnar for the WWE title.
Several factors will decide whether The Rock wrestles either Cena or Lesnar, most notably, how Brock Lesnar’s next few months go. WWE officials want to see how Lesnar handles his [limited] schedule and how over Lesnar is after his match with John Cena at Extreme Rules.
While there was early talk of announcing the WrestleMania 29 main event one year in advance like they did with Rock-Cena, it’s now looking like WWE will hold off until the fall before making anything official.
– WWE announced this week that WrestleMania 28 drew an estimated 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, which would make it the highest grossing wrestling PPV in history. While this is a major accomplishment for WWE and a credit to The Rock’s drawing power, it’s important to note that a more “firm” number will not be announced until May/June, when WWE releases its next SEC filing. Even then, it will be several more months until the final numbers come in.
– WWE’s Bella Twins are still expected to be on their way out of the company. Nikki and Brie are currently overseas for WWE’s European tour and defeated the team of Phoenix and Eve Torres at Tuesday’s show from Rome, Italy.
— The latest issue of The Wrestler has a feature on CM Punk revealing elements of his past including the origin of his ring name, why he left TNA Wrestling, the meaning of some of his tattoos and even which women wrestlers he has dated. Regarding the women’s wrestlers Punk has been romantically linked to, the magazine writes:
“We all know women love the bad boys. Though Punk isn’t really a bad boy in the traditional sense given the way he lives his life, he looks the part. Whatever the reason, he has been romantically linked to several Divas and Knockouts, including Daffney, Traci Brooks, Maria Kanellis, Amy “Lita” Dumas, and most recently, Beth Phoenix. What is Punk’s type?”
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has addressed the meaning behind one of his most famous catchphrases, “Jabroni.”
When asked of the meaning of the word Tuesday on Twitter, he wrote, “Jabroni was a term I started using to describe a phony, goof, punk or a ham & egger. #NoCandyAssJabronis.”
— WWE has updated the logo for their Over the Limit pay-per-view—see here. This year’s show takes place on May 20 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.
— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to appear in The Hero, a new competitive reality series looking to find the “next great hero,” reportsVariety. Johnson is an executive producer for the show, and will be appearing in “various incarnations” to encourage contestants.
— WWE.com takes a look back at the 10 best rookie years in WWE and WCW history. Brock Lesnar is ranked number one on this list, beating out Goldberg, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker, among others. (The 10 best rookie years).
— Former WWE talent Shane “Hurricane” Helms is not a fan of WWE’s “CM Drunk” storyline. He wrote during Monday’s Raw SuperShow where Chris Jericho claimed CM Punk was spotted drinking alcohol before defending his title against Mark Henry: “I like both Punk and Jericho but I could care less about this “straight edge vs alcoholic” angle. Just wrestle.”
Helms also critiqued a WWE star’s bumping ability: “Otunga … geez. You’re on TV with the biggest wrestling company in the world. Please learn how to bump bro.”
WWE proudly announced Monday that WrestleMania XXVIII set new records for pay-per-view buys and gross sales. According to WWE.com, preliminary estimates show that WrestleMania garnered 1.3 million pay-per-view buys with global gross sales in excess of $67 million.
The event was seen around the world on pay-per-view in more than 105 countries and 20 languages
WWE superstar The Rock tweeted a message on Monday stating that Wrestlemania 28 set the all time record for pay-per-view buys & made more money in one day than any PPV event ever:
“BREAKING NEWS: Wrestlemania 28 sets all time PPV buys & one day global gross record. #TeamBringItWorldwide THANK YOU!
The final number will be reported during WWE’s second quarter 2012 earnings later this year.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is back with another blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR wrote about:
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena at Extreme Rules:
“Getting tons of folks asking for predictions for the upcoming Lesnar vs. Cena bout at Extreme Rules in Chicago on PPV. The only thing that I know for sure is that the live audience in Chicago will be restaurant quality. Is Cena ‘due’ after losing to Rock at WM28 or will Lesnar lose his first WWE bout in years? It makes for some compelling, episodic TV, in my opinion, but one has to consider Lesnar’s likely ‘ring rust’ when analyzing this main event and making educated guesses.
“Cena vs. Lesnar is what a main event should be, too close to easily call a winner.”
The Rock’s Desire To Become WWE Champion Again
“Rock says he wants to be WWE Champion again. Time will tell if he can pull that one off but if that were to occur it would likely be following some intriguing, episodic TV leading into the big match. I think that it’s going to be a compelling year regarding the WWE Title.”
Whether The Undertaker Has Retired Or Not:
“I might be naive and I know that I’m out of the loop, which, BTW, isn’t a gripe, but IF Undertaker was going to retire, don’t you think that WWE would make a HUGE deal of it? Can you think of another wrestler’s retirement that would be as impactful as the Undertaker’s at this point in time? So….I am still of the mindset that Undertaker will return to the ring at the appropriate time.”
We’ve got some new details regarding Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s next movie project, courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter.
The Rock has signed on to star in Lore, a sci-fi action movie that’s being described as “Men in Black with mythological creatures.”
Warner Bros, is in the process of picking up the adapted screenplay of Lore. The deal reportedly went down this week in a “high-activity bidding situation” that heated up as soon as The Rock became attached to the project.
Lore will be based on the book/graphic novel written by Ashley Wood and T.P. Louise. The screenplay for Lore was written by Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott.
– Tuesday’s live “old school” SmackDown special drew a 1.5 cable rating. SmackDown typically draws around a 2.0 on Friday nights.
– The Rock is in talks to star in a new movie called Lore, which has been described as a “hybrid of traditional narrative and graphic novel.”
Vulture.com compared the movie to Men In Black, writing that MIB’s take on Aliens will be similar to how Lore presents monsters. No word yet on when filming will begin.
– Brock Lesnar will not be wrestling any matches before Extreme Rules later this month. His match against John Cena will be his first WWE match in over 8 years.
– At the press conference that took place just hours before WrestleMania 28, The Rock named Brock Lesnar as one of the people he’s looking to wrestle.
– Christian is being advertised for the upcoming SmackDown live event from Salisbury, Maryland on June 9th. Christian will get a shot at the Big Show’s Intercontinental title. The main event for the show will see Daniel Bryan challenge Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title in a Last Man Standing Match. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)
– The next 3-hour RAW Supershow will take place on June 11th from Hartford, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale this Friday.