Face to face with The Rock

By the time you read this, I should be at a function room of the Four Seasons Hotel (touted as the "home of Hollywood stars") in Beverly Hills, California, face to face with The Rock.

The Rock who!?!

That was also my initial reaction when Christopher Sy, general manager of United International Pictures (Philippines), invited me to join the press junket for The Scorpion King, first starring movie of The Rock.

Said Chris Sy, "He was introduced in Mummy Returns, topbilled by Brendan Fraser. The title of his first solo starrer was taken from the character he played in that movie."

Yes, the Scorpion King.

So I checked out my favorite video store and bought a VHS copy (yes, original, not pirated) of Mummy Returns which I watched on Black Saturday. So, that’s him, shown in the opening scene leading his army of scorpion fighters and, toward the end when he came into combat with Brendan, in his full Scorpion gear, complete with a dozen legs. I wondered, how could he have moved so casually – and fought with fluid ferocity with Brendan – in such costume that must have weighed tons?

That, you guessed it, is the first question I’m asking The Rock during our close encounter.

I went over the press kit handed to me by Chris before I left Manila and I learned that The Rock is the wrestling name of this incredible hulk, shortened from Rocky Maivia. He was born Dwayne Douglas Johnson in San Francisco, California, in 1972, the son of successful professional wrestler Rocky Johnson and the grandson of Samoan wrestling legend Peter Maivia. At 26, The Rock became the youngest World Wrestling Federation champion and he came to be known as "The People’s Champion," recognized all over the world as a modern athletic icon.

The Rock was such a formidable and frightening presence in Mummy Returns that Universal Pictures bigwigs there and then decided to cast him in The Scorpion King which is inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior. The story is set 5,000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah where an evil ruler is determined to lay waste all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing that their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin named Mathayus (played by The Rock) to eliminate the visionary.

After infiltrating the enemy camp, Mathayus discovers that the sorcerer is, in fact, a beautiful woman (played by Kelly Hu). Rather than eliminate her, he takes her deep into the desert badlands, knowing that, wounded in the ensuing battle, Mathayus must find strength to lead his scrappy band of allies back to Gomorrah for a final confrontation.

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

I found Mummy Returns entertaining and I guess I would find The Scorpion King even more so at the world premiere also slated in L.A. for the 80 plus entertainment print/TV writers participating in the press junket.

I became curious and eager to meet The Rock in the flesh when I started hearing excited reactions from young, mostly male, movie fans to my forthcoming "collision" with The Rock – you know, eyes growing big and wide before breaking into an exclamation, "You mean you’re interviewing The Rock!?!" I told them, yes, I would and they couldn’t believe it, as if stung stunned by a scorpion.

When she heard about it, Pops Fernandez texted back from L.A. where she was vacationing with her sons Ram and Robin, "Oh, gosh! Can you get his autograph for my sons? They love him!"

In the press kit given to me by UIP (which is releasing the movie), The Rock (a record-setting, six-time WWF champion before he ventured into showbiz) was quoted as saying, when told halfway through the shooting of Mummy Returns that he already had a next movie waiting, "I was really, really excited. My long-term goal had been to break into the film industry and I was waiting for the right opportunity. This was definitely it."

The people behind the project have nothing but superlatives for him.

Producer Kevin Misher: "We were blown by his charisma and presence in the film (Mummy Returns). Even though he was speaking his lines in Egyptian, he was incredibly compelling, so we started coming up with a project for him."

Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King director): "The Rock has a grace about him. He moves well for his size, like a great heavyweight boxer. You cannot take your eyes off him in the action sequences, whether he is handling a sword or a bow, or a bow and arrow, or is in hand-to-hand combat. He puts his heart into the performance and has a wonderful attitude. He will surprise a lot of people, not only with his naturalness in front of the camera but with his range of emotion."

Meanwhile, excuse me while I take on The Rock in a verbal combat.

(Note: Watch for a Conversation with The Rock this Sunday, April 14.)