Leon Gast Being Sent Back into the Ring; To Document the Golden Fists of Pacman Manny Pacquiao

Producers Ken Mayer, Ryan Moore and exec producer Christine Peters are throwing docu-helmer Leon Gast back into the ring, essentially setting him up for his third boxing-related film. The doc film on Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao might fall into the realms of When We Were Kings – I expect the majority of the doc to focus on Pacman’s story outside of the ring, but let’s hope that they grab some mean footage from fight night. It just so happens that filming began during the week of his next heavyweight bout which will further prove if Pacquiao confirms his status as potentially the best boxer who ever lived or simply remind us that he isn’t a super-human. 

Gist: Just featured on 60 Minutes (see below), the doc will focus on boxer Manny Pacquiao’s emergence from poverty, his election in May to the Congress of the Philippines and his plans to introduce legislation aimed at slowing the tide of human trafficking in the Philippines and other developing nations.

Worth Noting: Worth checking out: Gast’s 1983 doc, Hells Angels Forever.

Do We Care?: The overwhelming success of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire was enough to prove that not just Hollywood, but the masses love a good rags to riches narrative. Though we disliked that film and most true story biopics on the matter, we’re still suckers for the formula in docu form. While we weren’t big on Gast’s Smash His Camera, we figure that with When We Were Kings under his belt, he’ll deliver a great one-two punch.