Movie Alert – Arturo “Thunder” Gatti -The Next Knockout Movie!!

If you ask anyone in the boxing scene to discuss some of their favorite fights of all time you are likely to hear about one of the Arturo Gatti vs. MickyWard trilogy fights.  It was a war from start to finish.   If you ever have the chance to watch these fights don’t pass it up.

Gatti was born on April 15, 1972 in Italy and raised in Canada.  At the age of 19 he fought his 1^st professional fight against Jose Gonzales on June 10, 1991 and he won by TKO in round 3 of 4.   His 49^th fight and his last fight took place on July 14, 2007 against Alfonso Gomes.  Gatti lost by TKO in round 7 of 10.  His final professional boxing record is 40(31Ko’s)–9(5Ko’s)–0.  Within that time period he won numerous titles and was considered one of the toughest fighters around.

On July 11, 2009 at the age of 37, while vacationing in Brazil with his wife, Amanda Rodrigues and their son, Arturo Jr., life took an unexpected turn for Gatti.  His wife found him lying on the floor.  Police were called in and Rodrigues was charged with his death but later released because the Brazilian police ruled Gatti’s death as a suicide by hanging.   Many people around the globe believe he was murdered and have so many unanswered questions concerning the circumstances in his death.

To date, the Brazilian police have not charged anyone with a crime and controversy is still brewing.  This is where Will Evans comes in.

Will Evans, a writer from New York City is planning on telling the tale about Gatti in his upcoming movie presently titled “Can You Hear The Thunder….”. His passion for Gatti comes through in his work.  I had the pleasure to speak with him along with Gatti’s former trainer, Buddy McGirt and this is what they had to say:

Pattee: Hello.  OMG!! Where do I begin?!!? I have so many questions to ask you.  How did you get involved with writing the story about Arturo Gatti?

Evans: Me and my partner were discussing our favorite modern day fighters and it came up that Arturo was one of them.  My partner noticed how passionate I was about him and said “You should write a script about his life and death”. The next day I contacted Pat Lynch, Arturo’s long time manager and we talked about how Arturo was a fighter that was a true throwback to the golden age of boxing. We talked about his heart and never quit attitude. This led to Pat revealing that he had hired a detective to do a private investigation on Arturo’s death. This made the story even more intriguing to me, and from that day on I knew I had a story that needed to be told.

Pattee: Did you know him personally?

Evans: Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet him, however over the last eleven months, researching and writing his story, I have gained an even greater respect for his love of life and passion for fighting.

Pattee: Can you disclose who will be the actor that will be playing Gatti or is it still hush hush?

Evans: Still hush hush but I am excited about the possibilities and those that have shown interest.

Pattee: What is the timeline of the movie?

Evans: The movie begins with Arturo facing a crossroad in his fighting career.  He has just suffered a defeat to Oscar De La Hoya and collected his biggest paycheck of $1.8 million.  He questions if he should retire and takes some time off. We follow his return to the ring and the resurgence of his career as Buddy McGirt mentors him to new heights. Along the way we see the demons from his past and present as he battles them and tries to find redemption. The movie follows him through all his remaining glory, his fights with Micky Ward and the biggest one of all, for his life.

Pattee: Is the movie based on a book you wrote?

Evans: No.

Pattee: To get the right perspective into the boxing life of Gatti you have been in contact with Buddy McGirt his trainer, Pat Lynch his manager and Dr. Michael Schwartz the ringside medical physician from the State of Connecticut.  Who else besides these three individuals provided you with the information you needed to complete your project?

Evans: Let’s put it this way, being that Arturo was one of boxings most revered fighters there is no shortage of stories. Some of those that I talked to include Jack Hirsh the president of the boxing writers association, Mr. Bert Sugar boxing’s greatest historian and countless others.

Pattee: How long has this been in the works [making of the movie]?

Evans: I have been researching and writing for the last year.

Pattee: What are your thoughts surrounding the conclusion that Gatti committed suicide?

Evans: There have been many experts that dispute the claim that he committed suicide. I have approached to tell it from all angles. In the movie I give the viewer the opportunity to see everything and ultimately come to their own conclusion.

