RACE Tells The Incredible True Story of The First Worldwide Superstar, Jesse Owens

By Gary Salem

Opening in theaters nationwide this Friday, February 19th, is the new film, RACE.

Based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. Race is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend.

RACE tracks the journey of James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens (portrayed by Stephan James of Selma). As a student and athlete in Depression-era America, Jesse bears the weight of family expectations, racial tension at his college Ohio State University, and his own high standards for competition.

At Ohio State University, Jesse finds a savvy coach and stalwart friend in Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis) – who is unafraid to push the young man to his limits. Bolstered by the love and support of Ruth Solomon (Shanice Banton), with whom he has a young daughter, Jesse’s winning ways in intercollegiate competitions earn him a place on the U.S. Olympics team…

…if there is to be a team going to the 1936 Olympics at all; the American Olympic committee weighs a boycott in protest against Hitler with committee president Jeremiah Mahoney (Academy Award winner William Hurt) and millionaire industrialist Avery Brundage (Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons) debating the issue. Once Brundage prevails with the committee and U.S. participation is confirmed, Jesse enters a new racial and political minefield after he arrives in Berlin with his fellow athletes.

As filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl (Carice van Houten of Game of Thrones) readies her cameras to record the Games under the steely gaze of Nazi officials, Jesse reaffirms his determination to compete with excellence and honor. With the world watching, he will place in sharp relief his own country’s history of racism as well as the Hitler regime’s oppressiveness. Forever defining what an athlete can accomplish, Jesse Owens races into history as an inspiration to millions, then and now.

The director, Stephen Hopkins and the stars of the film, Stephan James and Jason Sudeikis gave thoughtful and thought-provoking answers at the press junket:

Hopkins felt the story had a Forrest Gump quality because Owens just wants to run but he ends up turning the Nazi Olympics into the Jesse Owens Olympics. He said track is ideal for a film because it’s an explosive sport and a race takes only ten seconds. He also addressed the question of “What is he running for?” For himself? Or his country with its institutional racism that forced him to sail to Germany in steerage while white athletes traveled in first class?

Hopkins also talked about how the 1936 Olympics were the first corporate branding of a sporting event that originated the modern games we know today. The Nazis invented the opening ceremony with a torch relay and release of doves. They filmed everything with the intention of proving the Aryan race was superior and instead turned a black athlete into the world’s first worldwide superstar.

During breaks while filming Selma, Stephan trained extensively to learn Owen’s running style and spent a lot of time with Owens’ daughters who were instrumental in getting the film made. Although he felt a little intimidated playing an iconic, larger-than-life figure, he wanted to help them carry on their father’s legacy as a man, a father and a humanitarian whose love of his sport made a huge impact on the world.

Jason said the best information he had about Larry Snyder was a quote from Jesse Owens in which he said Snyder was an “accidental non-racist” who believed athletic performance and hard work were the only things that mattered. Snyder’s refusal to judge people based on the color of their skin was his way of dealing with societal pressure and that indirectly sparked a new dialogue about segregation in America.

The connection between Owens and Snyder is a crucial part of the story and Jason said drama and comedy are the same because regardless of the situation, you have to make it feel real and honest. He knew he was involved in telling this “amazing…hopeful…international human story” because the film was independently financed. The major studios were not interested in a complicated period piece about sports featuring a young, unknown actor. He also shared a fun fact: He had his first experience in a period film when his family played extras in the Paul Newman-Joanne Woodward film Mr. and Mrs. Bridge.

Visit the movie’s official site: racethefilm.com

Purchase tickets HERE.