David O. Russell's latest film, The Fighter , stars Christian Bale as real-life boxer Dickie Ecklund, a talented fighter who peaks at a young age before returning to the ring to train half-brother Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg).
The film has been in development for a number of years, with Darren Arronofsky set to direct with Wahlberg and Pitt in the ecklund role.
Then Russell came aboard and Matt Damon was attached as a replacement for Pitt, before Bale finally nabbed the role.
Take a peak at the production stills and training videos below, and don't say we never give you anything (thanks to the shiny, happy people at Slash Film);
We were quite shocked at how gaunt Bale is looking in these pics, until we realised that he's supposed to be fairly aged, so perhaps he starts off in peak condition (he apparently did so intense training for the pic, as is his want), before going all Skeletor on us.
Wahlberg on the other hand looks in great shape, taking full advantage of the stalled pre-production to get in top shape.
The Fighter is released next year and also stars Amy Adams and Melissa Leo.
What do you reckon? Raging Bull? Or Cock & Bull? Let us know in the comments.
