Pearl @Venice Film Festival

The last update we gave you on Pearl, French director Elsa Amiel's debut feature, was back in April, and big news it was - news that Swiss sizzler Julia Föry had been cast as the film's eponymous heroine. The film is currently "in post-production", we noted, meaning it could well be doing the festival rounds as early as this summer.


Julia Föry as Pearl

And that is indeed what has happened. Shown in Venice last Saturday, the film has had "strong word-of-mouth" according to France24. And the first review - on Indie Wire - praises both the film for "subverting the male gaze in striking fashion", and Julia, "whose acting debut suggests her abilities as a performer aren’t confined to the stage".


Julia (with Peter Mullan) in Pearl

There's also the first stills, and the first preview clip, which - though we don't get to see what shape Julia is in - demonstrates that she has more than enough star quality to hold the camera's attention. Plus we all get to play a bit of "Spot the FBB Extra".



What we'd really like to see though, is the film in its entirety! Even more so after reading Indie Wire writer Michael Nordine's description of its opening moments...

The first close-up is almost microscopic, so close to the skin you can see sweat emanating from individual pores as you try to discern what body part you’re looking at. Then the camera pulls back ever so slightly, just enough for you to realize you’re inches away from the base of a woman’s neck — might this be Pearl? — as she pushes herself to the limit on a weight machine. The music, a dreamy guitar riff that wouldn’t be out of place in a David Lynch film, isn’t as loud as her pained exhalations.



More news on Pearl as soon as we get it.

P.E.A.R.L. (An Update)

Back in February 2016, FMS reported that French production company MK2 Films had "slated" (as they say in the movie business) a film called P.E.A.R.L. which would tell the story 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 shows up with the 6-year-old son she has not seen in years".

Exciting stuff.

Filming was due to begin that September, and MK2 reported that the lead character would be played by "a real-life British bodybuilding star" and "announced shortly".

FMS immediately weighed in with casting suggestions from the obvious (Lisa Cross, Rene Campbell) to the frankly unlikely. Readers were enthused ("OMFG! That's INCREDIBLE NEWS!!!"). Fan forums briefly, but loudly, buzzed with anticipation.

Who is Lea Pearl?

Well, it's taken a while, but we can now answer that question.



It's Julia Föry.

Not British, not a pro, but I think we can all agree a very good choice.

And even more excitingly, Julia is not going to play Lea Pearl, she already has played Lea Pearl. Filming began on 22nd September last year, it's already, as they say "in the can". The latest from MK2 is that the film is currently "in post-production", meaning it could well be doing the festival rounds as early as this summer.

We'll bring you more news as soon as we have any.



OMFG!!!!

The Adventures of Miss Fit

At the beginning of February, a review of Denise Masino's documentary The Adventures of Miss Fit popped into the FMS inbox. Ah! we thought, finally it's available to watch. Good on Denise! And then we read the review...



It came as some surprise that the film was actually released in 2016. We don't pay as much attention to what Denise (and her bits) are up to as we used to, but we'd really missed the boat on this one. It had done the film festival rounds that year, and done rather well considering. Official Selection at Berlin (prestige!), "Most Inspiring Documentary" award at Atlanta Docufest, and Best Documentary Feature at IndieFEST, to name but three of the film's achievements. It's been available for some time!



The review isn't especially complimentary - 4/10 (boo!) - but for a female muscle fan, the idea of watching Denise doing pretty much anything has appeal, and at least some of the film is more about her own background as it is about the "real-life superheroes" who provided the inspiration for it, making it even more interesting for us.



Directed by Gregg R. Simpson, who previously made Denise's 2005 horror Blood + Kisses (who knew?!), the second half of the film is, apparently, taken up with Denise's own creation - the "Miss Fit" of the title - joining forces with the other real-life superheroes to put on a 5km charity run to raise money for a hospital specialising in child cancer treatment. Incidentally, Denise recently announced she'll be doing the the run this year as well - and the link for donations is in her Instagram bio.


"I promised you mud" - the first charity run in aid of St. Jude's Hospital

We've been saying throughout the life of this blog that "La Masino" is a lot more than the sum of her bits (not that we mind that stuff or anything, we just think some appreciation of Denise the competitor and Denise the entrepreneur was and still is in order), and the making, promotion, and cause of this film only make us more convinced of that. Check out the film's website for buy or rent details.



Despite the snooty (and tardy) review, it's rated a whopping 4.9/5 on Amazon!

