For Rachel Morrison’s feature directorial debut “The Fire Inside,” there was a lot of pressure to “get it right” and do justice to the story of boxer Claressa Shields. But greater than the self-induced anxiety was the thrill of moving from behind the camera to the director’s chair, where she could see the project through from start to finish.
“This is a dream, to actually get to see something through from beginning to end,” Morrison said. “I think as a cinematographer, I’m such an integral part of the prep and the production process, but then I hand it off. Now as a director, to be part of the score, be part of the post, be part of the edit, and really have a vision from beginning to end, I’m just so excited to bring it to life.”
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As part of Variety’s Toronto Film Festival Studio, sponsored by J.Crew and SharkNinja, Morrison was joined by “The Fire Inside” stars Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry to discuss how they brought the story of Shields, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, to the big screen.
“The Fire Inside” chronicles the life of Shields from growing up in Flint, Mich., to taking gold on the Olympic stage. Destiny said she initially “did not think” she would land the part of Shields and approached her audition with a “‘let’s just see what happens’ attitude.” However, it was this laissez-faire mindset that helped her score the leading role.
“I think it really helped in the end because I feel like it made me let go a little bit,” Destiny said. “You just get more into the project as the process keeps going. And you get a callback and you actually get the part and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I’m really doing this.'”
Coincidentally, Destiny and Shields are the same age and are both Michigan natives. The 29-year-old actor said preparing for the role with her real-life counterpart was “a trippy experience,” but felt “blessed” she could connect with Shields before filming.
“She would ask me if I had ever been in a fight before, that was one of the first questions she ever asked me. And I was like, ‘Girl, absolutely not,'” Destiny said. “I think for a split second that scared her, but I think throughout the rest of the process she was like, ‘Oh, OK. This is what it is.’ And I’m so happy that afterward too, when she saw the film, she absolutely loved it.”
Besides wanting to jump at the chance to work with Destiny and Morrison, what drew Henry to the project was his frustration that Shields’ story was still relatively unknown to the general public.
“Here you have this two-time gold medalist, female, black boxer from Flint, Mich., that isn’t getting the front covers or isn’t being heralded as one of the greatest champs of all time. And so for me, it started upsetting, and I really wanted to make sure that we told the story in a way that felt genuine and felt true to her, which I knew we were because Rachel was attached to it,” Henry said. “And the second part was Ryan. Immediately when I saw she was a part of it I was incredibly excited.”
Watch the full conversation above.
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