"Raging Bull 2" is no longer called "Raging Bull 2." As EW.com reports, the controversial sequel to the 1980 classic "Raging Bull" is now titled "The Bronx Bull," the nickname of the film's subject, former boxer Jake LaMotta. Even further, "The Bronx Bull" is not actually a sequel to "Raging Bull" anymore, according to a joint statement from "Raging Bull" studio MGM and "Raging Bull 2" producer Dahlia Waingort.
"The parties have amicably reached a resolution of their pending litigation, pursuant to which production of a film based upon certain events in the life of Jake LaMotta will proceed under the working title 'The Bronx Bull,'" they said. "That film is not related in any way to the 1980 motion picture entitled 'Raging Bull,' and MGM is not associated with the film in any respect. Neither party will have any further statements regarding this matter."
The non-sequel has been in production since earlier this year, but MGM filed a lawsuit against the producers back in July stop it from getting released.
As Deadline.com reported, when MGM originally signed its deal with LaMotta to turn his 1970 memoir into a movie, the studio also acquired the rights to his yet unwritten sequel. LaMotta wrote a follow-up to "Raging Bull" in 1986.
Martin Guigui directed "The Bronx Bull," with William Forsythe starring as LaMotta, a role that won De Niro his only Best Actor trophy. (De Niro had previously won Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Godfather Part II.")
“I understand [criticism] because it's such an iconic, beautiful and amazing first film -- one of the great films maybe of all time," Forsythe told The Calgary Herald back in May. "But our story has a lot more heart and I think it's a beautiful depiction of who Jake really is.”
Scorsese -- the first film's original director -- has stayed away from the sequel. He addressed whether he could make a follow-up to "Raging Bull" in an interview with GQ.com earlier this year.
I don't think I could revisit the material, as they say. I think we said what we had to say at that time. All of us moved on. Different aspects of the same story basically keep making the rounds. [...] Rise and fall and self-destruction and the suffering and somehow coming through, in some cases. Coming through the suffering so that you change in a way. I don't know. It's dealing with yourself, really. Ultimately, at the end of 'Raging Bull,' he's looking in a mirror and he's at comfort with himself, to a certain extent. He's not fighting, he's not beating himself up. That's all. So, I don't know where they're going to go.
For more on "Raging Bull 2," head over to EW.com.
[via EW.com]
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