In 1991, Vinny Pazienza, a young boxer with a promising career ahead of him, was in a car accident that broke his neck. Never one to quit when he was down, Pazienza, strapped to a Halo device, refused to heed doctors’ warnings to rest, instead continuing to train so that he could defy the odds and get back in the ring.
It’s a classic comeback story that was just waiting for someone to put it on film, and sure enough, Miles Teller will star as Paz in Yet Another Boxing Movie—er, Bleed For This, produced by Martin Scorsese. The trailer, at least, screams Oscar bait: Teller showcases what sounds vaguely like a thick Italian American accent and is considerably beefed up in the grand tradition of other actors-turned-onscreen-boxers who have been embraced by the academy. And he should have no problem playing a determined perfectionist bouncing back from a car crash—after all, he’s done it before. Aaron Eckhart co-stars as Kevin Rooney, Paz’s trainer, while Katey Sagal and Ciarán Hinds play his parents.
Directed by Boiler Room’s Ben Younger, Bleed for This will be released in select theaters Nov. 4 before opening widely Nov. 23.
