Bronx Bull tamed
At 93, Jake LaMotta is doing less raging and more rolling with the punches.
LaMotta, a former world middleweight champion boxer who was known for his unrelenting style of boxing, is the subject of biopic “La Motta: The Bronx Bull,” set to run Saturday during the Newport Beach Film Festival.
The film, which chronicles LaMotta’s life as a youngster, sheds light on the root of his anger and his ability to go toe-to-toe with an opponent.
How did he get so aggressive and combative?
“I was tough at a very young age where I was just fighting all the time,” La Motta said recently from Florida, though he now lives in Arizona. “I could take a punch, and I just had a tough hand.”
At age 19 he went pro and in that first year racked up 20 bouts. In 1942, he fought and lost to Sugar Ray Robinson, but a year later, he fought Robinson two times in the same month, winning the rematch. LaMotta became the first boxer to defeat Robinson, and they fought a few more times. LaMotta retired from boxing in 1954 at the age of 34 with an 83-19 record, 30 of them knockouts.
But he still remains active on the speaking and autograph circuit and has published a number of books about his career and life. LaMotta will attend the premiere Saturday and join a question-and-answer session following the screening.
It’s not the first time the subject of his life and fights has hit the big screen.
His 1970 memoir “Raging Bull: My Story” was adapted and made into a 1980 black-and-white film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro as LaMotta. It portrayed the detrimental effects that boxing had on him. De Niro won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.
“La Motta: The Bronx Bull,” directed by Martin Guigui, begins with LaMotta’s violent upbringing in the Bronx, where his father forced him to fight other children for money to help pay the rent. Also explored are LaMotta’s formative years to his post-career struggles, where he deals with the pain and violence that dominated his life.
William Forsythe, known for his roles in “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Mob Doctor,” stars as LaMotta, and the cast also features Paul Sorvino, Joe Mantegna, Tom Sizemore and Cloris Leachman.
LaMotta, who makes a cameo in a bar scene, said he was on set during filmmaking to add input. He noticed that actor Mojean Aria, who plays the young LaMotta, wasn’t standing correctly, so he pulled him off to the side to show him how to throw a jab.
“He did very well,” LaMotta said.
Joining him at the premiere will be Aria, Guigui and Sizemore.
Looking back on his life, LaMotta said he does not regret his boxing career and that the secret to longevity is not to dwell on yesterday.
“You can’t think about the past anymore,” he said. “You have to treat everybody the right way. Otherwise, you’ll have a short life. God bless.”
If You Go
What: “LaMotta: The Bronx Bull”
Where: Regency South Coast Village, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $25 for film only, $65 for film and after-party
Information: (949) 253-2880 or newportbeachfilmfest.com