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Payton Turkeltaub
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John Nacion/Variety When Bianca Mitchell-Avila was 16 years old, she first had the idea for the documentary that became “Madwomen’s Game.” The premise was simple: it would highlight and empower the real-life women conquering the male-dominated world of chess, following Mitchell-Avila’s journey across America as she prepared for an epic final battle of the game against a star people look up to. Immediately, Keanu Reeves came to mind as the ideal opponent.
“I was like, ‘You know what would be crazy? If I had an epic battle with John Wick,’” reflects a now 21-year-old Mitchell-Avila, who guessed at Reeves’ then-manager Meredith Wechter’s email and fired off a thoughtful note explaining the project and her proposition. “I know that he is very busy and may not have time to participate in something so small, but I really wanted to take a chance,” she wrote in the message, sent in 2021. The next morning, to her surprise, she saw a response from Reeves sitting in her inbox.
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