CROSSING THE FINISH: ATHLETE Director Dave's Blog

There's no question that I prefer being behind the camera instead of being in front of it. But this year I've had to move out of my comfort zone (for better or for worse). First there was the DocStock interview on Plum TV (which was a nerve-wracking experience but I was saved by good editing) and now a profile for an upcoming issue of a print magazine.




It's exciting stuff. But doing things like today's photoshoot, where I'm on the other side of the lense, feels a little awkward. I haven't posed for that many pictures since my grade school Glamour shot portraits (remember those?). At the very least, I gave it my best "Blue Steel". So we'll see how the pics turn out.




Can't divulge which magazine yet (sorry). But I'll give you a hint -- it's not "Sexiest Man Alive". I know, very disappointing. Damn you Matt Damon (kidding).

Big thanks to Melis, Deb, Mike (for the building tour), and the two paper/paint guys at Flax for all of your help today. Especially Melis who worked on the concept for the shoot and gratiously lent her mad photog skills.

DLM (a.k.a. "Blue Steel")
athletemovie.com

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Posted by DLM at 12:08 AM | Permalink

Received a nice little shipment this morning:




What is it? Find out in a few weeks...

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 06:52 AM | Permalink

It's sad. I was up late one night this week and was channel flipping and stopped on MTV. On was a show called "Parental Control". Wow. How did we get from Dire Straits to this? Timberlake was right: "play more videos". Yes you can watch music videos online or on-demand, but it's not the same as having them play on the TV (like the good old days).



My point is, I end up missing great videos like this one -- Nine Inch Nail's "Only" directed by a Mr. David Fincher. Which I saw for the first time this morning (two years after it's been out). With that said, it's cool to see how creative Fincher gets with music videos. This one's worth checking out.

And the company that handled the special effects, Digital Domain, has some neat footage of how the video was made (it appears after the music video on their site).

For a complete list of Fincher's music videos, check out the blog Fincher Fanatic.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 01:21 PM | Permalink

What a difference a week makes. Last weekend's editing sessions felt like I was running in mud. But the Thanksgiving holiday has been surprisingly productive (it must be the egg nog). I finished a rough cut of the opening sequence and just completed most of the opening credits tonight.




What's remarkable is that Nora and I shot several hours of footage for the opening last month and I end up using one minute of what we captured, which is the length of the opening credits. TGFD (thank goodness for digital).

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 03:39 AM | Permalink

A triathlete in Orlando, FL (Tour de Marriott) wrote the following on his blog:

Live Free or Die Hard turned out to be a pretty cool action movie, thank you Netflix! Now we're running out of "must see" movies to add to our queue though...there's nothing "killer" that I'm on the edge of my seat to watch. I mean I'm anxiously awaiting Nerdcore Rising, Nerdcore for Life, Athlete, and Showdown. All of these are documentaries that aren't out yet (except Showdown) and will probably never hit Netflix.

Thanks very much Tour for the shoutout (we'll see what we can do about getting it on Netflix).

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 03:33 AM | Permalink

I woke up at four today to take part in the Friday shopping frenzy (four in the afternoon, that is). I picked up two DVD's as reference points to help with my editing.



Casino Royale -- Growing up, I watched a lot of Bond films (Moore/Dalton period). Up until Casino Royale, my favorite was A View to Kill. I've always been fascinated with the opening sequences of Bond films. When I was working on the concept for ATHLETE early on, I had the idea to structure the beginning of the documentary like a Bond film (as an homage). Don't worry, there are no gun barrels involved.
Jules and Jim -- The second DVD I picked up is an old French film that I've never seen before. I don't get the chance to watch old movies much. There are just too many new releases to keep up with. But this one really caught my eye. I've been watching Ovation TV the past few days (it's Photo Week) and kept seeing this commercial for their Saturday night movie classics.

