Jerry Bruckheimer Explains How Young Woman And The Sea Breaks Early 20th Century Societal Expectations

Young Woman and the Sea tells the inspiring true story of Trudy Ederle. An astounding athlete, she found her calling when she got in the water, breaking countless records and winning a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim the English Channel, facing countless obstacles both in the water and in the face of societal expectations for women in the 1920s.

Trudy was not only an amazing athlete who broke countless records, but she also helped women’s sports move forward for years to come, proving the abilities of female athletes. Young Woman and the Sea is based on Glenn Stout’s book of the same name, with Jeff Nathanson adapting the inspiring story into a screenplay and director Joachim Rønning bringing it to life with compelling drama and stunning visuals on the big screen. Daisy Ridley leads a powerhouse cast embodying the perseverance and athleticism of Trudy Ederle.

Screen Rant interviewed producer Jerry Bruckheimer about his new movie Young Woman and the Sea. He explained why Ridley is the perfect actress to take on the role of Trudy and how the relationship between the sisters is the heart of the movie. Bruckheimer also shared insight into how the movie was made and why Rønning was the perfect director.

Jerry Bruckheimer Shared How Young Woman And The Sea Was Made “You Never Know What The Perfect Story Is”

Bruckheimer shared how he discovered Trudy Ederle’s story. He also revealed the difficulties they faced trying to get Young Woman and the Sea made and how Ridley signing on helped the process. He joked that they, like Trudy, refused to give up no matter the obstacles they faced in making this movie.

Jerry Bruckheimer: You never know what the perfect story is, but Jeff Nathanson, who wrote one of the Pirates for us, was looking for something for his two daughters to see. He couldn’t find anything. He went through a used bookstore, found this book, Young Woman And The Sea, and brought it to us and said, I think this would make a terrific movie. We agreed with him.

He wrote a fabulous screenplay, and it took us seven years with that great screenplay to get it made. We got very lucky when Daisy Ridley committed to making the movie and made it a little easier. But still it was a real challenge and we never gave up. No matter who said no, we’re kind of like Trudy in the movie. Obstacles, we go through ’em, around them, and that’s what we do.

Whoever was playing Trudy obviously had to carry the movie’s emotional toll, but also the physical toll to spend months in the water and open water. Why was Daisy the perfect person to play Trudy?

Jerry Bruckheimer: She’s a terrific actress. You got to start there. Then, she’s physical. You see her in Star Wars, she’s got broad shoulders. She could take to the water really easily. She trained for three months with an Olympic coach. She overcame all those obstacles to become an excellent swimmer. You can see it in the movie. She’s just great.

Now, this isn’t just a sports movie. I feel like the family at the center of this movie is what really drew me in. Can you talk about the bond and dynamic of the family in this movie?

Jerry Bruckheimer: It’s about the obstacles of the morays and the social, I guess, expectations in those days. Where a woman is supposed to be in the kitchen and you’re not supposed to get in the water if you’re a woman. The father, it was an immigrant family, said absolutely not. The mother went out and raised money herself so her daughter could take swimming lessons.

So it’s all these different things that they went around what was considered conventional, to be unconventional and created a world-class athlete. And look, she was partially deaf. She had all these things going against her, and yet she persevered all those things to break through the walls. I mean, she set the tone and the future for female athletes around the world. She had the biggest parade down fifth Avenue ever for an athlete, even today.

Nobody broke her record until 1950. Wow. Before she swam the English Channel, only five men had ever swam it. So just think about that and think about when she walked in the room and all those men that were staring at her were trying to swim the English channel. They tried to poison. There were so many things that happened to her to try to stop her, and yet she wouldn’t stop.

“It’s About These Two Sisters” Jerry Bruckheimer On The Relationship At The Heart Of Young Woman And The Sea

Young Woman and the Sea shows the expectations set for women in the 1920s including how Meg and Trudy faced these expectations. Trudy broke away from the conventional life that was set before her while Meg wasn’t able to, but still supported her sister’s athletic dreams.

Jerry Bruckheimer: It’s about these two sisters who one has to live by what the parents want her to do, and the other one is a real rebel and how they support each other in doing what they’re doing. It’s kind of sad that one gets put into like a bin that she doesn’t want to be in, but eventually understands how to live with it and deal with it. And yet watch your sister and encourage her sister to do what she has to do.

Now, Joachim, he brings so much heart visually to this story. Why was he the perfect choice to direct this project?

Jerry Bruckheimer: Firstly, very passionate about it. We made a movie [before]. He is an excellent director. He’s very visual. He can tell a good story. He’s great with casting and he just has the energy to carry off a movie that’s difficult as this.

Speaking of Joachim, I know that you’ve collaborated with him before on Pirates. Is he coming back for the Pirates reboot?

Jerry Bruckheimer: We don’t know yet. We don’t have a reboot yet. We’re working on it, but hopefully we’ll get there.

About Young Woman and the Sea

Young Woman and the Sea tells the story of Gertrude Ederle, an American swimming champion, who first won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games. In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English Channel.

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Source: Screen Rant Plus

Young Woman and the Sea

Director

Joachim Rønning

Release Date

May 31, 2024

Writers

Jeff Nathanson

Cast

Daisy Ridley , Tilda Cobham-Hervey , Stephen Graham , Christopher Eccleston , Jeanette Hain

Runtime

100 Minutes

Main Genre

Biography

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