P.E.A.R.L.

From Variety, film industry magazine of magazines, 11th February 2016

By Elsa Keslassy

French mini-major MK2 Films has acquired international rights to P.E.A.R.L., Elsa Amiel’s London-set drama chronicling the life of British bodybuilding star Lea Pearl.

Peter Mullan ("Top of the Lake") and Mathieu Amalric ("On Tour", "The Grand Budapest Hotel") will topline the English-language drama alongside a real-life British bodybuilding star, who will be announced shortly.

P.E.A.R.L. follows the journey of a professional female bodybuilding star Lea Pearl, whose past catches up with her when, just a few hours from the final of the most important competition of her career, her ex-boyfriend (Amalric) shows up with the 6-year-old son she has not seen in years.

P.E.A.R.L. marks the directorial debut of Ariel, who has previously worked as first assistant to Bertrand Bonello ("Saint Laurent"), Noemie Lvovsky ("Camille Rewinds") and Mathieu Amalric ("On Tour"), among others.

Caroline Nataf and Bruno Nahon at Unite de Production ("Louise Wimmer", "Hard Apple") are producing with Lionel Baier at Bande a Part.

P.E.A.R.L. is an affecting portrayal of such an uncommon woman who’s sacrificed everything to master her body to the extreme and is forced to let her feelings emerge, said Juliette Schrameck, who was just upped to head of MK2 Films, which handles both acquisitions and international sales.

Lensing will begin in September. Haut et Court will distribute in France.

The project is an example of the types of daring, auteur-driven indie movies that MK2 Films is now concentrating on, Schrameck said.


Mathieu Amalric(left) and Peter Mullan

Not a wind-up. This is going to be a real film!!!

"A real-life British bodybuilding star, who will be announced shortly."

Now that is one casting process I could have contributed to...

I still might!

Who Is Lea Pearl? all week this week on FMS.

Pic(s) of the Day

This time next week the Arnold Classic will be coming to its conclusion, the first event of the IFBB calendar for the year. Of course the IFBB events aren't the only events worth following, and IFBB pro women aren't the only competitors who deserve our love, but as a curtain raiser to the new competitive year it'll do very nicely, and FMS fave Gillian Ward - for one - seems to be gearing up very nicely indeed.



Bet you can't wait to see those vascular pumped up bad boys of hers all slathered in tan and oil and trying to break on out through the fabric of her posing suit now, can you?

Bet Gillian can't wait to be up there showing them off!

All over the world there are pros and amateurs alike counting down to their first comps of the year. We might have to wait a bit longer than we used to in the days before the dumping of the Ms International for the really big girls to strut their stuff. But in 2016 we don't have as long to wait as we did in 2015 (89 days and counting till Puerto Rico, May 27th-28th, bravo - once again - to Wings of Strength) but there's going to be plenty of Gillian-like freaky muscle-in-prep to feast on while-u-wait.


Nicky Foord

Enjoy! (I know I will)

Pic of the Day

SIZE MATTERS II

Size has very much mattered to Rachel Reid over the last year or so as she moved up from Figure to Physique with startling results. In turn this has lead to the size of her female muscle headed following growing just as her muscles have. Exponentially!



This particular pic was posted only recently but dates from last October (she was five weeks out), which means that this year she'll have a whole 'nother off-season on top of the size she has here. So come join the Rachel Reid party on Instagram!

Pic of the Day

WOMAN AT WORK II

I am so taken with this woman (and this picture in particular) that the next time someone asks me what exactly it is I like about female muscle, this will be my answer.



Hannah Johnson-Hill, a firefighter, a powerlifter, and an image of perfection.

"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction" said Picasso, according to Hannah on her Instagram recently. I'm over the destruction... Now watch what I create.

Pic (and Tubes) of the Day

SIZE MATTERS



New British sensation Mass - sorry - Maz Burn.

Where do we find them?

And do female bodybuilders look bigger in black & white or is it my imagination?

Anyway, here's more Maz in colour. And motion. And she would say "sweets".





Enjoy!

Maz is on Instagram

(Transformation) Pic(s) of the Day

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES



Brittany Fields, clinical research scientist, figure competitor, and stone cold muscle beauty, a year ago (above) and now, as she prepares for an upcoming contest.



