Shawn Johnson on the Big Screen? Here's How You Can Help

Shawn Johnson needs your help.

Her Twitter feed – @ShawnJohnson – reveals that a feature-length film is in the works, if the Olympic gold medalist and “Dancing With the Stars” mirror ball trophy winner from West Des Moines can raise the money.

A link takes followers to Kickstarter, a micro-fundraising site producer Maddy Curley is using to raise money for “Chalk It Up,” billed as “the next great gymnastics movie.”

The family friendly film will tell the story of a girl named Hannah, who overcomes her past to build  an unlikely team of misfit gymnasts at Harvard University.

The project had raised nearly $18,000 by mid-day Monday, but won't be funded unless $110,000 is pledged by July 27. The minimum pledge is $1.

Johnson quietly trained at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines before bursting on the gymnastics scene in 2006 when she won the Junior U.S. title with the highest score in both the junior and senior divisions. In 2008, she brought four medals home to Iowa from the Beijing Olympics, including a gold medal on the balance beam.

Her fame landed her a spot on “Dancing With the Stars,” where she won the mirror ball trophy in 2009.

Johnson had hoped for an Olympic comeback in 2012, but prolonged problems with her left knee forced her retirement from gymnastics. She went on that year to compete in “Dancing With the Stars: All Stars” and finished just shy of winning another mirror ball trophy.