Universal Pictures Acquires Rights to story of Olympic Gold Medal Boxer Claressa 'T-Rex' Shi
She was only 17 at the time, but Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields made Olympic history by becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. It's the stuff of dreams and Universal Pictures recently bought the rights to tell her story. The studio has teamed with Michael De Luca Productions to create "a Rocky-esque movie" according to Deadline who first reported the news. The Flint, Michigan fighter recently qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Shields was also the subject of "T-Rex", a documentary about her life, which made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX, in 2015. Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper directed the project and their rights are part of the package. The documentary was acquired by Netflix and will air this summer.The film will be produced by De Luca and Elishia Holmes. It was De Luca Films exec Holmes who championed the project and will oversee it.
The question is, what up-and-coming actor will be chosen to play Shields? I can't wait for that announcement!
