Mark Wahlberg Spent ‘Millions and Millions’ of His Own Money to Fund New Film: ‘Betting on Myself’
variety.comZack Sharf Mark Wahlberg’s new movie “Father Stu” tells the true story of Stuart Long, an amateur boxer who becomes a Catholic priest while suffering from inclusion body myositis.
The film is way more than just an acting gig for Wahlberg, who recently told Insider that he spent “millions and millions of dollars” of his own money to partially self-fund “Father Stu” when no other financial backer would take on the project.
Wahlberg said he was partly inspired to do so by his co-star Mel Gibson, who spent around $30 million of his own money to help finance “The Passion of the Christ.”“Well, I’m always willing to bet on myself,” Wahlberg said about partly self-funding “Father Stu.” “I slipped the script to a couple of people that I thought maybe would get it, and they didn’t.
And obviously, it’s subjective. You have your own feeling of what the material is. Some people thought it was depressing because he’s sick at the end.
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