LOS ANGELES – Open Road Films today released an action-packed, emotionally charged trailer for Bleed for This, the new biopic about world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza’s (50-10, 30 KOs) epic career which featured world championships in multiple weight divisions and an epic comeback from a near-fatal car accident.
The film, highlighting Pazienza’s ascendancy as a fighter in the mid-1980s, his struggle to overcome the neck injury that nearly kept him out of the ring forever, and his rise to become world champion once again, will appeal to boxing purists and casual moviegoers alike.
The latest film by Open Road Films, the studio behind the multiple Academy Award-winning film Spotlight, boasts an all-star cast led by Miles Teller (Whiplash, Divergent series) as Pazienza. Teller is joined by Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Olympus Has Fallen) as legendary trainer Kevin Rooney, Ciarán Hinds (Munich, “Game of Thrones”) as Angelo Pazienza, Katey Sagal (“Sons of Anarchy”) as Louise Pazienza, and Amanda Clayton (John Carter) as Doreen Pazienza. Academy Award-winner Martin Scorsese serves as one of the film’s executive producers.
“I believe this will be one of the great boxing stories ever put to film,” said Pazienza. “The entire team’s commitment to authenticity and realism really pays off, and watching Miles Teller train makes me think he should try a few amateur bouts after this. I cannot wait to see how boxing fans react to the story and for people to watch it.”
The film begins with the meteoric rise of Pazienza, who quickly became a two-time world champion. Debuting in 1983, the Cranston, R.I. native won 23 of his first 24 fights and established himself as a power in the lightweight and junior middleweight divisions. Shortly after winning his second world title in October 1991, Pazienza was forced to relinquish the title after a serious car accident, in which he suffered a broken neck. Consulting with doctors and specialists, Pazienza was informed that he might never walk again – let alone fight.
Pazienza worked tirelessly, against doctors’ orders, to continue his training regimen after his accident, despite wearing a Halo metal brace screwed into his skull to keep his spine aligned. With the help of legendary trainer Kevin Rooney, Pazienza would spend the next year of his life training and rebuilding his strength to box again. He would return to the ring for an epic showdown with WBC World Junior Middleweight Champion Luis Santana to fight to regain his title and prove to the world that his injury did not defeat him.
Bleed for This is scheduled for a limited release on November 4, 2016, before expanding on November 23, 2016. Follow the conversation on social media using #BleedForThis.
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ABOUT OPEN ROAD FILMS
Open Road Films is a leading, independent, theatrical motion picture company, releasing a diverse slate of star-driven films, which has included multiple #1 releases and enormous critical response. The company was founded in 2011 by AMC Entertainment Inc. (AMC) and Regal Entertainment Group (Regal), the two largest theatrical exhibition companies in the United States. The uniquely formed company is widely known as a filmmaker-focused distributor that supports both box office hits and top prestige titles.
Open Road Films led the 2016 critically acclaimed film, Spotlight, to win the Oscar® for Best Picture, becoming the youngest studio in history win the big prize. The film, which earned almost $45 million at the U.S. box-office, stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup was directed by Tom McCarthy, who also won the Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay, with his co-writer (and executive producer) Josh Singer. Spotlight has won numerous high profile critics and guild awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Award and the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film. Spotlight also appeared on over 250 critics’ Top Ten lists for 2016.
Other notable Open Road Films releases include: Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which took the #1 spot at the box-office during its opening week and received an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Screenplay, along with a Golden Globe nomination – it was named one of the best films of 2014 by the AFI and National Board of Review and top critics nationwide; the hit film Chef, written by, directed by and starring Jon Favreau along with Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey, Jr.; The Nut Job, which opened to over $25 million at the box office as the highest ever opening for an independent animated film; The Grey, directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Liam Neeson, which opened #1 at the box office; End Of Watch, directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, which opened #1 at the box office; Rosewater, written and directed by Jon Stewart; A Haunted House starring Marlon Wayans; and Side Effects, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum.
Upcoming Open Road Films releases include: Gleason (7/29/16), the hit documentary from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival; Snowden (9/16/16), written and directed by Oliver Stone starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood and Timothy Olyphant; Bleed For This (11/4/16), starring Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Katey Sagal and directed by Ben Younger; Sleepless (2/24/17), starring Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan; The Nut Job 2 (5/19/17), the sequel to the 2014 hit animated film, featuring the voices of Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Dunham, Bobby Moynihan, Bobby Cannavale, Isabela Moner, Gabriel Iglesias, Sebastian Maniscalco and Peter Stormare; Blazing Samurai (8/25/2017), the animated family film featuring the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Mel Brooks, Michael Cera, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Aasif Mandvi, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh and more; and Show Dogs (11/10/17), a live action family comedy from the director of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Scooby Doo and The Smurfs.
The company, led by industry veteran CEO Tom Ortenberg, is based in Los Angeles.