Just when you thought the best thing that could possibly come out of the movie Pain & Gain was this story Michael Bay told about buying $75,000 worth of sex toys and then finding out that a bunch of them were getting stolen from the lot, now there’s this: the film’s stars, Mark Wahlberg and The Rock, are apparently best friends now and have decided to make an HBO pilot about athletes living in Miami.
HBO has given a pilot order to a half-hour dramedy pilot starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This marks the first TV-starring role for the movie actor/wrestler, who is executive producing the project with his Pain & Gain co-star Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson. Peter Berg is on board to direct the pilot and will executive produce, along with Johnson’s manager Dany Garcia who runs his production company. Written by Levinson, the untitled project chronicles the lives of athletes — some retired, some still active — living in Miami. Johnson will play one of them, with filming eyed for the fall.
[On the set of Pain & Gain]
MARK WAHLBERG: Ay Rawk, I gawt an idea.
THE ROCK: [grunts, does 400 push-ups]
MARK WAHLBERG: What if we made a show?
THE ROCK: [raises eyebrow, lifts truck over head]
MARK WAHLBERG: Yeah. Maybe one like AHHHNNNN-TAH-RAGE, but about dudes who play sparts.
THE ROCK: [bends steel beam, hands it to passing production assistant]
MARK WAHLBERG: You can stahhh in it. I’ll prah-dooce.
THE ROCK: [drinks protein shake, narrows eyes]
MARK WAHLBERG: Okay okay, you can prah-dooce, too.
THE ROCK: [nods, starts second set of 400 push-ups]
