Olivia Wilde Will Direct a Biopic Based on Olympic Gymnast Kerri Strug Titled PERFECT
Olivia Wilde, who directed Booksmart last year, is getting back behind the camera to direct a biopic titled Perfect that will center around Olympic gymnast champion Kerri Strug.
I don’t know if you remember the story of Strug, but it’s pretty incredible. The film is based on the book Landing On My Feet, A Diary Of Dreams by Strug and John P. Lopez. It tells the true story of “the gymnast’s triumph against the odds to win Team USA’s first gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Strug was hailed as an American hero when she completed her final vault at the Atlanta games on a badly injured ankle to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.”
If you want a reminder of how this all went down, I included a video below for you to watch that breaks it all down for you. This is actually a pretty inspiring story and afterward, Strug became an instant national sensation, visiting President Clinton, appearing on various talk shows, and making the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Wilde has proved that she’s a talented director with Booksmart, so I’m happy to see that she is going to be taking on a new filmmaking project and this is going to be a good one for her! She said in a statement:
“This is a film about what real power looks like. 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 script for the film is being written by Ronnie Sandahl (Borg/McEnroe) and I’ll be looking forward to watching the movie! Wilde is next directing, starring in and producing Don’t Worry, Darling for New Line.