Fantasy Friday

ON THE ISLAND OF THEMYSCIRA...



Who hasn't had the washed up on an island of Amazons dream?



Well, according to some sections of the media recently, we're all going to (sort of) have that dream come true if we go see Wonder Woman. The film's array of Amazon warriors, behind some of the most intense action sequences in the film, are no ordinary extras, Katie Fustich told us in The Daily Mail a few days ago. Rather, when it came time for director Patty Jenkins to select her cast, she opted to fill the island of Themyscira with real-life wrestlers, trainers, farmers, and even Olympic athletes.



And among them, the familiar face (and body) of Crossfit pin-up Brooke Ence, who plays Penthesilea. I got a call from Warner Bros. asking me if I would come in and read, she told The Huffington Post. I had no idea what it was for. It just seemed like a really great opportunity, and it literally just fell in my lap. I couldn’t say no.



The images of the Amazons in costume at their training camp on the Amalfi coast certainly brought all my teenage Amazon island fantasies rushing back, and not least those featuring the gorgeous Brooke. And her Huffington Post interview about her experience did nothing to curb my enthusiasm to see the film. It was a great realization of all the different types of strength. Everyone that was an Amazon just walked with more power. They walked with this Amazonian vibe.



It was really cool to see this whole training area, and there's not one male figure in sight, she continues. Women wrestling other women, kickboxing, doing pull-ups and practicing with spears... My fantasy's changing just a little bit - now I just want to have been there at the training camp! It sounds, and looks, a little bit like heaven!



Be warned though. The Amazon Army might not actually be in the film for quite as long as all this media attention suggests. Jenavieve Hatch, Huffington Post author, was, for one, as disappointed as any female muscle fan could be. For many viewers, she writes, Wonder Woman should have been set entirely on the women-only Amazon warrior paradise of Themyscira. It felt profoundly satisfying to watch women wield so much physical power on a humongous screen, and as the story went from Themyscira to World War I-era Western Europe, I found myself missing the women warriors...



And as for Brooke, well if you do part with your time and money and head to the local multiplex thinking you might sneak out after the Themyscira scenes, keep a close eye out for her. No one on the forums has reported actually spotting her on screen yet. Is Brooke in it much? asks one forum member. Not even for a second, comes the reply.

Guess we'll have to wait for the Director's Cut DVD.

Thanks to Crossfit correspondent Aiden for the heads-up.

Who Is Lea Pearl?

THE BIG TWO

While you could make a case for all of the women we've featured this week (and many that we haven't) to be cast as Lea Pearl, Britain's two most high profile professional female bodybuilders of recent times are surely the front runners for the role.

Lisa Cross, or Rene Campbell? Which real-life professional female bodybuilding star would you have play the fictional professional female bodybuilding star?

Lisa Cross



Lisa, even more so than most female bodybuilders, is a woman who gets thing done. Her career has soared since she returned from an enforced competitive break, and at the same time she has written a book, built her own gym, and taken the art of the erotic female muscle video to places and levels of interaction that it has never been before. Can she act? She certainly performs the part of the super sexual muscle goddess well enough - although I imagine that isn't quite what the producers are looking for!
But on the other hand, doesn't this very ability to adopt that role in her own work suggest Lisa would be more able than most to take on the persona of Lea Pearl?





Rene Campbell



You wouldn't say that - Jodie Marsh aside (and she isn't bodybuilding any longer) - any female bodybuilder is "well-known" in Britain, but Rene has managed to gain a slither of the mainstream's consciousness through her myriad appearances in the British press. Her "bigorexia", her inability to find a man, and, conversely, the numerous offers of marriage she receives. She's been on prime time TV, she's starred in a music video and a fizzy drink advert, and most recently the story of her most recent contest and the health problems she subsequently faced were documented in a short film for The Guardian online. She is passionate and unapologetic about what she does and candid about the sacrifices her lifestyle demands. And she comes across as classy, eloquent, and witty - not, perhaps, the image of a female bodybuilder that the mainstream would expect. And at the same time she boasts a more varied and artistic portfolio of work than just about any current female bodybuilder I can think of.

She's not competing this year either (as far as I know), giving her plenty of time to develop her acting skills and hone her amazing physique into a convincingly conditioned shape for the role without threatening her health again by actually having to undergo the rigours of a contest. I think Rene is perfect for the role.




We'll see if P.E.A.R.L.'s producers agree.

The news will be on FMS when we have it.

Who Is Lea Pearl?

