USA TODAY International Edition
Biopic pulls no punches about Paz
Champ’s return to ring after accident is brutally honest
It wasn’t an ordinary order, but then again, Vinny Paz isn’t an ordinary man.
“A merlot mixed with Diet Coke?” the waiter asked in surprise to confirm she heard right. Why, yes. When you’re Vinny Paz, you don’t follow the pack. You don’t concern yourself with batted eyes. And you don’t take no for an answer.
He’s a man who defied doctor’s orders and bench- pressed with a metal brace screwed into his skull after suffering a broken neck in a car crash. He beat the odds to return to the ring 13 months later and regained a world title despite being told he might never walk again.
It’s a story worth telling, and Paz tells it like only he can.
‘ CELEBRATION OF VINNY’
Old athletes — especially boxers — love telling war stories.
It’s the way they connect with their glory days and reconcile their more docile present far removed from the bright lights and roar of the crowd. And boy, did Paz have some tales to weave.
Soon, the two- division champion will no longer have to sit around and tell people the story, because beginning Friday, they’ll be able to live it.
Miles Teller ( Whiplash, The Spectacular Now) breathes life into Paz’s quixotic quest to return to the ring from a debilitating injury — halo and all — in director/ writer Ben Younger’s biopic Bleed For This.
“( The movie) did not exagger- ate on anything. It’s unbelievable,” Paz, 53, told USA TODAY Sports in his thick New England accent over dinner at Old Hickory Steakhouse in September. “My life don’t need exaggeration.
“It’s going to be the only movie in the history of the world they under-exaggerated. ... It’s 10 times better than I thought it was going to be.”
That was of utmost importance to Teller. This is his first chance to portray a real person on the big screen, and he wanted to make sure he did the story justice.
The New England accent? Challenging to say the least, Teller admitted. “You absolutely feel responsible to get that down and to sound as close to him as you can,” he said.
So, too, were the boxing scenes ( all shot in one day), especially since the 29- year- old had only a couple of weeks with his trainer to get the moves down.
“( Paz’s opinion) means everything,” Teller told USA TODAY Sports. “If we did this movie and it did a ton of box office ( revenue) but we took a lot of liberties and changed a lot of ( expletive) just to make a movie to be successful and do awards with and Vinny didn’t feel like it was the truth, that would ( expletive) wreck me, man.
“It’s a celebration of Vinny. His response to the film meant so much. Vinny will tell you this movie is 99% accurate.”
Paz ( formerly Pazienza), affectionately known as The Pazmanian Devil for his come- forward, brawling style in the ring and his wild personality outside it, rose to prominence in the late 1980s while fighting in front of large crowds in Providence, near his childhood home of Cranston, R. I.
He won his first title in 1987 with a victory against Greg Haugen in a 135- pound fight and went on to claim a belt at 154.
The film features Paz’s fights with Roger Mayweather ( Floyd’s uncle, played by former champion Peter Quillin) and Roberto Duran ( with light heavyweight fighter Edwin Rodriguez portraying the legend).
The boxing scenes seem authentic, and Aaron Eckhart was a revelation as Kevin Rooney, Paz’s longtime trainer.
Most of the film, though, is centered around Paz’s recovery from the car accident and the stunning implementation of the halo into his skull. Boxing fans know the tale, but seeing it, even on film, is jarring.
Four metal rods held the circular metal brace screwed into his skull in four spots. It was there for three months, and even stepping out of a car was a chore for Vinny.
He was told countless times to relinquish his dream of fighting, but he wouldn’t. Paz isn’t a man who takes no for an answer, and Younger ( best known for the Ponzi scheme film Boiler Room) did a tremendous job bringing it to life.
There’s been a plethora of fistic films over the years, and even recent offerings such as The Fighter, Creed and, earlier this year, Hands of Stone. Bleed For This is a worthy addition and will hit home more for boxing fans who grew up adoring Paz.
“If you watch this story and it doesn’t affect you or sit with you a little bit, I don’t know, something’s off with the person,” Teller said.
“I know it’s a great film. I think the story’s so inspirational.”
“( The movie) did not exaggerate on anything. It’s unbelievable. My life don’t need exaggeration.” Former boxer Vinny Paz, on his biopic “Bleed For This.”