My arms keep getting leaner, she says. Didn't think it was possible!

Follow brittfitscientist on Instagram

(Moving) Pic of the Day

WOMAN AT WORK



Watch one beautiful bit of the clip on a loop here.

Enjoy!

Pic of the Day

I'm always asking for comments and suggestions, and I'm really very grateful when some of you lovely readers put your thinking caps on and actually do get in touch. Sadly not all of your suggestions fit the ethos of the blog, [we have an "ethos"? -ed.], most are pure gold, but unfortunately in the last few months I simply haven't had the time to do some of your marvellous ideas justice, so on the back burner they remain.

But it''s just that lack of time that made this New Year suggestion so appealing.

How about just a classic pic per day? Words optional. Simple!

Obviously I can't resist a few words, or trying to build a (kind of) theme around the pictures (or indeed limiting myself to just one picture every day!) but, in essence, this week's posts are exactly that. A classic (recent) pic per day. Words optional!

PROTEIN IS A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

Er, darling?

Mmmmm.

Er, do you want a massage?

Mmmm. That would be nice... But you're still sleeping on the couch.



Girls at work, their gains/progress etc. all week.

For Aiden, with thanks.

Cathy: A Champion

And a champion in each of the last three decades no less. Lack of time prevents me from actually doing the research but other than Iris Kyle, I can't think any other female bodybuilders who have won major titles in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.

If Cathy is able to make her comeback this year then, her track record suggests she would be a serious contender for any show she entered, and ultimately that would make her a serious contender for the big money Rising Phoenix title as well.

This week has all been about helping in our own small way to get her a few more donations, so before we see Cathy in her winning shape across those three decades, I'd like you to imagine that you had played a small part in getting her to these stages where she has triumphed in the past, that your little donation was partly responsible for the fact that this stunning woman was up there showing off her glorious body.

It would be a pretty good feeling, wouldn't it?

You can make it happen. Go Fund Her.

1995 CANADA CUP

Cathy turns pro.



2003 MS INTERNATIONAL



At her sixth Ms International, Cathy beats Karina Nascimento (3rd) and Denise Masino (2nd) (and a field of seven other women) to win the Lightweight title.



2008 NEW YORK PRO




Cathy begins a run of three consecutive titles in New York, rising to the top in a field of nineteen women and looking every inch the thoroughbred champion. I've said it before this week and I'm saying it again here - just look at those LEGS!




2009 NEW YORK PRO




The Queen of New York returned a year later to reclaim her crown with a unanimous decision from the judges. No one seems to have been surprised. I don't think there was anything better she could have done, said John Romano in his contest round-up. Her condition[ing] was spot on, she had striations all over the place, she was amazing.




2010 NEW YORK PRO




Her third win in New York was in stark contrast to her second. A clear winner in 2009, this time a thicker Cathy beat Sheila Bleck into second place by a single point.




2011 TAMPA PRO




Stunningly beautiful and displaying breathtaking muscularity from head to toe (once again - those LEGS!) Cathy proves she doesn't have to be in New York to win. She triumphs over a field of 20+ women to take her fifth - and so far last - pro title.




And we leave you with Cathy's routine from New York in 2010.



Enjoy!

Follow Cathy on Facebook and Instagram

And remember - Go Fund Her.

Cathy: Peeled

Cathy, circa 2005 (I think). Her body is primed for the show, the tan applied, and every muscle visible in all is defined glory. No make-up (yet), this is no glamour shoot. But it is a situation I would guess we would all wish we could have been privy to.



These images of Cathy wrapped (or not) in that hotel sheet have become, I think, somewhat iconic. This is the muscular female body at its most raw, its freakiest, its most gloriously exhibitionist, and therefore, for me at least, at its most intoxicating.



And the closer I look at the detail, the more intoxicated I get.



And most intoxicating of all is this one...



And we leave you today with a kind of companion to these images - though I think ths footage comes from a different time and place. That doesn't make it any less intoxicating though, least of all the (just as iconic as the pics) glute exposure!



Enjoy, and you know if you want more like this, Cathy's going to have to compete again. And if she's going to compete again, she's going to need some help. So...

Go Fund Her