Carano lands movie role: Women’s fighting needs to move forward without her
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...September 7, 2009
Gina Carano’s job is done. At least she thinks so. And frankly, we can’t blame her. Her presence in the cage over few years would be a huge boost to help build interest but it’s unrealistic to think she really wants or needs to fight any longer. Her dedication over the last year can already be questioned, now Variety is reporting that Carano’s landed a lead role in a Steven Soderbergh movie Knockout:
Scripted by Lem Dobbs, “Knockout” casts Carano as a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is given a second chance to use her skills for constructive purposes. The film is a closer cousin to “La Femme Nikita” and “Kill Bill” than “Million Dollar Baby,” in that it doesn’t take place in the fight ring. Rather, Soderbergh considers the film as a flat out action film in the James Bond mold, and will shoot in locations around the world that include Ireland, Turkey and the U.S. Soderbergh will surround Carano will name actors in supporting roles.
That means more time away from being a full-time fighter. If Carano wants to be competitive with the new breed of women on the way, she needs to be in the gym 300-plus days a year. But if she can make six or seven-figures with television and movie gigs, why would she choose to get cracked in the face if she can barely break the $100,000 per fight mark?
UFC is dealing with the same issue with Quinton Jackson, who’s going to take time away from fighting for a role in the new A-Team movie. Before the gig was official Dana White addressed fighters and their acting aspirations:
"I hate it with a [expletive] passion," White told MMAJunkie. "’You’re a fighter; you’re not a movie star.’ It’s so [expletive] funny because fighters want to be movie stars, and movie stars want to act like they’re fighters. ‘Get a [expletive] grip. You’re a fighter, and you’re a [expletive] movie star. Alright?’"
Jackson’s lobbying must have worked, because White didn’t sound like he was in a relenting mood during the UFC 102 prefight press conference:
"Get a [expletive] grip, dude. You’re going to make a lot of money. You ain’t going to make a lot of money playing B.A. Baracus on ‘The A-Team.’ Jesus Christ. This [expletive] drives me [expletive] nuts.’ So yeah, I’m not a big fan of fighters doing movies. When your career is over, if you turn into a movie star, that’s awesome."
White said it puts Jackson behind the eight-ball for his eventual fight with Rashad Evans:
"Guess what Rashad Evans is thinking about right now,"He’s thinking about beating your [expletive] ass. He’s not sitting around thinking about how him and his mom used to watch the [expletive] ‘Love Boat’ together and (how) he wants to get the role of Isaac the bartender."
Whoa! If Jackson gets the Love Boat, he can retire for all I care. That’s a career-maker.
On a serious note, Jackson is much further along with his skill set than Carano is, but the more time he takes off from training, the more likely it is that guys Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Anderson Silva move away from him. And it could also allow young guns like Jon Jones to catch him sooner than later.
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