Sometimes a movie project just gives you the giggles, even if you don’t really know any specifics about it. Well, here’s something like that.
Stunt woman Zoe Bell has been cast to star in an action movie written by Sarah Thorp (Twisted, the 2004 thriller starring Ashley Judd). Right-on to the sister-women! A woman writing an action flick with another woman as the protagonist has to give you the giggles, right?
But wait, there’s more. If you don’t recognize the name Zoe Bell, do not feel bad. I didn’t recognize it either, but after a bit of research I discovered that Zoe Bell was Lucy Lawless’ stunt double on Xena: Warrior Princess! I’m not sure why the fact that Xena’s stunt-doubling better half getting her own creative vehicle in which to kick ass and take names is such an enjoyable idea to me. I guess maybe it’s the unconventional path she has taken to become a lead in a movie.
Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris went that martial-arts-to-big-screen-hero route, so maybe it’s time for a woman? And what a convincing woman. Bell was also Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, so the girl sure knows how to lay down the hammer on those who cross her. I usually don’t even like action movies, but I like this one. I don’t know much about the movie at all, either, yet I want to queue up in the popcorn line already. The general plot of the movie has the New Zealand-born Bell playing “a U.S. soldier adrift after returning home from a tour of duty in Iraq who decides to help a young girl in trouble.”
With that, you now know exactly as much (or as little) as I know about this yet-to-be-titled film. Among the questions yet to be answered: Can Bell actually act? (She was in Tarantino’s Death Proof/Grindhouse, but she played herself.) Can Bell maintain an American accent? Ultimately, what is the purpose of the film? Who else will be cast? Can Sarah Thorp write a film that can captivate an audience in pace and in premise? What’s the budget? Will there be other hot girls in it? (OK, this isn’t a question that needs to be answered immediately, but it’s a question that’s worth asking and answering at some point, right?) Anyway, I’m sure that this will not be the last time that this project will be written about on AfterEllen.com. Oh wait – one more question. Will Zoe Bell do her own stunts? OK, we all know the answer to that one.
