That meant taping Smith’s ears back to his head to more closely resemble the Greatest. To be Mann’s idea of Muhammad Ali, Smith had to train for 13 months before shooting and spend eight months gaining 30 pounds on his trim 192-pound frame, which meant eating seven times a day. Then, there was the matter of the ear, and mastery of Ali’s distinctive Southern Baptist-tinged chanting vocal delivery.^[1]

Voight did not know Cosell well, but he has had a long friendship with Muhammad Ali. When Mann phoned to ask him about playing Cosell, Voight — who worked with Mann on “Heat” — was flattered and surprised. “I probably responded like most people, that it was an unusual choice,” Voight says. “Yet I know Michael chooses people on where their talents lie, and not necessarily on their physical characteristics.” To capture the essence of Cosell, Voight spent “at least six hours a day” in the makeup chair.^[2]

December 2000: IEG originally bought foreign in the Michael Mann-Will Smith pic for about $65 million to $70 million, leaving Columbia with about a $35 million to $40 million exposure for domestic. The studio dug in over the pic’s budget, getting concessions from the participants to make sure it did not exceed $105 million. Now, it looks like “Ali” will be more costly for the studio anyway. When IEG took the temperature in foreign countries, it suddenly realized it had overpaid and would have difficulty covering its costs. Columbia didn’t close the longform contract fast enough, and IEG came back to the table for more concessions, said sources. The negotiations were ongoing into Wednesday evening, but clearly Columbia has no choice but to budge and assume more of the financial burden of the movie. That might be made easier, given that the studio has Smith locked into a June start date on “Men in Black 2.”^[3]

May 2001: Cannes: Initial Entertainment Group has finalized its deal to partner with Columbia Pictures on the $105 million-budgeted “Ali.” IEG has put in more than $55 million, in return for foreign distribution rights to the pic. EG is handling distribution on “Ali” worldwide, excluding the U.S. and Canada, and is actively selling the title at Cannes. Leading U.K. indie distributor Entertainment Film Distributors, headed by Nigel and Trevor Green, will release the film in Blighty. Columbia Pictures will release the film in the U.S. and Canada. IEG is expected to close other major European territory deals during Cannes.^[4]