Olympic Rings To Fill Silver Screens In 2016

With all the recent attention on "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and other big films opening for the holidays, some previews are popping up for new Olympic-themed features set to open in 2016.

Not since Leni Riefenstahl assigned her crews 80 years ago have there been so many filmmakers with an eye and lens on Olympic action.

Here's a look at the big studio releases and smaller potential gems with a five-ringed connections coming soon to a theatre near you:

Title: "Race"
Release Date: 19 February 2016
Website: www.FocusFeatures.com/Race
Production/Distributor: Focus Features
On screen: Stephan James, Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis, William Hurt, Carice van Houton
Off screen: Stephen Hopkins (director)

Description: Tailored to the masses fresh look at Jesse Owens and his journey from rural Alabama to the world's stage at the Berlin Olympics. Title is a double (or perhaps triple) entendre about Owens' running prowess, the color of his skin and (hinted by the previews) a "race against time" for the track star to decide whether to compete for Team USA in spite of obvious discrimination in its ranks and Germany's emerging Aryan aspirations.

Curious facts: According to IMDB, the title role originally went to John Boyega, who backed out to appear in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Jeremy Irons will play the role of U.S. Olympic chief Avery Brundage, an official likely to appear in two of the upcoming Olympic documentaries listed later in this post.

Olympic Rings And Other Things prediction: Film will entertain with a new, crowd-pleasing spin on Owens' feats while disappointing the fact checkers who call to question the fictionalized bio for the sake of tension/drama (sort of like in the film version of "Unbroken").

Title: "The Bronze"
Release Date: 11 March 2016
Website: SonyClassics.com/TheBronze
Production/Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
On screen: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong
Off screen: Bryan Buckley (director)

Description: Comedy about a twentysomething Olympic bronze medal gymnast "putting the nasty in gymnastics" whose star is falling while a younger athlete's profile is on the rise in the same small Ohio town they call home.

Curious Facts: Gary Cole is often quoted for the TPS Report-loving manager he portrayed in "Office Space." Since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, several Team USA women's gymnastics Olympians took home bronze medals, including: Mary Lou Retton (1984 uneven bars, floor exercise), Kathy Johnson (1984 balance beam), Phoebe Mills (1988 balance beam), Shannon Miller (1992 uneven bars,), Amy Chow (1996 uneven bars), Dominique Dawes (1996 floor exercise), Courtney Kupets (2004 uneven bars), Nastia Liukin (2008 floor exercise) and Alexandra Raisman (2012 balance beam). In 1948, Team USA earned a bronze in the "team combined" women's gymnastics events in 1948 London, 1992 Barcelona and 2000 Sydney.

Olympic Rings And Other Things prediction: Future cult classic and solid scores for F-bomb vaulting.

Title: "Eddie The Eagle"
Release Date: 26 February 2016
Website: www.FoxMovies.com/movies/Eddie-the-Eagle
Production/Distributor: 20th Century Fox/Lionsgate
On screen: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken
Off screen: Dexter Fletcher (director), Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling, David Reid, Rupert Maconick and Valerie Van Galder

Description: Highly fictionalized version of events leading to the world famous British ski jumper's Olympic debut at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

Curious Facts: In a BBC interview, the athlete on which the film is based said, "I've been warned only 10 to 15 percent of it is based on my life."

Olympic Rings And Other Things prediction: Future boxed set with the other Calgary Games comedy "Cool Runnings."

Title: "Munich 72 And Beyond"
Release Date: TBD
Website: www.MunichMemorial.org
Production: Foundation for Global Sports Development, Crisman Films
On screen: Surviving family members from 1972 Israel Olympic Team
Off screen: Stephen Crisman (director)

Description: According to the official site, the film will, "... capture the story of the Munich Memorial, and create an unflinching, elegant and timely examination of contemporary remembrance. The film will revisit Munich's history and bring it to a contemporary moment through intimate interviews and access to those involved. The film will also follow the construction of the Memorial ... with blueprints and renowned architects as guides.

Curious facts: The New York Times wrote up new revelations to be discussed in the film, and Around The Rings aired a podcast interview about the project. The 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympic attack is covered here. 

Olympic Rings And Other Things prediction: Surviving family member inch closer to closure while the Oscar-winning "One Day In September" (documentary which covers the same topic) proves tough to beat.

Title: "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice"
Release Date: TBD
Website: www.1936OlympicsMovie.com
Production: Coffee Bluff Pictures
On screen: Blair Underwood (narrator), Carl Lewis, Isaiah Thomas
Off screen: Deborah Riley Draper (director)

Description: Documentary exploring the 18 black American athletes (including Jesse Owens) and the discrimination they faced at home before, during and after they competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Curious facts: Draper, who is based in Atlanta, previously created the documentary "Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution."

Olympic Rings And Other Things prediction: Audiences will be treated to an accurate and detailed look at what Team USA's black athletes endured in spite of their accomplishments.

