An Emmy-nominated documentary cinematographer with credits including “Procession” and “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Robert Kolodny puts his expert eye for shooting nonfiction to playful narrative use in his feature directing debut “The Featherweight.” A meticulously designed, gutsily played biopic of world champion featherweight boxer Guglielmo Papaleo, better known as Willie Pep — covering not his 1940s glory days but his faltering attempt at a comeback two decades later — the film is convincingly fashioned as a candid all-access documentary, a promotional puff piece curdling before our eyes into an unintended study of mental breakdown.
So convincingly, in fact, that uninformed viewers chancing upon “The Featherweight” on the festival circuit may wonder exactly what it is they’re watching, not least if — in a realization of Pep’s own glumly stated fears — they have no idea who this once-celebrated sportsman was. Kolodny puts nary a foot wrong in his precise replication...
So convincingly, in fact, that uninformed viewers chancing upon “The Featherweight” on the festival circuit may wonder exactly what it is they’re watching, not least if — in a realization of Pep’s own glumly stated fears — they have no idea who this once-celebrated sportsman was. Kolodny puts nary a foot wrong in his precise replication...
- 9/20/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a story that Willie Pep, the protagonist of Robert Kolodny’s feature debut The Featherweight, likes to tell. It’s about a match with a kid, who, so awed by the boxing champion, asks for an autograph. The request flummoxes Willie. “I say, ‘Kid, get away from me, we’re boxing tonight. What are people going to think?’” The crowd came to see a fight, he reminds the junior. They need to put on a show.
As Willie (played by James Madio) talks about this moment, he gesticulates and pulls his audience — a small group of friends — to play supporting roles. It’s clear why the boxer likes to recount this tale. Nostalgia tempts him. It directs his moods, prompts his long monologues and drives Willie, at age 42, to stage a comeback.
The Featherweight is a fictionalized account of the real-life two-time featherweight champion’s attempts to get back in the ring.
As Willie (played by James Madio) talks about this moment, he gesticulates and pulls his audience — a small group of friends — to play supporting roles. It’s clear why the boxer likes to recount this tale. Nostalgia tempts him. It directs his moods, prompts his long monologues and drives Willie, at age 42, to stage a comeback.
The Featherweight is a fictionalized account of the real-life two-time featherweight champion’s attempts to get back in the ring.
- 9/3/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions has teamed with Singapore’s Golden Ratio Films and Canada’s Blisspoint Entertainment to shoot “Pep,” a biopic of legendary mid-20th century featherweight boxer Willie Pep.
The film is poised to begin production in Hartford, Connecticut, Pep’s home-state, with Robert Kolodny directing from a screenplay by Steve Loff.
Pep, born Guglielmo Papaleo, had an extraordinarily long career spanning 26 years and nearly 2,000 rounds as a professional. Set in 1965, the film charts one of Pep’s comebacks, as he finds himself riddled with debt while supporting a wife half his age and a drug addict son in a single-family home.
“Band of Brothers” actor James Madio stars in the title role as Pep, alongside co-stars Keir Gilchrist (“Atypical”) who will play the role of Pep’s son, Billy Jr., and Ron Livingston (“Office Space”) as Pep’s business manager, Bob Kaplan. No female leads have yet been confirmed.
The film is poised to begin production in Hartford, Connecticut, Pep’s home-state, with Robert Kolodny directing from a screenplay by Steve Loff.
Pep, born Guglielmo Papaleo, had an extraordinarily long career spanning 26 years and nearly 2,000 rounds as a professional. Set in 1965, the film charts one of Pep’s comebacks, as he finds himself riddled with debt while supporting a wife half his age and a drug addict son in a single-family home.
“Band of Brothers” actor James Madio stars in the title role as Pep, alongside co-stars Keir Gilchrist (“Atypical”) who will play the role of Pep’s son, Billy Jr., and Ron Livingston (“Office Space”) as Pep’s business manager, Bob Kaplan. No female leads have yet been confirmed.
- 10/14/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Willie Pep Boxing Biopic Starring James Madio, Keir Gilchrist & Ron Livingston Set To Enter The Ring
Exclusive: Willie Pep biopic Pep, starring James Madio (Band of Brothers), Keir Gilchrist (Atypical) and Ron Livingston (Office Space), will go before cameras next month, in the famed boxer’s hometown of Hartford, Ct.
Robert Kolodny (the cinematographer behind Netflix’s Procession) is directing the film from a script by Steve Loff, with Madio starring as the featherweight champion who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Pep is roundly considered one of the greatest fighters of all time. He knocked plenty of opponents out, but was brilliant defensively. The latter helped, given Pep fought professionally over 200 times over 26 years. Legend has it that he won the third round of his 1946 bout against Jackie Graves without throwing a single punch.
The sports drama picks up with Pep in 1965, after the limelight has faded. Living with his Italian immigrant parents, a wife half his age and a drug-addled...
Robert Kolodny (the cinematographer behind Netflix’s Procession) is directing the film from a script by Steve Loff, with Madio starring as the featherweight champion who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Pep is roundly considered one of the greatest fighters of all time. He knocked plenty of opponents out, but was brilliant defensively. The latter helped, given Pep fought professionally over 200 times over 26 years. Legend has it that he won the third round of his 1946 bout against Jackie Graves without throwing a single punch.
The sports drama picks up with Pep in 1965, after the limelight has faded. Living with his Italian immigrant parents, a wife half his age and a drug-addled...
- 9/29/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.