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    <title>Tyson's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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    <description>Recent community activity around Tyson on Spout</description>
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      <title>Tyson's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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      <title>Film:Tyson</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/Tyson/330856/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
<td>
<strong>Title:</strong> Tyson<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 2009<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> James Toback<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> Assembled from over 30 hours of interviews with the controversial heavyweight champion, director <a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___114247/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>James Toback</a> takes the helm for a feature-length documentary exploring the life and career of self-destructive pugilist <a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P____72322/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mike Tyson</a>. From his early years under the wing of famed boxing promoter Don King to his notorious match against Evander Holyfield and his conviction on sexual assault charges, Tyson's turbulent life is explored in the kind of comprehensive manner that could only have been made possible with the subject's willing participation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Times Tagged:</strong> 3<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 3<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 8<br/>
<strong>Number of discussion threads:</strong> 2<br/>
<strong>SpoutRating:</strong> 3<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2009 00:14:50 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>Tyson</spout:Title><spout:Year>2009</spout:Year><spout:Director>James Toback</spout:Director><spout:Plot>Assembled from over 30 hours of interviews with the controversial heavyweight champion, director &lt;a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P___114247/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;James Toback&lt;/a&gt; takes the helm for a feature-length documentary exploring the life and career of self-destructive pugilist &lt;a href="http://www.spout.com/players/P____72322/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Mike Tyson&lt;/a&gt;. From his early years under the wing of famed boxing promoter Don King to his notorious match against Evander Holyfield and his conviction on sexual assault charges, Tyson's turbulent life is explored in the kind of comprehensive manner that could only have been made possible with the subject's willing participation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:TimesTagged>3</spout:TimesTagged><spout:taglevel>Slightly Tagged (1-5)</spout:taglevel><spout:Numberoflists>3</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>8</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:NumberOfDiscussionThreads>2</spout:NumberOfDiscussionThreads><spout:SpoutRating>3</spout:SpoutRating><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/Tyson/330856/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Re:Sundance Documentaries</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Community_Recommendations/Re_Sundance_Documentaries/643/40032/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/10240/default.aspx'>rjsprague</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Community_Recommendations/643/discussions.aspx'>Community Recommendations</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 1/28/2009 3:37:45 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> [quote user="mercurial"] Tyson  Never was into boxing and frankly any mention of the guy creeps me out, but it might be interesting to hear some of the wacky stuff he has to talk about. Art &amp; Copy  I'm thinking it's gonna be like Mad Men, but less sex. The September Issue  Again, like The Devil Wears Prada, but less sex. We Live In Public  Crazy rich people are always interesting to watch. When You're Strange  Love The Doors and Tom DiCillo so I'm hoping this will be good. [/quote] Interesting choices. I also was fascinated by the Tyson doc. I was equally interested in When You're Strange and It Might Get Loud, but not enough to put them above my other selections. There is something about the whole environmental doc that seems to get me. I guess I feel that it is somehow related to some kind of apocryphal literature I've read, or something.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:37:45 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>rjsprague</spout:postby><spout:postto>Community Recommendations</spout:postto><spout:postdate>1/28/2009 3:37:45 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>[quote user="mercurial"] Tyson  Never was into boxing and frankly any mention of the guy creeps me out, but it might be interesting to hear some of the wacky stuff he has to talk about. Art &amp;amp; Copy  I'm thinking it's gonna be like Mad Men, but less sex. The September Issue  Again, like The Devil Wears Prada, but less sex. We Live In Public  Crazy rich people are always interesting to watch. When You're Strange  Love The Doors and Tom DiCillo so I'm hoping this will be good. [/quote] Interesting choices. I also was fascinated by the Tyson doc. I was equally interested in When You're Strange and It Might Get Loud, but not enough to put them above my other selections. There is something about the whole environmental doc that seems to get me. I guess I feel that it is somehow related to some kind of apocryphal literature I've read, or something.</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Re:Sundance Documentaries</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Community_Recommendations/Re_Sundance_Documentaries/643/39934/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/119628/default.aspx'>mercurial</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Community_Recommendations/643/discussions.aspx'>Community Recommendations</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 1/26/2009 7:01:54 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Tyson  Never was into boxing and frankly any mention of the guy creeps me out, but it might be interesting to hear some of the wacky stuff he has to talk about. Art &amp; Copy  I'm thinking it's gonna be like Mad Men, but less sex. The September Issue  Again, like The Devil Wears Prada, but less sex. We Live In Public  Crazy rich people are always interesting to watch. When You're Strange  Love The Doors and Tom DiCillo so I'm hoping this will be good.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:01:54 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>mercurial</spout:postby><spout:postto>Community Recommendations</spout:postto><spout:postdate>1/26/2009 7:01:54 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Tyson  Never was into boxing and frankly any mention of the guy creeps me out, but it might be interesting to hear some of the wacky stuff he has to talk about. Art &amp;amp; Copy  I'm thinking it's gonna be like Mad Men, but less sex. The September Issue  Again, like The Devil Wears Prada, but less sex. We Live In Public  Crazy rich people are always interesting to watch. When You're Strange  Love The Doors and Tom DiCillo so I'm hoping this will be good.</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Sundance Deals 2009</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2009/1/12/39391.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/19702/default.aspx'>Karina</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/default.aspx'>Karina on SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 1/12/2009 11:01:06 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Here’s our running tally of each of the distribution deals announced just before, throughout the course of, and just after the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. We will update this post whenever new information comes in, so bookmark it and keep checking back for the newest latest.



