AEW's Jim Ross To Help Produce Film Based On Women's Wrestling Pioneer Mildred Burke
WWE Hall of Famer and AEW broadcaster Jim Ross has seemingly done it all in the professional wrestling business, so many others before him, he is making a move to motion pictures. However, don't expect to see him on the screen acting. He'll be operating more behind the scenes as a producer.
"We're doing the movie 'Millie,'" Ross revealed on the latest "Grillin' JR," and according to the broadcaster, the movie has already been cast. "I can't tell you who they are but you're going to recognize some names. I think we're gonna film it in Savannah."
Ross stated that the film will be based on Jeff Leen's book "Queen of the Ring," which detailed the career of Mildred Burke, calling it the quintessential underdog story of a single mom trying to make it in a "man's world." According to the commentator, he brought the book to the film's screenwriter and suggested he will be hands-on in the production of the film, or at least on set for filming.
Burke was a wrestling trailblazer, pioneering women's wrestling in an age when the National Wrestling Alliance had outright banned women from competing. Not only did Burke clear a path for women's wrestlers in the second half of the 20th century, but she was also a pioneer in intergender wrestling, grappling with over 200 men throughout her career. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame's Legacy wing.
"I'm very excited as you can tell," he exclaimed, "knowing that my vision is something that's going to make air."