TNT Offers On-Demand Sneak Peek of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s New Series ‘Wake Up Call’

via press release:

TNT Offers On-Demand Sneak Peek of

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s New Series Wake Up Call

Full Episode Available Starting This Week on the Watch TNT App, http://www.tntdrama.com & TNT On Demand;

TNT’s Inspiring New Series Wake Up Call Set to Premiere Friday, Dec. 12

 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wants to give fans an advance look at his new TNT series Wake Up Call this Thanksgiving, so TNT is offering a full episode of the inspiring new show via VOD and digital on-demand. Fans will be able to watch the sneak peek episode through the Watch TNT app & www.tntdrama.com starting Thanksgiving Day. The episode will be made available via TNT On Demand over the following few days. Viewers can watch the sneak peek episode all the way up until Friday, Dec. 12, when Wake Up Call premieres on TNT, and fans are treated to an all-new episode.

In Wake Up Call, Rock will lend a helping hand to everyday people who are facing enormous challenges in their lives. From dysfunctional homes and dead-beat dads to sports teams that don’t gel and businesses struggling to survive, Rock descends into the chaos of everyday problems to pull good people up by the bootstraps, reminding them what hard work, passion and true discipline can accomplish. TNT’s Wake Up Call is set to air Fridays at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), beginning Dec. 12.

Each segment on Wake Up Call will be a journey for Rock and his team. With early wake-up calls, emotional reunions and near-impossible goals, everyone who comes in contact with Rock’s electric sense of personal motivation will grow from it, finding inner strength and heart. Each episode will feature one of Rock’s celebrity friends as a special guest mentor, including UFC President Dana White, Chef Rocco DiSpirito, celebrity stylist and hostJeannie Mai, as well as rapper/producer Juicy J.

Wake Up Call is being produced by Electus, 5×5 Media and 7 Bucks Entertainment. Serving as executive producers are Ben Silverman (The Office, Jane The Virgin), Chris Grant (Gladiators, King of the Nerds), Corie Henson (Running Wild with Bear Grylls) and Jimmy Fox (Fashion Star, King of the Nerds) of Electus; Craig Armstrong (Survivor, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Food Revolution), Rick Ringbakk (The Amazing Race,Fashion Star) and Charles Wachter (King of the Nerds, American Gladiators) of 5×5 Media; and Dwayne Johnsonand Dany Garcia (Snitch, The Hero) of 7 Bucks Entertainment.

Credit: tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com

One of the Secrets to Dwayne Johnson’s Success? His Ex-Wife

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and ex-wife/business partner Dany Garcia in 2009

In a new profile of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Fortune, the actor-wrestler-marketing machine pulls back the curtain on his growing empire. At the center of it is 7 Bucks Productions. Johnson runs the Florida-based production company with his ex-wife, Dany Garcia. (The 7 Bucks name comes from the amount of money he had in his pocket before he started wrestling.)

Johnson and Garcia, who have a 13-year-old daughter, divorced in 2007, after ten years of marriage. “We will continue to advance and manage our business interests, our philanthropic efforts and most importantly the raising of our child together, as a loving team,” the pairtold People magazine at the time. “We’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last 17 years together as a couple and look forward to spending the rest our lives together as best friends and business partners.”

They kept their word, too, founding 7 Bucks in 2012. Business is booming for Johnson and Garcia, with several TV series on the way. Perhaps most notably, they’re executive-producing an HBO show with Mark Wahlberg called Ballers, in which Johnson will play an athlete working to become an agent. Between that series, the Fast & Furious saga, his role as Black Adam in DC’s Shazam, and his lead role in the Baywatch reboot, Johnson will be busy for quite a while.

“Life is amazing. Life is f–king messy. Life is what you make of it,” Johnson told Fortune, inadvertently creating a new quote for edgy Pinterest users around the world. “I’m happy to say we’re all together working nicely, but it took a lot of work. With Dany, it was going through the sludge of divorce and then having the clarity to say, ‘We’re still friends, we respect each other, let’s do business. And let’s do big business.’”

