Lionsgate announced that they’ve greenlit an action-comedy to be directed by stuntwoman/actress Zoë Bell, based on her viral pandemic video “Boss Bitch Fight Challenge,” according to a report in Deadline. The film will be written by Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith (Legally Blonde) and viral video star Mamrie Hart (Dirty 30).
“Boss Bitch Fight Challenge” starred an array of professional stunt actresses as well as Hollywood stars, including Scarlett Johansson, Halle Berry, and Kaitlin Olson. The film featured the actresses, bored and alone in their homes, farms, and pigsties, delivering an array of punches, kicks, and in one case, a puppy kiss to the camera and then reacting to the assaults in turn. At a time when everyone around the world suddenly found themselves confined to their homes due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, the video struck a chord and has been viewed almost three million times.
Bell started her career as a stuntwoman on Sam Raimi’s syndicated action series, Xena: Warrior Princess, working as a stunt double for star Lucy Lawless. She then moved from her native New Zealand to Hollywood, where she began acting in front of the camera, most notably playing herself in Quentin Tarantino’s 2005 stunt-oriented film Death Proof. She has continued to collaborate with Tarantino, becoming one of Hollywood’s few female stunt coordinators on his film Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. She also doubled for Cate Blanchett in Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok.
“Zoë has built up a huge fan base over the years – which is no surprise, because she’s a bona fide icon who kicks ass and takes names in a part of the industry still dominated by men,” said Erin Westerman, president of production for the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group “Her legend only grew with the ‘Boss Bitch’ video that everyone loved during quarantine. After a long and storied career of taking the hits, she’ll now be calling the shots.”
Westerman enthused about the novice director’s planned debut:
“Zoë has built up a huge fan base over the years – which is no surprise, because she’s a bona fide icon who kicks ass and takes names in a part of the industry still dominated by men… Her legend only grew with the ‘Boss Bitch’ video that everyone loved during quarantine. After a long and storied career of taking the hits, she’ll now be calling the shots.”
