Lexi Alexander set to direct Chris Benoit biopic 'Crossface'

Image from Empire

By Darian Scalamoni

            It has been quite a while since we’ve heard anything about the biopic about professional wrestling superstar, Chris Benoit but today we have news on the film. According to Collider, Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans, Punisher: War Zone) has signed on direct the film which will be titled Crossface: The True Story of Wrestling Superstar Chris Benoit.

            Crossface is based on the book, Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry written by Matthew Randazzo V, who also serves as an executive producer on the film. The movie will tell the true story of former WWE superstar Chris Benoit and his struggles to maintain his family life while drugs and the pressures of professional wrestling caused him to lose control and kill both his wife and son before taking his own life.

            Obviously, this is an incredibly heavy premise for any director but someone like Alexander who is Oscar-nominated for her short film Johnny Flynton and directed Green Street Hooligans which is incredibly underrated, should do a great job handling this kind of movie. Also, the filmmaker is a former World Karate and Kickboxing champion so she has experience with sports which will be good in context with a wrestling film.

            Benoit was a well-respected champion of the WWE before he murdered his wife and strangled his son before hanging himself. Posthumously, Benoit was diagnosed with CTE which is a severe brain disorder that was believed to be related with his wrestling career and the potential steroid use during his time with the professional wrestling company. When the film was first in development, Liev Schreiber was in talks to play Benoit but he has since, dropped out. I’m interested to see who will play the late, professional wrestler and as soon as that information is available, you’ll hear it here first!