Actress-singerRyan Destiny, who played Alex Crane Jones on Fox’sStar, has been cast as Olympic champClaressa ‘T-Rex’ Shieldsin Universal’s boxing movieFlint Strong, Collider has learned.
The project boasts a powerhouse trio behind the camera, as Oscar-nominated cinematographerRachel Morrison(Mudbound) will make her feature directorial debut from a script by Oscar-winning writerBarry Jenkins(Moonlight), whileMichael De Luca(The Social Network) will produce via his eponymous banner.
Flint Strongis based on the 2015 documentaryT-RexfromZackary CanepariandDrea Cooper. The documentary followed 17-year-old Shields, who emerged from Flint, Michigan to become the first woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. The studio acquired her life rights and the rights to the documentary back in 2016, sensing there was a movie in her inspirational story. Shields is also a survivor of sexual abuse, who found strength in her Christian faith, per herWikipediaentry.
Three-time Oscar nominee De Luca will produce alongsideElishia Holmesand Jenkins, while Canepari and Cooper will executive produce withSue Jaye Johnson, who produced the documentary. Universal executivesErik BaiersandTony Ducretwill oversee the project for the studio.
Morrison’s directorial debut is particularly noteworthy in that she was the first woman to be nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar thanks to her impressive work onMudbound. She also served asRyan Coogler’s director of photography on Marvel’sBlack Panther.
Destiny hails from Detroit, Michigan, and she can currently be seen on Freeform’sgrown-ish. The singer-turned-actress first rose to fame as a member of the girl-group Love Dollhouse in 2013, and she went on to appear in several episodes of AMC’s Detroit-set crime seriesLow Winter Sun.Flint Strongis a major get for the young actress, who is no doubt eager to tackle the challenge of this physically and emotionally demanding role. Destiny is represented by UTA, Dawn Irons at 717 Management and Hansen Jacobson.
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