Olympian Gabby Douglas Story:
Inspiring, Faith-Filled Biopic Lifetime Movie Premier!
If you watched the broadcast of the 2012 Summer Olympic games in London — as 219.4 million Americans did — then you likely saw the inspiring triumph of American gymnast Gabby Douglas as she made history. Among other notable achievements, she became the first African-American gymnast to be named the individual all-around champion. She won gold medals in team and individual all-around competitions, and she quickly won the heart of America with her determined, jubilant spirit that shined with every stunning leap and joyful smile. The nation loved her resilient, warmhearted spirit. Christians were especially encouraged by her bold and sincere testimony for Christ. Gabby became a bright light for Christ in front of millions of viewers.
However, not many Americans — not even the Christians who cheered her on when she expressed her faith — knew the challenges she faced long before she stepped before the international audience of the Olympic games. A new original movie will finally tell that story when Lifetime premiers the film The Gabby Douglas Story this Saturday, February 1st at 8pm/7pm Central. From what I can tell so far from the synopsis and the trailer (which you can watch above), the film reveals the adversities she faced in her earlier years leading up to her Olympic triumphs, and it provides a more detailed view of her faith in Christ and her closeness with her family that strengthened her to overcome some incredibly difficult odds.
It’s not every day that a TV network creates and airs a family-friendly Christ-glorifying movie in which the hero is an outspoken Christian. I would encourage you to watch this movie to ensure it gets great ratings. This will send a clear message: keep these family-friendly, God-honoring movies coming! And, based on the trailer, it looks like a very high quality, entertaining film!
I was a huge fan of Gabby Douglas during the Olympics, and I am excited to watch the movie. In fact, we are doing a giveaway today through our site and through our Facebook page where ten fortunate folks will win a free copy of her autobiography Grace, Gold, and Glory. I will also be writing a review of the film and publishing it Monday after it airs.
What is especially cool is how Lifetime is offering a downloadable free discussion guide for families, youth groups, and church groups to use for a post-movie discussion time. In other words, this would be a great family event or church fellowship!
You can get the downloadable discussion guide here.
Here is the studio’s synopsis of the movie from Lifetime’s official site:
“A prodigy from a very young age, Gabby Douglas originally made her mark on the world of competitive gymnastics at age eight. She won numerous state championship titles in her age group throughout her early competitive career. While her star was fast rising in the arena, Gabby and her family faced economic challenges at home and she made the difficult decision to leave her mother Natalie, three siblings and grandmother in Virginia Beach and move to Des Moines, Iowa, to train with renowned coach Liang Chow to pursue her dream of Olympic glory. Buoyed by her early success, dedication and unyielding love from her family, Gabby made it onto the 2012 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team, with whom she faced intense competition in the London Games. Her sacrifice and perseverance were triumphantly rewarded with Team Competition and Individual All-round gold medals, placing Gabby and her teammates – known as “The Fierce Five” — among the world’s all-time greats in gymnastics.”
The film stars the fabulous actress Regina King (Ray, Jerry Maguire, Enemy of the State) who, most recently, has starred as the Human Resources Director Janine Davis in Big Bang Theory — yes, that poor soul who is forced to endure the awful workplace etiquette of Sheldon Cooper and company. She is fantastic in that recurring role, so I’m guessing she will do an excellent job in this film. The movie also features the talents of Brian Tee (The Wolverine, We Were Soldiers), Sydney Mikayla (Whitney, Hot in Cleveland, Community), Imani Hakim (Reign Over Me, Everybody Hates Chris), and Gabby Douglas as herself.
The premier is Saturday, Feb 1 at 8 PM/7pm Central. In case you miss the first one, you can watch additional broadcasts on Sunday, February 2 at 12am and 9pm, and Monday, February 3 at 1am.
Please consider watching one of these broadcasts! Support quality movies with strong Judeo-Christian family values!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks