rHodas: Justin Bieber Has 'It,' Mark Wahlberg Says

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Justin Bieber Has 'It,' Mark Wahlberg Says

'I'm pretty intuitive,' actor tells MTV News about why he wanted to work with the pop star on an upcoming basketball-themed drama.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Mark Wahlberg
Photo: MTV News

Mark Wahlberg surprised movie fans everywhere when he announced plans to hook up with Justin Bieber on the big screen. But when MTV News caught up with the "Contraband" star recently, he explained why he wanted to work with the teen phenom on the basketball-themed drama.

"Intuition. I'm pretty intuitive," he said of why he thinks shooting a film with the pop star is the right choice. "I see the guy and spent time with him, and you see what he does and how he does it, and then you actually have a conversation with him, and it's there."

Of course, if it doesn't come easily to the rookie actor, Wahlberg has a backup plan: "It's there — and if not, I will extract it."

When MTV News caught up with Wahlberg and Bieber earlier this year at the MTV Movie Awards, they opened up a bit more about the in-the-works flick.

"Wait till you see me and Bieber in the flick. Think of, like, 'The Color of Money,' " Wahlberg said of his "old guy" role. "So I get this call from Paramount [with a story about] an old guy and a young guy. I'm like, 'Cool, let's get Jack [Nicholson]. Let's get Robert De Niro. Let's get Robert Duvall.' And they go, 'What about Garrett Hedlund?' I'm like, 'For what?' " he further recalled. "They're like, 'For the young guy.' "

Bieber, who previously appeared on the big screen in his 3-D concert flick "Never Say Never," said he hopes to be on a film set by sometime next summer. And while he kept his plans hush-hush, he added that his team is "working on the script."

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