Tiffany Haddish is about to put her comedic talents to the side and reveal her athleticism to portray Olympic champion Florence Griffith Joyner in an upcoming biopic.
Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete and is the fastest woman of all time. She set the world records in 1988 for both the 100m and 200m, both of which still stand. Joyner made her Olympic debut in the 1984 Olympics, held in her hometown of Los Angeles, winning a silver medal in the 200-meter distance. She then returned for the 1988 Olympics where she won three gold medals in her signature events — the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. The renowned track star died in 1998 at the age of 38 in her sleep as the result of an epileptic seizure.
“I am looking forward to telling Flo-Jo’s story the way it should be told. My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed,” stated Haddish in a statement to Variety.
Haddish and Joyner’s husband, Al Joyner, are among several of the producers of the upcoming film, which includes Game1 Content. Al Joyner will also serve as a creative consultant on the project and has already begun training Haddish to play the role, using methods that his late wife deployed during her career.
“I am so elated to team up with Game1 and Tiffany Haddish on this project. Working with Tiffany has been a great pleasure – she is incredibly dedicated, focused, and committed to portraying the spirit of Florence accurately, whose legacy of making a difference in the world will live on for generations to come. I hope that this film touches all who see it and inspires people to BE the change the world so desperately needs right now!” said Joyner in the statement.
Haddish and Game1 are also partnering on a documentary series and a podcast related to the feature film as well.
