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Dwayne Johnson or Mark Wahlberg for Michael Bay's 'Pain & Gain'?

by Ethan Anderton
December 5, 2011
Source: Variety

Over the summer, we learned that explosive director Michael Bay would finally get behind the camera for his relatively low budget dark comedy Pain and Gain, the story of a couple of steroid-abusing knucklehead bodybuilders from Florida who become criminals involved in an extortion ring and a kidnapping plot that all goes horribly wrong. Now Variety has word on the frontrunners to lead the film with Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg, who both shared the screen briefly in The Other Guys, both being lined up. As of now Johnson's talks with Bay are further along with Wahlberg merely circling the film.

Wahlberg's casting will depend on his future schedule which is actually relatively full. Right now the actor is attached to an adaptation of 2 Guns and the Thanksgiving football comedy Three Mississippi from director Adam McKay. The stars certainly sounds like the kind of talent that Bay usually attracts but with only a $20 million budget, this won't be nearly as big as the action thrillers we're used to seeing from the Transformers and Armageddon director. Johnson seems like an obvious choice since the guy has some of the biggest guns around and has surprised plenty of audiences with his impeccable comedic timing and delivery. And while Wahlberg isn't nearly as muscular, he certainly isn't out of shape and his comedic chops have proven to be quite stellar as of late. Perhaps we're on the verge of seeing something truly original and different than what we've come to expect from Michael Bay. Thoughts?

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