Title
Distributor
Rights Bought
More Info


Tyson
Sony Classics
US Theatrical
Variety


Amreeka
Entertainment One
Canada, international
Hollywood Reporter
























 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:01:06 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>Karina</spout:postby><spout:postto>Karina on SpoutBlog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>1/12/2009 11:01:06 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Here’s our running tally of each of the distribution deals announced just before, throughout the course of, and just after the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. We will update this post whenever new information comes in, so bookmark it and keep checking back for the newest latest.



Title
Distributor
Rights Bought
More Info


Tyson
Sony Classics
US Theatrical
Variety


Amreeka
Entertainment One
Canada, international
Hollywood Reporter
























 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Sundance Deals 2009</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/12/39390.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 1/12/2009 11:00:51 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Here’s our running tally of each of the distribution deals announced just before, throughout the course of, and just after the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. We will update this post whenever new information comes in, so bookmark it and keep checking back for the newest latest.



Title
Distributor
Rights Bought
More Info


Tyson
Sony Classics
US Theatrical
Variety


Amreeka
Entertainment One
Canada, international
Hollywood Reporter
























 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:00:51 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>1/12/2009 11:00:51 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Here’s our running tally of each of the distribution deals announced just before, throughout the course of, and just after the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. We will update this post whenever new information comes in, so bookmark it and keep checking back for the newest latest.



Title
Distributor
Rights Bought
More Info


Tyson
Sony Classics
US Theatrical
Variety


Amreeka
Entertainment One
Canada, international
Hollywood Reporter
























 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/5/30/30171.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/30/2008 9:01:04 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
Interview with Chris Bell who made Bigger, Stronger, Faster –opening tonight. A doc going way beyond body building into the essence of an unspoken American pastime: Cheating. Karina reports back on Cannes and everything the media missed that it shouldn’t have: Tyson, Frontier of Dawn and Everything is Fine.

(Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday)
FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids
Bigger, Stronger, Faster; Tyson; Frontier of Dawn; Everything is Fine Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2008 13:01:04 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/30/2008 9:01:04 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
Interview with Chris Bell who made Bigger, Stronger, Faster –opening tonight. A doc going way beyond body building into the essence of an unspoken American pastime: Cheating. Karina reports back on Cannes and everything the media missed that it shouldn’t have: Tyson, Frontier of Dawn and Everything is Fine.

(Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday)
FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids
Bigger, Stronger, Faster; Tyson; Frontier of Dawn; Everything is Fine Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/paul/archive/2008/5/30/30170.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/2132/default.aspx'>paul</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/paul/default.aspx'>paul on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/30/2008 9:00:41 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
Interview with Chris Bell who made Bigger, Stronger, Faster –opening tonight. A doc going way beyond body building into the essence of an unspoken American pastime: Cheating. Karina reports back on Cannes and everything the media missed that it shouldn’t have: Tyson, Frontier of Dawn and Everything is Fine.

(Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday)
FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids
Bigger, Stronger, Faster; Tyson; Frontier of Dawn; Everything is Fine Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Paul Moore<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2008 13:00:41 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>paul</spout:postby><spout:postto>paul on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/30/2008 9:00:41 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
Interview with Chris Bell who made Bigger, Stronger, Faster –opening tonight. A doc going way beyond body building into the essence of an unspoken American pastime: Cheating. Karina reports back on Cannes and everything the media missed that it shouldn’t have: Tyson, Frontier of Dawn and Everything is Fine.

(Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday)
FilmCouch #72 - Karina on Cannes, Kevin on steroids
Bigger, Stronger, Faster; Tyson; Frontier of Dawn; Everything is Fine Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Paul Moore</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Tyson: Factual Issues?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/5/27/30019.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/19702/default.aspx'>Karina</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/default.aspx'>Karina on SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/27/2008 1:00:56 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> On the flight home from Cannes on Sunday, I sat next to a prominent female film critic who, like me, had major problems with James Toback’s much-praised Tyson. Particularly concerned about the section of the film where Mike Tyson tells “his side of the story” in regards to the rape that sent him to prison, she predicted that the film’s eventual distributor, Sony Classics, would likely have to tweak the Cannes cut in order to avoid a libel suit. But a story on the boxing site The Sweet Science indicates that might not be the only spot where Toback and Tyson fudge the truth.
The film virtually cuts straight from the death of Tyson’s former mentor Cus D’A,ato to his years working under the eye of Don King. Steve Lott, Tyson’s assistant manager from 1985 to 1988, sites numerous places where Tyson “lies” in Tyson, and accuses Toback of glossing over the years in which Lott worked with the boxer in order to better support the case that Tyson was “has demons, that he was a thug, that he was crazy.” Lott says the Tyson he knew was “neither an addict, nor a hoodlum, nor a manic depressive…[but] ‘the golden boy of corporate America’,” and that his life only started to spin out of control when Don King and Robin Givens stepped in. He also claims Tyson lies in the film about being forced to sign a contract when he was underage:
“I have the contract right here,’’ Lott said. “Mike Tyson was 18 when he signed that contract, not 16. He’s saying these lies for two reasons. The effect of Don King and all those years of him telling Mike it was the white guys who screwed him and the fact that Jimmy [Jacobs] is dead and can’t defend himself. I defy anyone to come out of the woodwork and say something bad that Jim did to Mike Tyson.’’
Of course, it’s possible that there’s a touch of sour grapes to Lott’s protests. The obvious (and admitted by Tyson) goal of Tyson––and the main reason why I find it so reprehensible––is to rehab Tyson’s image to the point where, as the Sweet Science story puts it, he can become “a product America will once again buy.” Lott apparently tried to do this himself two years ago:
Lott said he met with [licensing agent Harlan] Werner two years ago to discuss his ideas of how to help his old friend. He suggested he first get rid of the face tattoo he began to wear late in his boxing career and then do a series of exhibitions for the troops in Iraq followed by similar fund raising appearances in the U.S. for various fire and police departments.
