A new biopic about Claressa Shields, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, is set to release in theaters on Christmas after being dropped by its initial studio during the pandemic. The film, titled “The Fire Inside,” was initially supposed to be released in March 2020 but was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After two days of filming, production was canceled by Universal Pictures, leaving actress Ryan Destiny heartbroken. However, four years later, Amazon MGM Studios has given the movie a new lease on life. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and is now expected to reach audiences at a time when interest in women’s sports is rising.
Destiny, who played Shields in the biopic, trained with boxing coach Robert Sale, who prepared Michael B. Jordan for “Creed.” Despite having minimal sports experience, Destiny impressed cinematographer Rachel Morrison during auditions and was cast in the role. Morrison also took on her first feature directing role for the film.
The movie tells the story of Shields’s challenging path to Olympic gold, including her experiences living with her boxing coach as a teenager due to a strained relationship with her mother. The film received a lifeline from a former Amazon MGM executive and resumed filming in 2022 with new coach Brian Tyree Henry.
“The Fire Inside” is expected to reach audiences at a time when interest in women’s sports is growing, thanks in part to the arrivals of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in the W.N.B.A. and gymnast Simone Biles’s triumphant return to the Olympics. Shields says that the film will highlight the struggles women’s sports have faced for equality and support.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/movies/fire-inside-claressa-shields.html