LOS ANGELES – Former United States president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are in talks to produce a new biopic about American golf superstar Tiger Woods, a source familiar with the negotiations told AFP on March 12.

The movie is in development at Amazon MGM, according to Hollywood trade outlet Deadline, which first reported on the project.

The studio had bought the rights to The Tiger Slam: The Inside Story Of The Greatest Golf Ever Played (2024), the book by former Golf magazine editor-in-chief Kevin Cook on how Woods became the first golfer to be reigning champion at all four majors simultaneously, in 2000 and 2001.

American director Reinaldo Marcus Green, the film-maker behind biographical sports drama King Richard (2021) – which told the story of the childhoods of American tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams and their coach father Richard – is attached to direct, Deadline said.

That film earned American actor Will Smith the Best Actor Oscar – an accolade infamously overshadowed when he slapped American comedian Chris Rock on stage during the 2022 Academy Awards gala, just minutes before winning the golden statuette.

Mr and Mrs Obama run Higher Ground Productions, which has produced the Oscar-winning documentary American Factory (2019) and Netflix hit thriller Leave The World Behind (2023), as well as TV shows and podcasts.

Woods, 49, is one of golf’s all-time superstars. He became the first black player to win a major title when he captured the 1997 Masters in record fashion.

The film is set to focus on perhaps Woods’ greatest achievement, popularly known as the “Tiger Slam”, when he won the 2000 US and British Opens and PGA Championship, and then added the 2001 Masters to capture four major trophies in a row.

The movie is not expected to tackle Woods’ subsequent self-inflicted downfall that began with a car crash near his home In November 2009. The accident led to the exposure of a slew of extramarital affairs and the collapse of his marriage to Sweden-born former model Elin Nordegren in August 2010.

The most recent of Woods’ 15 major wins – second only to American golfing legend Jack Nicklaus with 18 – came at the 2019 Masters.

Woods announced on March 11 that he had undergone surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon, in the la...