David O. Russell's latest film, The Fighter, stars Christian Bale as real-life boxer Dickie Ecklund, a talented fighter who peaks at a young age before returning to the ring to train half-brother Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg).
The film has been in development for a number of years, with Darren Arronofsky set to direct with Wahlberg and Pitt in the ecklund role.
Then Russell came aboard and Matt Damon was attached as a replacement for Pitt, before Bale finally nabbed the role.
Take a peak at the production stills and training videos below, and don't say we never give you anything (thanks to the shiny, happy people at Slash Film);
We were quite shocked at how gaunt Bale is looking in these pics, until we realised that he's supposed to be fairly aged, so perhaps he starts off in peak condition (he apparently did so intense training for the pic, as is his want), before going all Skeletor on us.
Wahlberg on the other hand looks in great shape, taking full advantage of the stalled pre-production to get in top shape.
The Fighter is released next year and also stars Amy Adams and Melissa Leo.
What do you reckon? Raging Bull? Or Cock & Bull? Let us know in the comments.
Comments
Bojangles17
Sep 23rd 2009, 19:12
Christian pulled another Machinist, eh? Credit to him for the ability to pull this off with such astonishing frequency. His physician must be losing his mind by now...
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silvio
Sep 23rd 2009, 19:23
extra...extra jean claude van damme in jcvd 2. a production of 85 million dollars!
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mrsmiawallace
Sep 23rd 2009, 21:05
jeeeez christian bale looks awful :|
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MadMatt
Sep 24th 2009, 0:43
I second your comments, #3. My first thought was 'Christ, Bale looks terrible!" I assume his character must be in his fifties with terminal cancer... All that yo-yo dieting can't be doing him any good, that's for sure. He'll certainly have to start soaking his face in moisturiser before the next Bat-flick...
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yosarian25
Sep 24th 2009, 0:55
I think everybody just looks better skinny. The skinnier the better for me. In fact I think everybody should stop thinking about the film and start focusing on how much everybody weighs.
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Ali1748
Sep 24th 2009, 21:19
huh Whalberg actually looks a bit like Micky Ward inside the ring.
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BooBoo1981
Sep 26th 2009, 1:41
I don't care. I looooooove Christian. Such an awesome actor and yes not h*****n the eyes.
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