Johnson and his longtime girlfriend Lauren Hashian at the Hercules premiere in July

Photo credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images, Rodriguez/WireImage

Credit: yahoo.com

Paramount Moves Forward With ‘Baywatch’ Movie (Dwayne Johnson Exclusive)

 

Paramount is moving forward with its big-screen adaptation of Baywatch and has loosely attached Dwayne Johnson for beach patrol duties. The studio also has hiredJustin Malen to rewrite and has attached the hot comedy writing team of Sean Anders and John Morris (We’re the Millers) to direct.

Montecito Pictures is producing along withBeau Flynn. Tripp Vinson is executive producing. Hiram Garcia, who is Johnson’s producing partner, will serve in some producing capacity.

Johnson has long been rumored to head up aBaywatch movie, and the oft-shirtless star would seem a perfect fit for the action film that takes place along the perilous shores of Santa Monica. In fact, the Fast & Furious star is no stranger to showing off his abs as he did in the titular role in Hercules, which opened in July.

Read more The Drive (and Despair) of The Rock

Paramount has been trying to mount a Baywatch movie for years and has begun to ramp up its efforts. A number of previous writers have taken a crack at the script including Jeremy Garelick andPeter Tolan. At one point the action was set to revolve around a series of shark attacks that led the Baywatch team to investigate a drug-smuggling operation. It is unclear what Malen’s take will be for the latest version.

Malen has become an in-demand writer after his 2011 Blacklist script Bastards became a hot comedy property. Montecito  will produce that film, and Alcon will finance. Malen also wrote the sequel to Bad Teacher for Sony, with Cameron Diaz attached to star.

Johnson, who recently shot the action film San Andreas for producer Flynn as well as Fast & Furious 7, is repped by WME, manager Dany Garcia of The Garcia Companies and attorneys Bianca Levin and Harold Brown.

Malen is handled by Verve and DMG Entertainment.

Anders and Morris, whose writing credits include Horrible Bosses 2, are represented by Mosaic and attorney Todd Rubenstein.

Paramount declined comment.

hollywoodreporter.com

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Describes His ‘Absolute Worst Time’

 Posted by: LESLEY MESSER More From Lesley »

Entertainment Editor

via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

Dwayne Johnson speaks onstage at the Paramount Studios presentation Cinemacon 2014 held at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, March 24, 2014, in Las Vegas.

Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Last year, Dwayne Johnson‘s films made a staggering $1.3 billion.

However, 19 years ago, that kind of a lucrative career was far beyond anything he could have imagined.

After getting hurt playing football in college, Johnson gave up his NFL dreams, instead signing with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders. Living in a two-bedroom apartment with three of his football teammates and sleeping on a mattress he found on the street, Johnson wasn’t sure things could get worse — and then he was cut from the team.

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“There was no injury. It’s just, ‘That’s it. You’re not good enough.’ That was very sobering” he told the Hollywood Reporter, adding that the stress also led him to break up with his girlfriend, Dany Garcia, who would go on to be his ex-wife. “The dreams I had, they’re dashed. There is no more football. My relationship was crushed. That was my absolute worst time.”

However, he’d been through hard times before. Growing up with a mother and father who struggled to make ends meet, Johnson decided to begin body-building in an effort to maintain a sense of control. After his football career ended, he went into wrestling, adopting the moniker, “The Rock.” Then, after a successful experience hosting “Saturday Night Live,” he began acting–though he’s tried to tweak his image over the years.

“I was told that I had to conform to a standard in Hollywood that would beget me more work, better roles,” he said. “Which meant I had to stop going to the gym, which meant I couldn’t be as big, which meant you had to distance yourself from wrestling. You essentially had to deconstruct yourself.”

Now promoting his latest movie, “Hercules,” Johnson is looking forward to his next chapter.