The ad features a clip from François Truffaut's Jules and Jim of two guys and a girl running on a bridge. The film has nothing to do with sports but I couldn't get that visual out of my head. I've never seen running captured like that on film before. Very cool.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 03:22 AM | Permalink

Happy Turkey Day all.
Gobble gobble.




Who Was General Tso And Why Are We Eating His Chicken? (The Washington Post)

Each evening, thousands of Americans drift into Chinese restaurants or, if they are too lazy to go out, pick up the phone and order one of the most popular dishes on the menu: General Tso's Chicken, a sugary-spicy melange of dark-meat tidbits, deep-fried then fired up with ginger, garlic, sesame oil, scallions and hot chili peppers.

Not one in 10,000 knows who General Tso (most commonly pronounced "sow") was... Setting their chopsticks aside, patting their stomachs, the satisfied diners spare scarcely a thought for General Tso, except to imagine that he must have been a great connoisseur of hot stir-fried chicken. (read more)

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 12:16 AM | Permalink

Difficult. As in "editing this film is pretty gosh darn difficult". Unfortunately, titanium won't do any good here. I think it might be the hardest thing, creatively, I've taken on. It's like a massive, complex puzzle. Now I can appreciate why bad movies exist. It's just so much easier to not have to dwell on the details or think about how the placement of one scene will impact the rest of your film.




D is also for David. As in David Fincher, director of Seven, Fight Club, and my personal favorite Panic Room. After an excrutiating weekend in the editing dungeon, I definitely needed some inspiration and motivation to get my creative mojo back. Nothing better for that than to hear another one of my heroes of film discuss what it was like making his last picture, Zodiac.




After seeing the director's cut of Zodiac tonight (which is two hours and forty-five minutes long), it made me feel a little better. For anyone who's seen the original cut (which is only seven minutes shorter), you know how incredibly detailed the story is. So I can't even imagine how challenging it must've been to complete a film of Zodiac's scale.

P is for perspective.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 12:34 AM | Permalink

I'm a little behind on this but wanted to give a shoutout to a fellow Yahoo! in California, Allison, for completing her second marathon in New York City a few weeks back. It's always impressive to hear how someone managed to juggle a hectic work schedule with the rigors of marathon training. Not to mention having to fly cross-country to run 26.2 miles.






You can check out pics from that day on our friend Holly's (one of my favorite photographers) Flickr page.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 03:28 PM | Permalink

Big congrats to ATHLETE subject Kellie who placed second in her age group (and eighth overall female) at yesterday's Miami Man Half Iron Triathlon. For those who aren't familiar with triathlon distances, a Half Ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike race, and a 13.1 mile run. To put that in perspective, it's like a half marathon with a few extra fun activities thrown in.




Thanks Mike for the race day pics.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 10:51 PM | Permalink

The keyword of the week (at least around my cube at the office) was "titanium". If I showed a bit more enthusiasm during a meeting, someone would say "it must be the titanium". Or if I told a really funny joke...you guessed it: "titanium".




It all started last Friday afternoon. While at the ING New York City Marathon press conference, I noticed elite marathoner Paula Radcliffe wearing a unique bracelet and necklace. She also wore them on race day. Curious, I did a search online and discovered Phiten.

It's a Japanese company that manufactures a variety of sports apparel and accessories containing liquid titanium. The idea is that these products are supposed to increase your circulation which helps boost oxygen levels, reduce stress, and relax muscles. I know, it sounds like an over-the-top informercial ("and it'll dice onions and wash your car too!"). There's been a lot of debate about how and whether these products work among experts in the medical field.




Despite that, I was willing to give Phiten products a shot. Afterall, if it works for a world-class athlete (who doesn't do many endorsement deals outside of Nike) it can't be all snake oil without bite. Right?

Monday afternoon: Pick up a Phiten bracelet and necklace at Paragon Sports. Had been under the weather for the past week. Was congested with a headache (despite taking an Advil in the morning).

