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The Mildred Burke bio-pic Queen of the Ring will have its first ever official screening tomorrow 10/15 as part of the Buffalo International Film Festival. The film will screen at 6:45 PM at The North Park Theater.
The festival's website notes:
Ash Avildsen (Dir), 124 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere
Director / Writer / Producer Ash Avildsen in attendance.
The true story of Mildred Burke (Emily Bett Rickards), the first million-dollar female athlete in history. Millie, a young single mother, defies societal norms by becoming a professional wrestler during a time when female wrestling was illegal in most of the U.S. Starting her career by competing against men at carnivals, she builds an impressive record and paves the way for women's wrestling to gain acceptance.
Despite her success, Millie's journey is marked by personal struggles and a tumultuous relationship with her manager and ex-husband, Billy Wolfe (Josh Lucas). Her story captures the golden age of female pro wrestling and celebrates Millie's role in changing the culture and achieving unprecedented success.
Director Ash Avildsen is a BIFF 2017 (American Satan) alumni.
***
Queen of the Ring: Based on the True Story of Mildred "Millie" Burke is an independent film written and directed by Ash Avildsen (No Cover, the in-development Genghis Khan and Paradise City, among other projects), which will tell the story of influential groundbreaking women's star Mildred Burke.
The film was shot in Louisville, Kentucky in the summer of 2023. The screenplay by Avildsen was based on the excellent Jeff Leen book of the same title on Burke's life, which was released back in 2009. Avildsen scored a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for singer Poppy, who has appeared on WWE NXT programming in the past.
Arrow star Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak in the excellent DC series) plays Burke in the film.
AEW star Kamille plays her rival June Byers.
The plot of the film - "The true story of the tough, gutsy Mildred Burke, the first world famous female pro wrestler and million dollar athlete, who becomes a champion of a growing entertainment franchise in the 1930s-1950s. Married to business partner BILLY WOLFE, the brilliant but vicious entrepreneur who pioneered women wrestlers, Mildred endured his infidelity and physical abuse despite the rise of her own power until she couldn't take it any more. With courage, panache and a loyal following, Mildred challenged the all-male hierarchy of the wrestling world as she became the first woman to headline over men."
In 2023, PWInsider.com confirmed the following additional casting of professional wrestling personalities from that time period:
-Francesca Eastwood, seen in M. Night Shyamalan's film Old will be portraying WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young, who will be seen in her 20s/30s. Eastwood is the daughter of Clint Eastwood.
-Leona "Babe" Gordon, who Burke defeated for the Women's World Championship will be portrayed by Marie Avgeropoulos (The 100). She has also appeared in the Steve Austin film Hunt To Kill.
-Josh Lucas will be playing Billy Wolfe. Lucas is well known for roles in a number of feature films including The Hulk, The Forever Purge, American Pycho and tons of other projects. Wolfe, as some will know, was a major promoter of women's wrestling in that time period and not a likable personality, in the least, as he exploited the women he promoted. He was also the former husband of Burke.
-Deborah Ann Woll (Karen from Marvel's Daredevil, in which she was excellent) will portray Gladys "Kill em" Gillem.
-Kelli Berglund, who stars in STARZ pro wrestling series Heels as Crystal, will portray "Alabama Bombshell" Nell Stewart.
-Legendary pro wrestling promoter Al Haft will be portrayed by Cobra Kai's Martin Kove. Haft was one of the original promoters to form the National Wrestling Alliance.
-Walton Goggins will be playing legendary New York City wrestling promoter Jack Pfefer, one of the first to ever break kayfabe and reveal secrets of the business to the media at the time, but also pushed for women's wrestling to be legally allowed in NYC.
-Clara Mortenson, a star from the 1930s and 40s who later moved into the Hollywood world as an actor. WWE's Liv Morgan is slated to play her.
A number of these personalities were featured years ago in the excellent Ruth Leitman women's wrestling documentary Lipstick & Dynamite.
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