Meet London Champions FIRST

 

As readers of this Olympic blog may know from past posts, five-ringed feature films appear across this writer's best picture lists.

After shaking hands with Bud Greenspan in 1997 and again in 2010, it was sad to learn of his death after the Vancouver Games. What would it mean for the official Olympic film of London 2012?

We'll get a peek at the answer when the U.S. Olympic Committee, National CineMedia (NCM) Fathom Events and New Moon present the premiere screening of "FIRST: The Story of the London 2012 Olympic Games" on Thursday, May 30, with tickets available at select theatres across the USA.

Though this blog is Atlanta-based, the screening site for my viewing is at Cinemark Tinseltown in Oklahoma City (readers in OKC, please join me!).

According to the premiere press release and trailer, "FIRST" is the only IOC-sanctioned film of London's Games, and it "follows a dozen first-time Olympic athletes on their journey from their homes in different corners of the globe to meet their fate in London."

Sounds good to me!

Though there are dozens of Olympians who briefly appear in "FIRST" -- including Michael Phelps, Jessica Ennis, Usain Bolt and Oscar Pistorius -- here's the rundown of Olympians who viewers will get to know in more detail via behind-the-scenes access at London Olympic venues:

• Qiu Bo of China (men's diving 10m platform)
• Caroline Buchanan of Australia (women's BMX)
• Chad le Clos of South Africa (men's swimming)
• Missy Franklin of the USA (women's swimming)
• Majlinda Kelmendi of Albania (women's judo)
• Christophe Lemaitre of France (men's athletics 200m)
• John Orozco of the USA (men's gymnastics)
• David Rudisha of Kenya (men's athletics 800m)
• Heena Sidhu of India (women's shooting 10m air pistol)
• Katie Taylor of Ireland (women's boxing lightweight)
• Laura Trott of Great Britain (women's track cycling)
• Queen Underwood of the USA (women's boxing lightweight)

I was privileged to meet Franklin at the USOC Media Summit last year, Orozco at USA House in London and Trott at the Olympic Stadium on one night of the 2012 Games -- can hardly wait to learn more about their journeys in particular, and also for the introduction to the other Olympians on screen.

According to at least one Facebook post, this film actually debuted overseas a few months ago, with May 30 as the U.S. premiere.

The film's comprehensive IMDB listing makes me wonder the extent to which the USA version was edited for American audiences (if this is the case, here's hoping they let the Olympic drama speak for itself and they don't crap it up as NBC Sports sometimes does with over-the-top USA-USA-USA sentiment).

Multiple versions or not, this Olympic documentary appears to be a directorial first for Caroline Rowlands, who previously produced other films, according to IMBD. Can't wait to see what directorial cues she took from Leni Riefenstahl, Greenspan, Hugh Hudson and other Olympic film directors while putting her own spin on Olympic cinema.

Photos via NCM Fathom Events

London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay

The Associated Press gave a little love to the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay with an international wire story updating readers on plans for next year's run.

The Olympic flame will trek about 8,000 miles but almost entirely on British soil during 70 days next summer, according to the article.

Additional details are available at the official site for the Olympic Torch Relay. Of course, part of the Torch tradition will also take place in Olympia, Greece.

The destination list for the flame looks good to me. It would really be something to see the flame at Stonehenge, for instance.

I did not yet look closely at the route yet, but in case they did not think of it already, consider this my Olympic blogger suggestion that the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Team at LOCOG, as well as Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung, recreate the "Chariots of Fire" opening sequence by carrying the Olympic torch down the beach made famous by the film's director, Hugh Hudson, and Vangelis (in case you missed it, Hudson answered questions about that famous scene during a film festival in Atlanta, and his comments are available via this post).

Photo via LOCOG

Oscar Comes To Atlanta

Watching the Academy Awards presentation tonight, it was good to see an array of nominated films take home some hardware.

Honorees for "The Fighter," "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech" appeared on my ballot, and it was good to see Melissa Leo, Christian Bale and Colin Firth victorious. Big relief to see that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross earned statues (bravo!).

Though it was pleasing to see a longtime actress favorite, Natalie Portman, as winner for "The Black Swan" I was rooting for Annette Bening's amazing, emotional performance in "The Kids Are All Right."

Biggest disappointment of the evening: Twenty-time nominee Randy Newman winning for original song (in my opinion, his was the least original, again).

Another letdown was that Winona Ryder received no nominations for her twisted character in "Black Swan" (she stabbed herself in the face with a nail file, for crying out loud!).

Going into the evening, I maintained that "The Social Network" might take home best picture, and though "The King's Speech" is excellent, the moodier tone of the former seemed more contemporary.

"The King's Speech" themes of friendship and British connections remind me of best picture from 30 years ago, another U.K. great (which some say 'saved' British cinema), "Chariots of Fire."

I was just seven years old when "Chariots of Fire" won best picture of 1981, and I still enjoy vivid memories of viewing this film on the big screen with my dad and my grandmother.

What a treat it was to again experience "Chariots of Fire" in a theatre last Thursday when the premiere 30th anniversary presentation, including Q&A with the film's Oscar-nominated director, Hugh Hudson, appeared as the centerpiece of the 2011 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

Interviewing Hudson during the film was an extraordinary treat.

In our one on one conversation in the lobby of Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station (with thanks to the AJFF's P.R. team at MS&L), Hudson explained that sport played an important part of his upbringing.

