Famed Sports Storyteller Chronicles Dramatic Stories of Six American Athletes and Their Quest for Olympic Glory
LOS ANGELES, Ca.
SHOWTIME presents a rare opportunity to relive one of the most dramatic and memorable Olympics in recent history in the original documentary BUD GREENSPAN PRESENTS: BEIJING 2008 - AMERICA'S OLYMPIC GLORY. With behind-the-scenes footage and a poignant narrative, this film presents Greenspan's signature brand of powerful storytelling set in Beijing, China - a land with a storied past and a vibrant future.
BUD GREENSPAN PRESENTS: BEIJING 2008 - AMERICA'S OLYMPIC GLORY will premiere on Showtime on Monday October 19th starting at 7:00pm EST/PCT. The two hour film features the stories of 6 American Olympians including swim team captain Jason Lezak whose thrilling world best final leg (46.06) in the 4 x 100 Freestyle relay earned the United States an upset victory over France. Gymnast Nastia Liukin, coached by father Valeri, a 1988 gold medalist for the Soviet Union, continued the family's Olympic tradition by winning the All-Around title 20 years later for the United States. Brenda Villa, a three-time Olympian in water polo, grew up in the Latino community of Commerce, California and captained her team to their third Olympic medal. The Women's 8-Oared crew had not won at the Olympics since 1984 but returned to greatness in Beijing defeating archrival Romania to capture their long awaited gold medal. Keeth and Erinn Smart, siblings from Brooklyn, New York and students at the Peter Westbrook Foundation since 1991; entered Beijing having overcome the loss of both parents and serious illness to win silver medals in the men's team saber and women's team foil competitions. Dawn Harper and Lolo Jones is the emotional story of two hurdlers' journeys to the same starting line in Beijing and the differing but inspiring results they achieved in the race they had spent a lifetime preparing for.
The film marks the 12th in a series of Olympic Games films by Greenspan and Cappy Productions, Inc. His previous Olympic documentaries beginning with 1984 Summer games in Los Angeles have chronicled every Olympics (except for 1992 Albertville) through the 2006 Torino Winter Games. Greenspan has been called the foremost writer/producer/director of sports films and one of the world's leading sports historians. His numerous awards include seven Emmys®, the George Foster Peabody Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Directors Guild of America Life Time Achievement Award, the International Fair Play Award and the coveted "Olympic Order" by International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch for his contribution to furthering the Olympic movement. In 2004, Bud was inducted into the United States Olympic Committee Hall of Fame for his body of work and his humanistic approach to filming the Olympic Games.
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