Jake
Southpaw focuses on a left-handed boxer who finally reaches his goal of winning a title, but simultaneously struggles with tragedies in his personal life and finds himself battling to win the affections of his daughter.
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter penned the script and The Equalizer’s Antoine Fuqua is directing. Southpaw also stars 50 Cent, Naomie Harris, Rachel McAdams, Rita Ora, and Forest Whitaker. The movie is currently set to be released on July 31st, and you can see the first intense trailer below.
When the first image of Gyllenhaal in the movie was released, Fuqua was quoted as saying: “Jake is going to change how people see him. I had him training twice a day in the boxing ring, he did two-a-days seven days a week. I pretty much had him with me and my trainer every day. He trained in New York at Church Gym with real fighters. We literally turned him into a beast… Jake, my god, he’s a very electric, powerful fighter in this movie, and a guy who fights for his daughter. I’m confident that this will change how people see Jake.”
Whether that ends up being the case remains to be seen, but there’s no doubting that Gyllenhaal has clearly committed himself to the role, even if Southpaw doesn’t end up being the Oscar contender some predicted.