“I grew up where, when a door closed, a window didn’t open,” he said. “The only thing I had was cracks. I’d do everything to get through those cracks — scratch, claw, bite, push, bleed. Now the opportunity is here. The door is wide open and it’s as big as a garage.”

DWAYNE JOHNSON AND DAUGHTER: BASKETBALL BUDDIES

Dwayne ‘The Rock‘ Johnson was photographed with his 12-year-old daughter Simone in Miami, FL. The father-daughter duo took in the Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks game on Thursday (February 27).

“When I got the news that he had passed away, the first words out of my mouth were, ‘He has a daughter,’” said Johnson of the recent death of his close friend and costar, Paul Walker. “It’s very sad.”

“When I first met Paul, I think in our late 20s, we were young kids in the business,” he added. “Then, years later, when I did 2011′s Fast Five, we had an opportunity to spend a lot of time together and become reacquainted. At that time, we had both been in the business…for over a decade, and the most important thing that we had in common was the importance of family time and being a great father to our daughters. We bonded over that.”

Simone’s mother is Johnson’s ex-wife, Dany Garcia.

credit:  Celebrity Due Date

Dwayne Johnson Comedy ‘Ballers’ Lands Series Order at HBO

The football comedy marks “The Rock’s” first small-screen series regular role.

HBO has picked up to seriesBallers, the half-hour dramedy starring the Pain & Gain alum,The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Ballers examines the lives of a group of former and current football players.

The comedy hails fromStephen Levinson(Entourage), who penned the script and executive produces alongside Mark Wahlberg, Johnson, Hiram Garcia, Evan Reilly and Peter Berg, the latter of whom will direct the pilot. Dany Garcia is on board as a co-EP. HBO is producing the series with Wahlberg’s Closest to the Hole Productions, Levinson’s Leverage Entertainment and White Buffalo Entertainment.

Ballers continues the premium cable network’s relationship with Levinson and Wahlberg, whose credits also include HBO vehicles Boardwalk Empire,How to Make It in America and In Treatment.

Johnson is no stranger to the sports world, having played college football before kicking off his World Wrestling Federation career and becoming one of the sport’s best and most renowned personalities.

The series marks Johnson’s latest small-screen effort and first series regular role. His credits also include hosting TNT’s reality competition series The Hero.

For Berg, the Johnson starrer will bring the number of HBO pilots he’s attached to direct to two, joining Damon Lindelof‘s adaptation of The Leftovers.

The cast includes Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Rob Corddry, Troy Garity, Donovan Carter, Jazmyn Simon, Taylor Cole and LeToya Luckett.

The Ballers good news comes two days after HBO picked up fellow comedy pilot The Brink, starring Tim Robbins and Jack Black, to series and weeks after the premium cabler opted to cancel comedies Family Tree and Hello Ladies after one season each. (Hello Ladies will wrap up with a comedy special.)

The pickup gives the network a comedy with instant cache and comes as the premium cabler has been focusing on niche fare, as it has struggled to find a broad comedy hitcomparable to dramas True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and, more recently, True Detective.

Ballers and The Brink joins a roster of original comedies that includes Girls, Veep andLooking, with Mike Judge‘s Silicon Valley also due in April. The network has the six-episode Emily Mortimer entry Doll & Em due in March and is in talks for a second season of Getting On.

This leaves HBO with no remaining comedy pilot in the works after it opted to cancel family comedy People in New Jersey, starring Sarah Silverman.

Ballers marks the third series HBO has picked up this week, joining David Fincher’s adaptation of Utopia.

An episode count and premiere date for Ballers has not yet been determined.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

Credit: hollywoodreporter.com

DWAYNE JOHNSON HBO SERIES ‘BALLERS’ ADDS ‘HOT TUB TIME MACHINE’ STAR ROB CORDDRY

Universal / Alberto E. Rodriguez, Getty Images

Dwayne Johnson‘s movie stock remains consistently on the rise, but should the ‘Fast & Furious‘ actor decide to make forthcoming HBO pilot ‘Ballers’ a permanent home, he’ll at least be in good company. ‘Hot Tub Time Manchine 2‘ star Rob Corddry has officially signed on to the new Mark Wahlberg-produced sports dramedy, but will it be a permanent position?

