Gina to star in new Soderbergh film, “Knockout”

Gina has won a starring role in the film “Knockout”. It will be directed by Academy Award winning director, Steven Soderbergh, who is best known for movies like “Sex, Lies, and Videotape”, “Erin Brockovich”, “Traffic”, and “Ocean’s Eleven”:

Director Steven Soderbergh has committed to next direct “Knockout,” a spy thriller that will mark the screen starring debut of Gina Carano, the mixed martial arts circuit fighter.

Relativity Media will fully finance, and Soderbergh plans a late January production start. Domestic distribution is expected to be locked quickly. Soderbergh locked in the film just as his Warner Bros. comedy, “The Informant!,” made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.The Matt Damon-starrer opens stateside on September 18.

Scripted by Lem Dobbs, “Knockout” casts Carano as a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is given a second chance to use her skills for constructive purposes. The film is a closer cousin to “La Femme Nikita” and “Kill Bill” than “Million Dollar Baby,” in that it doesn’t take place in the fight ring. Rather, Soderbergh considers the film as a flat out action film in the James Bond mold, and will shoot in locations around the world that include Ireland, Turkey and the U.S.

Honestly, this comes as a big surprise for me since I didn’t expect her to get a starring role in a movie this big so soon, considering her very limited experience and acting abilities. However, Soderbergh has been known for making stars out of bit actors like Don Cheadle, Luiz Guzman, and for (successfully) taking a chance with less experienced actors when he casted pornstar Sasha Grey in the starring role in this year’s “The Girlfriend Experience”

Source: Variety