AKA The Rock/ Rocky Maivia/ Flex Kavanah

Dwayne Johnson

1Quick Bio

2Comparative

Study with John Cena

3Stand-out features of his acting

4Critics,

Success & Catalogue

“performances (of the cast)- save perhaps newcomer Dwayne Johnson’s turn as a no-nonsense lawman- are notably

underwhelming”- Adam Lee Davies, Fast Five film review, Sight & Sound, July 2011, page 63

. “With his bullish physique and cookie-monster stare, wrestling superstar turned charismatic leading man Dwayne

‘the Rock’ Johnson benefits from actually looking like a video-game character. But as the dogmatic Sarge he brings nothing of his familiar persona to bear beyond a clinical smack-down

with the hero.” – Alec Worley, Doom film review, Sight & Sound, January 2006, page 54

Contents

Quick BioDwayne Johnson was born 39 years ago

Wrestling runs in his family.

Dwayne has an American Football background- he once thought of pursuing this as a career.

In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE (then the WWF) and became Rocky Maivia

Rocky eventually began taking the persona of The Rock.

He is divorced from his first wife Dany Garcia They have a daughter together named Simone Alexandra, born in 2001.

Actor, not wrestler.

Rock, The. The Rock Says... (HarperCollins, 2000)

Comparative Study- John CenaDwayne Johnson John Cena

Years in the WWE 15 (8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_johnson as of 21/9/11

9+ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena as of 21/9/11

Titles in the WWE 5 Tag, 7 WWF/E, 2 Intercontinental, 1 Royal Rumble. (Total 15 honors) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_johnson as of 21/9/11

2 World Heavyweight, 4 Tag, 10 WWE (Current Champ), 3 United States, 1 Royal Rumble. (Total 20 honors) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena as of 21/9/11

Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranking Record (Best Wrestler Award)

2nd in 2000. 5th in 1999. 9th in 2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Wrestling_Illustrated as of 21/9/11

1st in 2006,7. 2nd in 2005,10. 3rd in 2009. 7th in 2004. 9th in 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Wrestling_Illustrated as of 21/9/11

Year of First Film 1999- Beyond the Mat (Documentary)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_johnson as of 21/9/11

2000- Ready to Rumble (Extra) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena as of 21/9/11

Prime Year 2010 (5 films)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_johnson as of 21/9/11

2010 (4 films)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena as of 21/9/11

Number Of Films 22 (15 main roles- 68%)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_johnson as of 21/9/11

9 (5 main roles- 55%)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena as of 21/9/11

Original Career Plan Football Rock, The. The Rock Says... (HarperCollins, 2000)

Bodybuilder http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/johncena/ as of 21/9/11

Most Successful Film Fast 5 ($609,837,675 worldwide) http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/movies/fast-five-2011 as of 21/9/11

The Marine ($22,165,608 worldwide) http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/movies/the-marine-2006?q=themarine as of 21/9/11

WHAT IS IT THAT DISTINGUISHES

DWAYNE JOHNSON?

AMERICAN FOOTBALL?• Football In his Films:

• Gridiron Gang- football coach

• The Game Plan- football player

• Walking Tall- significant football scene

AMERICAN FOOTBALL?

• HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL COLLEGE TEAM MOTTO• “HIT! STICK! AND BUST DICK!... ‘WHAT ELSE?’

TALK SHIT! ‘WHAT ELSE?’ TALK SHIT! ‘WHAT ELSE?’ TALK SHIT!!!!!” Rock, The. The Rock Says... (HarperCollins, 2000)

• CLIP OF DWAYNE ‘TALKING SHIT’:

• HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=I3_M4EOAA_G&FEATURE=RELATED

Wrestling?

• Fight scenes in films reflect elements of WWE

• Walking Tall

Popularity

• 1,110,373 Twitter followers www.twitter.com/TheRock (as of 28/9/11)

+• 4,150,134 Facebook likes www.facebook.com/DwayneJohnson (as of 28/9/11)

+• Fan bases in over 51 nations http://dwaynejohnsoncentral.wordpress.com/fan-counter/ (as of 28/9/11)

+• 14,231 YouTube subscribers http://www.youtube.com/user/therock?blend=7&ob=5 (as of 28/9/11)

=Undisputed $ucce$$ worldwide as an actor.

[John Cena- 923,839 Twitter followers] www.twitter.com/JohnCena as of 29/9/11

But what is ‘Good’ Acting?“the greatest film stars have a talent peculiar to the screen alone. This talent often seems to be related not to how well they act but to the sort

of person they appear to be.”

““Don’t act, think” was the advice of the eminent German director F.W. Murnau…film stars usually must appear to be themselves”

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/394107/motion-picture/52255/Motion-picture-acting

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/394107/motion-picture/52255/Motion-picture-acting

“the personae of actors have been conflated with standardised character-images to mechanically reproduce the illusion of the natural.”

W. H. Wegnerhttp://www.readon.sg/det_4415714.aspx Acting in the Cinema Book review

Naturalism is the key

Film acting is more intimate than (for example)stage acting

Audience must be able relate or there is NO connection= no success

Is Johnson a GOOD actor?

• Southland Tales- Acting ability.

“the Rock enjoys the kind of charm and talent- presumably

honed while taunting adversaries or playing the

audience in the wrestling ring- Schwarzenegger and Stallone

never had.” –Daniel Hetherington, Welcome to the

Jungle film review, Sight & Sound, March 2004, page 72.