While previously only portions of the premise had been revealed, Deadline today breaks that the half-hour dramedy pilot will follow the lives of several Miami-based active and retired athletes. Upcoming ‘Community‘premiere guest Corddry will play former all-pro running back Spencer’s (Johnson) boss, a financial advisor who “tries really hard to fit in and who is confident but clueless at interpreting social cues.” The gig will work around Corddry’s involvement with Adult Swim’s ‘Childrens Hospital,’ as well.

Not only will ‘Entourage’ producers Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson helm the new series, with Levinson on writing duties, but acclaimed director Peter Berg will direct the pilot episode, shooting in the near future. Evan Reilly will act as showrunner, while Johnson himself, Berg and Johnson’s manager Dany Garcia will also executive produce.

We’re certainly going to follow ‘Ballers’ with piqued curiosity, but what say you? Do Dwayne Johnson and Rob Corddry sound like a promising match for HBO dramedy?

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Dwayne Johnson Star in NOT WITHOUT HOPE

Quickly becoming the hardest working guy in Hollywood, actor Dwayne Johnson is adding another project to his to-do list.  It was announced today that Johnson has attached himself to lead an adaptation of the best-selling memoir Not Without Hope for Relativity.  Written by Nick Schuyler, the book recounts a 2009 fishing trip Schuyler took with four of his friends (including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith) in the Gulf of Mexico that turned into a disaster when their boat capsized, stranding them at sea.  It’s a harrowing account in the vein of Into Thin Air and should make for a nice dramatic vehicle for Johnson, who has recently been busy rejuvenating franchises left and right.

The actor recently wrapped Hercules: The Thracian Wars with director Brett Ratner and is currently reprising his role in Fast & Furious 7.  He is also poised to return for G.I. Joe 3 and is attached to lead a number of developing projects including San Andreas, The Fall Guy, Lore, and the supernatural actioner Seal Team 666.  Read the press release after the jump.

(Beverly Hills, Calif.) November 12, 2013 – Relativity announced today that it has acquired the worldwide rights to finance, produce and distribute the currently titled Not Without Hope, based on Nick Schuyler’s New York Times best-selling memoir about four friends embarking on a  deep-sea fishing trip gone awry. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Fast & Furious 6, Pain and Gain) is attached to star as Nick Schuyler.

Robbie Brenner, President of Production for Relativity, commented: “Nick Schuyler’s book is extremely moving, and Relativity is proud to work with The Rock, Nick and the entire team on creating a movie that honors this powerful story.”

Based on the New York Times best-selling memoir, Not Without Hope is a gripping true story of four friends whose fishing adventure 70 miles from shore in the Gulf of Mexico would become a nightmare beyond all imagination. On a brisk February morning, Nick Schuyler embarked from Clearwater, FL on a deep-sea fishing trip with three friends: NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, and Nick’s best friend, Will Bleakley, a former University of South Florida football player, until the foursome made a tragic decision that caused the 21 foot vessel to capsize. The days that followed would find the four friends in the middle of a storm clinging to the overturned boat – facing hypothermia, hunger, and dehydration in a grueling fight to survive. Not Without Hope is a harrowing, yet inspiring tale of courage, sacrifice, and friendship.

Nick Schuyler, a former football player himself who is a personal trainer and resides in the Tampa Bay area, added: “I’m humbled that Relativity was interested in paying tribute to Marquis, Corey and Will, and I was impressed with their vision for the film and how they wanted to honor how these guys lived, loved their families, friends and teammates.”

