Naman Shrestha
With Rachel Morrison at the helm, ‘The Fire Inside’ is a biographical boxing movie that revolves around Claressa “T-Rex” Shields and her journey towards the 2012 Summer Olympics. Hailing from Flint, Michigan, the talented and determined Claressa aims to make history by becoming the first woman in the nation to win a gold medal at the prestigious Olympic Games. Soon, she is discovered by coach Jason Crutchfield, who offers to help her achieve her dreams.
Thanks to his tough-love coaching, Claressa exceeds all expectations while her personal struggles keep testing her every step of the way. The sports drama film is led by the powerful and inspiring performance of Ryan Destiny, who is supported by several other talented actors, including Brian Tyree Henry, Oluniké Adeliyi, and De’Adre Aziza. The inspirational story unfolds in Flint, Michigan, and takes us to the 2012 London Olympic Games, offering us a wide range of backdrops.
The Fire Inside Filming Locations
‘The Fire Inside’ was filmed in Ontario, California, and England, particularly in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Los Angeles, and London. Although the principal photography commenced on March 11, 2020, it was halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic just a couple of days later. A couple of years later, the movie was picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the production resumed in May 2022 under the working title ‘Flint Strong’ and went on for nearly two months before getting wrapped up in July of the same year.
Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Ontario
Most of the pivotal sequences for ‘The Fire Inside’ were lensed in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, which includes the namesake cities and their surrounding areas. The production team set up camp in Cinespace Film Studios at 777 Kipling Avenue #300 in the administrative district of Etobicoke within Toronto. Spread across over 1.4 million square feet, the film studio is one of the largest providers of production facilities in all of Ontario. Apart from the 29 sound stages, it is also home to other necessary amenities required for filmmaking. Taking over a few spaces in the studio, the cast and crew members taped many interior and exterior scenes of the biographical movie.
Besides Toronto, the shooting for the boxing film also took place in the city of Hamilton, which doubled as Flint, Michigan, and the London Olympics. In July 2022, in order to shoot the scenes involving the Olympic boxing venue, the production team took over the FirstOntario Centre at 101 York Boulevard in Hamilton. Originally known as Copps Coliseum, the sports and entertainment arena has a total capacity of about 19,000.
Los Angeles, California
As per reports, a few scenes of ‘The Fire Inside’ were also recorded in Los Angeles, also known as the Entertainment Capital of the world. In the background of the exterior portions shot on location, many of you are likely to spot several iconic landmarks associated with LA, including the Hollywood Sign, Calle Olvera, Los Angeles City Hall, Venice Beach, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
London, England
In order to add another layer of authenticity to its narrative, the filming unit of ‘The Fire Inside’ also traveled all the way to the capital of England and the United Kingdom — London — and shot several scenes on location. Apart from the boxing movie, London has hosted the production of many film and TV projects over the years, such as ‘Green Street Hooligans,’ ‘The Swimmers,’ ‘Goal! The Dream Begins,’ ‘Borg vs. McEnroe,’ and ‘A Thousand Blows.’
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