'Entourage', 'Athena Project' movies enlist Ronda Rousey as star
Ronda Rousey might have gotten booed by fans at UFC 168, but she got big-time cheers by some serious Hollywood power brokers.
Variety reports that after watching Rousey defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title against Miesha Tate on Dec. 28, Warner Bros. signed her for two high-profile film projects.
The studio is close to acquiring the rights to “Athena Project,” the movie adaptation of the New York Times bestseller from Brad Thor. Rousey is attached to star and she’s also set to appear as one of the female leads in the upcoming “Entourage” movie.
Rousey, 27, will begin shooting “Entourage” in mid-March after her Feb. 22 fight with Sara McMann at UFC 170 in Las Vegas. “The Athena Project” doesn’t yet have a writer, so Rousey could foreseeably jump into another training camp after filming “Entourage” and fight again in the summer or fall.
The UFC women's bantamweight champion is rapidly adding to her IMDB resume.
“Athena Project” could be huge for Rousey, according to Variety. The magazine speculates that it could become a franchise, giving the UFC champ “a chance to become the female action star Hollywood is lacking.” The book is about a top-secret, all-female Delta Force counter-terrorism team sent to hunt and kill a terrorist after a bombing in Rome that kills 20 Americans.
Rousey was introduced to Thor over the phone while she was filming “The Expendables 3” in September. Rousey fell in love with “The Athena Project” book and developed a rapport with Thor, attaching herself to the movie before it even had a studio involved, sources told Variety.
When Warner approached Rousey’s people about doing “Entourage,” they mentioned “Athena Project” and the studio put in a bid for it the next day. "Entourage" creator Doug Ellin expressed his interest to FOX Sports via Twitter.
“@DamonMartin @jerrycferrara Adding Ronda Rousey to the team?”hoping to. Love her !
— Doug Ellin (@mrdougellin) February 7, 2014
Ellin confirmed Rousey's booking shortly thereafter.
Welcome aboard @RondaRousey gonna be great time! @ufc @jerrycferrara http://t.co/9Z4SEBqRY8
— Doug Ellin (@mrdougellin) February 7, 2014
In the fall, Rousey filmed “Expendables” and “Fast & Furious 7” before entering into training camp to fight Tate.
Rousey is arguably the most well-known fighter in the UFC. It looks like she’s gaining some serious clout in Hollywood, too.
