Mark Kerr's critically heralded biopic is now in theaters, but it could have never happened.

Los Angeles

Dwayne Johnson shared insights into the development of 'The Smashing Machine', a film about MMA fighter Mark Kerr, during a conversation with director Benny Safdie. Johnson explained that he was inspired to work with Safdie after watching 'Uncut Gems', appreciating the film's realism and casting choices.

The discussion also revealed an awkward moment involving a yellow Nautica sweater that Safdie sent to Johnson as a gesture after their initial meeting, which Johnson never received. The misunderstanding was later clarified through mutual friends, highlighting the unpredictable nature of their collaboration and the timing of the film's production.

Dwayne Johnson reveals awkward moment that led to 'The Smashing Machine'

It was the funniest thing where Benny goes, you're friends with Dwayne, right? And I said, yeah. And he goes, can you ask him if he ever got this sweater? Yes. The end is near. Oh, we go way back. But he's a buddy of mine. Please welcome, in his Octagon debut, Mark Kerr! Hi, guys. Dwayne, this movie began with you pitching it to Benny. What about him and his work made you be like, this is the guy? I just watched Uncut Gems. And I loved the way it was shot. I loved how real it felt. It felt real. And I didn't know much about his casting choices. I didn't know that Benny, it's become one of many Benny Safdie signatures in that he casts first-time actors as he begins to fill in these parts and roles. So I just love the reality. I love the energy of it. I love the edge also. And I love the humanity of somebody who's just trying to do their best in a crazy effing world. And that, to me, spoke about Mark Kerr. It spoke to Mark Kerr, a guy who's trying to do his best in this crazy world of MMA at a time that was very Wild Wild West. No rules. No sanctions. Crazy time. Like, no mouth guards. No gloves. Yeah. Fighting multiple times in one night. No regulations. No regulation. And trying to do his best. And then also just dealing with the demons that so many people deal with. I felt I saw all of that in Uncut M's. And also, the truth is, like, I heard, like, hey, this dude, Benny Safdie, he's an amazing director. Like, he's a bad dude. You want to meet with him. And there were a few others who I met with. And the moment I met with Benny, 2019, we knew we wanted to make the movie. Because it was just like, I just knew, like, yeah, like, you don't know what you're going to expect, you know, when you meet somebody, especially, like, somebody like Dwayne. You have certain ideas. But then, like, as soon as I just saw into his eyes and just that he wanted to tell this story, I was just like, there's something really special about this. And it just kind of, the idea all of a sudden just kind of burrowed itself inside of me. And I was just like, I hadn't stopped thinking about it until Oppenheimer. When I saw, I was like, Emma, you're friends with him, right? And I just immediately, I was like, please. I said, just, I said, I don't know what's going on. I said, please, I just want to be involved in any way that I can. And it was just like, I just, because I didn't know what had happened. It was something that I knew, I wouldn't have been the same person had this not happened, you know? And it was just so important to go on this journey, you know, so. But just to clear it up for everybody at Mashable, when he's like, hey, I don't know what happened, COVID happened. Yes. But what he did, he, because he's beautiful and he's a beautiful human being. So in the movie, Mark wears a Nautica sweater. It's yellow. Yes. And it's like this iconic Nautica sweater. He finds it. He sends it to me after our meeting in 2019. Yeah. So. With a beautiful handwritten note. With a beautiful handwritten note. I don't know about beautiful. It was a beautiful incentive, but it looked like a psychopath because my handwriting is horrific. He sent you a dodgy yellow sweater. I never got the note or the sweater. I thought he ghosted me and I was like, I was like, okay, maybe he just doesn't want it. And then they talked on Oppenheimer. It actually was the funniest thing where Benny goes, you're friends with Dwayne, right? And I said, yeah. And he goes, can you ask him if he ever got the sweater? Because I was like, I had never, it was so, it was this amazing thing where he thought that and I'm like, he never responded to me. Yeah. That has to be terrifying to ask, like, did he get the gift? I felt really, yes. Because at the same time, if she was like, yes, he did, I would have been like. He put himself out there. Yeah, exactly. But I told her, I was like, what gift? What note? He sent you a beautiful gift and he wrote you a letter. I went, I didn't get anything. And I felt like an asshole. Yeah. So she, she connected us both. I don't know what happened to it. You know, it's possible I got the wrong address and somebody else's. Then he's just like, all right, thanks. Then he just put on this thing, you know, I don't, it's, you never know, but it's in a way. It's like these things happen for a reason, you know, like I think that like where we ended up making it is the only time that we could have made it because we were at different places mentally. We could explore things. I met Emily on Oppenheimer. I knew that the two of them could create something really special together. And so all of that stuff wouldn't have happened, you know, so. There were no accidents. No, none. So I'm glad that the sweater got through.

Ukraine and Russia have carried out another exchange of prisoners of war. About two hundred Ukrainian prisoners released by Russia have arrived in the Chernihiv region near Ukraine’s border with Belarus.

Chernihiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia, Ukraine exchange 185 prisoners of war in latest swap

Two Jewish men were killed and three other men were seriously injured in a terror attack outside a synagogue in the northern English city of Manchester, authorities said.

