“Girls Trip” star Tiffany Haddish will star in and produce a biopic about three-time Olympic Gold-winning track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner (“Flo-Jo”) for the sports content studio game1.
Griffith Joyner’s widower and former coach, Al Joyner, will not only serve as a producer and creative consultant on the project, but he has already begun training Haddish to prepare for the role. The California-born Olympian, who died in 1998 of an epileptic seizure at age 38, still holds the records that she set in 1988 in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes still stand.
The feature film and its related content will chronicle the remarkable life and untimely death of the global track and field superstar, not only showcasing Flo-Jo’s dominant and historic Olympic performances, but also her enduring impact on the entire world of sports and in the communities that needed her help and inspiration the most.
In addition, Haddish and Game1 will also produce a companion documentary series and a podcast.
Game1 co-CEOs Basil Iwanyk and Greg Economou will also produce the film, along with Melanie Clark of Haddish’s She Ready Productions. Jonathan Fuhrman of Thunder Road Pictures will serve as an executive producer.
“We are thrilled to partner with Tiffany on such an important project,” Iwanyk said in a statement. “Tiffany has established herself as one of the greatest entertainers in the world today – helping her tell the story of her idol Flo-Jo is an amazing honor and privilege.”
Therese Andrews, EVP of Production at Game1, is spearheading the entire project.
“I am looking forward to telling Flo-Jo’s story the way it should be told,” Haddish said in a statement. “My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed.”
“I am so elated to team up with game1 and Tiffany Haddish on this project,” Joyner added. “Working with Tiffany has been a great pleasure – she is incredibly dedicated, focused, and committed to portraying the spirit of Florence accurately, whose legacy of making a difference in the world will live on for generations to come. I hope that this film touches all who see it and inspires people to BE the change the world so desperately needs right now!”