Monday evening: Headache is gone (Advil or titanium? Hmmm...).

Tuesday morning: Wake up after only hitting snooze twice (unheard of for me).

Tuesday evening: Go for a 30-minute run outside. Haven't run outdoors in over a year. Only sporadically indoors on a treadmill (when schedule and energy permits).

Tuesday night: Go to bed at 11:30 pm (again, unheard of).

Wednesday morning: Wake up after only hitting snooze once or twice (I'm on a roll).

Wednesday evening: Pick up a Phiten band for my ankle.

Thursday evening: Go for a 30-minute run outside.

Friday evening: Go for a 30-minute run outside in the freezing rain.




I have to say I was pleasantly suprised by the results. You could argue that all this is nothing more than a placebo. But I can assure you positive thoughts alone aren't enough to get me -- someone who's a bit burnt out from the hectic film schedule -- to roll out of bed earlier or run in the freezing rain at the end of a work week.

For now, I guess you can call me a Phiten believer. To be continued...

DLM
athletemovie.com

P.S. -- Here are a few articles about the Phiten phenomenon and controversy that are worth checking out:

On the Home Stretch (timesonline.co.uk)
Middle of article discusses Paula Radcliffe's use of Phiten products.

The Most Feared Man in Football (timesonline.co.uk)
Great article on Paula Radcliffe's German sports doctor who introduced her to titanium products.

Players Take to Unique Neckplace (mlb.com)

Accessorized for Success (ocregister.com)

Showing Their Metal (si.com)

Is Your Bat Speed a Bit Off? Try a Titanium Necklace (nyt.com)

Randy’s Secret: Liquid Titanium (dailyrecord.com)

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Posted by DLM at 07:43 PM | Permalink

I've come across some good questions regarding ATHLETE this week. Wanted to share them with you guys along with my answers. Here goes.

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Rob in Lakewood, OH writes: [ATHLETE] Looks really cool. When's it come out? I can't find a release date on the site.

Rob, we're currently in post-production (editing) for the next six to eight months. Looking to premiere ATHLETE at a major film festival in '08 and then roll it out from there. Definitely check out the blog for the latest updates on the film.


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Kyle in Rocky River, OH writes: David, this movie looks awesome..I just ordered a shirt. Finally a movie to get excited about!!! Do you have an idea as to which film festival it will premier?? Do you have anymore clips that you can release? I would love to see more of this/more previews! Very exciting!!

Thanks very much Kyle! In terms of which film festival, that will depend on a few factors -- when the final cut will be complete, when the submission deadlines are due for the various festivals, and of course which festival will accept the film. Hoping to have the first full trailer for ATHLETE available in Q1 '08.


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Eric in Champlain, NY writes: Will it be possible to get a Poster as displayed on your site. It's awesome!!!

Hi Eric, thanks very much for your interest in the ATHLETE poster and film. Currently only ATHLETE apparel is available in the online store. But since I've gotten several requests for the poster already I'll look into finding an online vendor to produce them. Stay tuned. Will be sure to make an announcement on my blog once they're available for sale.


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Thank you all for your questions and support for the film. Questions or comments? Send me an email at dlam@athletemovie.com.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 02:05 AM | Permalink

Got this in my email today. For those who will be in New York next Thursday night, Moby returns to Hiro Ballroom for his second "Degenerates" DJ gig. The last one was a lot of fun. Get the glow sticks ready.




DLM
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Posted by DLM at 11:43 PM | Permalink

It's not often you get to be in the same room with one of your heroes. Tonight I attended a screening of director Ang Lee's latest film Lust, Caution. Ang made a special appearance afterwards for a Q&A session with the audience.




I've seen most of Ang's films and it really is remarkable how he can jump from one genre to another without ever missing a beat. He can go from English period piece to martial arts drama to comic book adaptation and now to a thrilling and moving espionage love story set in 1940's Shanghai. As Snoop Dogg would say, "out of town, put it down for the Father of Rap". All hail to the master.

