How The Rock Held Hollywood Hostage for 10 Years Straight

Dwayne The Rock Johnson has had a major box office film every single year for the past two decades nearly all of them were an overwhelming financial success with the exception of a few over the years The Rock has stamped himself as one of the most successful and beloved entertainers of all time worth a whopping 320 million dollars he has Hollywood in a Chokehold and although many people think the rock is simply just this perfect family-friendly brand that sold out left the WWE and was embraced with open arms into the film world that couldn't be further from the truth every single time he entered a new industry he was rejected and had to prove himself and with his back against the wall he formulated a plan that plan would be the Catalyst to him absolutely dominating Hollywood for the past 10 years stay hydrated many of you got your first introduction to the Rock through the WWE even though he never saw himself pursuing this career Dwayne Johnson was quite literally born to be a wrestler his father Wade Douglas Bowles was a former professional wrestler who wrestled under the ring name Rocky Johnson through the late 60s to mid 70s he was a major star in California Rocky wrestled with the WWF in the 1980s where he and his partner Tony Atlas were the first black tag team champions in WWE history but it wasn't just his father who has wrestling roots The Rock's mother Atta was adopted into the most iconic Samoan wrestling family of all time the onawaii family her father is wrestler High Chief Peter Maivia and his wife Leah is one of wrestling's first female promoters which makes the Rock related through marriage of course to the wild Samoans Yokozuna Rikishi Umaga and Roman Reigns it seemed like his Destiny was written for him the moment he was born however the rock did not want to be a wrestler growing up Johnson moved around a lot he briefly spent his childhood in Auckland New Zealand then he moved to Charlotte North Carolina briefly then to Hamden Connecticut where he attended Elementary in middle school when he was 12 they moved to Hawaii where his mom's family lived that's when it got rough he says his dad worked less which sent them into poverty and led to fights with the family he saw from a very young age how financially unstable a wrestling career would be frustrated with being poor he started stealing then getting arrested he began getting into fights with kids at school and turning into an Angry Kid as a 13 year old child he was lost in lacking guidance so the family relocated again to Nashville Tennessee before settling in Pennsylvania Dwayne attended Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township in the Lehigh Valley Freedom was his fourth High School in three years in three different states Johnson found himself outside the principal's office at each School frequently encountering conflict and participating in petty crime before the age of 17 he was arrested multiple times for fighting theft and check fraud his life was on a fast track to Nowhere until one teacher would change his life after settling an argument with Jody quick the school's full ball coach he asked Dwayne to play football for Liberty on the football field Johnson was given the structure and discipline his life otherwise lacked quick became the strong male figure Dwayne needed since his father Rocky was usually away working as a six foot four 230 pound Junior Johnson wreaked havoc from the defensive line he fell in love with the game it gave his life purpose Coach quick sat him down and said listen your family doesn't have any money your grades are average if you're going to get out of this town and make a different life for yourself football is the vehicle Duane's mentality did a 180 from being a rebellious criminal to a fully focused and determined young man obsessed with making it he became a three-sport athlete football wrestling and track and field Liberty High School competed in the eastern Pennsylvania conference in which the wrestling programs have been ranked best in the nation by win magazine and have been described as among the nation's best in the sport for nearly three decades and despite his wrestling talents football was where his heart was Dwayne had only played for two years but he drew the attention of NCAA division 1 Collegiate programs college football recruiters ranked him among the nation's top 10 high school defensive tackles he received offers from Penn State UCLA Clemson Florida State and dozens of other top programs but he eventually accepted a full athletic scholarship from the University of Miami whose football program was then one of the best in the nation in 1990 he made an amazing first impression to the Miami coaches he was fast he was strong and he worked harder than anyone but before he got to play his first game he suffered a shoulder injury which made the coaches shift their focus from Dwayne to Warren Sapp who would go on to be an NFL Hall of Famer over the years he had four knee surgeries and lived in the shadow of sap he ended his Miami career with 78 tackles and four sacks no NFL coaches wanted to take a chance on him however the Calgary Stampeders and the Canadian Football League gave him a shot he was making 250 Canadian dollars per week which is big basically equal to minimum wage but it didn't