Chris Pratt Teams With Religion Of Sports & Reserve Entertainment On Doc About Champion Wrestler Helen Maroulis
12.05.2022 - 16:15
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Chris Pratt is getting back into the ring with a documentary about World Champion wrestler Helen Maroulis.
The Marvel star has teamed up with Religion of Sports, the venture founded by Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, and Tom Brady, and Reserve Entertainment on Helen Believe.
Pratt will produce via his Indivisible Productions banner.
The documentary, directed by Dylan Mulick, follows Olympic champion Helen Maroulis. At just 23 years old, she was competing in her first Olympic Games in Rio against Saori Yoshida, a 13x World Champion and the most decorated wrestler of all time. Yoshida was undefeated for over four straight years – until she stepped onto the mat with Maroulis, who shocked the world and defeated Yoshida to become the first, and only, American woman to win a Gold Medal in wrestling.
Following Rio, Helen went on a winning streak, asserting herself as the best pound for pound wrestler in the world. That streak, however, came to a screeching halt in 2018, when Helen sustained a concussion mid-match. She finished wrestling the tournament, but the concussion led to a traumatic brain injury. What followed was a harrowing battle with an anxiety disorder, depression, severe PTSD and chronic pain that eventually forced Helen into an early retirement. Maroulis, the consummate champion, did what she knows best: she fought.
The doc follows Maroulis’ journey a year and a half off the mat as she trains to defend her title at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Tracy Aftergood, Darren Moorman, and Sean Devereaux also produce. UTA Independent Film Group is representing the sale of the worldwide rights to the film.
“Getting to share my story with the world, through the highs and lows, has been exciting, humbling, nerve-wracking, but