Workout: A Documentary … examines the formation of the Blue Mound Gymnastics Club in the early 1960′s in Blue Mound, Illinois.
The back bone of the film is the exceptional gymnastic career of the filmmaker’s sister, Hali Sheriff and the dynamic driving force of his mother/ gymnastics coach, Ginny Sheriff.
… While returning from a gymnastics exhibition in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1966, both Hali and her mother were killed in a tragic plane crashalong with Hali’s father, the Reverend Harold Sheriff, who was piloting the plane. Paul was ten years old.
Juxtaposed with this will be the filmmaker’s current life 42 years later. Through video diary, archive footage, and location interviews, the film will explore the effects and influence of this traumatic event on the filmmaker and immediate surviving members of the family, teammates and friends. Within this framework, the film also thematically treats and critically examines loss, and the changing roles and relationships within the family unit. The documentary also addresses athletic competition as a philosophy of life, with its effects on the individual athlete. …
To find out more, go to the YouTube page comments. Or to the official website. Paul is still trying to raise funds to complete the planned documentary.
Pixar’s John Lasseter has five children, all boys.
Though they make the most consistently excellent animated films, Pixar is often criticized for a bias towards male characters.
Perhaps that’s starting to change.
… Pixar has a forthcoming full-length movie, Brave, about a Scottish warrior-princess. It was slated to be directed by Brenda Chapman (Pixar’s first female director), then was replaced by Mark Andrews, with Chapman as co-director. …
It looks hilariously cliché to me. But there is one theme that may be of interest to coaches.
… The film addresses the grim topic of abortion doping, a practice rumored to have been used by Romanian and Soviet coaches during the 1970s and 1980s to improve the athletic performance of gymnasts. …
The gymnastic set piece has been praised as “anxiety-filled”, “a beautiful example of successful comic suspense”, “Hitchcockian edge-of-your-seat suspense”, and “inventively grotesque”. …
I wouldn’t go that far. But it is slightly more realistic than Make It or Break It. (renewed for another season)
Will Emily Kmetko come back to training with a baby !?
Click PLAY or watch the movie clip on YouTube. (stop at 4min to avoid the death on Beam)
Candice, is played by actress Ellen Wroe, a former gymnast for Crenshaws. She did much of that footage herself.
One of the stunt doubles is Canadian gymnast Brittany Rogers.
Couch Gymnast, inspired by the latest gymnastics documentary out of the U.K. called The Gymnast, reflects historical:
… The British have always been good at bringing the World a gymnastics documentary. For a country who was only recently climbed the ranks they have had quite a fascination with their gymnasts and the worlds they inhabit. This should not be that surprising. Consider the nineties, when the USA finally became a real power in gymnastics, there was a spate of documentaries coming from that proud nation.
The British have kept them coming for years however, and they are generally of good quality with interesting insights on the lives of those involved in the sport. …
related – Gymnasts from Winnipeg were extras in a new movie based on the “tween-friendly American Girl line of dolls, books, fashion and activities”. (via IG)
… a British documentary covering the selection of the 2008 Olympic Team. As a documentary alone, it is worthy of viewing. As a gymnastics documentary, it is superb. The film captures the emotional stress on the British girls as they train and compete for a spot on the Olympic Team. The never-ending stress at home and in the gym is palpable.
Andrian Stan is the star of the film. His blunt candor is horrifying, refreshing, amusing and brutally honest. …
Hannah Whelan: Really appreciates having ‘gymnast’ as a memory of the Olympics, brought back memories, made me cry and love my dad in it….@michaelajw ?
Becky Wing: I’ve already watched ‘Gymnast’ 3 times (and cried every time haha.) It’s amazing to be able to relive the whole journey. Brings back so many memories #emotional
Marissa King: Great replies on ur thoughts on the Gymnast movie! Thank u 2 BBC & all u gymnastics fans out there 4 watching. I hope it was an inspiration!
Becky Downie: Just watched GYMNAST made me cry & brought back such amazing memories. Can’t believe I’ve decided to do it all over again, I must be crazy!!
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which, according to Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, … supposed to be “the new Pirates of the Caribbean” …
Bruckheimer had a lot more money to spend on it than Pirates 1, but I’d still say it’s inferior to all the films in Pirate franchise.
The movie is much more realistic than I expected, though, considering it’s based on a video game.
David Belle was stunt coordinator and he made an effort for the free running stunts to be somewhat based on the laws of physics. More than most other pics.
Ashin grows up in a small town at Yilan. He joins the school gymnastic team at an early age. In order to become a national player, he never gives in to hard trainings. However, Ashin gradually loses his way in rebel time. He gives up gymnastics and joins the gang with his best friend, Pickle…
