WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle has revealed that a movie based on his life is currently in the pre-production phase. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Angle confirmed that he is working with directors Ian and Eshom Nelms on the project and that the script is nearly complete.
The news comes as another film about a wrestler from Angle’s era, “The Smashing Machine,” based on the life of his former rival Mark Kerr, is generating significant buzz, and it now appears that Angle’s own life story will also be getting the cinematic treatment.
“Yeah, you know what, we are working on that movie. I have the directors Ian and Eshom Nelms, they’re brothers,” Angle said. “They were former wrestlers in high school and college. So they understand my sport. We’ve been talking to each other. We’re almost done with the script.”
Angle also revealed that the project is already in a strong position financially. “We already got the investors. So we’re in a good position right now, but we’re gonna make sure the script’s perfected before we do anything, before we pick the cast and everything like that.” He noted that they are taking their time with the process and may wait for the buzz around “The Smashing Machine” to die down before moving forward.
The fact that both he and Mark Kerr are having movies made about their lives at the same time is not lost on Angle, who noted the irony. “The crazy thing is, ironically, Mark Kerr and I are doing a movie, and we wrestled each other for the Olympic team, and it’s just really ironic that his story’s coming out close to mine,” he said.
Angle’s life is certainly one worthy of a biopic. After winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games with a “broken freakin’ neck,” he transitioned to professional wrestling and became one of the most decorated performers in the history of the business, winning multiple world championships in both WWE and TNA.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit SI with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
