Today in It’s About Time news: the first woman to secure the Commonwealth, European, World, and Olympic boxing titles is getting a biopic. “Hear Me Roar,” a coming-of-age story about two-time Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams’ rise, is in the works at Lionsgate and Salon Pictures, Variety reports. Helena Coan, who previously helmed the doc “Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story,” is directing from a script by playwright Charlie Josephine (“Bitch Boxer”).
Salon Pictures is producing, while Lionsgate and Great Point Media are co-funding. “The project has Adams’ full participation,” per the source.
Adams competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and won a gold medal at each. She became the first female boxer Olympic champ at the former. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at the 2017 New Year Honours ceremony. Adams retired with an undefeated WBO female flyweight title in 2019.
“We really enjoyed making the Amazon Original documentary of Nicola, and were keen to make a scripted dramatization of Nicola’s story,” said Salon Pictures’ Nick Taussig. “It feels extraordinarily timely – she battles childhood hardship and adversity, as well as the male boxing world, to become a champion. Helena is an exciting, gifted, and important young British filmmaker and we are confident she will make a compelling film.”
“We are thrilled to have teamed up with Great Point Media and Salon Pictures to make this exciting biopic about the rise of British and Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams OBE,” added Lionsgate’s Emma Berkofsky. “We are looking forward to working alongside the talented director Helena Coan and writer Charlie Josephine, who will bring Nicola’s remarkable story to the screen. This will be a vivid, truthful, and electrifying portrayal of the life of one of Britain’s most beloved sports stars.”
Docs about Audrey Hepburn (“Audrey”) and car designer Frank Stephenson (“Chasing Perfect”) are among Coan’s other credits.
Other sports pics on our radar include the recently released “Catch the Fair One,” a Tribeca-winning revenge drama starring real-life professional boxer Kali Reis, and an upcoming biopic about Fallon Fox, the first openly trans MMA fighter.
