Back on Board: Greg Louganis

a Will Sweeney Production - a Cheryl Furjanic Film
USA / 2014 / 87 Minutes / COLOR
Winner Audience Award for Best Documentary: OutFest Film Festival 2014
Official Selection: AFI Docs Film Festival 2014
Official Selection: Frameline Film Festival 2014
Opening Night: Portland Queer Film Festival 2014
Opening Night: Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2014
Official Selection: Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2014
Closing Night: New Orleans Film Festival 2014
Official Selection: Hamptons Film Festival 2014
Opening Night: Long Island LGBT Film Festival 2014
Official Selection: DOC NYC 2014
Gala Presentation: Palm Springs International Film Festival 2015
Press Contact:
Will Sweeney
917.209.0101
[email protected]
Sales:
Diana Holtzberg
212.614.2808
[email protected]
www.LouganisDoc.com
For images, please visit: http://www.louganisdoc.com/BOB_PressStills.zip
SYNOPSIS
Greg Louganis was the most extraordinary Olympic diver of all time, a beloved American hero,
and a pioneer in breaking barriers when he came out as gay and having AIDS two decades ago—a
time when openly gay athletes were exceedingly rare and AIDS was still a highly stigmatized and
almost uniformly fatal disease.
“Back on Board” is a feature documentary that chronicles Louganis’ thrilling rise from lonely,
abused child to universally acclaimed superstar athlete, drawing on never-before-seen archival
footage that reminds viewers of what made Greg Louganis a singular and cherished figure in the
history of Olympic sports. With unprecedented access, "Back on Board" follows Greg over the
past three years, through financial struggles that threaten to bankrupt him and cost him his
house.
This thoroughly engaging film offers an intimate portrait of a still vital athlete who is forced to reevaluate his life, his choices, his relationships, and his career as he ultimately re-emerges on
the world stage with legendary grace to combat prejudice, promote respect, and to mentor a new
generation of young athletes.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
After reading a newspaper article about Greg Louganis’ return to diving, filmmaker Will
Sweeney knew that Greg’s story would make a great film. He thought of filmmaker Cheryl
Furjanic immediately. Cheryl is no stranger to making films about decorated Olympians. Will
and Cheryl reached out to Greg in the spring of 2011 and they began shooting with Greg in May
2011.
The film combines interviews, observational footage, and culls from a vast amount of archival
footage to capture the beauty, glory, and courage of Louganis’s athletic performances. More than
just a biographical portrait of a master, this is also an intimate and visceral creation of a
trailblazing life that parallels key moments in American history and keeps audiences on the edge
of their seats.
ABOUT GREG LOUGANIS
Four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis is widely considered the greatest diver in history.
The only man to sweep both the 3m and 10m diving events in consecutive Olympic Games (’84
and ’88), Greg earned a total of 5 Olympic medals, 5 World Championship titles and 47 national
titles (more than anyone in U.S. history).
Greg Louganis is a pioneer athlete as one of the first openly gay men in sports. Greg
demonstrated incredible courage and strength by competing while HIV positive in the 1988
Olympics. Often remembered for the shocking moment when he struck his head on the
springboard, Greg revealed his remarkable courage and tenacity when he returned to the board
shortly after and performed the best dive of the competition. The next day, he won the gold and
secured his legacy.
In 1984, Greg received the AAU’s James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding achievements. The
following year, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1987, he won the Jesse
Owens Award. In 1993, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. And in
1994, he was presented with the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Robert J. Kane Award. His 1995
autobiography, “Breaking the Surface” spent five weeks as the New York Times #1 best seller.
Currently, Greg is a mentor for the US Olympic diving team, a judge for the Red Bull Cliff
Diving Tour, a dog agility expert, a motivational speaker, and a human rights activist.
GREG LOUGANIS TIMELINE
1960
Jan 29th - Born
October - Adopted by Pete & Frances Louganis
1961
Started dancing and acrobatics
1969
Parents built a swimming pool with diving board in backyard
Started taking diving lessons at La Mesa Pool
1971
Finished 2nd at National Junior Olympics at the Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs. Noticed by Dr. Sammy Lee.
1974
Starts being coached by Dr. Sammy Lee
1976
January - Moved in with Dr. Lee and his family for more intensive training
June - Olympic Trials in Knoxville, TN - Placed 1st in Platform & Springboard
July 17-August 1 - Montreal Olympics - Won silver medal in Platform
September - Dealt with fame of being an Olympic medalist while in high school
1978
April - Wins 1st Place in 1-Meter Springboard and Platform at AAU US Indoor
National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio
May - Ron O’Brien begins coaching Greg at Mission Viejo, CA
August - Wins 1st Place in Platform at World Championships in Berlin, Germany
September - Attended University of Miami on athletic scholarship and goes on to
win three NCAA titles
1980
March 21 - President Carter announces US boycott of Moscow Olympics in
protest of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
1982
Meets Jim who later becomes his lover/partner and business manager
1983
July - Sergei Shalibashville died while attempting a reverse three and half, a dive
that only Greg Louganis was able to perform at that time. World University
Games in Edmonton, Canada.