McGirt: I don’t believe he commitment suicide. I just think that we will never know how even with all the investigations they have going on.  We may never know.

Pattee: Tell me about “The Cigar Game” and other projects you have worked on.

Evans: “The Cigar Game” is a follow up story to “Goodfella’s”. Paul Mazzei the Pittsburgh Connection and my Godfather, fixed the Boston College basketball games that became a scandal during the 1978-1979 season. Paul joins the same cast of characters including Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, etc to give the other side of the story. Many people don’t know that Henry ratted everyone out for fixing the games and that is why they all went to jail. The story and script remain in development. Hell as we speak I am far more dedicated to getting Arturo’s story done at this time. I have many more stories to be told but Arturo’s is a very personal one for me.

Pattee: In 2001 you started working with Gatti as his trainer.  How did this come about?

McGirt: Gatti was jumping rope while I came into the gym.  We had a conversation and he said he needed a trainer so I said lets work a week together and see if we had the chemistry.  From that point on we worked together.

Pattee: You worked with Gatti from 2001 through 2006. Out of all the bouts that you trained him for which fight was Gatti’s toughest?

McGirt: I would have to say the 3^rd Ward trilogy because he went into the fight with a messed up hand.  He messed up his hand in the gym and I knew it was a matter of time before he would hit Ward in the hip because he usually liked to hit in the hip.  After the first couple of rounds in the fight I knew he was going to break it. To get him through the pain, I knew he just had to get adjusted to the pain. [Gatti won by unanimous decision. 96-93, 96-93, 97-92].

Pattee: Do you think that Gatti was fighting any internal demons once he retired from the boxing ring or during his boxing days?

Evans: In my story I explore all possibilities.  All and all I feel that Arturo’s demons do haunt him through his life, and ultimately do contribute to the final outcome.

McGirt: I think every fighter goes through a serious of fights once he retires and you get out of the game and you aren’t on top anymore.  He had to adjust to normal life.  When a fighter isn’t fighting anymore they have to make an adjustment and it is hard for any fighter who has not done anything but just boxing.  It’s difficult for any fighter.

Pattee: In your own words please tell me your thoughts of Gatti as a fighter and as an individual.

Evans: Honestly, Arturo was one tough f-ing guy. He had more God given talent than many would think. Arturo instead of using his talent to beat an opponent he chose to show that his heart was bigger. Many times he could have just boxed but his need to brawl always found its way to the ring. He had more heart than any fighter of our time, and he was loved because you knew win or lose he would give his all. As far as an individual, I can honestly say that even though he carried the demons we talked about, of the hundreds of people I have talked to all said this. Arturo was soft spoken, would give you the shirt off his back, was respectful and kind, and most of all again had a huge heart.

McGirt: He was an all around great person.  As in individual he didn’t trust many people but he had a heart of gold.  He wouldn’t give you money but he would buy you anything.

Pattee: What insights did you provide for this movie?

McGirt: So far how we meet and how it was training him.  How we made adjustments for the Ward Trilogy and I told him he would be the Jr. Welterweight Champion of the world and he would be champion again. [Gatti won the Jr. Welterweight Title, January 24, 2004].

Pattee: Was Gatti self-motivated and easy to work with in the gym?

McGirt? He was self-motivated once he put on his music he went right to work.  You could hear his music a block away.

Pattee: When will the production of the movie start?

Evans: My agent is diligently working toward getting it made as soon as possible.

Pattee: What separates this boxing movie from all the others?

Evans: It’s a true boxing crime story we are living today. Arturo is almost mythical in the way he fought. No one can forget the epic battles he has given us, and to top it off we have the controversy of his death.  I want everyone who sees this film to come away knowing the truth of what happened to Arturo Gatti.

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me. A special thanks goes out to Dr. Michael Schwartz for making this interview possible.  If you wish to contact Will Evans he can be reached through his agent Robert Slavin at Don Buchwald and Associates.

For suggestions, questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment below or find me on facebook under Pattee Mak.



Comments are closed.