Filmen ”Mais forte que o mundo” (Starkare än världen), baserad på Jose Aldos liv hade premiär i Rio de Janeiro under onsdagen och det är enligt honom själv en fin film, oavsett om man är ett fan av denna sport eller inte, sade han till media.
Det har inte varit en lätt resa mot att bli den som hållit UFCs fjäderviktstitel längst för Jose Aldo (25-2) som inte kunde hålla tårarna tillbaka när han såg skådespelaren Jose Loreto på den vita duken på premiären av filmen ””Mais forte que o mundo” som är baserad på hans liv.
”I have to thank (director) Afonso Poyart and the whole crew for telling my story in theaters and making me very emotional. It’s amazing. I think that, being a fight fan or not, this movie will move you because it’s an emotional story. The first time I watched it I was so excited about my story being told in a movie that I didn’t actually pay attention [laughs]. The second time I watched it, I really paid attention to the story. To look back at the past… It was hard for me, but I overcame everything I went through.”
Filmen baseras på riktiga händelser samtidigt som fiktion har blandats in. Huvudstoryn i filmen följer Joses relation till sin far
”It’s impossible not to cry. A MMA fan or not, it’s a beautiful movie. It’s my movie so I thought it was wonderful [laughs]. My relationship with my father, a hero and a villain, is really beautiful in the movie.”
Skådespelaren Jackson Antunes spelade Joses far som hade svåra alkoholproblem och ofta misshandlade sin fru Rocilene. Antunes berättar om hur det är att spela en pappa i en film.
”A father probably is the toughest character to do in a movie. Having a son is the biggest responsibility you can have in your life, even if you get lost in the way. Everything is about love. I looked inside of my heart for love to build this human being. I meet Jose today and he looks into my eyes and stops for a second, remembers of his father, and gets emotional. That’s a wonderful feedback.
”Alcohol is part of their culture. Unfortunately, domestic violence is also part of their culture. But there’s a beautiful side of this story. Aldo’s father loved him, wished the best for him. There’s a moment in the movie where he realizes he won’t have control over his son and over his own actions, and he says ‘get out of here so you don’t become someone like me. Fight for what you love and what makes you happy’. It’s the human conflict.”
Loreta gick verkligen all-in inför denna roll och blev helt enkelt en MMA-fighter. Inspelningen blev mycket fysisk och han fick många slag mot sig men det var värt alltihop.
”It was stimulant. Some would say it was hard, but I call it stimulant because he’s a complex character outside of the fight. He has a special strength inside of him that he uses in the Octagon. I became a true fighter. I forgot that I was an actor, I became a fighter for this movie. I think it’s an amazing movie because of this dedication. I used Aldo’s characteristics that inspire me the most: his dedication, the warrior spirit, the martial art. I used that in my preparation.”
”It was intense, it wore me out, but it was worth it. Every punch in the face I took, it was worth it. I got punched a lot in this movie, and I asked for it. I prepared myself as a fighter, so in the fighting scene I didn’t want that technical punch. I went for it. Many people got hurt, and I got hurt too. But I went back home at night, put ice in the bathtub, and I was ready to go again in the next day. It was the life of an athlete. I twisted my ankle, I got hurt a lot. I felt pain in my body that I believe I will carry with me for the rest of my life [laughs].”
Den två timmar långa filmen tog ett helt år att spela in och skulle egentligen ha gått på bio redan i december men förlusten mot Conor McGregor (19-3) gjorde att det bestämdes att filmsläppet skulle skjutas framåt i tiden. Aldo ska den 9 juli möta Frankie Edgar (20-4-1) på UFC 200 för att slåss om interimtiteln i fjädervikt och målet är en vinst för att sedan få en returmatch mot McGregor, vilket kan leda till en uppföljare.
”It’s a biography of a young guy, so he will still have a lot of stories to be told in the future. I think so, there could be more movies to be made,” Poyart said. ”Maybe the McGregor fight could be a second movie, absolutely. This fight alone is a movie. All this conflict with McGregor would give us a spin-off, to say the least. Who knows, maybe we’ll do something in the future. After the rematch happens, McGregor would be a great archrival for Aldo.”
Han vill att en uppföljare ska sluta på samma sätt som den första, med uppsträckta händer med bältet runt midjan och med en stor fest i Rio de Janeiro.
”There’s a huge story to be told in the future. Just like in the Rocky movie, they had a lot of movies. If that happens to me, brother… I think that getting my belt back, this story would be awesome. It would be a great story with me beating up (McGregor) and getting the belt back. My focus is on the belt now. As soon as I get the belt back, defeating Frankie Edgar, I will think what’s next. We do have unfinished business.”
Det är för tillfället inte säkert om filmen kommer att visas utanför Brasilien.
Foto: Patrick Jenkinson
