According to collider.com:

When it was first announced that Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King) will direct a 3D period epic with Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) at the center, it all sounded a bit silly.  But then Anthony Hopkins signed on and… well, it still sounded silly, but mostly because his character is described as “an evil sorcerer who killed Sinbad’s love, a mermaid, and is looking to amass more magic for himself.”  Production Weekly reports that Dwayne Johnson has been “mentioned” for the role of Sinbad in the film.  The news doesn’t pull Arabian Nights too far away from “silly,” but it gives the film a weighty push toward “fun.”

Should he sign on, Nights would reunite the former wrestler with the director who gave him his big break on The Scorpion King: I hope the film amounts more than Johnson returning a favor, but I’m skeptical at this point.  Johnson will next be seen in Faster starting November 24th (check out Steve’s set report here), followed by the Fast and Furious sequel Fast Five on June 10, 2011.

Dwayne talked about a cross-promotion during his MMA interview and I believe he was referring to the new Spider Energy drink promotion. They will be teaming up with the movie Faster:

Spider Energy Drink will be teaming up with CBS Films to help promote the new Holiday Blockbuster – FASTER…The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Maggie Grace, Moon Bloodgood, Carla Gugino, Mike Epps, Jennifer Carpenter, and Tom Berenger.

During the massive field marketing events to promote the release of the movie, ice cold Spider Energy drinks will be present at all West Coast events for movie fans to get fired up about the movies release. As a fan of the main stars, and a HUGE fan of Dwayne Johnson, Spider Energy founder Pete Algarin is delighted to have his team participate with cross-promoting the movie. “Our Spider Energy team will be on-site at many of the West Coast events to add to the excitement” Details of of the massive field marketing campaign will be posted on the Spider Energy Drink blog at www.getbitstaylit.com on a regular basis.

The amazing storyline and star studded cast will surely make FASTER the Holiday Blockbuster of the season!

credit: spiderenergy

MMA Fighting caught up with former pro wrestling star “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson at UFC 119 on Saturday night. Johnson talked about his love for MMA, why he would go into fighting had the sport been popular 15 years ago and whether MMA is hurting the pro wrestling business.

view more images from gallery

credit: http://www.mmafighting.com

Transcript added courtesy PWTorch

Former WWE star “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson said during an interview on Saturday night that he does not see himself returning to pro wrestling.

“I don’t see that, man. I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish in the business,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com in an interview from UFC 119 on Saturday night. “Brock Lesnar was the last guy I wanted to wrestle. I had the privilege of wrestling him all around the world and now I have the privilege of watching him kick ass and humbly dominate in the UFC.”

Looking back to when he joined WWE in the mid-1990s, Johnson said he “absolutely” would have entered MMA at that time if the sport was as big as it has become today. Continue reading »

Dwayne makes a 3 minute cameo as a Federal Air Marshall in the movie “You Again” and collider.com talked to the film’s director Andy Fickman (sound familar) about getting Dwayne to do the role:

Did you have to do any convincing to get Dwayne Johnson to make a cameo in this, or was he totally game for it?

Andy: Here’s what a lot of people don’t know, I own Dwayne. I physically bought Dwayne years ago. They were selling characters and I bought him, and now I have to use him. It’s in my contract. I can’t actually do anything without Dwayne Johnson. I can barely walk through a mall without calling him and asking if I can. We’re locked together, and someday it will be legal. Most people haven’t yet fully appreciated that he’s just a genuinely funny guy. He gets the joke right away and is a joy to work with. Having him and K-Bell, who are both very close to me creatively, be able to play together made it a fun day to go to work.

Full Article

Dwayne updated his facebook page on 9.23.10 with a picture of him in Conyers, Georgia working out at Gold’s Gym.

After 14 hours of shooting on a sound stage and hunting down Vin Diesel everyone else goes home. We go here. Golds Gym – Conyers, GA 10:38pm. Who’s with me? DJ

All Positions Filled!

Hey fans I am going to be starting a monthly newsletter here at IDJ and I need some people who would like to be contributors or writers in the newsletter. It is going to be a monthly digest letter of all things Dwayne and I have some great ideas and I am welcoming any ideas as well. So if you are interested and dedicated please reply here or use our contact form the subject newsletter. We want to have and issue out next month maybe a Halloween edition!!!

Staff members will receive:
-Access to newsletter dashboard so they can edit and write their content
-IDJ org email address to be forwarded to their own email address
Plus anything else I think you will need to be a full member of the staff.

In addition to the release date of June 10, 2011 Fast Five will be released to IMAX theaters which is great:

LOS ANGELES, Sep 15, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — IMAX Corporation announced today that Universal Pictures’ Fast Five will be released to digital IMAX(R) theatres simultaneously with the action-thriller’s wide release on June 10, 2011. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of all-stars from every chapter of the Fast and Furious franchise, along with some exciting new cast including Dwayne Johnson, in the film directed by Justin Lin.

Universal’s partnership with IMAX on Fast Five marks the studio’s return to the IMAX fold. The Academy Award(R)-winning Apollo 13, in 2002 was the first Universal film to utilize the pioneering IMAX DMR(R) technology.

“Fast Five is a perfect film for IMAX,” said Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson. “The film’s incredible action sequences combined with IMAX’s unmatched quality that allows the action to jump off the screen will provide filmgoers with an optimal theatrical experience.”

“Universal Pictures partnered with us for our very first DMR release and we’re excited to work with them again, this time to bring one of the studio’s most successful franchises to digital IMAX theatres,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “The film is a great addition to our expanding slate of movies for 2011, and by the time it opens, we’ll be able to reach even more fans of the franchise thanks to our growing network.” Continue reading »

We finally got the official plot for Fast Five! Thanks to Latino Review I have added the synopsis for the movie which comes out June 10, 2011 It sounds pretty good. Let me know what you guys think:

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. In this installment, former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favorites Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race.

Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail.
Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey…before someone else runs them down first.

I have added a new album under the photoshoots section in the photogalleries for Dwayne’s facebook profile pics. So far I have added 3 photos that he has used. The one with the weights is my favorite by far. DJ also updated his facebook with another set photo from Fast Five:

Down here in Atlanta shooting nights on Fast V. Very proud of our crew and their tireless work. More to come!
DJ

view more images from gallery

In spirit and support of Dwayne and his Canes’ I have added a UM football scores chart to the sidebar. It will be updated with the scores, next game and time listings. Don ‘t forget this Saturday it’s Ohio State v. Miami the game Dwayne has been trash talking about all week… So go Canes!

Dwayne updated his official facebook recently and posted a new message along with a video of him doing tactical training for Fast Five. Previously he had posted a pic but now we got the video and it’s looks like some good action!

Click image to play