The incredible story of a record-breaking athlete you may have never heard of hits the big screen Friday when Young Woman and the Sea opens in limited release. It’s the true tale of Trudy Ederle, who became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the guy behind everything from Top Gun to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, tells ABC Audio this story needed to be told.
“I think certain individuals should be remembered that get forgotten. And this extraordinary athlete got totally forgotten,” he says. “She had the biggest parade down Fifth Avenue, in 1926, ever for an athlete. And nobody ever heard of Trudy Ederle until this movie is going to come out.”
Despite the film’s title, though, Bruckheimer says it’s about more than just swimming.
“It’s about women empowerment. It’s about somebody who overcame all these obstacles. It’s a love story between these two sisters, how they triumph both apart and together. And … I think it inspires women,” he shares.
Despite its galvanizing message, Bruckheimer says he spent seven years trying to get this movie made, but was continually turned down by studio execs.
“For some reason … studio heads think that they don’t translate to box office,” Bruckheimer says of sports stories, but notes films like Remember the Titans and Glory Road were successful. “Hopefully we’re going to show them that they’re wrong.”
And Bruckheimer thinks the film should be seen on the big screen if possible.
“I’ve made the car chases, I’ve made the explosions, I’ve made them with the biggest actors in the world. And yet this is the highest testing movie,” he adds. “So when you get an audience into see this in the theater, they are moved emotionally. And that’s why we make movies.”
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