"I was always interested in sporting achievement," said Hudson. When asked about his earliest Olympic memories, he said, "I went to the 1948 London Olympics and have memories of Fanny Blankers-Koen. I saw her run!"

Hudson said that athleticism and the Olympics were not the intended themes of "Chariots of Fire;" rather, the "timeless story of youth standing up for [their] beliefs ... for their own sense of freedom, [and] refusing to have ideals diverted by their elders."

I asked Hudson to reflect on great Olympic films that preceded his, and the extent to which he studied Olympic films or film makers prior to "Chariots of Fire." Hudson replied that Leni Reifenstahl's "Olympia" was "breathtaking" and he also cited "Tokyo Olympiad" by Kon Ichikawa as influential.

"[But] they were pure documentaries," said Hudson, who added that the use of slow motion in those films made it to "Chariots of Fire" but with more criticism for his work.

When asked the extent to which the International Olympic Committee, British Olympic Association or other Olympic entities engaged Hudson before, during or after the success of his film, Hudson said they never contacted him (I found and still find this hard to believe since the film screened at several Games since 1981). Hudson said, "Going into Barcelona [in 1992] I wrote a script" and "had a part in Spain" that fell through, but he declined to provide more detail because he "might still use that idea."

After talking about the impact of early Olympic films on his career, I followed up with questions about Hudson's impact on Olympic films that followed his. Hudson said he enjoyed Steven Spielberg's "Munich" and it reminded Hudson that he planned to attend the Munich Games in 1972, but instead he only watched the Games on television. Hudson added he did not attend a Games since 1948, and that organizers for London 2012 are not in contact with him.

HELLO, are there any London 2012 publicists reading this? Golden opportunity awaits!

(Disclosure: Some P.R. elements of London 2012 are organized by Edelman, the agency where I work.)

The last question I was able to pose to Hudson before his next interview of the AJFF concerned the iconic opening and closing sequence of "Chariots of Fire" during which the mesmerizing, Oscar winning theme song by Vangelis is played. Hudson confirmed my suspicion, since elementary school in 1981, that the beach runners were up to their ankles in "freezing cold water in March" (later, during the audience Q&A, seen in the video below, Hudson also explained the scene involved several takes and a quirky miracle of film making led to a second filming that captured more dramatic waves pouring into the shoreline; he also shared more detail about his friendship with Vangelis).

During the audience Q&A, I also learned that Hudson married a "Bond Girl" from the James Bond film "The Living Daylights" -- Maryam d'Abo answered two questions outside the Atlanta screening of "Chariots of Fire," explaining that the first time she viewed Hudson's film she was a drama student -- with Colin Firth -- and she met Hudson several times during the 1980s before he remembered her (they married in 2003).

I found Hudson to be pleasant and conversational, offering to share his popcorn during our theatre chat. It would be tremendous to see the 30th anniversary edition of "Chariots of Fire" on the big screen in several cities now through London 2012. If it is screening near your favorite theatre, guaranteed, it is the best picture in town.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver at the 2011 AJFF
 

"Chariots of Fire" Blazes Vangelis Soundtrack Trail to AJFF

It's not often -- dare I write, it may be a once in a lifetime -- that the greatest Olympic film ever made comes to town.

The Oscar-winning five-ringed film "Chariots of Fire" in its 30th anniversary format will premiere worldwide this month at the 11th Annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Bravo!

The best picture of 1981 is one of dozens of great features heading to the AJFF, which kicked off tonight with a snazzy party at The Fox Theatre and a screening of the new documentary "Jews In Baseball: An American Love Story"

It was cool to connect at the event with the AJFF P.R. team from Manning, Selvage & Lee (thanks for the ticket), 790 The Zone's Steak Shapiro (who introduced the film), and to shake hands with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank while we briefly waited in line for a plate of delicious catering (BTW, I asked Blank whether he trekked to Dallas for the Super Bowl, and he confirmed that he did go to DFW but came back to Atlanta before the kickoff since "it's hard, you know" to see the game after this season, to which I replied "there's always next year, right?")

Here's a rundown of some of the AJFF selections on my short list to attend:

• "The 'Socalled' Movie" featuring the Canadian performance artist
• "Little Rose" which appears to be a thriller spy flick
• "Vidal Sassoon The Movie" documenting the man behind the brand
• "Winston Churchill: Walking With Destiny" looking at pre-war England
• "An American Synagogue" checking out Frank Lloyd Wright's design built in Philadelphia
• "Tell Them Anything You Want" portrait of Maurice Sendak
• "Louder Than A Bomb" looking at a Chicago poetry slam

And of course, I intend to screen "Chariots of Fire," which will include a possible Q&A opportunity with Director Hugh Hudson (I'll post video or Q&A if this happens -- fingers crossed).

The AJFF also features dozens of other films. For baseball fans, "Jews In Baseball" is excellent, featuring a frank and often humorous look at Jewish ballplayers through history, including Barney Pelty of the St. Louis Browns (the first Jewish player on a baseball card), Moe Solomon, Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax, several owners or managers, the composer of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" (also Jewish) and narration by Dustin Hoffman.

There are several great lines in the film, and my favorite arrived early in the feature. Paraphrasing, baseball was referenced in the Old Testament, in fact, in the opening line of the Bible, which states, "In the Big Inning ..."

Logo via AJFF