last long just two months after being signed to the practice roster he was cut he returned home to Tampa in 1995 with seven dollars in his pocket and no future Dwayne really thought the NFL was going to be his career and he fell into a deep depression when he realized his dreams were not going to come to fruition the only backup plan was wrestling however the instability of finances and constant traveling destroyed their family and his childhood his father did not want Dwayne to go down that path but Dwayne had run out of options and eventually his father gave in and decided to train him in 1996 Dwayne began his professional wrestling career it took him less than one year to get signed to the WWF for obvious reasons he was the son and Grandson of two Wrestling Legends he didn't have the grind in amateur leagues as long as other people November 17 1996 Madison Square Garden the Survivor Series he made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia combining his father and grandfather's ring names nicknamed the blue chipper Johnson was hyped as wwf's first third generation wrestler and was pushed heavily despite his wrestling inexperience in an 8-man elimination tag match Rocky secured the victory three months later he won the company's Intercontinental Championship and wrestled his first WrestleMania match the following month however fans did not accept him with open arms WWF fans became increasingly hostile towards Maivia with chance of die Rocky die being heard during his matches as many of you know wrestling is scripted and the outcomes are predetermined it's like a live-action reality show but one thing that is not fake about wrestling is the fan engagement wrestlers get their fan base from their image or personality displayed on the microphone if the fans do not like you and the show's writers can't find a way for you to get on their good side you will lose your job Rocky my via was a clean-cut happy-go-lucky good guy who wasn't resonating with the audience after losing his Intercontinental Championship and suffering a legitimate knee injury Johnson disappeared from television for months but he wasn't going to let the WWF writers ruin his chances of him being a star it was time for a Rebrand in August 1997 he returned but with a noticeably more aggressive demeanor lashing out at the audience whenever they booed him he debted the Rocky Maivia name and referred to himself in the third person as The Rock he had officially turned heel which is a wrestling term for a wrestler portraying a villain or acting as an antagonist now portraying a self-absorbed narcissist The Rock regularly insulted the audience fellow wrestlers and interviewers whenever he could the character worked because it came naturally to him and it didn't take long for the audience to start warming up to his Newfound Persona he didn't know it then but he was already preparing himself for Hollywood from 1997 to 2002 The Rock became a phenomenon dubbed the people's Champion he was debatably the most beloved wrestler in the industry you're not Undisputed been so shut up [ __ ] from the single eyebrow Rays to his numerous catchphrases to his over-exaggerated mannerisms The Rock established himself as the most electrifying man in sports entertainment at this point in his career The Rock had surpassed the legacy of anyone in his Heritage having become one of the most decorated champions in WWE history also in the early 2000s wrestling was at its peak in average viewership and ratings The Rock being the most charismatic and marketable wrestler at the most popular time in wrestling history was a perfect storm that would change his life forever he figured the transition from wrestling to acting wouldn't be that hard after all wrestling is acting and most of the time it's live so you only get one take he began dabbling in TV with cameos on That 70s Show Star Trek Voyager and Saturday Night Live in fact after his SNL debut one of the most respected film critics of all time Roger Ebert said this have you met the rock before are this guy is going to be a major movie star you should get out of wrestling as soon as possible that prediction couldn't have been more true in 2001 Dwayne made his first feature film debut in The Mummy Returns which gross roughly 435 million dollars at the box office despite only having 15 minutes of screen time Johnson was paid 5.5 million dollars for his portrayal of the Scorpion King this salary earned him an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest payment for an untested actor this just goes to show you how big of a superstar he was and how much his brand was worth he reprized his role as The Scorpion King in the prequel the following year earning over 180 million at the box office but again wrestling fans were not happy with his Newfound Hollywood success when he returned to wrestling in 2002 SummerSlam he received a negative crowd response during his match when he tried to do a post-show speech the crowd within the stadium booed him this put a sour taste in his mouth and The Rock would disappear from wrestling for another year to make matters worse worse his 2003 film The Rundown was considered a flop since the film did not profit this left him in limbo feeling unsure of which career to pursue his heart was still in wrestling but he needed a Rebrand for the second time and