a 30 for 30 thread

cinema village, i think

I was talking to a dude at a party about how I loved The Two Escobars and it turned out that he edited it!

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_la7i8qd07b1qe9rcro1_500.jpg

was looking at some stuff on espn.com about the jimmy the greek 30 for 30 and this is from the director's "personal statement"....anyway check the part in bold...have i COMPLETELY missed something in Bull Durham in the 30+ times I've seen that on cable???

Twenty-five years later I have the good fortune to look back and try to figure out the man, whom I first found so jarring and later came to feel a genuine affection for. More recently I have so many questions about “The Greek”—his rise to power as a commentator on that iconic pregame show and his swift fall from grace after his fateful remarks concerning African-American athletes. How was this odds maker and gambler able to make his profession seen so legitimate, almost the way Susan Sarandon made prostitution seem innocent in “Bull Durham?” How did he make his way to “The NFL Today show?” What was his appeal and how did the NFL feel about his presence on the show? But most importantly, how did he bring odds making and gambling out of the shadows to mainstream America?

Nah, she isn't a prostitute. She's a groupie.

lazy zing imo

the petro/divacs one was great; as good as this series has been.

― Brick Frog! (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, October 12, 2010 9:42 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^otm

i suppose waiting for the series to end is appropriate before polling, but man it's tough to pick three from this collection, much less one.
a healthy dose of filler, sure; still one of the best regular series on tv tho'.

I've only seen about 3/4ths of the eps, so I don't feel like I judge fairly. Especially since I missed a couple that people really seem to like (Petro/Divacs and The Two Escobars among them).

2 escobars is among the very best

No doubt.

Wow. That Vlade ep was so powerful. Definitely right up there with Two Escobars.

Vlade walking in Zagreb was intense. Like, you know it's come along way that he can do that at all, but...wow.

Ugh I sound like a teenager. Words failing me left and right.

obv. no guarantee that it's well done but I would urge you to leave any possible anti-NASCAR feelings you might have aside and watch the 30 for 30 on the racer Tim Richmond, it has a lot of potential, his saga is some serious crazy tragic stuff

totes

I read that it is poorly done so I dunno.

Drazen was so dope.

yea i might let this thread sound off on this nascar 1 b4 i consider watching

I'm interested. But I like Nascar so w/e

The Richmond episode was quite good.

just watched the drazen/vlade and tim richmond docs back to back. they were great but i'm feeling pretty low now.

richmond was kind of a douche? like in every video prior to his contracting HIV. and his sister seems like a class-a jackass.
dude was totally within his rights to keep his illness out of the public eye, but he could've saved a lot of lives and been a real hero if he'd have been a stronger man.

word he kinda struck me as what a real life kenny powers would prob be like at times

would watch 30 for 30 ep about rl kenny powers

then u will like the tim richmond one.
"he had a special chair.... let's just say it was ADJUSTABLE into "DIFFERENT POSITIONS"

O_O

Like the George Clooney, "Burn After Reading" chair?

Someone should really do a huge, sprawling documentary series on the history of NASCAR (at least up through the early 90s). You wouldn't believe how seedy that world was. Richmond doc didn't spend enough time on the nasty shit like how he knowingly passed AIDS onto a bunch of women, or how the NASCAR old guard conspired to kick him out of the sport.

well, they touch on the POSSIBILITY that he knowingly passed AIDS along
and it's worth noting that doc is produced by NASCAR and reads like a preemptive strike, right down to the muted louganis interviews.
just can't get over the hubris of the sister saying something like "these days if you have HIV it's like you're a HERO"

Yeah I think as mild as they made the Richmond doc, it's def an advertisement for awareness/activism. It doesn't go far enough, but it reminds you of how weirded out everyone was about AIDS, I was only little but I remember being terrified of it bc of commercials and news stories.

Made me think about the choice to educate & be an activist, like Lougainis or Magic, versus the road Richmond & others took, hiding and being ashamed. The people he was surrounded by, that sport especially, I understand he felt he had to, and you see what a huge leap of faith it would be for him to be open. Especially if maybe he didn't understand it himself. the way his sister talks about "the AIDS" I got the impression she didn't learn more than she needed to know about it during or after. There's that undercurrent of "why did it have to be that".

