Jewell Film May Rile

During Christmas of 1996, I could not resist changing the lyrics to the popular holiday tune "Good King Wenceslas" thanks to a Georgia name that grabbed a lot of headlines during the Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta.

Good King Wenceslas looked out,

on the Feast of Stephen,

When the snow lay round about, 

deep and crisp and even;

Brightly shone the moon that night, 

tho' the frost was cruel,

When a poor man came in sight ...

is that Richard Jewell?

Nearly 20 years later, Richard Jewell -- the hero security guard of the 1996 Games -- still comes to mind each caroling season. For those in need pf a refresher on his story, the ESPN 30 for 30 short "Judging Jewell" provides a good recap. 

During winter/spring 2015, I got another reminder of Jewell in the form of a dateline Hollywood news article. 

Not quite Christmas in July, but noteworthy for Olympic film fans.

Turns out Jewell, who died at 44 in 2007, will get his own silver screen feature with the working title "The Ballad of Richard Jewell." 

According to published reports, Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio will play Jewell and his attorney, respectively, in a big budget release set for 2016, possibly in time for the Rio Olympics. 

The title comes from the headline to the famous Vanity Fair article by Marie Brenner, who landed one of the biggest 1x1 interviews of 1996 when Jewell agreed to his first media conversation before his acquittal for the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Brenner is also known for in-depth writing that inspired the award-winning film "The Insider."

In Brenner's extensive post-Olympic "American Nightmare" article, Jewell unloaded months of pent--up rage and anxiety caused after his "right place at the right time" heroics earned scrutiny of the world's media (and just about everyone else) thanks to some loose-lipped law enforcement officials and an overzealous reporting team. 

Anxious for a global news scoop hours after the bombing, and imbued by "official sources," reporters at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution led with coverage of Jewell that -- like the Bee Gees lyrics to "I Started A Joke" -- started the whole world crying the security guard's name with specious accusations. 

Details for the new Hill/DiCaprio project remain sparse, but according to one report, Clint Eastwood was initially considered to direct the film. This turned out to be wishful thinking during all the attention for "American Sniper," however, as Eastwood put the kibosh on project speculation during a public Q&A. 

Just as well since Eastwood has a record of skewing Olympic facts, as reported here. 

With no Eastwood option, this writer hopes Martin Scorsese might direct Hill/DiCaprio again on the heels of their shared success for "The Wolf of Wall Street." 

Screenwriter Billy Ray -- working with Scorsese on his adaptation of "Devil In The White City" (starring DiCaprio) -- is confirmed to write the screenplay for "The Ballad of Richard Jewell" so maybe a Scorsese-Ray-Hill-DiCaprio combo pack for the Jewell bio may work (though not likely in time for Rio 2016, methinks).

No matter the director, I can hardly wait to see if the screenplay recreates the "Saturday Night Live" 1997 season opener scene during which beleaguered FBI Director Janet Reno -- masterfully portrayed by Will Ferrell -- absorbs a gut-busting punch by the real Richard Jewell, who followed the hit with a great one-liner: "Same time next week?" 

Later in the same SNL episode, Jewell sat in the guest chair for a funny "Weekend Update" interview with Norm MacDonald. 

I am also curious how the Atlanta Journal-Constitution marketing department and editorial staff will report on "The Ballad of Richard Jewell." The newspaper that "Covers Dixie Like the Dew" unfortunately stepped in poo through the whole Jewell episode, and its likely the AJC will gets its due -- in the form of unflattering publicity for a free press outlet gone awry at great expense to a private citizen -- when the film project gains steam. 

This copy of court documents related to Jewell's legal action against the AJC offers a peek at both sides of their cases which became moot upon Jewell's death.

When the film starts shooting, here's hoping Centennial Olympic Park may finally get some screen time as well. 

Photos via Hollywood Reporter, AJC.com, Associated Press, Hulu and Howard Berger blog.

In case Billy Ray is reading, here's my contribution to "The Ballad of Richard Jewell" screenplay drafts: 

INT. JEWELL FAMILY APARTMENT - SUMMER AFTERNOON

RICHARD enters from bedroom as his mother places home-cooked meal on small dining table by window facing suburban apartment complex parking lot. He is wearing an Olympic security uniform and ball cap. She adjusts the volume on small TV screen to soften Tom Brokaw's NBC evening report on monitor. 

RICHARD

(while sitting at table and scooping food onto his plate)

Looks good, momma. 

Glad to eat quick before heading downtown. 