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 12:33 AM | Permalink

I was back at the New York Athletic Club on Friday to check out a very cool piece of technology called the G-Trainer, which is a gravity-defying treadmill. It may sound very futuristic -- like a concept car out of Minority Report -- but luckily we won't have to wait until 2054 for it to come out.

The treadmill is currently being used by several long distance runners including members of Nike's Oregon Project running team (whose Dathan Ritzenhein just won a spot on the men's marathon team for the Beijing Olympics) as well as many professional athletes in the NBA and NFL.




The G-Trainer works by keeping the runner elevated in a lower body chamber filled with high-pressured air. This allows you to reduce your body weight (by up to 80%) which minimizes the impact running can have on your lower body. For me, this would have been an ideal tool to have a few years ago when I was going through a series of nagging knee, calf, and foot injuries while training for my marathons. But according to Alter-G, the makers of the G-Trainer, professional and elite athletes are also using the treadmill to increase their training volume and running speed with less risk for injury.




I was excited to take the G-Trainer for a spin. I ran in the chamber for about five minutes and had a nice workout (minus the impact of course). Running at 50% of my body weight was pretty surreal. But I can imagine how it can really improve one's speed and endurance over time.




Alter-G is working on making the G-trainer available to everyday athletes at premier health clubs nationwide. To learn more, visit their site at alter-g.com. There's also a great video featuring marathon legend and director of Nike's Oregon Project, Alberto Salazar, talking about how he uses the G-Trainer in his program.

Many thanks to Christine, Jack, and Tom at Alter-G.

DLM
athletemovie.com

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Posted by DLM at 05:51 PM | Permalink

As some of you may know, the idea for ATHLETE came from my days of being a professional/athlete. That is, someone who trained for a series of marathons -- between Summer 2004 and Fall 2005 -- while putting in 80-hour work weeks at the office. Not quite sure how I managed to pull that off (Redbull + Gatorade?). But I do know what helped inspire me to work towards my goals and to not throw in the towel, regardless of how tough it was at times to balance work and training.




Like many everyday athletes, I looked to books, magazines, and film for motivation and inspiration during training and before each race. But for me, nothing was better than watching race footage of Lance Armstrong and Paula Radcliffe -- two endurance athletes who I look up to and admire for their incredible work ethic. I can't tell you how many hours I spent watching OLN during Lance's last few Tours. Or how many times I watched Paula race in London, Chicago, New York, and Athens on DVD.




So getting the opportunity to meet and interview Paula Radcliffe for the film this afternoon was really a huge honor. Although the focus of my documentary is on the everyday athlete, I think it is important to include commentary from elite athletes and coaches. In particular, getting their perspectives on how the everyday athlete has changed endurance sports over the last 10 to 20 years. Thanks again Paula for the interview and best of luck on Sunday!




I also want to thank New York Road Runners PR Director Richard Finn for all of your help and Marathon Race Director Mary Wittenberg for your time today.

Wow. What a week.

DLM
athletemovie.com

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Posted by DLM at 01:25 AM | Permalink

One more thing before the NyQuil takes effect. I just submitted a photo to the retailer Patagonia's "Capture a Patagoniac" photo contest. It's a cool promotion where Patagonia consumers can vote for the photo that best captures the retailer's "spirit of adventure, outdoor pursuits, and/or environmentalism".




The photo I submitted was taken during my 10-day mountaineering expedition in Patagonia, Argentina earlier this year. The top local prize is a $100 Patagonia gift card which I will donate to charity if I win.




In-store voting begins today and runs through November 11 (unfortunately no online voting). My photo (No. 22) can be found in the Patagonia store on the Upper West Side in the city.

426 Columbus Ave
Between 80th and 81st streets
New York City
(917) 441-0011

Get out there and vote New York!

DLM
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Posted by DLM at 12:05 AM | Permalink