The upcoming Misty Copeland biopic Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina has landed a director. Variety reports that Nzingha Stewart (Grey’s Anatomy, Working Crimes) will helm the project.
“As an African American woman, I know firsthand that when Misty Copeland leaps, we all soar,” Stewart said of the project. “As a filmmaker, I am thrilled to bring this hopeful, triumphant, and cinematic story to the big screen.“
Copeland made history when she became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in its 75-plus-year history.
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The screenplay is being penned by Michelle Rosenfarb, with Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot from Offspring Entertainment producing alongside Philip Sandhaus. Stewart is currently in production on the film Tall Girl for Netflix and served as executive producer on Lionsgate’s For Colored Girls.
While no casting announcements have been made, the real Misty Copeland was cast as a ballerina for a special dance sequence in Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action version of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which came out at the end of 2018.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