In perhaps the only interesting stylistic element of the film, Toback uses overlapping voiceover and split screens to draw attention to where Tyson repeats and/or contradicts himself om various topics. Maybe this becomes a question of documentary ethics: is a filmmaker even responsible for “lies” told by his subject, if he draws attention to the fact that said subject is the world’s most unreliable narrator? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 17:00:56 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>Karina</spout:postby><spout:postto>Karina on SpoutBlog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/27/2008 1:00:56 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>On the flight home from Cannes on Sunday, I sat next to a prominent female film critic who, like me, had major problems with James Toback’s much-praised Tyson. Particularly concerned about the section of the film where Mike Tyson tells “his side of the story” in regards to the rape that sent him to prison, she predicted that the film’s eventual distributor, Sony Classics, would likely have to tweak the Cannes cut in order to avoid a libel suit. But a story on the boxing site The Sweet Science indicates that might not be the only spot where Toback and Tyson fudge the truth.
The film virtually cuts straight from the death of Tyson’s former mentor Cus D’A,ato to his years working under the eye of Don King. Steve Lott, Tyson’s assistant manager from 1985 to 1988, sites numerous places where Tyson “lies” in Tyson, and accuses Toback of glossing over the years in which Lott worked with the boxer in order to better support the case that Tyson was “has demons, that he was a thug, that he was crazy.” Lott says the Tyson he knew was “neither an addict, nor a hoodlum, nor a manic depressive…[but] ‘the golden boy of corporate America’,” and that his life only started to spin out of control when Don King and Robin Givens stepped in. He also claims Tyson lies in the film about being forced to sign a contract when he was underage:
“I have the contract right here,’’ Lott said. “Mike Tyson was 18 when he signed that contract, not 16. He’s saying these lies for two reasons. The effect of Don King and all those years of him telling Mike it was the white guys who screwed him and the fact that Jimmy [Jacobs] is dead and can’t defend himself. I defy anyone to come out of the woodwork and say something bad that Jim did to Mike Tyson.’’
Of course, it’s possible that there’s a touch of sour grapes to Lott’s protests. The obvious (and admitted by Tyson) goal of Tyson––and the main reason why I find it so reprehensible––is to rehab Tyson’s image to the point where, as the Sweet Science story puts it, he can become “a product America will once again buy.” Lott apparently tried to do this himself two years ago:
Lott said he met with [licensing agent Harlan] Werner two years ago to discuss his ideas of how to help his old friend. He suggested he first get rid of the face tattoo he began to wear late in his boxing career and then do a series of exhibitions for the troops in Iraq followed by similar fund raising appearances in the U.S. for various fire and police departments.
In perhaps the only interesting stylistic element of the film, Toback uses overlapping voiceover and split screens to draw attention to where Tyson repeats and/or contradicts himself om various topics. Maybe this becomes a question of documentary ethics: is a filmmaker even responsible for “lies” told by his subject, if he draws attention to the fact that said subject is the world’s most unreliable narrator? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Tyson: Factual Issues?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/5/27/30018.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/27/2008 1:00:43 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> On the flight home from Cannes on Sunday, I sat next to a prominent female film critic who, like me, had major problems with James Toback’s much-praised Tyson. Particularly concerned about the section of the film where Mike Tyson tells “his side of the story” in regards to the rape that sent him to prison, she predicted that the film’s eventual distributor, Sony Classics, would likely have to tweak the Cannes cut in order to avoid a libel suit. But a story on the boxing site The Sweet Science indicates that might not be the only spot where Toback and Tyson fudge the truth.
The film virtually cuts straight from the death of Tyson’s former mentor Cus D’A,ato to his years working under the eye of Don King. Steve Lott, Tyson’s assistant manager from 1985 to 1988, sites numerous places where Tyson “lies” in Tyson, and accuses Toback of glossing over the years in which Lott worked with the boxer in order to better support the case that Tyson was “has demons, that he was a thug, that he was crazy.” Lott says the Tyson he knew was “neither an addict, nor a hoodlum, nor a manic depressive…[but] ‘the golden boy of corporate America’,” and that his life only started to spin out of control when Don King and Robin Givens stepped in. He also claims Tyson lies in the film about being forced to sign a contract when he was underage:
“I have the contract right here,’’ Lott said. “Mike Tyson was 18 when he signed that contract, not 16. He’s saying these lies for two reasons. The effect of Don King and all those years of him telling Mike it was the white guys who screwed him and the fact that Jimmy [Jacobs] is dead and can’t defend himself. I defy anyone to come out of the woodwork and say something bad that Jim did to Mike Tyson.’’
Of course, it’s possible that there’s a touch of sour grapes to Lott’s protests. The obvious (and admitted by Tyson) goal of Tyson––and the main reason why I find it so reprehensible––is to rehab Tyson’s image to the point where, as the Sweet Science story puts it, he can become “a product America will once again buy.” Lott apparently tried to do this himself two years ago:
Lott said he met with [licensing agent Harlan] Werner two years ago to discuss his ideas of how to help his old friend. He suggested he first get rid of the face tattoo he began to wear late in his boxing career and then do a series of exhibitions for the troops in Iraq followed by similar fund raising appearances in the U.S. for various fire and police departments.
In perhaps the only interesting stylistic element of the film, Toback uses overlapping voiceover and split screens to draw attention to where Tyson repeats and/or contradicts himself om various topics. Maybe this becomes a question of documentary ethics: is a filmmaker even responsible for “lies” told by his subject, if he draws attention to the fact that said subject is the world’s most unreliable narrator? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 17:00:43 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/27/2008 1:00:43 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>On the flight home from Cannes on Sunday, I sat next to a prominent female film critic who, like me, had major problems with James Toback’s much-praised Tyson. Particularly concerned about the section of the film where Mike Tyson tells “his side of the story” in regards to the rape that sent him to prison, she predicted that the film’s eventual distributor, Sony Classics, would likely have to tweak the Cannes cut in order to avoid a libel suit. But a story on the boxing site The Sweet Science indicates that might not be the only spot where Toback and Tyson fudge the truth.
The film virtually cuts straight from the death of Tyson’s former mentor Cus D’A,ato to his years working under the eye of Don King. Steve Lott, Tyson’s assistant manager from 1985 to 1988, sites numerous places where Tyson “lies” in Tyson, and accuses Toback of glossing over the years in which Lott worked with the boxer in order to better support the case that Tyson was “has demons, that he was a thug, that he was crazy.” Lott says the Tyson he knew was “neither an addict, nor a hoodlum, nor a manic depressive…[but] ‘the golden boy of corporate America’,” and that his life only started to spin out of control when Don King and Robin Givens stepped in. He also claims Tyson lies in the film about being forced to sign a contract when he was underage:
“I have the contract right here,’’ Lott said. “Mike Tyson was 18 when he signed that contract, not 16. He’s saying these lies for two reasons. The effect of Don King and all those years of him telling Mike it was the white guys who screwed him and the fact that Jimmy [Jacobs] is dead and can’t defend himself. I defy anyone to come out of the woodwork and say something bad that Jim did to Mike Tyson.’’
Of course, it’s possible that there’s a touch of sour grapes to Lott’s protests. The obvious (and admitted by Tyson) goal of Tyson––and the main reason why I find it so reprehensible––is to rehab Tyson’s image to the point where, as the Sweet Science story puts it, he can become “a product America will once again buy.” Lott apparently tried to do this himself two years ago:
Lott said he met with [licensing agent Harlan] Werner two years ago to discuss his ideas of how to help his old friend. He suggested he first get rid of the face tattoo he began to wear late in his boxing career and then do a series of exhibitions for the troops in Iraq followed by similar fund raising appearances in the U.S. for various fire and police departments.
In perhaps the only interesting stylistic element of the film, Toback uses overlapping voiceover and split screens to draw attention to where Tyson repeats and/or contradicts himself om various topics. Maybe this becomes a question of documentary ethics: is a filmmaker even responsible for “lies” told by his subject, if he draws attention to the fact that said subject is the world’s most unreliable narrator? Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Cannes Deals Straggle In: Trade Roughage 5/27/08</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/archive/2008/5/27/29998.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/19702/default.aspx'>Karina</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/karina/default.aspx'>Karina on SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/27/2008 10:01:28 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
