AFM: Megan Fox, Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson Board 'Shadow Girl'

The magic realist tale will feature fight scenes from the MMA world, with trainers and choreographers involved in the production.

Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson and Megan Fox are set to star in the magic realist tale Shadow Girl.

The news was announced Wednesday by Hipzee, Boundary Stone Films and Wrangle Entertainment?. Jim Gaffigan, Maria Dizzia and Tito Ortiz round out the cast.

Shadow Girl is the story of a young woman who has faded to the point of becoming invisible and must find her way back into the world. After more than a decade of solitude and making a living in the shadows as a paparazzi photographer, she meets the one man who can see her, a disgraced MMA fighter working as a bouncer, and discovers that it was one of her tabloid pictures that caused his downfall and that she must restore him to his former glory if she wants to regain a foothold in the world around her.

“Shadow Girl is fundamentally about our need for connection and seeing beyond our own experience,” said writer and director Claudia Myers. “It's easy to get lost in a world where your sense of self is dependent on others.”

To help bring authenticity to the film’s fight scenes, the production is working with MMA trainers, fighter choreographers and stuntmen. Emmanuel Manzanares is overseeing talent training and fight choreography, while stunts are coordinated by Tim Gallin (The Following, Doctor Strange). Manzanares is best known to the MMA/film world as a martial arts expert, a top-level stuntman, a fight choreographer and as an action editor for blockbuster hits such as Logan and X-Men: Apocalypse. Ortiz, who stars in the film, is a UFC light heavyweight champion and became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights against Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Ken Shamrock.

Shadow Girl is being produced by Hipzee's Tara Sickmeier and Rob Baunoch III, Boundary Stone’s Mark Schacknies and Khris Baxter and Wrangle Entertainment’s Robyn K. Bennett?, and is being executive produced by Myriad Pictures’ Kirk D’Amico, Kevin Forester and Audrey Delaney, as well as Sixteen19’s Pete Conlin and Jonathan Hoffman.

The deal was negotiated by Myriad’s Delaney and Forester. Ben Feldman and Ryan Lewis of Feldman, Golinski, Reedy + Ben-Zvi represented the filmmakers.

Thirlby is repped by CAA and 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney firm is Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren & Richman LLP. Ritchson in repped by UTA, San Spilo of Industry Entertainment and attorney Dan Fox. Fox is repped by ICM Partners. Jim Gaffigan is a client of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, UTA and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams LLP. Ortiz is repped by AC Talent Agency. Dizzia is repped by The Gersh Agency.

CAA is handling domestic distribution rights, with Myriad Pictures taking worldwide rights at AFM.