Behind the making of ‘Unstoppable’ starring Jennifer Lopez, Jharrel Jerome

PHILADELPHIA - How did Anthony Robles, a man who was born with one leg, go on to become a National wrestling champion? 

It’s the question asked and answered in the new film, ‘Unstoppable.’ 

From difficult conversations to stellar wrestling training mixed with visual effects, Director William Goldenberg chats with FOX 29’s Kamryn Scrivens about all that went into telling Anthony Robles’ remarkable story in his directorial feature debut. 

The actor who plays Robles in the film would have to do an incredible job because, as Goldenberg says, "he can move in a way nobody with two legs could."

Jharrel Jerome nailed the portrayal of Anthony Robles and Goldenberg revealed he trained to be a wrestler over the course of five years. 

Even professional wrestlers on-set gave Jerome props for his wrestling skills. 

While Anthony Robles grappled with choosing the right college to attend, one that would offer him the opportunity to wrestle and gain a nice education, out of Iowa, Oklahoma State, and Columbia, none of them recruited him. So, he decided to walk on to Arizona State University, his home state.

The film highlights the tumultuous relationships that went on in his household between his mom, Judy Robles played by Jennifer Lopez and his former stepdad, Rich, played by Bobby Cannavale.

Jennifer Lopez previously spoke out about her experiences with being manhandled in past relationships during her documentary, "The Greatest Love Story Never Told." 

It is no surprise that J.Lo and Judy Robles connected on a deeper level. 

Goldenberg described the two and their bond as ‘long lost friends.’ 

"They saw a lot of themselves in each other… to the point there were stories that Judy told Jennifer that I hadn't heard that made its way into the script," Goldenberg revealed. "Jennifer said this is what Judy told me, she's comfortable with putting this in so we put those in." 

The Temple University alum said Jennifer even wore some of Judy's clothes in the film.

"Judy saved everything and some of the couple of beanies and t-shirts and one of the jackets and so that made it. I don't know, it just made it special to have to know that she was wearing Judy’s clothes."

Goldenberg previously worked very closely with Ben Affleck, most notably  in ‘Argo,’ a film that won Goldenberg his first Academy Award for Best Film Editing. 

With Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as producers on the film, did Goldenberg ever consider the two to star in the movie? 

"Briefly," responded Goldenberg. "there was some talk about it, but then I didn't want it to be a distraction…I just went for the cast that I thought would be perfect and everybody who I asked said yes." 

"It was a brief conversation but you know they're so busy doing they have so many projects and they really didn't even have the time," the director continued. "There was talk about Matt playing this role or that role and but it was like can you shoot everything in one day I'm like no you know so at a certain point we just let go of the idea." 

Though Damon and Affleck were not a part of the cast, Goldenberg explained their input from a producer's standpoint was invaluable. 

"With Ben and Matt it was like we were a team, and it always felt like, you know, I could always go to them with any question and and especially in post-production, got phenomenal notes from them and made the film so much better than it would have been without them, so having them as producers was like a dream come true." 

‘Unstoppable’ was notably the last film Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck worked on together as a married couple. With the trials and tribulations of their partnership, Goldenberg admitted that they both remained professional and committed to the project. 

"Everybody wants the movie to be good and they're professionals and you know their personal life is their personal life. I wish them both well. I love them both, you know," said the director. "They were both awesome, amazing, Jennifer was so committed and she was so in it the whole time and it fed into everybody else's performance." 

‘Unstoppable’ drops in select theaters on December 6, 2024 and it will also be available to stream on Prime Video starting January 16, 2025.