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In an effort to make me look even more like the thin, muscleless weakling I so certainly am, Jake Gyllenhaal packed on 15 pounds of American oomph for his turn as left-handed boxer Billy "The Great" Hope in the forthcoming Antoine Fuqua film Southpaw. The film — which also stars Rita Ora, 50 Cent, Rachel McAdams, and Forest Whitaker — was originally slated as an Eminem vehicle, though he eventually left the project to finish The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
Though he no longer stars, Eminem's own Shady Records will release the film's soundtrack (featuring the recently released Mathers cut "Phenomenal") — with Eminem serving as executive producer. Shady Records co-founder Paul Rosenberg slyly called Southpaw "one of the greatest boxing films ever" in a recent statement, meaning he's clearly never seen Against the Ropes.
Southpaw opens on July 25.