Amorim to Direct “Crossface,” a Film About Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit

Vicente Amorim is about to get a little cross(face)…

SRG Films has named the 47-year-old half-Brazilian filmmaker as the director of its latest project Crossface, a feature adaptation of Matthew Randazzo’s book Ring Of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry.

Vicente Amorim

Amorim, who directed the Viggo Mortensen-starrer Good, will chronicle the pressures that WWE superstar Chris Benoit faced during his wrestling career and how a lethal combination of drug-use, depression and head trauma became unbearable for him.

In 2007, Benoit murdered his wife and young son before taking his own life.

Sarah Coulter wrote the script; and production is expected to begin next year.

“Wrestling is showbiz taken to the extreme and ‘Crossface’ is Limelight on steroids,” said Amorim, who with other directors is currently working on Rio, I Love You. “Chris Benoit’s story is the perfect vehicle for a fiercely honest film that is as much about him and the world of wrestling as it is about America and show business. I am very happy to be on board to help tell this story.”

Amorim’s past directing credits include Too Much Brazil, The Middle of the World and Dirty Hearts.

SRG Films chief Dale Alexander Carnegie called Amorim’s work “not only thrilling, but also touching, two things we hope to bring to our film.”

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