EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm Gladwell is hosting a podcast series that tells the story of the San Jose State track and field program of the 1960s that launched the careers of several of the fastest sprinters of the day.
EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm Gladwell is hosting a podcast series that tells the story of the San Jose State track and field program of the 1960s that launched the careers of several of the fastest sprinters of the day.
Wilson Chapman editorRashaad Ernesto Green will direct “’68,” a biopic about the careers and lives of Olympic runners and activists Tommie Smith and John Carlos for MGM, Participant and MACRO.MGM announced news of the project Thursday, which tells the story of Smith and Carlos from their first meeting on the track team at San Jose State to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. As the two received medals for the 200 meter race (Smith the gold and Carlos the bronze, pictured above), they raised their fists in salute and silent protest during the American national anthem.
Premature filmmaker Rashaad Ernesto Green is set to helm Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Participant and MACRO’s feature movie ’68 inspired by the true story of Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos. The track athletes from San Jose State rose to become Olympic medalists and activists at the 1968 Games in Mexico City. That’s where they both raised their fists in solidarity and in support of human rights.
Rashaad Ernesto Green will direct the feature film “68,” inspired by the true story of the Olympians who gave the black power salute on the podium, MGM, Participant and MACRO announced on Thursday.Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray wrote the script that centers on sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos and chronicles their lives from track athletes at San Jose State to Olympic medalists and activists at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, where Smith and Carlos both raised their fists in solidarity and in support of human rights. “Still incredibly powerful and relevant, I’m honored for the opportunity to bring Tommie and John’s riveting story to life; to portray the weight of the world these two giants had on their shoulders and the self-determination, courage and sacrifice it took for them to stand up for all of us,” Green said in a statement.Participant and MACRO will produce the project, along with Stacy Sherman.
Lee Evans won two sprinting gold medals at the 1968 Olympics and protested on the podium against racism.Lee Evans was a star sprinter at San Jose State University who started the Olympic Project for Human Rights with teammates Tommie Smith and John Carlos. The trio almost boycotted the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City but instead decided that competing and winning was the best message.
Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticAs a Japanese-American kid growing up in Los Angeles, Glenn Kaino was drawn to the image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing with arms raised on the podium of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, during the medal presentation for the 200-meter dash. Not that he saw “the salute” live; he wasn’t yet born.
Angelique Jackson After more than 50 years, Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Tommie Smith shared the full story behind his raised-fist salute atop the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games in the documentary “With Drawn Arms” — and, by doing so, offers a greater insight into the meaning behind his silent protest and its aftermath.In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, CAA hosted a virtual conversation with Smith and filmmakers Afshin Shahidi and Glenn Kaino.
Tommie Smith, who won the Gold Medal and broke the world record in the 200-meter race in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and promptly got banished by the USOC and rendered a pariah for raising a gloved fist during the National Anthem to protest racism, is poised to get more of the reconsideration he deserves. With Drawn Arms, a stirring documentary about Smith’s protest and ensuing odyssey that is directed by Glenn Caino and Afshin Shahidi,, will air Sunday on Bounce.
Patrick Hipes Executive Managing EditorThe Hamptons Film Festival will open its virtual and drive-in edition with the world premiere of With Drawn Arms, the documentary about the legacy of Olympian Tommie Smith’s fist-raising moment at the 1968 Olympics.The film will also be awarded HIFF’s Film of Conflict & Resolution Award, given to a project that deals with the complex issues and societal effects of war and violence, and the attendant human dramas, in creative ways.
Mike Fleming Jr Co-Editor-in-Chief, FilmEXCLUSIVE: It took almost four years — and the death of George Floyd and ensuing protests — for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to acknowledge how badly football fumbled a chance to support the concerns of its minority players over police brutality, poverty and economic disparity in America, when QB Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the National Anthem.
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