The 25th Independent Spirit Awards held in Los Angeles on March 5th awarded the “Best Documentary” title to Anvil! The Story of Anvil, which features the very unique and unusual story of a band and their struggle to rock on in the world of rock and roll despite all odds. The tearjerker rockumentary, directed and executive produced by Sacha Gervasi whose latest screenplay, Henry’s Crime is now in post-production, starring Keanu Reeves, earned 16 wins and 4 nominations since it was first released in February, 2009. Two young musicians, Robb Reiner and Steve “Lips” Kudlow make a pact at the age of 14 to rock together forever and although the Canadian metal band influenced the music of such heavy hitters as Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, Anvil itself never made it big, or even small, on screen or off.
Gervasi tells the story of endless struggle and dramatic events evoked by a never dying dream to becoming rock stars in a fun and entertaining way, saying everything as is, while keeping the harsh realities in the center with a dim chance of winning along the way. The film is inspiring and encouraging. Never say never because it is never too late!
The 25th Spirit Awards brought out stars like Jodie Foster, Jeff Bridges, Woody Harrelson, Andy Garcia, and chairman Ben Stiller, who all walked casually through the Official Presenter’s Gift Lounge of the evening sponsored by companies such as LG Electronics, FAGE and Nautica.
Another heartfelt documentary by film-maker Steven C Barber and narrated by Oscar nominated, Emmy winning Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd, is suspected to collect many more awards after winning its first, the Remi Award from the 43rd Annual World Fest-Houston International Film Festival. Unbeaten features paraplegics who overcome the disabilities caused by their permanent paralysis, and accomplish more in the course of a six-day wheelchair race than most of us do in a lifetime. They cross 267 miles of rough terrain, one-third of which is uphill, in the Denali Mountain Pass between Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, participating in the longest wheelchair race in the world: The Alaskan Challenge. John Paul DeJoria, the business tycoon behind the very successful Paul Mitchell hair-care line was the title sponsor of the race and personally met most of the racers, congratulating them on their tremendous strength to overcome the most difficult of human conditions. John Paul himself had to beat hardcore beginnings, coming from poverty to become worth 4 billion dollars today.
“Success has an uncanny way of slipping in through the back door disguised as failure,” says director, Steven C Barber. The film demonstrates the most important message of our times: the strength of the human spirit. The athletes in this movie do not only “count on” the strength of their body, but they master the strength of their spirit showing us the impossible. The unbelievable, unbeatable human spirit is what Unbeaten is all about. In the midst of the most heart-breaking conditions these men set out to complete a task that most of us would not dare imagining, for just thinking it would cause pain.
While the film first started with a few footage shots in Alaska, and no bigger plans to go with it, the enthusiasm and determination triggered by the core subject took Barber all the way to integrating stories of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics into the film, which now is also scheduled to be screened in the White House.
With great acclaim at Sundance, Unbeaten is up for an Oscar consideration next year. To make all this possible, Barber attracted the support of such mega millionaires as Steve Forbes, Eli Broad, Pamela Anderson and Cher, along with The Polaris Media Group that financed the marketing and distribution of the film and brought producing partner, Greg Strom, and Tamara Henry on board.
About the Writer: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist who has written for many publications including Savoir, Beverly Hills 90210, Malibu Beach, Santa Monica Sun, The Beverly Hills Times, Brentwood News, Bel-Air View, Celebrity Society, Celeb Staff, It Magazine, Chic Today, LA2DAY, among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles/New York-based publicity companies, Atlantic Publicity andAtlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities and world leaders. She also owns Spotlight News Magazine.
About the Author of This Article: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer, who has written for many publications including Savoir; The Westside Today Publications ; such as Beverly Hills 90210; Malibu Beach; Santa Monica Sun; The Beverly Hills Times; Brentwood News; Bel-Air View ; Celebrity Society ; Celeb Staff ; It Magazine; Chic Today; LA2DAY; West Side Today among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic Publicity that just opened a new extension to it : PublicityLosAngeles. Adrienne Papp is a member of the International Press Academy.She is the Founder, CEO and President of Youthful & Ageless ™, Bringing Information to Billions™, An Honorable Cause™ www.LatestAgeless.com. www.OurMediaVenuesAndCompanies.com, Atlantic Publicity Articles, Latest Ageless, Events Photo Collection, Linked In Profile, Movie Data Base Profile, Twitter, Instagram, Youthful and Ageless Google+, Atlantic Publicity Google+, Atlantic Publisher Google+, Adrienne Papp Google+, Adrienne Papp Personal Google+, Spotlight News Magazine, Atlantic Publicity Productions, Atlantic Altitude, Altitude Pacific, Atlantic Publicity Photography and Filming, About Adrienne Papp What Others Say AtlanticPublicitySEO, BrilliantMarketing365, An Honorable Cause, Academic Research, Knighthood Today, Youthful and Ageless™. She was knighted and became a Dame in 2010. Her official name is Lady Adrienne Papp and Dame Adrienne Papp. Voting Member of The International Press Academy and The Oscars: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the Managing Editorial Director of The Beverly Hills Times Magazine, and Hollywood Weekly. She has a Master of Science in Economics majoring Logistics; an MBA Degree; An International Law, Trade and Finance Postgraduate: Marketing and Advertising Postgraduate from NYU and UCLA. Guest Professor at Oxford University; Director and Producer of TV and Airline On Camera Editorials; Adrienne Papp Enterprises
