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Film About 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute Protest Is In The Works

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April 5, 2022

The family is co-producing!

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a film about the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute protest is in the works.

During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Olympic track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists in a Black Power salute on the winners’ podium, in protest of the racial inequity rampant in the country. A radical and transformative moment for the nation and athletes everywhere, a film about that pivotal shift is now coming to the big screen. 

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‘68’ will tell the story of Smith and Carlos, produced by MGM, Participant and Macro. Airrion and Shaun McCoy, nephews of Carlos, and Smith’s wife, DeLois Smith, will all co-produce alongside Rashaad Ernesto Green (Gun Hill Road) as director and Billy Ray (The Hunger Games) as screenwriter. 

“Still incredibly powerful and relevant, I’m honored for the opportunity to bring Tommie and John’s riveting story to life; to portray the weight of the world these two giants had on their shoulders and the self-determination, courage and sacrifice it took for them to stand up for all of us,” Ernesto Green said via statement.

Pam Abdy, MGM Film Group president, and Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group Chairman, also issued a statement, writing, “We are deeply grateful to Tommie and John, along with Rashaad, Stacy, Billy, Participant and Macro, to entrust MGM to bring their story to the world.”

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No word yet on when the film will hit theaters but we’re looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. 

(l to r) Peter Norman, Tommie Smith, John Carlos. Photo Courtesy of 1091 Media/Everett Collection

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