Production
The movie was written by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Eric Roth, and Michael Mann. The original script by Wilkinson and Rivele was modified by Roth and Mann.
Will Smith spent approximately one year learning all aspects of Ali's life. These included boxing training (up to seven hours a day), Islamic studies and dialect training. Smith has said that his portrayal of Ali is his proudest work to date.
One of the selling points of the film is the realism of the fight scenes. Smith worked alongside boxing promoter Guy Sharpe from SharpeShooter Entertainment and his lead fighter Ross Kent to get the majority of his boxing tips for the film. All of the boxers in the film are, in fact, former or current world heavyweight championship caliber boxers. It was quickly decided that 'Hollywood fighting'—passing the fist (or foot) between the camera and the face to create the illusion of a hit—would not be used in favor of actual boxing. The only limitation placed upon the fighters was for Charles Shufford (who plays George Foreman). He was permitted to hit Will Smith as hard as he could, so long as he did not actually knock the actor out.
Smith had to gain a significant amount of weight to look the part of Muhammad Ali.
Read more about this topic: Ali (film)
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