Dwayne Johnson had a lot to talk about during his surprise appearance during the Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon 2022. With two DC projects waiting in the wings to premiere in theaters – Black Adam and DC’s League of Superpets — there were plenty of talking points to get through, but The Rock also shared a sweet and funny story about how movie theaters have always taken care of his mom, but how he got a call from Disney’s Bob Iger after his mom went a little too far with theater requests after Moana came out.
Speaking directly to Cinemark employees at the Warner Bros. panel during, Dwayne Johnson opened up about a particular theater chain location in South Florida his mother frequents, and from the sounds of things people know she’s Johnson’s mom. They know because she’s told them… and Ata Johnson developed a bit of a penchant for ‘stealing’ her son’s movie signs.
My mom is my biggest fan, loves to go to movies… every time she’ll go see a movie that’s not mine, a lot of times my signage will be in your lobby. So, there was signage, I think it might have been Moana, when she went.. she went to get the manager at Cinemark and she goes, ‘Hi I’m the Rock’s mom.’ They’re like, ‘Hi, welcome.’ She’s like, ‘Can I have that sign?’ By the way, she’s done this multiple times.
That’s an honest quandary for the theater right there. What do you do if you are the manager of a major theater chain and The Rock’s mom comes up and wants his sign? Like, despite the fact it’s there to promote a movie, you have to give it to her, right? Not right? It must have worked though, because there’s a Part B to this amusing story. In fact, it seems like this became such a known thing that then-Disney head honcho Bob Iger caught wind of it and called up Johnson to give him the heads up.
The first time she did this was for Moana. I get the call from Bob Iger, ‘Hey Rock, listen, your mom is stealing signs.’
Gotta love it. To note, the 2016 animated film wasn’t even close to the actor’s first major hit. He’d already shot into the stratosphere with some of his best projects like San Andreas and Furious 7. Next up, Dwayne Johnson will continue that tear of upcoming projects, appearing in Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated new DC movie Black Adam opposite the likes of Noah Centineo, Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge and Sarah Shahi, among many others. But this story from his Moana era that came up when he appeared onstage at CinemaCon really stands out.
In the past, the actor has also shared stories about being in a position these days to give Mama Rock fun gifts, like a Cadillac for Christmas. Not everything in their relationship has been cute stories and kind gifts. The Rock is notably open about the ups and downs of what led him here, including his mom going through a lot in life. Back in 2018, he opened up on Instagram about his mom trying to “check out” when he was a teenager and how he had saved her that day. Years later, he’s been able to help make her life a little easier.
One thing’s for certain, though: I guess when The Rock says his mom is his biggest fan, he really means it.