Title: "Roads to Olympia"
Release Date: TBD
Website: www.RoadsToOlympia.com
Production: Beacon Revolt
On screen: Daniel Alexander
Off screen: Ramazan Nanayev (director/writer)

Description:  "Weaving between Russia, Saudi Arabia and South America ... a dark yet truly empowering story that follows young people testing their strength and endurance, as athletes and as people, while the attempt to achieve their dreams."

Curious facts: Like "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" this film was funded in-part through a public campaign via Seed & Spark.

Olympic Rings And Other Things prediction: Effective international version of "Race" portraying athletes overcoming oppression, poverty and intolerance due to ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.

Images courtesy of the respective film production companies or distributors listed in this post. 

Help Bring Olympic History to Light on the Silver Screen in Time for 2016

Olympic movie and history buffs have an opportunity to help get a potential five-ringed gem to the silver screen in time for next year's film festival season and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Through the crowdfunding site Seed & Spark, now through March 17, anyone may contribute funds to help complete the documentary "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" by Atlanta-based filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper, whose team seeks to bring to light the seldom-heard stories of African American Olympians who competed at the 1936 Berlin Olympiad.

For more specifics on the donation process, click the links above or scroll to the base of this post, post-haste.

Paraphrasing the film synopsis: "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" will be a feature length documentary exploring the trials and triumphs of 18 African American athletes who represented Team USA in Germany.

Set against the strained and turbulent atmosphere of a racially divided America -- torn between boycotting Hitler’s Olympics and participating in the Third Reich’s grandest feat of propaganda -- the film follows 16 men and two women as they prepared for, traveled to, competed in and returned from Berlin.

With an Olympian-level blend of grace and dignity, these athletes represented a nation that considered them second class citizens, and their competitions took place in a nation that rolled out the red carpet in spite of an undercurrent of Aryan superiority and anti-Semitism.

I spoke with Riley Draper, who explained the idea for the film started with research of a jazz singer from Chattanooga who later was reportedly interned by the Nazis. Articles on the musician included references to African American Olympians who competed in Berlin, and as Riley Draper gained some Olympic experiences and interest during a U.S. Track & Field assignment at the 1996 Atlanta Games, the seldom-heard stories of these athletes stuck with her.

Though many know the story of Jesse Owens' feats on the track in Berlin, the other 17 black athletes'
experiences are known to comparatively few.

"I wanted to bring to light these heroes who created a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement," said Riley Draper.

Research for "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" yielded that the 18 athletes came from across the U.S., with attendance at big colleges as a common thread among the "great student athletes" selected for Team USA. Some medaled in Berlin, though with considerably less fanfare than Owens.

Riley Draper said some of the athletes also made the cut, while more did not, for the original Olympic documentary film, Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia." And in one case, the German filmmaker
stirred the political pot in the 1936 Cultural Olympiad by displaying images of black U.S. athletes she snapped as artsy photographs during her trip to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

One U.S. athlete set as part of the new film is Jack Wilson, the silver medalist in boxing. Another is Archie Williams, who won gold in the 400m race.

And in high jump, Cornelius Johnson and David Albritton earned gold and silver, respectively, while teammate Delos Thurber also made the podium for bronze (a clean sweep). As rising stars, Albritton and Owens lived parallel lives as rural Alabama natives who succeeded on the track.

I personally look forward to learning more about Johnson and all of the athletes to be profiled through “Olympic Price, American Prejudice.”

Back to the film’s synopsis: "The athletes experienced things that they were not expecting -- applause, warm welcomes, an integrated Olympic Village and the respect of their competitors. They were heroes on the world’s stage who returned home to find only short-lived glory. Their story is complicated … a vital part of history as relevant today as it was almost 80 years ago."

Riley Draper and her team plan to “utilize the wealth of newsreel material, newspaper articles, photographs, personal interviews and never-before-seen footage as well as resources from the personal archival collections of Olympians and Foundations in both the U.S. and Germany.”

She also said research to date included a wealth of detail provided by archives managed by the LA84 Foundation, the National Archives and the Avery Brundage Collection at the University of Illinois.

When I asked the extent to which the International Olympic Committee/Olympic Museum, U.S. Olympic Committee, International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) or travels to other domestic or international archives are on the filmmaker’s wish list (as part of their fundraising goals), Riley Draper said she was open to additional sources but travel to Berlin to capture in-stadium footage -- and more interviews of surviving athletes or spectators -- tops the list.

The crowdfunding site lists several types of equipment needs, expenses for everything from insurance and narration to image licensing, and travel items.

Donations of as little as $1 or in the form of Delta Air Lines SkyMiles are accepted, and donor who provide at higher levels may opt-in to pre-release perks (including an on-screen credit as a supporter). For readers who choose to contribute, please consider doing so by selecting this blog and/or blogger as the source providing referral to Seed & Spark.

Thank you for your part in bringing “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice” to the big screen. Additional information is also available via the film’s official site, 1936OlympicsMovie.com.

Images via www.1936OlympicsMovie.com

American Experience: Jesse Owens

A few weeks back a couple of friendly publicists for the popular PBS program "American Experience" emailed me to ask if I'd be interested in previewing the new documentary "Jesse Owens" set to premiere nationally on May 1.

Hello! Twist my arm!