that's exactly what he was going to do in 2003 The Rock turned heel again and started a new persona dubbed Hollywood Rock with a new look and a shaved head his new persona as a snobby Hollywood jock who looks down on the wrestling Community earned him a lot of haters but you could tell he was having fun and wasn't afraid to lean even harder into this character he eventually won over the audience because of his Charisma and hilarious jokes plus he was still a legend at this point so it was hard to pretend to hate him for much longer many wrestling fans think the rock is at his best when he is in his Attitude Era sadly for them this was all very short-lived the Rocks contract with the WWE ended in 2004 and he quietly retired without making a big announcement the 32 year old knew putting his body on the line would ultimately catch up to him this decision would allow him to officially start his full-time Hollywood acting career even though Dwayne was a superstar he struggled to find success early on as an actor from 2004 to 2006 he starred in Walking Tall which was received well by fans but hated by critics he had some throwaway roles like the crime comedy be cool and the film adaptation of the popular video game Doom which failed to break even financially however the comedy thriller Southland Tales and Gridiron Gang performed a little bit better financially but none of these films indicated that The Rock had a promising career ahead of him realizing his career was looking shaky he decided to change his persona for the third time now he would take on the role as the gentle giant he slimmed down his appearance which let's be honest even a slim version of the rock is still a 200 plus pound beast but he started seeing box office success when he appeared in more kid-friendly films like Walt Disney's the game plan and Race to Witch Mountain along with get smart and the Tooth Fairy all of which made over 100 million dollars at the box office the only problem with these movies is that he wasn't really acting the rock is actually the tooth fairy but seriously the rock is known in real life as being a really nice guy very friendly and supportive so in these movies he's just being casted as himself plus he really wanted to be in action movies since I mean he's the rock after three family films in a row he was faced with yet another problem of boxing himself into a genre that would be hard for him to escape from so he called a meeting with his agents and developed a vision to take Hollywood hostage he wanted to be Will Smith but different and bigger I don't know what that means he said but I can see it and I have these he held up his hands and I need everybody to see it with me his agents had no idea what he was talking about so the rock fired them and got a new team the plan was to avoid family-friendly films for a while this plan was not about making money it was about grabbing Hollywood by the balls and making it his so he decided to change his image and kick start his fourth time Reinventing himself he shaved his head bald for good then put on a lot of muscle mass and turned into a more rugged Warrior rather than his previous handsome chiseled model look he pursued more action films the other guys was a buddy comedy that saw success and was a step in the right direction but the most important role of his whole career up until this point was faster this was the first time he had a lead role in an action film after Doom flopped faster was an interesting film The Rock was a criminal seeking Vengeance he was cold-blooded and didn't have much dialogue in the whole film it didn't perform that well financially but it was a transition point for him because he was about to get the role that would kick-start his Hollywood takeover Fast 5 2011 Dwayne entered the Fast and Furious franchise as Luke Hobbs Hobbes is a Diplomatic Security Service agent who enters the movie investigating the deaths of three DEA agents but his form of interrogating a criminal is by throwing them around the room and beating the snot out of them until they talk the fast franchise was already super successful at this point and this one was their Peak so far 604 40 million dollars in the global box office plus this film is widely regarded by fans as the best out of the Dozen and as many of you know Landing a permanent role in an action film franchise as big as this is basically like hitting the Hollywood Lottery you become known and loved all around the world and could easily have a stable career this was exactly what the Rock needed to kick his career into overdrive from 2012 to 2016 Dwayne had to prove to the world that he was here to stay and he did just that he had a brief return to wrestling to host WrestleMania 30 and have an iconic title match against John Cena it was his first bout in over seven years he got an offer to perform in front of 85 000 people live and he couldn't refuse but he never had any intentions on staying long term in that same year 2013 he did five movies snitch which some consider to be his most underrated acting performance GI Joe retaliation Empire State Pain and Gain Fast and Furious 6. by the end of 2013 Forbes named Johnson the top grossing actor with his films collect actively bringing in 1.3 billion dollars worldwide in 2014 he did Hercules in 2015 he did Furious 7 in San Andreas in 2016 Central