Shailene Woodley (Divergent, To Catch a Killer) has signed on to star in Ultra, Deadline reports, a psychological thriller being written and directed by Victoria Negri (Gold Star).
In the upcoming film, “Following the tragic death of her twin sister, Eve (Shailene Woodley) enters into the most intense athletic endeavour on the planet: the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race through Death Valley, where temperatures reach 54°C.
“As Eve takes on the unforgiving elements and intense physical and psychological strain of the race, she finds herself pursued by an unknown runner in white, consistently closing the gap between them as they surge through the desert. Trying to outrun the ominous presence, Eve will face the darkest parts of herself and uncover what she is made of.”
Victoria Negri calls Ultra a “visceral descent into inner turmoil,” and it sounds like the project is deeply personal to the filmmaker. Negri previews, “Tragic circumstances, for better or worse, are transformative, and Ultra is a film born from that experience. My father was a distance runner, left paralyzed by a stroke. Running, the thing that gave him life, was taken from him.”
“He suffered and finally succumbed,” Negri continues. “While finding my emotional footing, I grew to become an ultrarunner, since completing two 100-mile races, numerous 50 milers, and many marathons. It’s through testing my limits in each of these epic races that I process loss — physical pain being the greatest metaphor for the emotional.”