looks like Mark "Markie Mark" Walhberg will play Payne in the upcoming movie
Despite the disappointing box-office results of "Shooter" and "We Own the Night," the year keeps getting better for Mark Wahlberg. He kicked 2007 off with his first Oscar nomination for "The Departed" and spent most of the summer starring in M. Night Shyamalan's anticipated comeback, "The Happening." Just this past month, he replaced Ryan Gosling at the last minute in Peter Jackson's drama "The Lovely Bones," co-starring Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon. Now, Variety reports Wahlberg will segue from that flick to the live-action adaptation of the popular Rockstar video game series "Max Payne" for 20th Century Fox.
As Payne, Wahlberg will play a streetwise cop who seems to break all the rules as he investigates a series of mysterious murders. The movie's screenplay finds Payne battling a villain who intends to destroy him and the beat he protects. Oh, and did we mention he's haunted by the tragic loss of his family? Director John Moore ("Behind Enemy Lines") will attempt to bring the game's celebrated cliché-busting style to the big screen.
Luckily for Moore and Fox, Wahlberg's in the best shape of his life to play this action-heavy role. While doing the press rounds for "We Own the Night," the 36-year-old actor revealed he was in heavy boxing training for the past year in anticipation of starring in Darren Aronofsky's "The Fighter." However, with the current Writers Guild of America strike, a possible Screen Actors Guild work stoppage in July and the seemingly inevitable delays with the Aronofsky picture, "The Fighter" might not begin shooting until next fall, but by then, Wahlberg will probably be really good in the ring.
Despite the disappointing box-office results of "Shooter" and "We Own the Night," the year keeps getting better for Mark Wahlberg. He kicked 2007 off with his first Oscar nomination for "The Departed" and spent most of the summer starring in M. Night Shyamalan's anticipated comeback, "The Happening." Just this past month, he replaced Ryan Gosling at the last minute in Peter Jackson's drama "The Lovely Bones," co-starring Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon. Now, Variety reports Wahlberg will segue from that flick to the live-action adaptation of the popular Rockstar video game series "Max Payne" for 20th Century Fox.
As Payne, Wahlberg will play a streetwise cop who seems to break all the rules as he investigates a series of mysterious murders. The movie's screenplay finds Payne battling a villain who intends to destroy him and the beat he protects. Oh, and did we mention he's haunted by the tragic loss of his family? Director John Moore ("Behind Enemy Lines") will attempt to bring the game's celebrated cliché-busting style to the big screen.
Luckily for Moore and Fox, Wahlberg's in the best shape of his life to play this action-heavy role. While doing the press rounds for "We Own the Night," the 36-year-old actor revealed he was in heavy boxing training for the past year in anticipation of starring in Darren Aronofsky's "The Fighter." However, with the current Writers Guild of America strike, a possible Screen Actors Guild work stoppage in July and the seemingly inevitable delays with the Aronofsky picture, "The Fighter" might not begin shooting until next fall, but by then, Wahlberg will probably be really good in the ring.
