The Fire Inside (film)

Last updated
The Fire Inside
Directed by Rachel Morrison
Screenplay by Barry Jenkins
Based on
T-Rex
by
  • Zackary Canepari
  • Drea Cooper
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRina Yang [1]
Edited by Harry Yoon [2]
Music by Tamar-kali
Production
companies
Distributed by Amazon MGM Studios [3]
Release dates
  • September 2024 (2024-09)(TIFF)
  • December 25, 2024 (2024-12-25)(United States)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Fire Inside is an upcoming American biographical sports film by Rachel Morrison in her feature directional debut. The film is based on T-Rex, a 2015 documentary about American professional boxer Claressa "T-Rex" Shields training for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Ryan Destiny stars as the lead, alongside Judy Greer and Brian Tyree Henry.

Contents

Development began in October 2016 with Barry Jenkins adapting the documentary for Universal Pictures under the title Flint Strong. Morrison joined to direct in June 2019 with Michael De Luca, Elishia Holmes, Zackary Canepari, and Drea Cooper to produce alongside Jenkins. Destiny was added in November, and Ice Cube and Greer were cast in early 2020. Filming began in Toronto in March 2020, but was halted two days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was scheduled to resume in June 2021. However, Cube left in October and Universal put the film in turnaround. It was then picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May 2022 with Henry and Oluniké Adeliyi joining the cast and filming resuming that month.

The Fire Inside is set to premiere in the Special Presentations section of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024 and is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 25, 2024, by Amazon MGM Studios through their Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer label.

Plot

Claressa "T-Rex" Shields trains to box in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Cast

Production

On October 7, 2016, Universal Pictures hired Barry Jenkins to adapt the 2015 documentary T-Rex with the possibility to direct the film. [4] On June 19, 2019, Rachel Morrison was set to make her directorial debut on Flint Strong; Jenkins would produce with Michael De Luca and Elishia Holmes, while Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper, who worked on T-Rex would serve as executive producers. [5]

On November 13, 2019, Ryan Destiny was cast as Claressa "T-Rex" Shields. [6] On February 5, 2020, Ice Cube was cast as Shields' coach, Jason Crutchfield. [7] Judy Greer was added on May 14. [8] However, on October 29, 2021, it was reported that Cube had left the project after refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to film Oh Hell No (now titled Stepdude) for Columbia Pictures, putting the film in turnaround. [9]

Principal photography began at Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto on March 11, 2020, but on March 13, production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] [11] [12] In an interview with The Guardian , Shields stated that production was set to resume in June 2021. [13] However, the project entered a long delay due to being offloaded by Universal. It would be picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and on May 25, 2022, Brian Tyree Henry joined the cast to replace Cube and Oluniké Adeliyi joined to play Shields' mother, with filming resuming later that month. [14] On July 6, 2022, De'Adre Aziza joined the cast as Mickey, Crutchfield's wife. [15] In July of 2022, filming for this project took place in Hamilton, Ontario, where the FirstOntario Centre took the main stage as an Olympic boxing venue. [16]

Release

In July 2024, The Fire Inside was announced as part of the Special Presentations section at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival scheduled for September 2024. [17] The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on December 25, 2024. [18]

Marketing

First look images from the film were released by People on July 26, 2024, coinciding with the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. [19]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Flint Strong Cinematographer". Archived from the original on 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  2. ↑ "Harry Yoon" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  3. ↑ Whittock, Jesse (2023-05-08). "Amazon MGM Studios Distribution To Launch At LA Screenings". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  4. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 7, 2016). "'Moonlight's Barry Jenkins To Script Story Of First American Female Gold Medal Boxer Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  5. ↑ Kroll, Justin (June 19, 2018). "'Black Panther' DP Rachel Morrison to Make Directorial Debut on Barry Jenkins Script 'Flint Strong'". Variety . Archived from the original on November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  6. ↑ N’Duka, Amanda (November 13, 2019). "Ryan Destiny To Lead The Rachel Morrison-Directed Boxing Drama 'Flint Strong'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  7. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 5, 2020). "Ice Cube to Star in Sports Drama 'Flint Strong'". Variety. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Judy Greer Boards Universal's Rachel Morrison Boxing Drama 'Flint Strong'". 14 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  9. ↑ Masters, Kim; Kit, Borys (2021-10-29). "Ice Cube Exits Sony Comedy 'Oh Hell No' After Declining COVID-19 Vaccine". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  10. ↑ Pinto, Jordan (March 16, 2020). "eOne suspends production on Nurses due to coronavirus". Playback . Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  11. ↑ Kroll, Justin (March 13, 2020). "Universal Halts Production on Live-Action Films Including 'Jurassic World: Dominion' Due to Coronavirus". Variety. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ Morrison, Rachel (March 13, 2020). "I started this morning scouting an amazing set..." Instagram . Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ Hunt, Loretta (June 10, 2021). "Claressa Shields: 'I can drive through Flint now and not get flashbacks'". The Guardian . Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 25, 2022). "Brian Tyree Henry Boards Flint Strong As Boxing Drama Finds New Studio Home, Restarts Shooting (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  15. ↑ Grobar, Matt (2022-07-06). "Rachel Morrison's MGM Drama 'Flint Strong' Adds De'Adre Aziza; Arden Myrin To Star In Indie 'Step Aside'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  16. ↑ Contributor, Daniel Nolan (2022-07-22). "FirstOntario Centre in the ring for boxing movie Flint Strong". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN   1189-9417 . Retrieved 2024-08-08.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ↑ https://deadline.com/2024/07/2024-toronto-film-festival-lineup-movies-list-1236017283/
  18. ↑ "The Fire Inside". Fandango Media . June 19, 2023. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  19. ↑ https://people.com/the-fire-inside-first-look-exclusive-8683066
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