Intelligence The Rock was getting a lead role in a major action film each year his Fame was at an all-time high and he successfully rebranded himself as the rugged action star that's also sensitive that he knew he deserved to be but this was only the beginning the real takeover was about to begin when he started his production company seven bucks Productions but before I get into that there's something very important to consider over the span of what was now 15 years in Hollywood Dwayne has created a reputation for being a hard-working and reliable employee in a space where actors notoriously show up late to set or come in intoxicated and hungover or just generally act like divas Dwayne has managed to stay focused and complete the task at hand showing up to work on time while getting along with fellow cast members and crew he will remember everybody's name from Craft services to the camera operators the rock is every producer and director's dream employee Rampage director Brad Payton who has directed Johnson three times now broke down exactly why every filmmaker should have him on their team Dwayne is one of those guys where you present The Challenge and he is going to succeed come hell or high water when I need Dwayne to do something that's difficult it's the equivalent of being able to be you see that wall I need you to run through that wall and he's like that wall and I'm like yeah that wall and he's like that wall and I'm like all right roll camera here we go directors will tell him to redo a line 15 times and he just does it no questions no fights he's excited to work and brings good energy around him this is a huge reason why he gets casted for so many films the trade-off is that he basically has to play the same character in every film but that's exactly what he wants no one's going to see me play a borderline psychopath suffering from depression he says my problem is I have a relationship with an audience around the world for years I've built a trust with them that they're going to come to my movies and feel good so every once in a while you have to drop this card which is you're gonna have to find another Factor we need to figure something out otherwise I'm not going to do the movie although the rock is extremely Limited in the roles he will play he's consistent and he sticks to his strengths which is respectable so when you combine his work ethic extreme likability lack of problematic qualities and a well-oiled machine of people behind him what you get is the biggest Hollywood takeover of all time seven bucks Productions is the name of his Film Studio that was founded in 2012 but really kicked into gear around 2016 and 2017. his Production Studio will create the vision for a film that has the rock as the lead role since they know his strengths and weaknesses as an actor they can write the scripts and produce the scenes in a way that benefits him the most which usually leads to reboots of old movies or using other recognizable Brands these movies are basically safe Investments plus he doesn't have to audition for the role since it's literally written for him which saves a lot of time from there they will partner with another Production Studio such as Paramount Pictures Columbia Pictures new line Cinema DC Disney or any smaller companies to produce the films since they are partnering that means Dwayne has ownership in the films he's making it's also worth mentioning that likely means he is investing his own money into the films as well risking tens of millions of dollars where most actors are likely only getting a salary Dwayne is getting royalties for a lifetime plus he's building up the value of his company similar to what Rob Dyrdek did he produced Ridiculousness through his own company for 10 years then sold it for 200 million so while the rock is on set filming a movie his team already knows exactly how long it's going to take and will be ready for him to film the next movie as soon as he is done with the current one for example in 2017 and 2018 he released these four films Baywatch Jumanji Rampage and skyscraper Baywatch began filming in February 2016 all over the USA seven months later in September of 2016 Jumanji began filming in Hawaii so once the rock is done with Baywatch he goes over to Hawaii and Begins the next film then seven months after Jumanji in April of 2017 he goes to Chicago to film Rampage then four months later in August of 2017 he goes to Vancouver to film skyscraper and also while he's working on these films he's doing promo tours and press runs for the previous ones there is no down time there are no auditions there is no preparation for a new character The Rock has turned his brand into a machine that uses the same formula in every film and pumps out two to three movies per year that are generating hundreds of millions of dollars meanwhile during all of this his team is riding and pitching movies two to five years in the future so the rock never has to have a moment where he is not filming from 2017 to 2022 they released 14 movies nearly three blockbuster movies per year and they have dozens more planned for the future but the most important and life-changing role was his portrayal of DC Comics anti-hero Black Adam however things kind of ended in a disaster and many are starting to question if the Rock's ego is starting to self-sabotage all