In the second prominent movie about an aging cheerleader since Dubya,
New Line have acquired the rights to the life story of one
Laura Vikmanis who, at the age of 42 is by some distance the oldest cheerleader working in the NFL. The story was taken up and pitched by
Emily Cook and
Kathy Greenberg who are currently enjoying a great deal of success with their script for Gnomeo and Juliet, which has been strong at the box offices both here and abroad. And in Vikamanis, they clearly see the narrative of the individual heroin against the odds that plays particularly well to American audiences, especially given what a specifically American phenomenon cheerleading is. Vikmanis took up cheerleading after her husband left her as a means to filling in her time. She witnessed the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading team at a match with her sister and spent the following year training before being rejected at the teams try-outs. The following year she returned in better physical condition with better routines and became the NFLs oldest cheerleader at the age of forty. According to co-screenwriter Cook:
"In her real life, it was easy to find a way into the story. She is a 42-year-old in a sea of 20-year-olds; she's definitely a fish in out of water. It's a great contrast. And she proved you can reinvent yourself at any age."
Michele Weiss and
Merideth Finn will be overseeing the film for New Line, while
Richard and Lauren Shuler Donner will produce with the president of Donners Company, Jack Leslie. No schedule has been announced for production and no names have been suggested for the potential star or director. Though we don't often see leading roles for actresses' over 40, so I would expect New Line to get plenty of calls over the coming weeks. Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston, etc, etc.
