In March 2024, David Michôd was considering his options for the role of trailblazing boxer Christy Martin. It was a limited pool — the part, which involves both fighting in the ring and brutal physical abuse at the hands of Christy’s Svengali husband and trainer, James Martin, would be punishing. Sydney Sweeney wasn’t high on the list. She wasn’t on the list at all.

“I think people have preconceived ideas about Sydney because she is such a contemporary 21st-century creature of the internet,” the Australian director notes. Her stardom precedes her, and Michôd had to see Sweeney in a role in which she shed it. A friend suggested he check out Tina Satter’s 2023 Berlin Film Festival sensation “Reality,” about convicted intelligence leaker Reality Winner. Around the same time, an associate

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