Halle Berry, an actress who could definitely kick my ass, will make her directorial debut with a film about professional ass-kickers,Bruised.Varietyreports that the Oscar-winning actress will direct the mixed martial arts drama from a script byMichelle Rosenfarb,with Thunder Road Pictures’Basil Iwanyk(Sicario), Entertainment 360, andLinda Gottlieb(Dirty Dancing) attached to produce.
The movie sounds a bit like a mix ofThe WrestlerandRocky Balboaset inside an MMA octagon, with a disgraced fighter juggling an upcoming fight with an up-and-coming superstar with the return of her six-year-old son “to the mother he deserves.“Bruisedis currently set to begin production in March.
The most intriguing news out of all this is that Berry will reportedly work with the same fight coordination team that designs the throwdowns for theJohn Wickfilms. Those movies—filled with beautifully choreographed bits of ultra-violence—transformed a 50-year-oldKeanu Reevesback into a thug-slaughtering action badass and the rapperCommoninto a believable knife-wielding war machine. They know a good tussle, is what I’m saying, and it’ll be interesting to see how a more down-to-Earth drama melds with what are sure to be some frantic, frenetic fight sequences. It doesn’t hurt that Berry is an absolute Hollywood veteran, breaking into the business on the 1989 seriesLiving Dolls, making her screen debut in Spike Lee’sJungle Fever, and winning an Oscar forMonster’s Ballalong the way.
Berry is set to appear in theJohn Wickuniverse herself with next year’s trilogy-capper,John Wick: Parabellum,playing the role of an underground assassin named Sofia. At some point, Keanu Reeves is going commit murder on horseback. It’s gonna' be a good time.
