The competitive and cutthroat world of professional cycling is getting a movie starring Jonathan Bailey and Natalie Portman.
According to Deadline, Amazon has acquired most international rights to the psychological thriller Pumping Black, marking the first big deal at the Cannes market. The movie has been described as being in the vein of Whiplash and Black Swan.
Pumping Black stars Bailey as “cyclist Taylor Mace, who at 35-years-old is finding himself ageing out of the sport. He is taken under the wing of Andrea Lathe (Portman), a doctor driven by her own thirst for victory and power. As the race to the Tour de France progresses, Taylor must take increasingly dark measures to protect his secret,” per the logline.
Mimi Cave will direct Pumping Black. She is known for directing the 2022 horror film Fresh, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan, and the 2025 comedy-mystery film Holland, starring Nicole Kidman. Production is slated to begin this fall.
Haley Hope Bartels wrote the screenplay for Pumping Black, which producer Stacey Sher previously praised as one that “immediately pulled us into a visceral, psychological world that feels both thrilling and completely original.”
Are you ready for the Whiplash of professional cycling?
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