Deadline reports that the Antoine Fuqua-directed Eminem vehicle Southpaw has been TKO'd by DreamWorks. Although all the players involved, including screenwriter Kurt Sutter (creator of FX's Sons Of Anarchy), are still seeking to answer the bell by looking for another studio home.
The film, which serves as the Dirty Dozen rapper's return to the big screen, was pitched as a "continuation of the 8 Mile story," but would be a metaphorical narrative of Eminem's life. The Grammy Award winning MC would play a world champion boxer who really hits rock bottom, and has to fight to win back his life for his young daughter.
DreamWorks may have been put off by various factors, according to Deadline, such as too many recent combat sports movies. That explanation doesn't hold much water; Eminem is a proven, bankable star with an incredibly large fanbase, and The Fighter showed that fight films are salable.
With a slew of other pugilistic pictures like the MMA-inspired Warriors and even Real Steel on the bill, will Southpaw get off the mat to answer the ten count? Speak your mind in the comments section below.
[via Deadline]