"American Experience" is a longtime favorite in the Wolaver home. Outstanding programs. Their series "New York: A Documentary Series by Ric Burns" is an all-time great for Public Broadcasting.

So without hesitation I accepted the opportunity to view "Jesse Owens."

This is not the first film featuring the 1936 Olympic champion. In 1984 there was a made for TV mini-series "The Jesse Owens Story" which was, on the heels of "Chariots of Fire," among the first Olympic films I watched. In the 28 years since, there were other Jesse Owens tributes and specials, and a few years ago I stopped in rural Oakville, Ala., at the Jesse Owens Museum.

And of course, Owens appears in the original Olympic documentary film "Olympia" by Leni Riefenstahl, with several clips from this sports photography masterpiece appearing in the current "American Experience" program.

The new "Jesse Owens" feature comes to us from the team of Laurens Grant and Stanley Nelson, the producers of the Emmy winning documentary "Freedom Riders." They did a nice job with the new documentary, though with a few quirks.

It struck me funny that Owens' first eight years -- among 10 siblings residing in rural Alabama -- received only one mention of the Southern state, with no footage of his hometown museum; the filmmakers instead noted Cleveland as the launching point for the Owens story.

I also had a bone to pick with the film's one odd visual: The opening sequence included some interesting X-ray footage (early black and white X-ray films of bones and joints showcasing movement). "Were these Owens' bones?" I pondered, wondering the source of the skeletal footage (still scratching my head ... why was this inserted?).

With these two initial observations noted, the film quickly got to the Owens tale many already know.

We learn about his early track days, coaches and initial success juxtaposed with racial inequality that was the norm of his time, with Owens denied restaurant service and hotel accommodations -- and even an on-campus dorm room -- due to segregation.

We're also introduced to Owens fans who were his contemporaries, including U.S. Olympic Teammates Iris Cummings Critchell (swimming) and Louis Zamperini (athletics), as well as Berlin Olympiad spectators Theodor Michael and Hilmar Dressler, who read about Owens in German newspapers during the buildup to the Games. There's also the great sportsmanship shared by Owens and German long jump rival Carl "Luz" Long, who famously walked arm in arm after receiving their Olympic medals, an Olympic-sized flipping of the bird to Hitler and all he stood for in front of the world.

One thing I learned in this documentary was how the NAACP encouraged Owens to speak out against Team USA heading to Berlin at all. But after Owens brought up this opposition, many of the key influencers of the time, including his own coach and American Olympic Committee leader Avery Brundage, quickly quashed the track star's anti-Games remarks.

This was not the last time Brundage and others overruled Owens and teammates, as viewers learn of Games-time politics and post-Olympic promotions that Owens endured for several months, ultimately denying him many opportunities to cash in on his success.

Sidebar: Brundage is a controversial figure in Olympic history worthy of his own "American Experience" documentary -- in this "Jesse Owens" film, Brundage is painted in a negative light, cast perhaps unfairly with near-Hitler-level "bad guy" status, without noting enough context about Brundage's multiple hats for the IOC, AOC and AAU while delving into his perspectives on Jewish athletes -- I write this not in defense of Brundage's reprehensible actions; rather, to encourage viewers and readers of this blog to absorb the "Jesse Owens" Brundage footage and voiceovers with a grain of salt, or to learn more about Brundage beyond the film.

Another key learning from "American Experience: Jesse Owens" was Owens' main pre-Games competition, a runner named Eulace Peacock (if NBC was the host broadcaster for the 1936 Olympics, where television debuted, they would have had a field day given their winged logo). Unfortunately, Peacock -- named by the AP as the gold medal favorite for Berlin -- was denied a spot on Team USA due to an injury.

The film also notes Thomas Wolfe's perspectives on the Games as he attended the Opening Ceremony and track competitions as a celebrity guest. Zamperini also tells of the unfortunate aftermath of cannon fire (during the opening ceremony) which startled thousands of peace doves, er, pigeons released above the athletes who marched into the stadium. It was fun to see some of my fellow members of the International Society of Olympic Historians on the small screen.

An interesting visual element during the Berlin sequences: Animation using iconic Olympic posters for the Berlin Games. The producers also converted several still photos into animation, an appealing move that brought to life several of Owens' races.

The film concludes with a brief sequence of Owens' post-Games activities, which saw him fade into obscurity for decades before desegregation and renewed Olympic and U.S. patriotism brought him back into the limelight during the 1960s and 1970s.

I enjoyed the "Jesse Owens" feature for "American Experience" and it is worth one's time to tune in to local PBS stations. One of the best things about "American Experience" is that the series always inspires me to do more of my own research, and that is true of the "Jesse Owens" documentary.

In preparing this Olympic blog post, for instance, I learned more about Wolfe, and that Peacock (also from a rural Alabama town) and  Owens later opened a business together, according to this biography. I also learned that Owens opened his own public relations firm in Chicago, according to this timeline (in step with Dan Edelman, founder of the world's largest independent P.R. firm, my former employer). These fun facts did not make it to the final version of "American Experience: Jesse Owens" but I am thankful the documentary led me to learn these details.

Photos via this link, this link and this link