“Booksmart” didn’t get a ton of awards season love like many film fans had hoped last year, but what the film did succeed in doing is announce to the world that Olivia Wilde is a filmmaker worth keeping an eye on. And now, fresh off her successful directorial debut, Wilde has a number of projects on her slate, including one that finds her telling the story of one of the greatest American Olympic gymnasts ever.
According to Deadline, Olivia Wilde has signed on to direct a biopic about athlete Kerri Strug, the Olympic champion gymnast that overcame adversity and injury to help Team USA win the gold medal in 1996. Images of her being carried around by her coach are now iconic and have been etched in the brains of viewers that were caught up in the excitement of that year’s Olympic Games. The film will be based on the book, “Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams” by Strug and John P. Lopez.
“This is a film about what real power looks like,” said Wilde. “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-fulfillment that makes those films so thrilling to watch. At the same time, it is unlike any sports movie you have seen before.”
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The Kerri Strug biopic is just one of a few projects that Wilde has in development now. She’s currently working on a film titled “Don’t Worry, Darling,” which is being dubbed a thriller. The filmmaker also has a new holiday comedy that she’s set to direct, as well. In addition, she found time last year to star in the Oscar-nominated film, “Richard Jewell.”
No word on when we might see the sports biopic hit theaters.