The panorama
- James Madio stars as legendary boxer Willie Pep in the upcoming biopic The Featherweight.
- The film follows Pep’s attempt to return to stardom in 1964 while dealing with personal problems.
- Directed by Robert Kolodny, the film will be released in limited release in September.
James Midio (Brothers band) is a legendary boxer Willie Pep in the first trailer of The featherweightA documentary crew follows the greatest featherweight of all time as he tries to get back on his feet, even as his personal life is falling apart. The film will be released in theaters in September in limited release through Tuckman Media and Appian Way.
The film is set decades after Pep’s glory days in the 1940s; it is 1964, and Pep’s personal life is in shambles, as he juggles his much younger wife (Ruby Wolf, Tommy) and his estranged, drug-addicted son Billy (Keir Gilchrist, Go on) from a previous marriage. The elderly Pep then decides to return to the ring despite the objections of his long-suffering manager Bob Kaplan (Ron Livingston, Office space) and coach Bill Gore (Esteban Lang, Avatar). His return is narrated by a pair of documentary filmmakers who, instead of the exciting comeback story they expected, end up chronicling the downfall of an Italian-American sports icon. The film will also star Shari Albert, I am Aielloprofessional boxer Bruce Carringtonand Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (The Walking Dead) as Pep’s long-time rival in the ring Sandy Saddler.
Who was Willie Pep?
Born William Papaleo In 1922, in Middletown, Connecticut, the featherweight boxer (under 126 pounds) nicknamed “Willie Pep” was one of the fiercest competitors in the boxing world, despite his small stature of 5’5″. In his amateur days, he once fought Sugar ray robinson in the attic of a feed store. Pep turned professional in 1940 and amassed The best winning record of any professional boxer.a feat that has yet to be matched in the intervening decades: 229 wins, 65 of them by knockout, 11 losses and 1 draw. Nicknamed Will o’ the Wisp, Pep was renowned for his elusiveness and speed; one opponent once compared fighting him to trying to put out a grass fire. Pep retired in 1960, made a brief and ill-fated comeback in 1964 and retired for good in 1966. Pep died in 2006 aged 84, having suffered for some time from boxing-induced dementia. Despite numerous attempts, Pep’s life story has not been captured on film until now.
The featherweight It was directed by a veteran documentary filmmaker. Roberto Kolodny in his feature film directorial debut. It was produced by Madio, Steve Loff (who also wrote the script), Bennett Elliott, Robert Greene, Asger Hussainand Abhayanand Singh. Steve James, Jennifer Davisson, Michael Hampton, Brian Liebman, Marco Hantoot, Donna Collins, Angel De Fazio, Abhay Deol and Jay Giannone was executive producer of the film.
The featherweight will premiere in Pep’s home state of Connecticut, as well as in New York on September 20, and on September 27 in Los Angeles next week. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates and check out the trailer for The featherweight below.