EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has picked up an action comedy pitch from writers Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Mamrie Hart for Zoë Bell to direct, inspired by the stuntwoman’s viral short film Boss Bitch Fight Challenge.
The new project will be produced by Rob Tapert and Romel Adam alongside Rock Shaink and Dash Aiken for Romark Entertainment. Smith and Hart will also executive produce. In the short, Bell is home and bored during the pandemic lockdown, and picks a fight with her Boss Bitch friends. Glorious mayhem ensues.
Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien will oversee the project for Lionsgate. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the studio by Bonnie Stylides.
Bell began her filmmaking career with producer Tapert on the cult TV classic Xena: Warrior Princess. She then continued on to forge a decades-long collaboration with two-time Oscar winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino as a stuntwoman and actress in films such as Kill Bill and Death Proofand most recently she was the stunt coordinator for Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodbecoming one of a very few women to head up the stunts for a major Hollywood production. As an actress, she starred in Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, and Death Proof.
“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.”
Smith is best known for co-writing Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s the Manand The House Bunny. Hart is a New York Times bestselling author and the screenwriter of indie comedies Camp Takota and Dirty 30in which she also starred. She has over 3 million followers across social media, and she cohosts the popular podcast This Might Get Weird.
Romark is next set to produce Marian at Sony Pictures alongside Amy Pascal and Donald De Line, as well as Matriarch at Paramount with Doug Wick.
Bell is represented by CAA, Romark Entertainment, and attorney Phillip Rosen. Smith is represented by Verve, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, and attorney Karl Austen. Hart is represented by Bleecker Street Entertainment and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.
Up next for Lionsgate is the Nicolas Cage satire The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent which opens on April 22; that movie playing to a standing ovation at its SXSW world premiere back in March.
