After serving as a stunt double and coordinator on countless projects, Zoe Bell is set to direct her first movie. Deadline has reported that Lionsgate has picked up an action-comedy pitch from Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Mamrie Hart with Bell on board to direct.
The movie was inspired by Boss Bitch Fight Challenge, a viral short that found Zoe Bell picking a fight with her Boss Bitch friends while bored during the pandemic. The short included the likes of Lucy Lawless, Florence Pugh, Scarlett Johansson, Juliette Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Rosario Dawson, and more. Zoe Bell started out serving as a stunt double for Lucy Lawless on Xena: Warrior Princess and went on to work frequently with Quentin Tarantino as a stunt performer and actress in Kill Bill, Death Proof, Inglourious Bastards, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In a statement, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group President of Production Erin Westerman said:
Zoë has built up a huge fan base over the years – which is no surprise, because she’s a bona fide icon who kicks ass and takes names in a part of the industry still dominated by men. Her legend only grew with the ‘Boss Bitch’ video that everyone loved during quarantine. After a long and storied career of taking the hits, she’ll now be calling the shots.
We’ve seen more than a few stunt performers step into the director’s chair in recent years, including Sam Hargrave on Extraction and Chris Stahelski and David Leitch on John Wick. Kirsten Smith is best known for writing Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s the Man, The House Bunny, and Trinkets. Mamrie Hart wrote Camp Takota and Dirty 30 and co-hosts the popular podcast series, This Might Get Weird. You can check out Zoe Bell’s Boss Bitch Fight Challenge short below.