“even in his would-be knowing role as a lunk-

headed film star, Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson falls below any conceivable

standard of screen performance.” - Henry K.

Miller, Southland Tales film review, Sight & Sound,

February 2008, page 80.

Critique• “performances (of the cast)- save perhaps newcomer Dwayne Johnson’s turn

as a no-nonsense lawman- are notably underwhelming”- Adam Lee Davies, Fast Five film review, Sight & Sound, July 2011, page 63

• “the Rock enjoys the kind of charm and talent- presumably honed while taunting adversaries or playing the audience in the wrestling ring- Schwarzenegger and Stallone never had.” –Daniel Hetherington, Welcome to the Jungle film review, Sight & Sound, March 2004, page 72.

• “with his bullish physique and cookie-monster stare, wrestling superstar turned charismatic leading man Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson benefits from actually looking like a video-game character. But as the dogmatic Sarge he brings nothing of his familiar persona to bear beyond a clinical smack-down with the hero.” – Alec Worley, Doom film review, Sight & Sound, January 2006, page 54

• “even in his would-be knowing role as a lunk-headed film star, Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson falls below any conceivable standard of screen performance.” - Henry K. Miller, Southland Tales film review, Sight & Sound, February 2008, page 80.

Fin …

Rock, The. The Rock Says... (HarperCollins, 2000)- This source gave me most of the biographical information about Dwayne Johnson and was used for specific dates of significant moments in his life (Miami University, NFL, CDL information).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_johnson as of 21/9/11- This source was used in getting specific figures for the total number of films and leading roles in which Dwayne Johnson has been featured and used for collecting the data in the table on slide 4.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Wrestling_Illustrated as of 21/9/11- This source was used for collecting figures of honours in wrestling belonging to John Cena and The Rock .

http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/movies/fast-five-2011 as of 21/9/11- This source gave me a figure for the worldwide grossing of Fast Five to date.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena as of 21/9/11- This source provided biographical information about John Cena and data for the table on slide 4.

http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/johncena/ as of 21/9/11- This source confirmed to me the ‘Bodybuilder’ career information about John Cena which was mentioned only briefly on his Wikipedia page.

http://www.boxoffice.com/statistics/movies/the-marine-2006?q=themarine as of 21/9/11- This source gave me a figure for the worldwide grossing of The Marine to date.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/4329/acting/30043/Styles-of-performance - This source was not specifically useful but was sought in attempting to collect styles and methods of acting to possibly apply to or compare with Dwayne Johnson.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/394107/motion-picture/52255/Motion-picture-acting - This source was useful for collecting ideas about acting in films, it helped me draw the distinction between WWE ‘performing’ and film ‘acting’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q4X8kPTlEY&feature=related (06:50)- This is a clip of Dwayne Johnson talking about Fast Five and also about his life. Not used because it was too lengthy and not direct enough in terms of the information provided

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHJyZ-xM34Y&feature=related (02:00) - This source is intended to lead into a brief clip of Southland Tales demonstrating Dwayne Johnson’s acting skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyY7ru6tBNg –An interview about why people should see his film Race to Witch Mountain but not used in my presentation due to lack of relevance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wghxt5TXqM&feature=related - An interview with Dwayne Johnson on his film Race to Witch Mountain on the Paul O’ Grady Show which was not used due to lack of relevance.

Get Smart September 2008 page 60

http://www.readon.sg/det_4415714.aspx Acting in the Cinema Book review used for acting theories

Catalogue Of Sources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPL4maSfs9k&feature=related -This clip is an interview with Dwayne Johnson in which he speaks about The Game Plan on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Again, it was not used due to lack of specific relevance to my presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MwB8hd0XS0&feature=related (05:00)- This clip had an interesting reference to Dwayne Johnson as a Samoan High Chief- a very honorary title given to him for being a very good idol for the Samoan young.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXLvR6ZaZk4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLC609CF245B726C73 (02:00)- Dwayne Johnson on playing ‘The Rock’- used to demonstrate Dwayne Johnson’s understanding of acting and character creation

Sight & Sound magazine articles:

“With his bullish physique and cookie-monster stare, wrestling superstar turned charismatic leading man Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson benefits from actually looking like a video-game character. But as the dogmatic Sarge he brings nothing of his familiar persona to bear beyond a clinical smack-down with the hero.” – Alec Worley, Doom film review, Sight & Sound, January 2006, page 54.

“the Rock enjoys the kind of charm and talent- presumably honed while taunting adversaries or playing the audience in the wrestling ring- Schwarzenegger and Stallone never had.” –Daniel Hetherington, Welcome to the Jungle film review, Sight & Sound, March 2004, page 72.

“even in his would-be knowing role as a lunk-headed film star, Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson falls below any conceivable standard of screen performance.” - Henry K. Miller, Southland Tales film review, Sight & Sound, February 2008, page 80.

“performances (of the cast)- save perhaps newcomer Dwayne Johnson’s turn as a no-nonsense lawman- are notably underwhelming”- Adam Lee Davies, Fast Five film review, Sight & Sound, July 2011, page 63.

Race to Witch Mountain May 2009 page 78

Gridiron Gang March 07 page 60

Faster April 11 page 61

www.twitter.com/TheRock(as of 28/9/11)

www.facebook.com/DwayneJohnson (as of 28/9/11)

http://dwaynejohnsoncentral.wordpress.com/fan-counter/ (as of 28/9/11)

http://www.youtube.com/user/therock?blend=7&ob=5 (as of 28/9/11)