Rashaad Ernesto Green will direct the feature film “68,” inspired by the true story of the Olympians who gave the black power salute on the podium, MGM, Participant and MACRO announced on Thursday.Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray wrote the script that centers on sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos and chronicles their lives from track athletes at San Jose State to Olympic medalists and activists at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, where Smith and Carlos both raised their fists in solidarity and in support of human rights. “Still incredibly powerful and relevant, I’m honored for the opportunity to bring Tommie and John’s riveting story to life; to portray the weight of the world these two giants had on their shoulders and the self-determination, courage and sacrifice it took for them to stand up for all of us,” Green said in a statement.Participant and MACRO will produce the project, along with Stacy Sherman.
Carlos’ nephews, Airrion and Shaun McCoy, and DeLois Smith, the wife of Tommie Smith, will co-produce the film. Participant will be incorporating “68” into its ongoing impact work dedicated to civil rights and social justice.Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group Chairman & Pam Abdy, MGM Film Group President added: “We are thrilled to have Rashaad Ernesto Green at the helm of this very special film.
Olympian Tommie Smith has said that he and fellow Olympian John Carlos ‘had to be seen because we couldn’t be heard.’ The courage and selflessness of these two extraordinary men, who quite literally put their lives on the line to stand up for what was right and true, has stood as a testament to the essential need to speak truth to power.
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