"He is a sonofabitch, but he's so talented. I'd work with him again, but this time he'd have to pay me."
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesMickey Rourke has signed on to narrate the documentary Generation Iron for the Vladar Co.
Scheduled for release in September, the film follows the world’s top seven bodybuilders as they compete to bring home the coveted “Mr. Olympia” title.
Vlad Yudin is directing and co-producing the film with partner Edwin Mejia via their banner, the Vladar Co., and in partnership with American Media Inc.
Additionally, Jerome Gary (who produced the critically acclaimed 1977 docudrama Pumping Iron, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno) is exec producing alongside AMI’s David J. Pecker.
This film explores the widely misunderstood world of bodybuilding. Principal photography began last year, traveling from Brooklyn to Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, Calif. The film looks at each hopeful as he prepares for what is known as the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. Interviews include the current Mr. Olympia Phil Heath as well as bodybuilding legends Kai Greene, Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf, Ben Pakulski, Hidetada Yamagishi and Roelly Winklaar as they take to the Orleans Stage in Las Vegas and push their bodies to the limit.
“There hasn’t been a film dedicated to an in-depth and honest look at the sport of bodybuilding since Pumping Iron, and a lot of things have changed since the ’70s,” said Yudin. “The goal of the film is not just to show the grueling training but the individual sacrifice and immense character these athletes have. With the release of this film, I’m hoping to give these guys a platform to express themselves further to an audience that at times might misunderstand who they are and what they represent.”
The Vladar Co.’s 2013 development slate includes an adaptation of the sci-fi graphic novel Head Smash and the paranormal thriller Catskill Park.
Rourke is repped by David Unger at Resolution and Edelstein, Laird & Sobel.
Email: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com, Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27
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