1984
July - Wins 1st place in Platform and Springboard at Olympic Trails in
Indianapolis, IN
August - Los Angeles Olympics - Springboard: Won gold and broke 700 points,
the first time anyone had done that at the Olympics
August - Los Angeles Olympics -Platform: Won gold and broke 700 with a score
of 710
1985
May - Purchases house in Malibu
1986
August - Wins 1st place in Platform and Springboard at World Championships in
Madrid, Spain
1988
March - Greg tests positive for HIV
May - Greg tells Ron about this HIV status
August - Wins 1st place in Springboard and Platform at Olympic Trials in
Indianapolis, IN
September/October- Seoul Olympics - Springboard Preliminaries: Hit his head on
the board on his ninth dive - a reverse two-and-a-half pike; Springboard
Preliminaries: Got an 87.12 on his tenth dive, the highest score for any dive in the
prelims
Seoul Olympics - Springboard Finals: Due to hitting his head, Greg became the
underdog during the finals; goes on to won gold with a score 730.80
Seoul Olympics - Platform Finals: Won gold
October - Greg announces his retirement from diving
December - Named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year
1989
March - Filed a restraining order against Jim
1990
1990
Jim passes away from AIDS-related complications.
His father, Pete Louganis, passes away.
1992
December - Started getting very sick
1993
January - Planned a big 33rd Birthday party - expected it to be his last.
Summer - Moves to NYC to appear on Broadway in “Jeffrey” a gay-themed play
1994
Begins writing his autobiography with Eric Marcus
June - Appears at the Gay Games
1995
January - T-cell count drops below 200 - official diagnosis of AIDS
March - Autobiography “Breaking the Surface” is published. Media sensation
ensues upon release with appearances on Oprah, Barbara Walters, and other major
outlets.
April - “Breaking the Surface” spends 5 weeks at the top of the New York Times
bestseller list
2004
His mother, Frances Louganis, passes away.
2011
August - Hired as a Red Bull Cliff Diving Series judge
2012
May - Mentor to Olympic hopefuls at USA Diving Training in Seattle
August - London Olympics - David Boudia wins the Gold for Men’s Platform the first American to do so since Greg retired in 1988
2013
June - Johnny and Greg get engaged
October - Johnny and Greg are married before friends and family in California.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
CHERYL FURJANIC (Director) is an award-winning filmmaker whose films have screened at 100+
festivals worldwide and on television. Her first feature documentary, “Sync or Swim” (2008), received
numerous awards including a Billie Award for Journalism from the Women’s Sports Foundation. Cheryl
holds a BFA in Film & Television production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Masters from
NYU/Tisch’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). She has been teaching documentary
production at New York University for over a decade. She has yet to attempt diving or synchronized
swimming. Cheryl was featured in OUT Magazines’ OUT 100 list of most compelling gay people in 2014.
WILL SWEENEY (Writer/Producer) is a writer, producer and director based in New York City. Will
was a producer on the award winning “The Royal Tenenbaums” and has worked in production and
development at Miramax Films and Walt Disney Pictures. With an emphasis on story and character
development, Sweeney has worked on dozens of major motion pictures including “Rounders”, “Cider
House Rules”, and “The Squid and the Whale”. Will runs the New York division of Colorlab Film Corp, a
leading film preservation and digital post-production facility. Will is active as a strategist in several
progressive and grassroots political campaigns in New York City including marriage equality, expanding
open space, and reforming immigration. Will graduated from the New York University-Tisch School of
the Arts with a degree in Film & Television production.