the way back in 2006 Johnson was initially approached to portray the character Shazam but he expressed interest in the film antagonist Black Adam by 2014 development for the series finally began when Warner Bros and DC began planning a slate of superhero films for a shared Universe the DC extended universe that same year Johnson confirmed his attachment to the film and decided he ultimately wanted to play Black Adam to reiterate getting a lead role as a superhero or a villain is probably the most coveted position in an actor's career DC and Marvel actors will receive praise for the next century for their roles if you hit big in one of these movies you are legitimately set for life so it's obvious why Dwayne wanted it so bad however come 2017 Johnson began having issues with the movie's Direction when the first draft of the movie came to us it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam two Origin stories in one movie literally everyone involved in the production loved the script and were ready to Green Light the movie besides the rock he felt like he would be doing Black Adam and disservice so he petitioned for Adam to get his own separate film Warner Bros trusted him they took him out of Shazam and put a Black Adam Solo movie into development this is where chaos ensued firstly Johnson was set to produce the film with members of seven bucks Productions along with Beau Flynn and Flynn picture Co meaning Johnson had Direct control over everything he used this control to acquire writer Adam Sid skill who co-wrote Johnson's Rampage in 2018. Adam would write the screenplay for Black Adam once the script was completed Johnson recruited director xiaomi Colette Cera who he worked alongside on Jungle Cruise at this point Johnson had received the solo project he wanted and hired the team he wanted all that was left to do was produce the film however due to the pandemic and commitments to the film Jumanji and red notice production for Black Adam was delayed which led to fans being disappointed initially Johnson was first meant to appear as Black Adam in Suicide Squad in 2021 but these plans were abandoned when writer and director Gavin O'Connor left the film in 2018. filming for Black Adam was completed sometime in mid-22 and was released in October of that year and some consider it to be flop the movie cost about 200 million dollars to produce and was said to have at least a 100 million dollar marketing cost sources at Warner Bros say the movie will break even at 400 million dollars with the box office numbers totaling 393 million it looks like the movie didn't profit plus most of the reception from fans and critics was that it was just okay average what they expected which is on par for what The Rock is known to deliver but many question if the rock had Not Taken full creative control over this movie if it would have maybe portrayed Black Adam as more of a dark Sinister anti-hero maybe the rock wasn't best for this role and fell short on his promises maybe his ego is finally catching up to him it also doesn't help that he had a public Feud with Vin Diesel that made him exit the fast franchise during the filming of the fate and the Furious the eighth installment of The Fast and Furious franchise Johnson hinted at Trouble behind the scenes in a now deleted Instagram post he called out some of his male co-stars sparking a feud between him and both Tyrese Gibson and Vin Diesel when the film came out viewers noticed their scenes were shot in such a way that indicated they may not have been on set at the same time which was true they were never on set together Dwayne says their beef came down to a disagreement about professionalism Vin and I had a few discussions including an important face-to-face in my trailer he says and what I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach movie making and collaborating that information didn't really help fans understand what was happening diesel later tried to make amends and reintroduce Johnson to The Fast and Furious franchise however Dwayne although he regrets making that initial Instagram post adamately declined the offer and cemented that his time with the franchise was over this has led many to believe that the rock is starting to walk away from any project where he doesn't call all of the shots at the same time maybe he does deserve to call the shots in just five years seven bucks Productions has generated 3.3 billion dollars in worldwide box office revenue Dwayne Johnson is determined to outwork anyone who wants to compete with him none of this success was handed to him he was not lucky he came from nothing and had been rejected and failed in every single industry he started in and instead of wallowing in his sadness he did the opposite he reshaped and remodeled his image multiple times developed an incredible work ethic brings positive energy to everyone around him and stays out of controversy sure he doesn't test himself creatively but he sticks to what he's good at and what his fans expect from him now at 50 years old he's created a 300 million dollar machine that will continue to work in his favor for years to come and he built it all with his own two hands

Channel: Patrick Cc:

Views: 2,030,696

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Id: 1Opw6UtGyd0

Length: 24min 27sec (1467 seconds)

Published: Fri May 05 2023