Dwayne Johnson goes indie with 'Fighting With My Family'

Believe it or not, Hollywood executives told Dwayne Johnson "no thanks" when he pitched his latest movie.

It was an unusual rejection for the industry's reigning box office champion, whose "Jumanji" reboot in 2017 made nearly $1 billion worldwide. And so before he trades insults with Jason Statham in "Hobbs & Shaw" or straps in for the Disney's "Jungle Cruise," the artist forever known as The Rock put on his independent film producer hat and went outside the traditional studio system to make "Fighting With My Family."

His Seven Bucks Productions found financing through WWE Studios and Britain's Film4 to make the scrappy, relatively low-budget comedy inspired by WWE wrestler Paige's life story. Johnson makes a cameo appearance, as he did in Paige's real-life rise from a small English town to the top of pro wrestling.

Dwayne Johnson, left, and Dany Garcia, center, co-founders and co-CEOs of Seven Bucks Productions, and her brother Hiram Garcia, the company's president of production, pose together during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in Park City, Utah. Johnson put on his independent film producer hat to make his latest film, "Fighting With My Family." (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)

"Every studio passed on this, regardless of if I was attached," Johnson said in an interview. "They were like, 'No, no. The subject matter.' And, and also too, you know, generally the tapestry of pro wrestling as it's been shown in film hasn't always been done in the greatest of ways certainly that would make us proud, coming from that world. (Darren) Aronofsky did it beautifully in 'The Wrestler,' but before that and since then, it hasn't really been shown. So there was a lot of challenges with this."

Johnson, 46, says that while he knew Paige through WWE, he didn't know her back-story — including a brother and parents who shared her passion for pro wrestling — until a serendipitous night filming "Fast & Furious 6" in London. Unable to sleep, he was flipping channels and came across a documentary about the performer (real name: Saraya-Jade Bevis).

"I immediately identified with this crazy wrestling family who was very loving, loved the world of pro wrestling," he said. "And I come from a crazy, at-times-dysfunctional wrestling family — my dad, my grandmother and grandfather, uncles, cousins, you name it."

Dwayne Johnson, left, and Dany Garcia, center, co-founders and co-CEOs of Seven Bucks Productions, and her brother Hiram Garcia, the company's president of production, pose together during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in Park City, Utah. Johnson put on his independent film producer hat to make his latest film, "Fighting With My Family." (Photo by Chris PizzelloInvisionAP)

Johnson's "Tooth Fairy" co-star Stephen Merchant was hired to write and direct. Florence Pugh signed on to play Paige, with Nick Frost and Lena Headey as her parents. The underdog story opens wide in U.S. theatres on Friday. It got a warm reception at its Sundance Film Festival premiere, which Johnson attended alongside his producing partners Dany and Hiram Garcia.

Sitting alongside each other at a Park City, Utah condo, the three finished each other's sentences and were quick to laugh together. Dany Garcia, a former bodybuilder and investment banker, was married to Johnson from 1997 to 2007 and they have a teenage daughter. When talking about Johnson, she sometimes reaches out to touch his forearm or thigh. They have other life partners now, but have flourished as business partners, founding Seven Bucks Productions together in 2012. Hiram Garcia, Dany's younger brother, has long consulted with Johnson on his career. He was named the company's president of film production in 2017.

They offered a preview of four of Seven Bucks' many upcoming film projects, all starring Johnson:

HOBBS & SHAW

Johnson won't appear in the next "Fast and Furious" movie, set for 2020, but hopes this spin-off with Jason Statham and a villain played by Idris Elba becomes its own franchise. They tried to also bring "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa on-board, but it didn't work out. "Maybe on the next one," Johnson says, while promising "belly laughs" alongside the explosions and shootouts: "I've never gotten more joy than making Jason Statham laugh in every scene, to the point where he can't actually say words." It's set for release in August.

