Disney developing film on track star Jesse Owens with Antoine Fuqua to direct

December 16th 2013, 9:28pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Antoine Fuqua is a director I’ve seen eyed for several projects in the last few years but has passed on the majority of them. One that he looks to be a lock for is a biopic on American track and field star Jesse Owens.

The project being set up over at Disney is based on the book “Triumph” written by ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap. Here’s the synopsis for the film:

Set against the backdrop of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, “Triumph” tells the story of how the son of an Alabama sharecropper shattered Adolf Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay. Hitler had insisted Jews and Blacks not be allowed to participate in the games, but relented when threatened with a boycott. He shook hands only with the German victors on the first day of competition and then skipped all further medal presentations.

David Seidler (THE KING’S SPEECH) will write the screenplay.

Fuqua has dabbled in the non-fiction with the 2004 documentary LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE centered on the Blues genre. He’s also working on a Suge Knight documentary for Showtime. This would be the director’s first biopic if he remains attached.