This beats that fast food from last night

that upset my stomach.

MOTHER

You eat your veggies. 

I don't want you getting 

hungry on your late shift.

(BROKAW on monitor talking about the first week of the Atlanta Olympics reaching the weekend, highlights from the day's competition, and live shots of crowds at Centennial Olympic Park -- audible volume but part of background while RICHARD and MOTHER meal conversation continues)

MOTHER (CONT'D)

(looking at screen while talking with cheek full of food)

Looks like it'll be a busy night for you down there.

RICHARD

Should be. 

I'm glad for the peace 

and quiet here at home. 

It gets noisy there. 

(RICHARD and MOTHER continue eating and chatting inaudibly as camera pans back to show relative calm of tree-lined apartment parking lot out the window).

MOTHER

(cheerfully)

I just love Tom Brokaw. 

He is so handsome. 

He's always been one of my favorites.

The film advances through the evening of the bombing, Richard's heroic actions, and initial interviews with investigators. The film later resumes in the same apartment during breakfast a couple of days later. 

INT. JEWELL FAMILY APARTMENT - MORNING LIGHT OBSCURED BY WINDOW BLINDS

RICHARD enters from bedroom in boxer shorts and T-shirt, rubbing eyes after a near-sleepless night as his mother places scrambled eggs and bacon on dining table by window. The TV is off.

(Audible muttering heard from outside window)

MOTHER

Come get something to eat. It's been so noisy outside. 

They must finally be getting around to painting things. 

I keep hearing the painting crew yelling at each other 

but I didn't open the blinds since I'm in my robe. 

I didn't even go out to get the paper yet. 

RICHARD

Oh, I'll get the paper. 

I want to see the latest reports 

from the other night.

RICHARD opens door to reach down for paper on welcome mat. 

(Off-screen REPORTER yelling "There he is!" as flashbulbs pop reflected in apartment entryway)

RICHARD quickly shuts door and steps back slowly, startled and bewildered. Holding newspaper, he turns attention to table as MOTHER reaches for the window blind string to draw up the blinds. Camera across room facing table and window shows RICHARD and MOTHER from behind and their view as the raised blinds reveal a sea of hundreds of television news cameras, reporters, photographers and bystanders -- some in the threes or atop news trucks -- peering at the Jewell breakfast scene. 

MOTHER

(gasps from shock of the scene, quickly lowers blinds for concealment)

Oh, my God! What in the world?!

As if to distract herself, MOTHER quickly turns on the television which is still tuned to NBC. On screen, Tom Brokaw is speaking about the Olympic Park bombing from earlier evening. RICHARD and MOTHER watch intently as camera zooms in on BROKAW on screen.

BROKAW

(with photo of RICHARD on screen)

They probably have enough to arrest him right now, probably enough to prosecute him, but you always want to have enough to convict him as well. There are still holes in this case.

MOTHER

(lips quivering) 

What is he talking about? 

(she starts to cry as RICHARD looks down, somberly shaking his head as he unfolds the newspaper to reveal his photo on the cover and an accusatory headline above the fold)

# # #

Caitlyn Jenner Distances Self from Bruce Gender

Every once in awhile, someone asks my earliest Olympic memory.

The answer: Bruce Jenner.

Bruce is in the news today, not to mention breaking records via Twitter, for a new identity: Caitlyn Jenner.

But before writing about these headlines, a bit more on the Bruce background.

Vivid images of the Montreal Games decathlon champion on the family's Zenith screen also compete for 'first TV show memory' status in a field dominated by "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" segments, each viewed during the summer when I turned four in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond.

It was 1976, a year when watching anything but PBS children's programming and Saturday morning cartoons was verboten. As a treat, my sister and I did occasionally get to stay up through the opening credits to "The Rockford Files" since the show starred James Garner, a fellow Oklahoman.

Though I'm not certain the broadcast and competition timing (in an age pre-dating taped-delay), I do think the name Bruce Jenner stood out not only because of his gold medal feats, but also because we got to see his achievement on ABC's live broadcast of the decathlon competition during the day.

Those hot summer afternoons, my sister and I also enjoyed playing in the backyard swimming pool (one of those plastic kiddie pools purchased at TG&Y) donning our homemade bathing suits -- my mom, a seamstress, purchased fabric that closely matched the Team USA swim trunks and made us our own Olympic gear.

We didn't eat Wheaties, but we knew that guy on the box. And we got the joke when James Belushi parodied Jenner in a faux endorsement for "Little Chocolate Donuts" on SNL.

