From director Lexi Alexander (Punisher: War Zone), comes the biopic Crossface, which chronicles the life of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, who rose to fame in the WWE until his shocking death in 2007. The film has no release date or actors attached at this time.
Crossface is an upcoming film based on the novel ‘Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry’ by Matthew Randazzo V. The script was written by Jake Goldberger and Sarah Coulter. Alexander is an Academy Award nominee for her short film effort Johnny Flynton, although most fans will likely know her from the doomed Punisher: War Zone, which she admits had many issues. She’s since been involved directing many TV episodes ranging from Arrow to Limitless.
“I was pretty certain I’d stay in TV rather than returning to the feature world, because the material just seems so much better in TV, especially in drama, but then ‘Crossface’ came my way. A heartbreaking, true story about the dark side of wrestling…I couldn’t say no to that.” – Lexi Alexander.
Chris Benoit was a professional wrestling superstar from Edmonton, Alberta Canada who rose to fame in the WWE and became a household name. His signature submission move was the Crippler Crossface (for which the book and movie are named after). He died in 2007 in one of the most tragic and horrific ways imaginable. After suffering from a nervous breakdown, which was later diagnosed post-mortem because of severe brain degeneration due to his many years as a wrestler, Benoit murdered his wife and child before killing himself right after. Liev Schreiber was rumoured to have signed on to play Benoit in a biopic, but that was quite some time ago and he doesn’t appear to be a part of this incarnation of the project.
I was a huge fan of Benoit during my younger days as a wrestling fan and even saw the man perform live in Edmonton. He was one of my favorites and upon hearing the news of his passing, I was stunned, not only that he passed (because sadly, many wrestlers have the tendency to suffer in their lives outside the ring) but in the way that it all happened… I’m curious to see how much of his disturbing end will be adapted for the big screen considering how violent and sad it is, but I do think this is an extremely important movie to be shown as it exposes the dangers of pro wrestling athletes face after repeated hits to the head. There even was a lawsuit filed against the WWE this year for this very issue – CTE – from the performers themselves including Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.