A few weeks before his death, Michael Clarke Duncan was training in a boxing ring with his co-star and director Kent Moran for their new movie, "The Challenger."
"We were just training with him and he actually does a lot of physical things in the movie as my trainer, so [his death] sort of caught us all by surprise. It was very crazy," Moran told Headlines & Global News in an exclusive interview.
Duncan suffered a heart attack on July 13, 2012, shortly after completing his scenes on "The Challenger." He died on Sept. 3, 2012 at age 54.
Moran cast Duncan to play boxing trainer Duane who helps a struggling auto mechanic Jaden (Moran) get into fighting shape so he can earn money for him and his mother (S. Epatha Merkerson) to move back into their Bronx apartment. When Jaden starts winning his bouts, he attracts the attention of a basic cable network that decides to make a reality TV show called "The Challenger" that will follow him all the way to the heavyweight title.
The film has already garnered several accolades, winning the Audience Award at the Gasparilla International Film Festival, the Palm Beach International Film Festival and the Nashville Film Festival.
"We've definitely been pleased with the audience response," Moran said. "People seemed to be engaged by Jaden's journey and they really get behind [him]. A lot of the time, the audience starts actually cheering as if they're there. That's the kind of environment I wanted to place them in."
The movie incorporates a lot of the Bronx including the famous Willis Ave. Boxing Gym where many of Jaden's mid-level fights were filmed. Moran also had local musicians write songs for the soundtrack.
"There's a lot of great music that these guys came up with so I think the soundtrack will be really cool," he said.
"The Challenger" will screen at the Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles on May 28.