A few years later, I was reintroduced to Bruce Jenner when he got a role on my favorite show "CHiPs."

We also saw him on several TV specials, especially during the lead-up to the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984.

Until the last couple of years, that was the extent of my Bruce Jenner awareness. His noticed-by-me absence from the buildup to the 1996 Atlanta Games was something I chalked up to inflated appearance fees or a perceived over-exposure during the 1980s creating a long tail into the 1990s.

I deliberately opted to tune-out his reality TV appearances and the like, and didn't give much thought or credence to the tabloid coverage of Jenner's supposed quest for gender reassignment. But the recurring references, mostly observed in the checkout line at grocery stores, did remind me of a good film and introduction to transgender issues, "Transamerica," which I watched again with my girlfriend early in 2015.

Two powerful Atlanta NPR segments on WABE-FM aired, introducing the parents of a transgender child in Georgia and the many challenges they faced. The report informed me more about the concerns of a group of people including 700,000 transgender Americans (according to the national conversation introduced in the following sentence).

Like legions of other observers, I later tuned in to The Interview with Diane Sawyer in April, with the following takeaways:

-- Here is a person who is very brave. I was drawn in and agreed with Jenner's words, "I want to know how this story ends."

-- Here is a person who made some very difficult choices while looking to make smart, informed and honest decisions moving forward.

-- Here is a person who is looking to leverage his fame and influence for the better of many; I liked Jenner's words "[Now] what I'm doing is going to do some good" because his "whole life has been getting me ready for this"

-- Here's a person who is turning fear into a positive; I really dug the reference to using "fear as fire" and "finding a champion within."

-- Best line seemed to be Jenner's acknowledgement or revelation that the reality shows on which he appeared are drivel, and his frustration that "the one TRUE thing in the family that could make a positive difference [was there for the telling] and I could not talk about it."

-- Though I am generally not a Kanye West fan, it impressed me Jenner cited West for talking the most sense about Jenner's gender identity and being himself, and the extent to which it inspired West to be a better person within their family.

-- Also liked how Jenner cited transgender youth (more specifically, suicide statistics), and that although Jenner does not seek "transgender spokesperson" status, there was inspiration to "save some lives" through the transformation about to take place publicly.

Leading up to the interview, I struggled with how to write blog posts about transsexuality and its links to the Olympics via Jenner headlines.

But then I recalled previously covering the topic with Olympic ties.

Jenner's interview inspired conversations with several friends and family members, and it hit me the appearance with Sawyer worked, at least with this writer, for part of its intended purpose to inspire conversation. Each chat on the topic now seems to get easier, and here's hoping that healthy discussion will become the norm as more people gain an understanding of transgendered people.

With today's announcement introducing Caitlyn Jenner, I was excited to see teaser video for the Vanity Fair cover story hitting newsstands on June 9. Annie Leibovitz's involvement brought back my own experience working with the acclaimed photographer.

Many questions remain, with some answers anticipated next week but more to be resolved months or years from now.

As a public relations professional, I am dying to know who Jenner's publicist(s) may be (one mastermind, or an army?). The talking points they are writing are like gold, and Jenner seems to be sticking these points like an Olympic gymnast nailing the dismount.

As an Olympic fan, I wonder how Caitlyn will discuss the Munich and Montreal experiences of a two-time Olympian. And how will the U.S. Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee reflect Caitlyn vs. Bruce in the Olympic record (at least as of June 1, 2015, the IOC still lists "Bruce" on their site while Wikipedia users already updated Jenner's page). My take on this, for now, is that Jenner's female personal preference, or name preference, should be considered, but the gender-specific results should remain male with at least a reference to "Bruce" (if only as a footnote). By letting the record show the 1976 details, that may invite conversation of choices made later in Jenner's life or what she struggled with as a champion living with a secret.

As a man learning about transgender issues, I wonder when and if Jenner will be approved for the surgeries that will change her sex organs (this is not a given, and since the Sawyer interview I suspected one or more psychologists who specialize in gender reassignment deemed Jenner's "coming out" interview and private conversations with family and friends as part of the lengthy list of mandatory requirements for surgery approval, a topic touched on in "Transamerica").

Wait, should that last line include the word womandatory?

No matter the answers, it may be inspiring to see where this Jenner story ends. And the world will not only have the uplifting Olympian accomplishments featured in "Ten for Gold" to celebrate, but also the story of her remarkable life making a difference for many.

Images via VanityFair.com, CorbisImages.com, Mirror.UK.com, Yahoo!