Unstoppable, starring Jennifer Lopez, has been met with praise from Anthony Robles, author of the story that inspired it, and audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film, which drew a standing ovation from the audience as the credits rolled, is based on the true story of Robles, a wrestler who was born with one leg and won the NCAA national championship in 2011 while attending Arizona State University. Lopez stars as Robles’ mother, Judy Robles. Anthony is a producer and is credited as the stunt double for actor Jharrel Jerome, who plays Anthony.
During the film’s Toronto premiere on Friday, September 6, Robles spoke exclusively to People magazine about the reality of having his life story adapted for the big screen.
“I think the hardest part was speaking about things that were uncomfortable,” he said, “but I felt like in order to tell my story properly and really impact a lot of people, they needed to know my pain. They needed to know the hurt that I’d suffered and what I’d dealt with. I think it was hard for me, but it was also healing.”
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Although there were “some things here and there that just didn’t quite fit into the movie,” Anthony praised the film with a standing ovation after the credits rolled and told People magazine he was happy with the “overall message.”
“We’ve done it, and this team has done it,” he said, adding, “It just means that no matter what battle you’re fighting, you can overcome it. You can be unstoppable.”
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Judy was also in attendance at the screening, and according to video released by The Hollywood Reporter, she embraced Lopez after the superstar introduced her to the audience.
During the Q&A, Lopez said that Anthony and Judy trusted the filmmakers and “know that we will never misuse any of the information they give us, but only use it to tell their story in the best, most beautiful way that it deserves,” adding, “Because it is one of the most beautiful, most moving stories I have ever seen on screen.”
In addition to Lopez and Jerome, Unstoppable stars Michael Peña, Don Cheadle and Bobby Cannavale. Ben Affleck and longtime friend Matt Damon produced the film through their production company Artists Equity. Damon and his wife Luciana attended the film’s premiere in Toronto on Friday.
William Goldenberg, who worked with Affleck as an editor on 2023’s “Air” and 2012’s “Argo,” makes his directorial debut with the film, which marks Lopez’s latest since “Atlas” debuted on Netflix earlier this year.
Unstoppable will be in select theaters in December and will be available on Prime Video soon.
