In interesting Hollywood news, we may see a film about the bisexual boxer Emile Griffith. Griffith won world titles in two weight classes, but what he's known for is death of Benny “The Kid” Paret in the boxing ring during a live TV.
Director Lenny Abrahamson and producer Ed Guiney will explore the issues besetting Griffith's sexuality and boxing in this upcoming film, Deadline reports:
Abrahamson and Guiney’s Element Pictures have teamed with Film4 to option the Donald McRae book A Man’s World: The Double Life Of Emile Griffith. Numerous filmmakers chased the book, and while he has other projects percolating, Abrahamson intends to adapt it with a co-writer and direct the film as soon as possible. The book was published in the UK by Simon & Schuster. Abrahamson is in Los Angeles this week promoting Room, the dark drama that has gotten reviews as good as any awards-season film this fall and which A24 opens November 16 limited, and wide on November 25.
“It is so rich that it’s hard to know where to start,” Abrahamson told Deadline in confirming the deal. “As a character study, Griffith is incredibly compelling. There was a gentleness and innocence about him, and he never seemed conflicted about his sexuality; indeed he found joy in it. He inhabited two worlds — the underground gay scene in New York in the ’60s and the macho world of boxing. The societal stigma at that time was dreadful and created a crushing pressure on him.”