Half a year ago Warner Bros. has greenlit a new boxing comedy Grudge Match with Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro under direction of Peter Segal (Anger Management, Get Smart, 50 First Dates). The story revolves around two former professional boxing rivals, who are now crotchety old men enjoying their retirement. However, the opportunity to square-off one more time in the ring proves too tempting for the curmudgeonly ex-brawlers.
It’s been about twenty years since Stallone last made a high-concept comedy and the result back then was Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. De Niro meanwhile made his mark with Fockers.
Both actors didn’t film in anything worth to watch since 90s. Sly had a 15 years of oblivion since Daylight and Assassins while got lucky with old-school The Expendables and now enjoying his second chance to shine in Hollywood actions such as Bullet to the Head, Tomb and upcoming Expendables 3.
Last time De Niro put boxing gloves on in 1980 in Raging Bull and Sly in 2006 in Rocky Balboa.
Opening in theaters on November 15, 2013, Grudge Match also stars Mykel Shannon Jenkins from Undistupted 3, Kevin Hart, Kim Basinger and Alan Arkin.
Rick Avery serves as a stunt double for Robert De Niro. Kevin Scott (Snitch, Battleship, Salt) and Monty L. Simons (Sons of Anarchy, Thor, Star Trek Into Darkness) are stunt coordinators.
Rick Avery, the patriarch of the family is an acclaimed stuntman, stunt coordinator, martial artist, actor, and director with over 500 credits, including Get Smart, The Italian Job, Meet the Fockers, Spiderman, and Poseidon. Rick recently won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture for Dark Knight and a Taurus World Stunt Award for Best Vehicular Work for Dark Knight. Former officer with the Santa Barbara, California, police department. Also owned a Kempo Karate studio in Santa Barbara.
