Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Memoir Acquired By FutureIII For Biopic Development
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu continues to be the center of prospective biopic development now with news from Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro. The word now is Rickson Gracie’s 2021 memoir, “Breathe: A Life in Flow,” was acquired by FutureIII Entertainment and is now in development with a search underway for directors and writers.
Rickson Gracie, now 64, ended his fight career undefeated. Breathe: A Life in Flow follows his rise from the victories in the streets during the 1970s to joining the pantheon that includes Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris.
Rickson Gracie’s memoir weaves together the story of his career with the larger history of the Gracie family dynasty and the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to his final fight in the Tokyo Dome in 2000.
The Legends of MMA Hall of Famer’s fight career took off in the 1980s and maintains an 11-win streak with no losses. He has numerous screen credits in film and TV as himself, including the 1995 documentary, Choke, in addition to a cameo as an Aikido instructor in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
The former professional fighter was also the subject of a project from Netflix from director José Padilha, as was brother Rorion a year earlier in a separate project from Mandalay Sports Media and Mayhem Pictures. Neither project has surfaced.
Gracie tells Deadline, “It has been a long time coming for a movie based upon my life, but what’s most important to me, beyond everything else, is that anyone who watches it, will gain some sort of positive perspective or understanding in their lives. That’s my ultimate hope and goal for this project.”
Read more at Deadline.
Lead image: Wikimedia Commons
