The Rock Reaps Movie Bounty

August 23, 2001 -- With his movie career taking off, a certain WWF wrestling star had better figure out how he wants to be billed from now on: as The Rock or as (his real name) Dwayne Johnson.Universal, which is already gambling on The Rock's marquee value in the upcoming The Scorpion King, has acquired two new properties for the budding action star

The studio has picked up the spec script Hunting Bronze, a Midnight Run-like action comedy written by newcomer Joseph C. Muscat, in which The Rock would play a bounty hunter who must find a fugitive before a rogue cop finds and kills him.

The other project is an untitled pitch to be written by writer-director Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for co-writing L.A. Confidential, although the role wasn't planned with the wrestling heavyweight in mind. The Rock made his acting debut with a scant 10-minute role as The Scorpion King in this year's The Mummy Returns, which has thus far grossed $415 million worldwide. The Scorpion King, a spinoff of the Mummy franchise, will be released next year. The Rock made showbiz news by earning $5.5 million for the film, a record-high salary for a first-time starring role.

Since completing The Scorpion King, The Rock has resumed his rigorous ring schedule, last weekend capturing the WCW title and currently lining up a showdown with WWF belt-holder "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Reuters/Variety contributed to this story.