UFC Champ Ronda Rousey to Star in Her Own Biopic
by Justin Kroll
Following her dominating win Saturday night in Brazil, where she knocked out Bethe Correia in 34 seconds, UFC fighter Ronda Rousey is already making moves for her film career and this latest project hits close to home.
Paramount Pictures has secured the rights to Ronda Rousey’s New York Times best-selling autobiography My Fight/Your Fight with Rousey attached to star in the pic and Mark Bomback on board to adapt.
Mary Parent is producing along with Rousey, with Bomback serving as exec producer.
“It’s a real honor to be a part of bringing Ronda’s incredible story to the big screen,” Parent said.
Written by Rousey with her sister Maria Burns Ortiz, My Fight/Your Fight is an inspirational story celebrating the accomplishments of Rousey, who was faced with extraordinary challenges on her path to glory. The book was published this spring by ReganArts.
No timetable has been set on when this would go into production as Bomback has just begun adapting the book. Rousey is expected to fight one more time before the end of the year and will then shoot the Pete Berg-directed action pic Mile 22 in January.
It’s not very often that a studio decides to have a person star in his or her own biopic, but Rousey is one of those rare cases of an athlete who has seamlessly transitioned from fighting in the Octagon to appearing on screen in such films as The Expendables 3, Furious 7 and most recently Entourage, in which she also appeared as herself.
Rousey’s brand outside the ring has continued to expand over the past couple years from appearing in films and penning New York Times best-sellers to endorsement deals with Reebok, Buffalo Jeans and DraftKings. She has remained committed to working as hard on her businesses outside the ring as she does when training for her next opponent.
Insiders say as soon as the rights to the book were put on the market, Rousey was always keen in starring and wanted to make sure whichever studio landed her book would understand her desire to star. Paramount execs were impressed by her ability to balance a film career while also staying in top fighting shape to remain undefeated in her sport.
Ever since breaking out in Expendables 3, Rousey has made it clear that she does not discuss outside business while training. With the fight behind her, she can now begin developing the project with Bomback in a way she feels will paint the best portrait of her life.
Besides Mile 22, Rousey is also attached to the Warner Bros. action pic The Athena Project. She is repped by WME and attorney Dave Feldman.
Bomback’s recent credits include Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and The Wolverine. He most recently penned War of the Planet of the Apes, due out in 2017. Prior to that, he wrote Unstoppable. He is represented by WME and Anonymous Content.
Parent’s recent credits include Godzilla and Pacific Rim.
