Aryna Sabalenka after winning against Amanda Anisimova during their Women’s Singles Final match on Day Fourteen of the 2025 US Open (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shocked fans when he stepped out in Venice, Italy over the weekend.
On Saturday, the 53-year-old actor debuted a noticeably slimmer physique as he attended the Miu Miu Women’s Tales event at the Venice Film Festival ahead of the premiere of his new movie “The Smashing Machine.”
In a video that was taken during the event and later shared on social media, Johnson was seen clad in a light blue short-sleeved button-down silk shirt with a colorful print, which he paired with black pants. “The Fast and Furious” star beamed as he posed for the cameras with his hands in his pockets.
After the post went viral, fans expressed their surprise over the WWE star’s appearance.
“Yep had to do a double take..” one X user commented.
Dwayne Johnson stunned fans with his physical transformation when he stepped out in Venice over the weekend.
“He’s so lean,” a fan commented.
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“The Rock slimming down and still owning every room…legendary glow-up unlocked,” another chimed in.
“New look, same legend,” one social media user wrote, while another added, “He looks great”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson’s representatives for comment.
On Saturday, the 53-year-old actor debuted a noticeably slimmer physique at the Venice Film Festival.
Johnson, who has not commented on his appearance, will play real-life former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.” The movie was directed and written by Benny Safdie, and has already generated awards buzz for Johnson.
The “Red Notice” star previously shared that he spent up to four hours in the makeup chair and wore 13 to 14 prosthetics to portray Kerr.
Johnson previously said he wore 13 to 14 prosthetics for the role.
The biographical sports drama also stars Johnson’s “Jungle Cruise” co-star Emily Blunt as Kerr’s then-wife Dawn Staples. “The Smashing Machine” follows Kerr’s rise to UFC glory and his subsequent struggles with opioid addiction and personal demons. The film also chronicles the ups and downs of Kerr’s volatile relationship with Dawn.
On Monday, Johnson along with Blunt, Safdie and Kerr himself, walked the red carpet at the premiere of “The Smashing Machine,” which was held in Sala Grande on the Venice Lido. In a video shared on X, Johnson was seen wiping away tears and clapping as the film received a 15-minute standing ovation. Safdie was also seen crying during the ovation, which was one of the longest since the festival kicked off on Aug. 27.
Johnson played real-life MMA star Mark Kerr in the movie.
“The Smashing Machine” also received a nomination for the Golden Lion, the highest prize at the festival.
Ahead of the film’s premiere, Johnson appeared at a press conference for the movie in which he reflected on taking on a very different role after making his name as an action star.
“This transformation was something I was really hungry to do,” Johnson said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, ‘Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?'”
Johnson also shared his thoughts on the challenges that actors can face when breaking the cycle of typecasting.
Emily Blunt co-starred with Johnson in the film.
“You chase the box office, and the box office, in our business that we know, is very loud, and it can be very resounding, and it can push you into a category and into a corner,” Johnson noted, via USA Today. “‘This is your lane, and this is what you do, and this is what people want you to be, and this what Hollywood wants you to be.’ I understood that, and I made those movies, and I liked them and they were fun.”
“I just had this burning desire and this voice that was saying, ‘What if? What if there is more? What if I can?'” he continued. “A lot of times it’s harder for us, or at least for me, to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeonholed into something.”
Johnson credited Blunt and Safdie for supporting him, saying their encouragement gave him confidence to take on the part.
“Sometimes it takes people who you love and you respect, like Emily and Benny, to say you can,'” he said.
“The Smashing Machine” will be released in theaters Oct. 3.
Original article source: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s slimmer look at Venice Film Festival has fans doing double takes
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Powerball players in Missouri and Texas won the estimated $1.8 billion jackpot on Saturday, overcoming astronomical odds to end the lottery game’s three-month drought without a big winner.
The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, and 62, with the Powerball number being 17.
The prize, which was the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot in history, followed 41 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers. The last drawing with a jackpot winner happened May 31.
Powerball’s terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes. There are three drawings each week.
The estimated $1.8 billion jackpot would go to a winner who opts to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which for Saturday night’s drawing would be an estimated $826.4 million.
Powerball tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A nearly $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot finally found winners during Saturday night’s draw, the Multi-State Lottery Association said.
The jackpot winners hailed from Texas and Missouri, it said, resulting in a two-way split of a $1.787 billion jackpot, the association said in a statement late Saturday.
The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and Powerball 17, it said.
Winners will be able to chose one of two ways to claim their half of the jackpot: an annuitized prize of $893.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $410.3 million. The annuitized prize would come in 30 payments over a 29-year span.
Additional details, including the identities of the winners and where the tickets were sold, have not been released.
Winning tickets with a face value of $2 million each, which matched five numbers as well as the Powerball number, were purchased in Texas and Kansas, the association said.
The jackpot grew as a result of no winners since May 31. Saturday’s drawing was for the second-largest jackpot in Powerball history, lottery officials said.
The only jackpot worth more was the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California on Nov. 7, 2022, they said.
Reaction to Donald Trump‘s attendance at the U.S. Open Men’s Final on Sunday just stepped into Center Court.
A memo sent to the likes of ESPN and Sky Sports this afternoon from the United States Tennis Association asks “all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity.”
Whether censorship, a very heavy handed request for civility amidst political division, both or an unintentional shooting of their own foort, the USTA entreaty Saturday has had the immediate effect now of putting an added spotlight on Trump’s appearance at the prestigious match.
Shown on ABC, ESPN Unlimited and other platforms of the sports giant, the dramatic battle between Carlos Alcaraz (who won the U.S. Open title in 2022) and Jannik Sinner (who won Wimbledon two months ago) is set to start at 11 am PT/2 pm ET.
According to guidance from the White House, Trump will be in the stadium at that time. He is expected to be front and center on Arthur Ashe Stadium’s giant video screen during the national anthem. Unlikely to be talking tariffs by any measure, Trump is at the match as a guest of Rolex.
When contacted by Deadline, ESPN had no comment on the USTA correspondence. However, indications from insiders at the Disney outlet is that they will be concentrating their coverage on the tennis but not ignore Trump or his presence. That last part may be the wiggle room Disney, who paid then president-elect Trump over $15 million back in December to in a much derided move to settle his defamation suit against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos, occupies to turn the cameras on or off any jeers, banners or more that break out at Sunday’s match
For USTA, who have seen a constant stream of high profile attendees like Common, Walton Goggins, Hugh Jackman, Anna Wintour, Naomi Watts, the Great One Wayne Gretzky and the G.O.A.T. Billie Jean King, at this year’s U.S. Open, the attitude is this is all business as usual – just bigger. “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” USTA Managing Director, Head of Communications and Content Lisa Cradit told Deadline tonight.
Certainly, Trump showing up at other sporting events recently like July 13’s FIFA Club World Cup final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium and February at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans resulted in a bellow of boos. In the latter case, which saw Taylor Swift booed too, there were cheers for the former Celebrity Apprentice host. The same couldn’t be said of the last time Trump showed up at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the U.S. Open in 2015 — then the boos far out blasted any positive response.
Will history repeat itself?
Well, there is some precedent of recurrence at the U.S. Open this year.
Having won in 2024, Aryna Sabalenka remains the U.S. Open’s women’s champion. The Belarusian player defeated Amanda Anisimova in straight sets earlier today. Sabalenka was applauded and received a standing ovation for her hard fought second consecutive Ashe victory.
Aryna Sabalenka after winning against Amanda Anisimova during their Women’s Singles Final match on Day Fourteen of the 2025 US Open (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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