About three weeks ago I was in Burlington, VT with Mike Rogge. I was going on the Ski Show that night, and the timing couldn’t have been better. I was sitting on the couch, checking out the latest edits, and I came upon Tanner’s now-deleted rant at the Linecatcher event. I heard Rogge coming down the stairs, so for dramatic effect I held up my laptop and said, “check this shit out” as I pushed play.
Those of you tuned into the Ski Show that night already know that Rogge drinks a special brand of Kool-Aid that renders him blind to all of Tanner’s miscues. You also know that I’ve been known to sip the Haterade a bit myself. Mike and I went skiing at Smuggler’s Notch the next day, and spent a great portion of those long lift rides discussing/debating the issue.
Tanner makes for good conversation—his mannerisms, outbursts, accent, and ever changing self-identity are like a case study in being famous too young. At some point in the conversation I used Mike Tyson as a comparison. Little did I know, the comparison would only get more compelling.
The trailer for Eric Iberg’s new Tanner-based documentary, “Like A Lion,” dropped yesterday. This is the point where you expect me to shit on the cheesy monologue about skiing as a “means of survival,” but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you figured that part out on your own. I actually think this project has a ton of potential, if it takes some cues from Iron Mike’s recent documentary- “Tyson.”
Tanner isn’t as famous as Mike Tyson, and he hasn’t come close to the career implosion that befell him either. That’s just the point though; that documentary was honest about Mike’s mistakes, and thus it restored the humanity of a man commonly portrayed as a monster. If “Like a Lion” can be unpretentious and honest about Tanner’s amazing achievements and at-times bizarre behavior, then all the petty hate will be put to rest. It’s a lot less fun to point out that somebody’s crazy if that person just said on film, “You know what? Sometimes I’m a bit crazy.”
Is that the type of movie we’re likely to see? Hopefully, but probably not. It’s unlikely for one reason: Eric Iberg is Tanner’s close friend. It’s really hard not to protect your friend, and this movie will suck if it’s just a bro-fest of Tanner accolades. I’m hoping we see a human, not a bizarre Rasta-robot, but the tag line “the true story of legendary skier Tanner Hall” might have already tipped their hand.
I love you Jon, but I actually disagree with you this time. You give Iberg and Tanner far too much credit. Iberg is out for blood. Short of raping small children and pet animals, I think this movie will list every horrible thing a middle class white boy from Montana has ever done or could ever do. Maybe even pet animals won’t be below him. And I think by about 15 minutes into it, I am going to be bored as f*ck.
I think the motivation is simple, shock value. We’re looking at two people who best days in the ski industry seem to be behind them. Rather than seek out some place to remain constructive, this film will be a giant temper tantrum screaming, “Hey, look at me. I’m still relevant because I generate more attention than you can.”
I think the ski media will love it for it’s alleged “honesty”. But what makes coming clean stories great is the context and perspective.
Kids, time for storytelling 101: All good stories are cause and effect, action and reaction, one event that leads to another. What makes coming clean stories compelling is that we already know about the crazy shit. A good filmmaker fills in the holes–those events that forced our hero to make stupid decisions. Like Oedipus fated to kill his dad and fuck his mom, there is a tragic sequence of events over which the hero believes he had control and never did. He’s a pawn in the epic battles of money grubbing corporate sponsors and their desire to make a buck. Well, that’s one version.
Why will this movie be a giant steaming pile of FAIL? Because if I had a shot for every cliche in the trailer (and I only could handle shots because they come fast and furious), by 0:22, I’d be in the ICU. True Honesty/Perspective/Context is the opposite of cliche. I’m afraid by the time Tanner gets through his cliched litany of misdeeds chock full of hookers, blow and maybe an occasional farm animal, there won’t be any time for that.
So Mr. Iberg, please make us a good movie. It’s a story worth telling, if it’s told the right way. In order to that, you’ll need to forgo the temptation to shock, leave a lot on the editing room floor and only choose those moments that give the clearest insight.
If you don’t, the more interesting tragedy might be the story of why two people would choose to make such a film in a first place.
Haha, re-reading your post Jon made me realize we have more in common than I thought. But I still doubt Iberg will go light on him. He’ll make the same mistake you said, it’s just going to be for shock value IMHO.
why do you post on sbol?
You’ll need to talk to Greco.
SPOILER ALERT: Privileged youth drops out of high school. Highly competitive nature turns into faux-Rastafarianism plus Red Bull, real mountains, 35 minutes of Chad’s Gap footage and the crash TGR never showed.
The only thing Tanner Hall and Mike Tyson have in common is a very funny voice. Maybe Tanner should have gotten that “c-crew” ink on his face?
No one in ski-movie-makin’ can come close to Iberg’s resume but let’s be honest: this movie will suck.
It’s not Kool-Aid, ok? It’s PBR. Way too much PBR. In talking with Tanner and Iberg at Powder Awards, I never got a good sense about what this film will be about. Tanner’s films have always been hit or miss with me. When he hits, like he did with The Massive, I’m reminded why he’s one of the greatest skiers out. When he misses, I simply go to another film to get my fix. I’ve never been into dwelling on why things are crappy (unless it’s my own work) over celebrating the films that are great. My glass is half-full but not with Kool-Aid.
And as far as not hearing anything negative about him, there’s probably some truth to that. He’s a friend. I loved watching his segments when I was growing up and I’m stoked to sit and chat with him about skiing. It’s hard for me to imagine sitting out an entire season with an injury and I’m 100% positive that’s why he’s been on his recent rants. I suppose that makes me empathetic. Oh well.
Finally, I’d like to state that BroBomb is a great place to post under your own name with intelligent conversation. Let’s keep the pseudonyms for Newschoolers and TGR. Otherwise this site is just another place to talk shit on the internet.
yea, Simon had a retrospective put out, I guess Tanner needs one too…
Dude is a great skier, no doubt, but a film about your life when you are in your mid twenties is just silly and hubristic.
I’m reminded of Marilyn Manson’s autobiography. after 1 hit record.