Netflix has dropped the axe on Gia Coppola’s Olympics drama, Perfect. Why? Because star Millie Bobby Brown has exited the film due to “creative differences”, just a couple of months before production was to begin.
Perfect had been in the works for a while, and had been originally a project for Olivia Wilde to direct. Coppola boarded the project last September after Wilde dropped out. This would have been the follow-up to Coppola’s acclaimed drama, The Last Showgirl, which reinvigorated Pamela Anderson’s career. She was to reunite with Oscar-winning DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw for the fourth time.
There’s actually been quite a lot of movement on this film. Thomasin McKenzie was initially cast to play Olympic hero gymnast Kerri Strug, but was replaced by Brown late last year.
Perfect centers on Strug, who was part of the triumphant 1996 USA women’s gymnastics team dubbed the “Magnificent Seven.” Strug had one of the most unforgettable moments in Olympics history when she stuck the landing of a vault perfectly while nursing an injured ankle.
Something tells me this project isn’t completely dead, and may find a home elsewhere with a new lead actress, and possibly a different director. Strug’s story is too good not to tell on the big screen. [Deadline]
