I finally saw this low budget Romanian documentary.
… famous for the legendary gymnast Nadia Comaneci, and its boarding school, which for decades has trained world class gymnasts.
Pitic and Malina might be two of its future stars, but the long road to the podium is full of deprivation. They are eight and nine years old and have been at the school in Deva since they were six. They train for four hours every day and spend the rest of their time in school.
This documentary follows the girls … leading up to their first and most important competition, capturing an intimate and moving insight into the contrast between their dreams, and the often harsh reality.
I’ve got mixed feelings. Perhaps that’s not surprising. I’ve got mixed feelings about Romanian gymnastics.
On the one hand, with a population only about as large as Texas, one of the poorest nations in Europe consistently bested Russia, China and the U.S.A.
Their girls were incredibly tough on Floor and Beam. For decades after Nadia.
On the other hand, I’ve heard more nonsense coaching theory from Romanians than any place else in the world. What kind of coach education system have they had there?None? I’m told there’s an intensive program. I’d love to see the curriculum.
The 3 coaches highlighted in this film are excellent examples of how not to coach.
Yes I realize I’m imposing Western values on Romania. Aside from ethics, what’s shown in the documentary is simply not the best way to develop elite gymnasts.
I do get the impression that things have improved there since Nicolae Forminte took over as National Coach.
Leave a comment if you know where people can download or stream The Secret of Deva.
UCLA Gymnastics is well known for having their athletes go on to careers in the Circus after graduation. Less well known is how many girls go on to stunt work.
UCLA magazine posted an excellent article on Bruin gymnasts getting work as doubles on TV and in the Movies.
Five former UCLA female gymnasts work on Make it or Break It.
… Natalie Padilla ‘08, Jordan Schwikert ‘09 and Ariana Berlin ‘10 perform as stunt doubles for some of the lead characters; Tasha Schwikert ‘09 plays a gym-nast on the show; and Karin Silvestri-Coye ‘98 serves as the show’s gymnastics coordinator. …
2008 NCAA Champion Tasha Schwikert
… Other former Bruin gymnastics stars who have found stunt work in Hollywood include Dee Fischer Murphy ‘96 and Kiralee Hayashi ‘00 …
… Heidi Moneymaker, has been doing stunts full-time since 2001 …
It’s the season of gluttony where I live. Perhaps we need rent this movie to slow the gorge.
Food, Inc. is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Kenner.
The film examines large-scale agricultural food production in the United States, concluding that the meat and vegetables produced by this type of economic enterprise have many hidden costs and are unhealthy and environmentally-harmful.
The film is narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, two long-time critics of the industrial production of food.[ The documentary generated extensive controversy in that it was heavily criticized by large American corporations engaged in industrial food production. …
I felt the movie was quite “balanced”. Their charges against big agriculture are indefensible.
… The producers invited on-screen rebuttals from Monsanto Company, Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, Perdue Farms, and other companies, but all declined the invitation. …
Gymkata is a 1985 film filmed in Yugoslavia and starring Kurt Thomas as Jonathan Cabot, an Olympic gymnast who combines his gymnastic ability with ninjutsu to enter a deadly competition in a fictional country, Parmistan. It is based on the novel The Terrible Game (1957) by Dan Tyler Moore.
The film has developed a minor cult following as an unintentional comedy for its dubious premise, poor production quality and low budget. Maxim lists the film as the 17th “Worst Movie of All Time”.
We are looking for UK based girl gymnasts aged 12 to 15 who think they may be suited to one of the roles below, Nadia or Bee. If you are interested in being considered for this exciting project then please send us a 15 second clip of you talking to the camera (via youtube or other) …
Jessica Ronane, Casting Director at jessica.ronane AT workingtitlefilms.com …
Dates (Shooting, Rehearsal, etc.):Some rehearsal Nov/Dec (subject to availability). Shoot for 1 week late Dec/early Jan.
A friend gave a positive review for Drew Barrymore’s Directorial debut, Whip It.
He found it a positive girl coming of age/sports movie. As you know, there are far too few roles for females in Hollywood films. (Love interest and Princess)
The star is Ellen Page, who I loved as the title character in the film Juno. On The Simpsons she cameoed as a character named Alaska Nebraska, a parody of Hannah Montana.
In Whip It she plays Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby.
The Couch Gymnast posted a detailed second look at the most famous and popular gymnastics movie of all time.
… Stick it is a weird movie. I watched it again last night with some friends who know nothing about the sport of gymnastics. They loved Bring It On and wanted some more of that kind of funny, infectious teen-brand zing.
Seeing it through their eyes really adjusted my focus on the film. I realised, Stick It is confusing.
It is really funny in parts, and quite enjoyable but I think it has a huge plot problem, particularly for the layman viewer. …
The recession does not seem to be slowing down Gatorade (PepsiCo). They must be paying a fortune on this campaign tied to the Superbowl. They hired director Spike Lee for the commercials. And signed a pile of famous athletes, including Nadia and Alica.
HARRY Potter’s stunt double could be left paralysed after an on-set explosion on Wednesday.
Romford man David Holmes, 25, plummeted to the ground while he was rehearsing a flying sequence for forthcoming film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – the last chapter in the series.
It is thought the blast, believed to have been part of the stunt, rocked the harness in which David was suspended high above the ground at the Leavesden Studios, Watford.
The local stuntman, who has appeared in all the Potter movies, was sent crashing to the ground and had to be rushed to Watford Hospital. …
David, who recently moved from his home off North Street, Romford, to Leigh-on-Sea with his girlfriend, is said to be in good spirits despite his injuries.
Likely you’ve heard of the critically acclaimed feature film called The Gymnast. It’s a lesbian love story of two circus aerialists starring Dreya Weber (gymnast) and Addie Yungmee (dancer).
If you have time over the holidays, you can watch it free streamed on the internet in the U.S.A. at LOGOonline – The Gymnast
(You need a computer utility like Hotspot Shield to watch it outside the States)
Adult content.
It’s an excellent film, I thought. The start of the movie is gripping; the ending not nearly as good.
