With Bruised now playing in select theaters and starting to stream on Netflix tomorrow, I recently got to speak with Halle Berry about directing her feature debut. During the interview, she talks about why this project means to much to her, why having everyone do their own stunts allows her to place the camera anywhere, how she shot a full UFC fight for the film (which is five rounds and five minutes a round), why it was such challenge to get the film under two hours and thirty minutes, what people would be surprised to learn about the making of Bruised, and more. In addition, she shared how working on John Wick: Chapter 3 helped get her in the cycle of training and working hard in the gym, and why working with the Wachowskis on Cloud Atlas holds a special place in her heart.
If you’re not familiar with Bruised, the film stars Halle Berry as a disgraced MMA fighter trying for one last shot at redemption when the son she had given up as an infant unexpectedly reenters her life. Bruised also stars Adan Canto, Shamier Anderson, Danny Boyd, Jr., Adriane Lenox, Sheila Atim, Valentina Shevchenko, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.
Watch what Halle Berry had to say above and below is exactly what we discussed.
Halle Berry
- What was it like working with the Wachowskis on Cloud Atlas and does the film hold a special place in her heart?
- Did training for John Wick 3 and playing that character help her prepare for making Bruised?
- Did she ever think maybe I should have made a romantic comedy while shooting due to how ambitious the project was?
- What surprised her when she got in the editing room?
- What having everyone do their own stunts means for the filming process.
- How her first assembly cut was four hours.
- How she shot a full UFC fight for the film which is five rounds and five minutes a round.
- How they eventually got the film from 2 hr 30 min to what it is now.
- What would people be surprised to learn about the making of the film?
- How she’s going to release a behind-the-scenes on the making of Bruised.
Here is the official synopsis for Bruised.
Jackie Justice (Halle Berry) is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after her fight, she’s coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi (Adan Canto) and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter (Shamier Anderson) who promises Jackie a life back in the octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny (Danny Boyd, Jr.) — the son she gave up as an infant — shows up at her doorstep. BRUISED marks the directorial debut of Academy Award winner Halle Berry and also stars Adriane Lenox, Sheila Atim, Valentina Shevchenko, and Stephen McKinley Henderson in a triumphant story of a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out.