Acclaimed Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan will give Showtime viewers a chance to relive the action from Beijing.
The premium network will bow Bud Greenspan Presents: Beijing 2008 - America's Olympic Glory on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. The film is the 12th in a series of Games documentaries that has seen Greenspan and Cappy Productions, Inc. chronicle all of the Olympics since 1984, excluding the Winter Games action in Albertville, France in 1992.
With behind-the-scenes footage and a poignant narrative, the film presents Greenspan's signature brand of powerful storytelling set in a China, a land with a storied past and a vibrant future.
The two-hour film features these compelling American stories:
*Swim team captain Jason Lezak whose thrilling world best final leg (46.06) in the 4 x 100 Freestyle relay earned the United States an upset victory over France;
*Gymnast Nastia Liukin, coached by her father Valeri, a 1988 gold medalist for the Soviet Union, continued the family's Olympic tradition by winning the All-Around title 20 years later for the United States;
*Brenda Villa, a three-time Olympian in water polo, grew up in the largely Latino community of Commerce, Calif. and captained the team to their third straight Olympic medal. The women's 8-oared crew had not won at the Olympics since 1984;
*Keeth and Erinn Smart, siblings from Brooklyn and students at the Peter Westbrook Foundation since 1991; entered Beijing having overcome the loss of both parents and serious illness to win silver medals in the men's team saber and women's team foil competitions; and
*the emotional story of hurdlers Dawn Harper and Lolo Jones, who had different, but inspiring results in the race they spent a lifetime preparing for.