MUSCLE MUMS

Apart from the two very obvious British pro female bodybuilders - who we shall be seeing at the final audition tomorrow - when I read that Lea Pearl is not only a champion bodybuilder but also a mother, two names immediately sprang to mind...

Linda Gartside




Rochdale's sexiest driving instructor and former NABBA Ms Universe has already had her life story turned into a movie script. Well, sort of. The Transformation of Linda Gartside is one of FMS' own favourite posts, and still one of our all-time most popular. If Linda does happen to be cast as Lea Pearl and the film gains an audience, there's a sequel - or more likely a prequel - ready to go into production right there!




Jackie Hague




And we find our second muscle mum just down the road from Linda in Blackpool. Jackie Hague's blend of unapologetic muscle sexiness and undeniably feminine beauty has gained her regional titles and a legion of (male and female) fans over the last few years - yours truly very much included. She could write some of her own dialogue too. Take this little speech, adapted from one of Jackie's very own Instagram posts...

Look around! How many people even look like I do? Or put that much work in? Or give a shit about their bodies and health? Very few! But I stand out in the crowd.
I can look at my body in the mirror and say "F***ing hell yeah!!!"




Tomorrow in our final audition, the "Big Two".

Who Is Lea Pearl?

PHYSIQUE DREAMS

Today we search for Lea Pearl in the south-east of the UK with two genuine British Physique goddesses, and another woman with the potential to become the next.

Carly Thornton



What a difference a year makes. At the start of 2015 Carly decided to take the advice she was getting snd move up from Bodyfitness (Figure) to Physique. Within months she had become the first British Physique winner at the Arnold Classic Europe and the first ever Physique competitor from the UK to receive a pro card (see FMS passim for the full story). To say that she's excited about her first season as a pro is something of an understatement. In fact I'd go so far as to say her focus seems so intense it is unlikely Carly would get distracted by anything as trivial as an offer of movie stardom.



Sarah Williams


left, 2014 UKBFF Physique champ; right, added beef in 2015

Like Carly, Sarah is a UKBFF Physique champion but unlike Carly she didn't follow her 2014 win with international success - despite having all the tools to do so. Also unlike Carly, Sarah arrived in the Physique division by necessity rather than design, having previously competed in Bodybuilding. Given the amount of muscle she's carrying now, it looks like she might well be thinking of going back to that division. Awesome.



Becs Cronshaw



Once a corporate banker, rising star Becs Cronshaw now works as a fitness trainer in the heart of the City of London and is preparing for her first season in the Physique division having previously competed in Bodyfitness. I'm not the only one who believes Becs' star is on the rise. FMS Head of Research "JT" has noted a massive increase in Facebook follows for Becs over the last six months, and the female muscle lovin' forum whose first rule is... has certainly discovered her charms in recent months as well.

Definitely a name to remember.



More potential Pearls tomorrow.

Who Is Lea Pearl?

NABBA MUSCLE

Granted, the character of Lea Pearl is a professional female bodybuilder and all the women today are very much still in the very much still amateur NABBA federation, but who knows, maybe it's the super dark tans and the super ripped muscles and the super tiny thongs that the producers think will conjure up the world of female muscle best?

Sarah Mura




Britain's NABBA champion is Mrs Jolley now, having recently tied the knot. She may be a bit young for the role, but she cetainly has the looks, and if her 2016 version is as big an improvement on 2015 as Sarah in 2015 was compared to herself in 2014, she will certainly have more than enough muscle to carry off the role of a pro FBB.

Jody Shuttleworth




A real NABBA veteran, and, like a fine wine, improving with every passing year. Unlike that fine wine though the improvement is in the form of refined and downright freaky muscle. Film star beautiful, and mature enough to be believable in the role as well.

Sarah Hallett




If actually being mother and knowing all about the choices a top class female bodybuilder has to make regarding her family is going to be an advantage, then fire-fighter and NABBA muscle mum Sarah will be a strong candidate to play Lea Pearl. And if she did get the role it would be churlish of our "auteur" to miss the opportunity for some great close-ups of Sarah's vascular muscles in a pump room scene.

There has to be a pump room scene, right?!



And if I may just bring one more lady who graces the NABBA ranks in for audition today, then let's make that woman Sarah's very own backstage bestie and one of FMS' 2015 NABBA faves to boot - Northern Ireland's most muscle sexy Linda Cassidy.

Any excuse to post one of her routines!



Auditions continue tomorrow.