It just really gets to me how much shame a *disease* could bring to a person's life, you know? You think about how long did he wait to get tested, maybe he was afraid to, or feared it being public, but fuck... It kills me thinking of him just hiding with it, dying with it. I know there's been millions like him, fuck...it just really gets to me, no matter who it is.

Sorry for rambling

Would love to see a NASCAR documentary series btw.

Lol, "Ken Burns' NASCAR". If only.

Fernando Valenzuela one was excellent. I never knew the circumstances around which Dodgers Stadium was built, but that was a hell of a way to treat people.

I was pretty much guaranteed to like it, but the Fernando one was up in that group where I would have happily watched a three hour version.

A doc on old school NASCAR would be great. NO WAY would today's NASCAR be involved, I guarantee they would try to find a way to kill it behind the scenes. To its credit, the Richmond doc did take some shots at NASCAR.

Definitely. I think for a Nascar produced doc, it was a lot more in depth than I expected. Within the realms of what they were allowed to do, I think they did a good job.

The Fernando one was another that I wish had more visual style. The boilerplate ESPN production style bums me out.

Also, it didn't seem like they knew what to do with it after the excellent first half hour.

I find myself getting really annoyed by the "cue dramatic music" or "insert dramatization" stuff like in that Nascar one, or the RedSox one...it's like, hey guys, you HAVE a story. You don't have to create more of a story with all this extra crud.

I'm looking forward to the Steve Bartman one.

Marion Jones was kind of wtf. I didn't like that Singleton put himself in the doc...it felt like a 60 Minutes interview. Especially since it felt like she was controlling the direction story, not Singleton.

Agreed, that one is way down the list, possibly at the bottom. I thought they really missed a great opportunity with the Raiders in LA one, that kind of sucked. That is a good story that was poorly done.

really? i kinda liked the jones one. Sure it was part of her public rehab but didn't bother me. maybe cuz i always thought she was awesome and am happy she's back in the public eye.
i also agree with singleton's all-but-stated point that it's ridiculous that she served jail time

I didn't mind the Raiders one (wow shockah lol). Cube is a Raider kool-aid drinker all the way, so it was more like a, ahem, love letter than anything. It was a puff piece for the most part, but I thought it had some good stuff in it.

I think I liked the content of the Marion Jones...I mean I find her as a subject fascinating, and I like her story. I just expected something else, I guess.

I didn't mind the Raiders one (wow shockah lol). Cube is a Raider kool-aid drinker all the way, so it was more like a, ahem, love letter than anything. It was a puff piece for the most part, but I thought it had some good stuff in it.

― That is the stench of tyranny (VegemiteGrrrl), Thursday, November 4, 2010 1:55 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Makes sense. As a non-Raider fan, maybe I just wanted a little more depth, but I could see if I was a fan that i would enjoy it. I'd love to see one on the 70's Raiders and their relationship to Oakland. I just read that new book about them, I guess they were the one group that brought the Hell's Angels and the Black Panthers onto common ground. Now that would be a killer doc.

I absolutely agree. Something on the relationship between Oakland Raiders and Oakland the city would be awesome, especially in the context of the Panthers and the Angels as you mentioned.

I would like to see something about the relationship between teams and cities in general, along the lines of the Baltimore episode they did, but across the league. Like talking to original Rams fans, and how they felt when the team left, or what it was like for Browns fans to have their team leave and then come back in a different form...or for teams that have stayed, how the organization relates to the city, and how in the early days the teams sort of took on the identity of the city somehow. I dunno, it's something that's always interested me.

What was the book you read, Bill?

Right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Badasses-Legend-Maddens-Oakland-Raiders/dp/0061834300

The author is a total Raider kool-aid drinker, so there is no objectivity. Still, it's a fun read. That was certainly a different era! Some of the stuff they pulled (getting loaded every night during training camp is just one example) couldnt really happen today with such heavy competition for roster spots. Plus i think some of his interview subjects embellished their stories, but thaat's cool. I recommend it.

I'll check it out. That's my favorite Raider era, no contest.

Best part of it: the discussion of the Soul Patrol defensive backfield, more specifically the penchant of Skip "Dr. Death" Thomas to check himself into the hospital on a weekly basis for fun.

Nice! Haha

just discovering these through the (awesome) bill simmons podcast about them, do u guys listen to it?

gonna watch a bunch soon

the 1 tonight on marcus dupree (had nvr heard of this dude) looks good. then the next 1 to air is abt smu & the 'death penalty' which ive been ~anticipating~