Olivia Wilde‘s Booksmart was one of the best films of 2019 and a slam dunk directorial debut. Its success has led to fans wondering what Wilde’s next behind-the-camera projects will be, and after knocking the comedy genre out of the park, the director is now setting her sights on the sports genre. See, those sports metaphors made sense.
Wilde is reportedly lining up a Kerri Strug biopic titled Perfect. The film will chronicle the true story of the titular gymnast’s triumph despite an injury to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Funnily enough, that’s the same Olympics that was chronicled in Clint Eastwood‘s Richard Jewell, in which Wilde had a supporting role last year.
The biopic will be based on Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams by Strung and John P. Lopez. Ronnie Sandahl – who already has experience in the sports movie genre, having written Borg/McEnroe – has penned the script. “This is a film about what real power looks like”, Wilde said in a statement. “It is an excruciatingly beautiful underdog story that will thrust the audience into the heart of Kerri Strug with unblinking, raw honesty.
It is an epic sports movie that will deliver on all the wish-fulfilment that makes those films so thrilling to watch. At the same time, it is unlike any sports movie you have seen before”.
The film is being shopped to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin. Perfect won’t be Wilde’s next film though, as she already has psychological thriller titled Don’t Worry, Darling in the works at New Line. She will star, write, produce and direct the project, which revolves around a 1900s housewife whose reality begins to crack.
Thanks to the critical acclaim Booksmart garnered, Wilde should have plenty of opportunities behind the camera. Don’t be surprised if she becomes one of the defining directors of the upcoming decade.
#Peace.Love.Perfect
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