Thursday, November 10, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Slackers Guide to Politics: Herman Cain is no Peter Norman
The Slackers Guide to Politics: Herman Cain is no Peter Norman: His Name Was Peter Norman When Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a gloved Black Power salute on the Olympic podium in October 1968, Herma...
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Strange Thoughts in a Different Country: The athlete who misbehaved
Strange Thoughts in a Different Country: The athlete who misbehaved: "There are athletes who misbehave and athletes who misbehave. Anyone browsing through the sports pages of any national paper in the last f..."
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Go Into The Story: A studio executive speaks
Go Into The Story: A studio executive speaks: "Actually he's now an executive at Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment, but Franklin Leonard used to be a director of development at Univers..."
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
SALUTE - Review from Toronto Sports Film Festival
Salute
Dir. Matt Norman (2008, Australia, 94 mins.)
The best documentary subjects do not need to be exaggerated; by extension, the best documentary filmmakers choose a compelling subject and tell the story honestly. Lesser documentaries make a great spectacle of one-sided stories, blustering filmmakers, and out of context quotes. Good documentaries, like Salute, eschew all that nonsense. Instead, filmmaker Matt Norman attempts to tell a naturally compelling story in the most complete, honest, and methodical way possible. The result is a film gracefully executed, a portrait lovingly rendered, and a credit to Australian filmmaking.
I suspect that most educated people are familiar with the image of the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute – after all, it is one of the most iconic images of the 1960s and has appeared in textbooks, posters, and even The Simpsons. I also suspect that more than a few people wondered, as I did upon first encountering the image, about the white man standing on the podium who seemed to have stumbled into history. His name is Peter Norman, and his story as chronicled by his nephew in this film (along with the stories of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the American athletes) turns out to be both fascinating and deeply moving. By wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights button in solidarity with his fellow athletes, Peter Norman incurred the wrath of outraged sports officials; four years later, even though he was ranked as the fifth fastest man worldwide for the two hundred meter event, he was barred from attending the Munich Olympics.
The thing I most appreciate about this documentary is that it takes the time – a significant amount of time – to carefully build historical context. It is too easy and misleading to think of historical events in terms of their effects; it is much more worthwhile and essential to understand historical events in terms of their causes. The majority of the film discusses events leading up to the salute – the proposed boycott by black American athletes of the Olympics, the violent riots in Mexico City prior to the games, and the incredible build-up to the two hundred meter race itself. Other critics have superficially criticised the film for taking too much time to build this context. Frankly, I prefer this methodical approach, as opposed to the usual convention of slapping together a stock footage montage of the 1960s – by the way, this image’s appearance in The Simpsons was in a parody of such stock montages.
This is a documentary with resonance. It will spark conversation. It will add depth to an iconic moment in history. From a documentary, we can’t ask much more.
- Dave
To read the review go to:
http://www.soundonsight.org/csff-salute/
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wingman Pictures close to closing U.S Feature film deal and also U.K Co-Production deal
Wingman Pictures has been in talks with two other companies in the U.S and U.K to come on as production company and Matt Norman (CEO) as Producer on two different features being produced in United States and the other across Europe.
Norman is close to signing a deal on both features which feature some high profile A-list talent and will give him the chance to work with some major players in Hollywood and Europe.
Once official, Matt Norman will also announce the partnership of two new members into Wingman Pictures including the opening of a second Wingman Pictures in America.
Stay connected to hear more about this breaking news soon...
Norman is close to signing a deal on both features which feature some high profile A-list talent and will give him the chance to work with some major players in Hollywood and Europe.
Once official, Matt Norman will also announce the partnership of two new members into Wingman Pictures including the opening of a second Wingman Pictures in America.
Stay connected to hear more about this breaking news soon...
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Matt Norman Praises "House of numbers"
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Santa Cruz Festival Juror Matt Norman Praises House of Numbers
"This film truly demonstrates why documentary film is important. Whether you believe in the conspiracy or not, the filmmaker went out and made a statement. A very dangerous statement that can cause an amazing amount of conversations. This film stands out on its own purely because I was asking questions for over a week with other people about their own thoughts on AIDS. When a filmmaker has the guts to "ASK A QUESTION AGAINST THE NORM" then it's the audience that has to answer that question. The proof was there but still you had to wonder who the scientists were that gave the proof. Which has certainly opened my eyes to ask the question 'What if this film holds the real truth'? For me that makes this my favorite film."
House of Numbers is nominated for Best Documentary. Winners will be announced at the Closing Ceremony on Saturday, May 15, 2010.
Visit Matt's site: http://www.wingmanpictures.com/ and check out his award winning film Salute.
Matthew Travis "Matt" Norman is an actor turned filmmaker, best known for his acting work on Australian TV Shows Blue Heelers, Neighbours and Stingers, U.S telemovies Moby-Dick, Silver Strand and Ghost Rider. (Source: Wikipedia)
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