JUNGLE CRUISE

Based on the Disney theme park ride, Johnson says the Jaume Collet Serra-directed adventure film, also set for 2020, is "'African Queen' meets 'Romancing the Stone.'" Hiram Garcia says Emily Blunt plays "a young Indiana Jones type female ahead of her time ... looking for an unbelievable artifact (who) has to go to the river and needs the best captain there is. ... Hijinks ensues and romance ensues."

THE KING

"Sacred, epic, thoughtful," is how Dany Garcia describes the planned biopic of Hawaiian King Kamehameha. Johnson told an interviewer at age 29 that it was his "dream role" in Hollywood. "I didn't have life experience to play it then. So the time is right. ... It's a special one," he said. Robert Zemeckis will direct and "Braveheart" screenwriter Randall Wallace has been researching the story in Hawaii for the past two years, Johnson said. "It's the telling of King Kamehameha, from his birth to how he came to unite the islands and unify Hawaii as one ... and the introduction of the white man to the Hawaiian islands, and what it meant to the people," Hiram Garcia says. Production is expected to begin next year.

JOHN HENRY AND THE STATESMEN

Hiram Garcia pitched Johnson on the idea of folklore heroes from various cultures joining together to "right the wrongs and save the planet." Johnson's wrestler father Rocky Johnson used to sing the folk song about the "steel-driving man" to him before bed, on the rare occasion he was home. "It was very personal to me because there was oftentimes quite a disconnect when me and my dad were growing up, because he was always on the road. So that would always be a very special time for us," Johnson said. The movie is set for release on Netflix.

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ryanwrd

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced Monday he will run for reelection this year, squelching speculation that the 82-year-old progressive icon might retire at a time when the Democratic Party is anxious about the advancing age of its top leaders.

Hailing from a Democratic stronghold, Sanders' decision virtually guarantees that he will return to Washington for a fourth Senate term. And his announcement comes at a critical moment for Democrats as the party navigates a growing divide over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

Sanders has criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the U.S. relationship with Israel even as he's hailed much of Biden's domestic agenda ahead of what could be a tough reelection fight for Biden against presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Sanders said he wants the war in Gaza ended immediately, massive humanitarian aid to follow and no more money sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We are living in a complicated and difficult political moment," Sanders told The Associated Press on Monday. “I very strongly disagree with Biden in terms of the war in Gaza.”

At home, he said, the presidential election is between Biden and Trump, “and Donald Trump is in my view the most dangerous president, has been the most dangerous president in American history.”

With the prospect of Trump's possible return to the White House, Sanders framed his bid to return to the Senate as being driven by concerns about the future of democracy in the U.S. In an announcement video, he said that in many ways the 2024 election “is the most consequential election in our lifetimes.”

“Will the United States continue to even function as a democracy, or will we move to an authoritarian form of government?” he said. He questioned whether the country will reverse what he called “the unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality” and if it can create a government that works for all, and not continue with a political system dominated by wealthy campaign contributors.

Known for his liberal politics and crusty demeanor, Sanders has been famously consistent over his 40 years in politics, championing better health care paid for by the government, higher taxes for the wealthy, less military intervention and major solutions for climate change. He has also spent his career trying to hold corporate executives to account, something that he’s had more power to do as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Sanders is an independent. He was a Democratic congressman for 16 years and still caucuses with the Democrats.

He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. He said a year ago that he would forgo another presidential bid and endorse Biden’s reelection this year.

“I have been, and will be if re-elected, in a strong position to provide the kind of help that Vermonters need in these difficult times,” Sanders said in a review of his positions as chairman of the important Senate panel and a member of the chamber's Democratic leadership team, as well as a senior member of various other committees.

AP writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed from Washington.

FILE - Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., smiles as he addresses Unite Here Local 11 workers holding a rally, April 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. Sanders is running for re-election. The 82-year-old, from Vermont, announced Monday, May 6, that he's seeking his fourth term in the U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a news conference, Jan. 25, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. Sanders is running for re-election. The 82-year-old, from Vermont, announced Monday, May 6, that he's seeking his fourth term in the U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)