Not content to let IFC walk off the Croisette as the big buying ballers of Cannes 2008, Sony Pictures Classics set a number of deals in the last days of the fest, including distribution pacts for the Israeli animated doc Waltz With Bashir, Lorna’s Silence by the Dardenne brothers, and James Toback’s Tyson.
Meanwhile, the people at Magnolia have all but resigned themselves to distributing What Just Happened?, the Barry Levinson Cannes closer which they produced through 2929 Entertainment, but have been attempting to unload on another distributor since Sundance.
Ewan McGregor will play Gore Vidal’s dad/Amelia Earhart’s lover in Amelia, a biopic set to star Hillary Swank as the famous missing aviatrix.
Blah blah blah Indiana Jones, blah blah blah $311 million worldwide.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 14:01:28 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>Karina</spout:postby><spout:postto>Karina on SpoutBlog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/27/2008 10:01:28 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
Not content to let IFC walk off the Croisette as the big buying ballers of Cannes 2008, Sony Pictures Classics set a number of deals in the last days of the fest, including distribution pacts for the Israeli animated doc Waltz With Bashir, Lorna’s Silence by the Dardenne brothers, and James Toback’s Tyson.
Meanwhile, the people at Magnolia have all but resigned themselves to distributing What Just Happened?, the Barry Levinson Cannes closer which they produced through 2929 Entertainment, but have been attempting to unload on another distributor since Sundance.
Ewan McGregor will play Gore Vidal’s dad/Amelia Earhart’s lover in Amelia, a biopic set to star Hillary Swank as the famous missing aviatrix.
Blah blah blah Indiana Jones, blah blah blah $311 million worldwide.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Cannes Deals Straggle In: Trade Roughage 5/27/08</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/5/27/29997.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s330856.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 5/27/2008 10:01:11 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
Not content to let IFC walk off the Croisette as the big buying ballers of Cannes 2008, Sony Pictures Classics set a number of deals in the last days of the fest, including distribution pacts for the Israeli animated doc Waltz With Bashir, Lorna’s Silence by the Dardenne brothers, and James Toback’s Tyson.
Meanwhile, the people at Magnolia have all but resigned themselves to distributing What Just Happened?, the Barry Levinson Cannes closer which they produced through 2929 Entertainment, but have been attempting to unload on another distributor since Sundance.
Ewan McGregor will play Gore Vidal’s dad/Amelia Earhart’s lover in Amelia, a biopic set to star Hillary Swank as the famous missing aviatrix.
Blah blah blah Indiana Jones, blah blah blah $311 million worldwide.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2008 14:01:11 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>5/27/2008 10:01:11 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
Not content to let IFC walk off the Croisette as the big buying ballers of Cannes 2008, Sony Pictures Classics set a number of deals in the last days of the fest, including distribution pacts for the Israeli animated doc Waltz With Bashir, Lorna’s Silence by the Dardenne brothers, and James Toback’s Tyson.
Meanwhile, the people at Magnolia have all but resigned themselves to distributing What Just Happened?, the Barry Levinson Cannes closer which they produced through 2929 Entertainment, but have been attempting to unload on another distributor since Sundance.
Ewan McGregor will play Gore Vidal’s dad/Amelia Earhart’s lover in Amelia, a biopic set to star Hillary Swank as the famous missing aviatrix.
Blah blah blah Indiana Jones, blah blah blah $311 million worldwide.
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
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      <title>Spout Tag:boxing</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/boxing/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/boxing/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>boxing</a>
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      <title>Spout Tag:the-sundance-film-festival</title>
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      <title>Spout Tag:heavyweight</title>
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      <title>Spout Tag:sexualassault</title>
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      <title>Spout Tag:sportsstar</title>
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