Olympics swimming movies
Suffering through Olympics withdrawal?
Hollywood hears you — and from the looks of things, they’re trying to cash-in on some of the once-every-four-years magic.
EW has confirmed that the upcoming film Beached, directed by Jon Turteltaub, will center on a 4-year-old child who falls overboard, is raised by whales, and goes on to become a champion swimmer. (It also sounds somewhat similar to the Disney Channel movie The Thirteenth Year, which means I’m definitely going to buy a ticket.)
The project has been in development for awhile, but thanks to the popularity of Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Nathan Adrian, it looks like the movie is finally a go.
When EW interviewed Olympian Ricky Berens prior to the Games, he noted the lack of water-based films. “There aren’t any great inspirational swimming movies. We have like, Swimfan, but it’s not very inspirational,” he said. “Rocky and Miracle. Those are the two big ones. The Fighter with Christian Bale is a good movie… Is Cool Runnings considered inspirational? Do you get the chills watching that one?”
He’s right. So there is definitely room for Beached. And while the “raised by whales” aspect makes me assume that this is probably going to be a fantasy, I’d also love to see more realistic “Olympic Glory” movies on the big screen. (Check out EW’s gallery of our favorite Olympic-themed movies.)
Tell me I wouldn’t be the only one excited for a gymnastics-based big screen adventure — Make It or Break It on ABC Family just isn’t enough! The Fierce/Fab Five are obviously America’s golden girls, and even if it wasn’t biographical, I would love to see a serious gymnastics movie about the intense lives of these girls. Of course, a Blades of Glory-esque send-up of rhythmic gymnastics or table tennis wouldn’t be out of place either.
And who knows — Ryan Lochte has been pretty open about his desire for post-Olympic fame. Could playing a mentor on the big screen be in his future? Jeah!
(Additional reporting by Mandi Bierly)
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