cloudbet An Emotional Boxing Biopic Overcame an Early Knockdown

For three months, Ryan Destiny had trained to portray Claressa Shields, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxingcloudbet, in the biopic “The Fire Inside.” There was a screenplay by Barry Jenkins, the director of “Moonlight,” and an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Rachel Morrison, making her feature directorial debut.

But after two days of filming in March 2020, production was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. Universal Pictures ultimately decided to drop the movie.

When Destiny learned about the studio’s decision, she cried.

“I was so heartbroken because I know how rare an opportunity like this is,” said Destiny, 29, who was previously on the television series “Star” and “Grown-ish.” “And I just felt like, ‘Of course this will happen when I finally get in the door a little bit with a role that is so vulnerable and raw and real and will touch people.’”

About four years after the movie was dropped, “The Fire Inside” — now distributed by Amazon MGM Studios — is set to release in theaters on Christmas. It premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, which can help give a movie buzz entering awards season.

“I just knew we would find a way, I wasn’t going to let it go,” Morrison said. “In my head, I was like, ‘OK, this is undeniable.’”

“The Fire Inside” was inspired by “T-Rex,” a 2015 documentary about Shields, who lived with her boxing coach as a teenager because of a strained relationship with her mother and then won gold in the 2012 Summer Games in London when she was 17. After companies did not endorse her, choosing stars in more glamorous sports, Shields won gold again, in 2016. She is now a multiple-division champion in professional boxing.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Glenn Lowry, who has been the director of the Museum of Modern Art since 1995, said that he would step down next September.

Taxes: $12,855 a year

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.cloudbet