Relativity CEO Ryan Kavanaugh will produce the film, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, Relativity President Tucker Tooley, Rick French, Chairman & CEO of Raleigh based French/West/Vaughan, executive producing. Hiram Garcia serves as co-executive producer. Brett Dahl, Relativity’s Vice President of Production, is overseeing the project for the studio.

collider.com

Dwayne Johnson Attached to Star in MGM’s ‘Seal Team 666’ (Exclusive)

Evan Spiliotopoulos, who worked on MGM’s upcoming Johnson-starring action adventure movie “Hercules,” wrote the screenplay for the adaptation.

Dwayne Johnson is attached to star in MGM’s action project Seal Team 666.

Johnson will also executive produce the feature along with Dany Garcia, as well as Brendan Deneen and Peter Joseph of Macmillan Films.

Based on the book by Weston Ochse, the project follows an elite group of Navy SEALs who battle demons and assorted threats and discover that there’s a greater supernatural force bent on destroying the world.

Evan Spiliotopoulos, who penned MGM’s upcoming Johnson-starring action adventure movieHercules, wrote the screenplay for the adaptation.

Hiram Garcia, a former assistant to Johnson, will produce Seal Team 666, which is in development and has no director at this stage.

Johnson recently wrapped Hercules, directed by Brett Ratner, and the movie is set for a July 25, 2014, release. The actor, repped by WME and Gang Tyre, is now shooting Fast & Furious 7.

E-mail: Borys.Kit@THR.com
Twitter: @borys_kit

m.hollywoodreporter.com

TNT Greenlights “Wake Up Call”, Starring and Executive Produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

TNT Greenlights “Wake Up Call” (Working Title), Starring and Executive Produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Series from Electus, 5×5 Media and 7 Bucks Entertainment Features The Rock Guiding Everyday People to Reach New Levels of Success

TNT has greenlit a new series starring and executive-produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who most recently headlined TNT’s The Hero. In Wake Up Call (working title), Johnson will lend a helping hand to everyday people who are facing enormous challenges in their lives. TNT has ordered eight one-hour episodes of Wake Up Call, which is being produced by Ben Silverman’s Electus, 5×5 Media and 7 Bucks Entertainment. Serving as executive producers are Silverman (The Office, The Biggest Loser), Chris Grant (Gladiators, King of the Nerds) and Jimmy Fox (Fashion Star, King of the Nerds) of Electus; Craig Armstrong (Survivor, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Fashion Star), Rick Ringbakk (The Amazing Race, Fashion Star) and Charles Wachter (King of the Nerds, American Gladiators) of 5×5 Media; and Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia (Snitch, The Hero) of 7 Bucks Entertainment. Wake Up Call is slated to premiere in 2014.

“We had a wonderful time working with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson on The Hero, in which he challenged and mentored a group of everyday heroes,” said David Eilenberg, senior vice president, unscripted development for TNT and TBS. “Wake Up Call evolved from our experience on The Hero and is its natural successor, bringing the human spirit of that show home to take on everyday challenges. In this new series, Dwayne will bring his mission of empowerment and change right to people’s front doors.”

“We are super excited to expand our relationship with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and our amazing partners at Turner with Wake Up Call, a perfect programming format that comes out of the best elements of The Hero in a closed-ended transformation show,” said Silverman.

Few people are better at creating their own success than The Rock, who grew up with next to nothing before finding victory in the wrestling ring. Having built on that brand to achieve global success in the entertainment industry, he is now ready to help people from all walks build their own success stories.

In Wake Up Call, The Rock will tackle the worst of the worst and make them into the best of the best with his own personal brand of high-octane motivation. From dysfunctional homes and dead-beat dads to sports teams that don’t gel and businesses struggling to survive, The Rock is going to descend into the chaos of everyday problems to pull good people up by the bootstraps, reminding them what hard work, passion and true discipline can accomplish.

Each segment on Wake Up Call will be a journey for The Rock and his team, as well as for those who will struggle to live up to The Rock’s herculean ideals. With 4 a.m. wake-up calls, emotional reunions and near-impossible goals, everyone who comes in contact with The Rock’s electric sense of personal motivation will grow from it, finding inner strength and heart.
Credit: thefutoncritic.com