Full disclosure. I freaking love the Olympics. I have vivid memories of watching them since I was six on my grandfather’s bed and being fascinated by all the different types of sports. As a fan, I wanted to share five moments from the last Olympics (and one cheat from winter) that I think could be cool films. So let’s dive in!
USA Wins First Gold in Men’s Curling – 2018
I’ll say this once, but know that I mean this for pretty much every story in this post:
9 times out of 10, Olympians are regular working folks who also just so happen to go to the Olympics.
No better example of this is seen than with the men’s curling team. Tyler George is a manager at a liquor store. John Shuster worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Matt Hamilton is a technician at Spectrum. That means these people are probably taking vacation or sick time or a LOA to compete in these games.
And that ladies and gentlemen, is what we call STAKES.
So how would I do this story?
Simple:
BRO COMEDY
Don’t lie. You can already see the poster.
I’d tell the tale of these 4 (technically 5 guys) average Joe’s working their day jobs in the great north while also playing a game that they love and few take the time to understand: Curling.
A sport that USA never won gold in until these dudes showed up on the scene. Think of this flick with the comedy and heart of Dodgeball with the brilliant cinematography and editing of Edgar Wright.
I’d be there in a heartbeat. I know you would too.
Hidilyn Diaz wins first Gold for the Philippines in Weightlifting
For sure, this was the first teary-eyed moment for me this past summer games.
Now I’m a proud American, but I always look for the times when a coutry wins a medal for the first time, or especially, a gold one.
And this gal’s story has it all.
2008: 2nd to last
2012: DNF
2016: Silver, first female medal for the country2020 2021: GOLD, THE FIRST GOLD FOR THE COUNTRY.
So how would I tell this story?
Take a lesson from movies about musicians:
Whoops, sorry, wrong one.
THERE WE GO
Start the film moments before she’s about to make her first attempt and she starts thinking back on her life. Intercut with her successful lifts in the same way that Slumdog did it with question and boom. Oscar bait. And remember, she was going against Liao Qiuyun, who is number one in the world.
Choose Jackie Rice or Sarah Geronimo or Maja Salvador and you’ve got an international hit AT THE WORST.
Gosh. I just love rewatching her win. Please. Partake:
Dammit, I’m getting tears all over again!
MOVING ON
“Can we have two golds?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjSCT97GSsA
Oh, man. I love this story. Sure, there have been events where medals have been shared, but gold has never been shared in Athletics…UNTIL NOW.
I’m trusting you’ve now seen the above clip and you were just as touched and excited as I was. How would you make this into a movie?
It’s the best kind of buddy cop film there is. I specifically say buddy cop, because I could not find a buddy sports flick since Brian’s Song and that is NOT the genre I’d necessarily tell this story in.
The fact is, both of these guys had to come back from serious career-ending injuries. I’d tell those stories and intertwine the narrative leading up to the point where they meet, become friends, and then “make history, my friend” by sharing a gold medal in track and field FOR THE FIRST TIME. EVER.
I like this quote from Gianmarco:
“Probably, I would never ever share a gold medal with anybody else other Mutaz.”
Love it.
NEXT
“There is only one 50-meter pool in the state of Alaska.”
The wife and I saw this one live and we were absolutely flipping out. The reason was primarily due to the lead up. Everyone was talking about Lily King vs. Tatjana Schoenmaker. If anything, she was kind of an afterthought from the way it was being announced, which made her win all the sweeter.
How would I take on this story?
Mockumentary.
Not even these.
I’m thinking more like Borat, just because so many of the elements end up ringing true in the end. Think about it. Alaska + Swimming = GOLD? It just seems to go against what one would think as normal for the region.
You can read some of the jokes people have said online that she trains with whales or swims the ocean or anything like that. Take some of those elements and put them in the movie. It’d be great, considering her parents give boat tours to tourists searching for whales.
Not only that, but she didn’t get much practice during covid and instead had to lift weights in her garage and ski.
That would be an awesome training montage.
FINALLY
The Women’s 10,000m
That’s 6.2 miles in imperial systems (yay America lol)
I wasn’t expecting anything watching this. As a somewhat former distance runner (20 half marathons and 1 full) I get that running seems boring to most people. Hell, it’s boring to just be running sometimes, but I was GRIPPED by this event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2eZsRt12ao
Start with the fact that the woman who won gold, Sifan Hassan, fell down during her heat in the 1500m and still came back to win. THEN, she went on to win medals in that, the 5000m AND the 10,000m. STAKES.
She literally spent the entire race in 3rd position and absolutely kicked it in the last lap to win.
It was equally exciting watching Kalikidan Gezahegne and Letesenbet Gidey compete and make moves throughout the race.
So while it might be overused at times, I can see doing a similarly structured film as Hidilyn’s, told in flashbacks during the event and going through each of these ladies’ lives to what led them to this point, like Letesenbet, who was expelled from school because she refused to run in PE class.
This script would take its cues from The Social Network and Citizen Kane when it comes to telling its tale.
So there you have it! I tried to keep it pretty worldwide and not go for the super obvious ones (Biles and Phelps) but let me know if there’s one you think I missed!