Manchester

Two killed in U.K. terror attack outside synagogue on Yom Kippur

President Trump has declared the U.S. is in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels as the White House calls drug runners "unlawful combatants."

Washington

Trump declares U.S. in 'armed conflict' with drug cartels

The head of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Presidential Library has resigned after sources say he resisted a request from the Trump administration to give a sword from the library's collection to King Charles.

Abilene

Eisenhower library head resigns

Two regional jets crashed into each other on the tarmac at New York's LaGuardia Airport when the wing of one aircraft hit the front end of another. One flight attendant was injured.

LaGuardia Airport

Two regional jets collide on tarmac at New York's LaGuardia Airport

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White House says federal worker layoffs ‘imminent’ after shutdown

Jane Goodall, the British conservationist and researcher renowned for her work with chimpanzees, has died at age 91. The Jane Goodall Institute confirmed her death on Instagram Wednesday, saying she died of natural causes.

Jane Goodall, chimpanzee researcher and conservationist, dies at 91

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order, promising military action if necessary, to defend Qatar in the face of any future attack. It follows an Israeli strike on Doha last month, targeting a Hamas negotiating team. Qatar called the attack a violation of its sovereignty, prompting Trump to issue the new security assurances to the Gulf nation.

Doha

Trump signs executive order protecting Qatar after Israeli strike

The Israeli military is pressing on with its offensive in Gaza, launching strikes across the territory, as Hamas weighs up its response to the U.S. peace proposal. Debora Patta reports.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel continues Gaza offensive as Hamas weighs U.S. peace deal

The Supreme Court has added another blockbuster case to its new term of cases. The court announced it would hear whether President Trump can legally fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Jessica Levinson has more.

Supreme Court to weigh Trump firing of Fed's Lisa Cook

Flash floods in Ukraine's Odesa killed at least nine people, including a family of five trapped in their home as it was engulfed by water, emergency services said on Wednesday (October 1), as torrential rain left hundreds in need of rescue and thousands without power.

Odesa Oblast

Deadly flash floods hit Odesa after downpours in Ukraine's south

Parts of the U.S. government remain closed after Senate votes failed to pass funding. A GOP-backed House bill fell short of the 60-vote threshold, leaving 750,000 federal workers facing furloughs and possible military pay delays.

Government shutdown continues after Senate votes down resolutions

In Afghanistan, concerns are growing after days of virtually no internet connectivity. The blackout has disrupted banking, commerce and aviation. The Taliban denies banning internet services.

Kabul

Afghanistan imposes internet blackout

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Hamas militants have about three or four days to respond to his Gaza peace plan proposal or face the consequences. But Gazans saw little hope in the plan, which was presented to Hamas after Israel had endorsed it as satisfying its war aims.

Hamas under pressure as Trump issues deadline on Gaza peace plan

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to use 'dangerous' U.S. cities as training grounds for the military at a rare meeting of top military officials where he and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took aim at what they called 'woke' military standards.

Trump threatens to train military in U.S. cities

At least 69 people were killed after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake shook the coastal city of Bogo and outlying rural towns in Cebu province in the Philippines, officials said. CBS News foreign correspondent Anna Coren has the latest details.

Cebu

Dozens killed after 6.9-magnitude earthquake shakes Philippines

U.S. President Donald Trump and lawmakers failed to reach a funding deal, causing the government to shut down Wednesday. Tens of thousands of federal workers will be told to stay home – furloughed without pay.

U.S. government shuts down after lawmakers fail to reach funding deal

U.S. President Donald Trump is amping up pressure on Hamas to respond to his 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza. He says he wants a response in a matter of days or there will be a ‘very sad end’ to the conflict.

Trump puts pressure on Hamas with deadline on Gaza peace plan

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Quantico

Hegseth gathers U.S. military leaders for rare, in-person meeting

Imelda is now a Category 1 hurricane, threatening dangerous weather conditions on the East Coast alongside Hurricane Humberto. CBS News' Rob Marciano has more details.

Folly Beach

Imelda becomes hurricane, threatens dangerous conditions on East Coast

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday he is ready to declare a state of emergency over the threat of U.S. "aggression," following a spate of deadly U.S. strikes on suspected Venezuelan drug boats.

Caracas

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Some have expressed excitement after Bad Bunny was announced as the Super Bowl halftime performer, while others have criticized the pick. CBS News' Lilia Luciano reports.

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President Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on all films produced overseas that are then sent into the U.S., repeating a threat made in May that would upend Hollywood's global business model.

Hollywood

Global Tariffs

Trump says U.S. to impose 100% tariff on movies produced overseas

Moldova's pro-Europe governing party has won a majority in key parliamentary elections. The result brings Moldova closer to EU membership — but not everyone is celebrating.

Chișinău

Pro-EU party wins majority in Moldova election

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Amid growing impatience over the Kremlin’s reluctance to participate in direct talks with Ukraine, Washington is now considering providing Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles, according to U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

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The FBI says it is investigating 'an act of targeted violence' after a man crashed his vehicle through the front doors of a Michigan church, opened fire with an assault rifle and set the church ablaze, killing at least four people and wounding at least eight others.

Breakdown