KAREN K. H. SIM (Editor) won the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Editing Award for
“Watchers of the Sky”. She began her documentary filmmaking career as an editor on Maro Chermayeff’s
“Juilliard”, a 2-hour special for PBS/American Masters. She then further honed her skills in storytelling by
working with Frontline producer/director Ofra Bikel, editing a number of her films, including the Emmy
award winning “An Ordinary Crime” and “The Burden of Innocence”. Since then, she’s edited “Saint
Misbehavin’: The Wavy Gravy Movie” and has worked with Liz Garbus as her producer and editor on a
number of projects, including HBO’s “A Good Job: Stories from the FDNY” and “Shouting Fire: From the
Edge of Free Speech” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
CREDITS
Directed by Cheryl Furjanic
Produced by
Will Sweeney
Cheryl Furjanic
Written by
Cheryl Furjanic
Karen Sim
Will Sweeney
Edited by
Karen Sim
Jessica Thompson
Executive Producers
David & Joan Kaplan
Grey Sample
Executive Producer
Diana Holtzberg
Directors of Photography
Nicolas de Miranda
Kira Kelly
Original Music
Thomas Rutishauser
Graphics and Title Design
Molly Schwartz
Co-Producers
Karen Sim, Amanda Keropian
Associate Producers
Roberto de Jesus, Viridiana Lieberman
Associate Producers
Robby Browne, Joseph Cherner, Andrew Tobias
Location Sound Mixer
Caleb Mose
Additional Camera
Nauan Barros, Johnny Chaillot, Dan Eady, Myles David Jewell
Roberto De Jesus, Cheryl Furjanic, Gabriel Miller
Glenn Taylor, Meghan Thompson
Additional Sound:
Jason Alberts,Chad Findlay, Cheryl Furjanic, Myles David Jewell
Amanda Keropian, Viridiana Lieberman, Aaron Miller, Matt Sutton, Tim White
Production Manager (LA):
Roberto De Jesus
Production Manager (UK):
Nauan Barros
Production Manager (Australia):
Jessica Thompson
Production Assistants
Alex Azzi
Narges Bajoghli
Post-Production Consultant
Dino Sanacory
Post-Production Coordinator
Carlo Velayo
1st Assistant Editor
Vincent Welch
Assistant Editors
Emily Allen
Lauren Barker
Robert La Rocca
Viridiana Lieberman
Interns
Alex Azzi
Emmett Odegard
Additional Graphics
Gabriel Barcia-Colombo
Masoud Reza Azimi
Sound Editing
Margaret Crimmins
Sound Mixing
Tony Volante
Online & Color Correction
Evan Anthony - Framerunner
Archival Footage Telecine and Film Preservation
Eric Poryles, Mike Lloyd, Bucky Carr, Katelyn Attanasio,
Scott Mueller, Laura Major, Luke Monaldo, Kevin Fallis, Jake Kreeger
Russ Suniewick, Nancy McLean, Chris Hughes, Susanna Liu
Colorlab
Legal Services
Melissa Georges
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Fiscal Sponsor: Center for Independent Documentary
THANK YOU
Joy A. Tomchin & David France
John Sweeney
Frameline
The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Matthew Gray Gubler
Matrix, a brand of L’OREAL USA
Mitchell & Tim Gold
Nicole Serratore
Chessie Foundation
Sheila & Robert Furjanic
The Community Foundation for the Capital Region‘s Kate Cashel Fund
Douglas & Carol Kimmelman
Faye Ginsburg & Fred Myers
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Margaret Polmear Patterson & Fred Patterson
Mike Syers
Alan J. Rogers
Terrence Meck
Michelle Zigelman
Margaret Smith
The Finkelstein & Timberger Families
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation
National Swimming Pool Foundation
Doug Johnson
Margaret & Clem Sweeney
Steven & Marilyn Finkelstein
Kate Sweeney
California Pools
SPECIAL THANKS:
Anne Patterson
Emily Kaplan
Francisco Bello
David France
Dr. Sammy Lee & Roz Lee
Eric Marcus
Francesco Mariglia
Daniel McSwiney
Ron & Mary Jane O’Brien
Ryan O’Toole
Elizabeth Parsons
Fred Simon
Dudley Stewart
Susi Walsh
Johnny Chaillot and Greg Louganis
Archival Footage:
ABC News, ABC Sports, BBC Motion Gallery, Buyoutfootage.com
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,The CONUS Archive,Corbis Motion
Daniel Goldberg, eFootage, Greg Louganis, Historic Films
International Olympic Committee, International Swimming Hall of Fame
KSNV-TV, Las Vegas, Nevada, Mission Viejo Library
National Swimming Pool Foundation, NBC Olympics
NBCUniversal Archives, Oddball Films, Stock media provided by Pond5.com
Red Bull Media House, Rick Gilbert, T3Media
United States Olympic Committee, WNET
Use of Olympic footage authorized by the IOC and by the USOC (36 U.S.C. § 220506)
Archival Photographs:
Associated Press, Adam Bouska, Johnny Chaillot, Rich Clarkson
Michael Gelman, Nancy Hines, Getty Images, Greg Louganis, LA84 Foundation
Mission Viejo Library, John McCarthy, Debby McCormick, Clay Walker
MUSIC:
“Appalachian Spring, I”
Written and composed by Aaron Copland
Published by Boosey & Hawkes
Performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Music clearance: Imagem Creative Services, U.S.
“Symphony No. 5 (Adagietto)”
Written by Gustav Mahler
Courtesy of Soundarchive
@ 2014 BOB Films LLC