Olympic Channel’s forthcoming documentary “The Iron Hammer” calls Chinese volleyball legend who became US team coach Lang Ping both a “national hero” and a “traitor” in a short story trailer.
“The Iron Hammer” – named after Ping’s famous nickname – is part of the Olympic Channel’s Five Rings Films documentary series, depicting iconic individuals and record-breaking teams of the modern Olympic era.
The documentary follows the journey of Ping, one of China’s most popular sports stars, to the gold medal won for China at the 1984 Olympics, the coach of the US Olympic team two decades later, returning to her home country, where she transformed her struggling national team into Olympic champions.
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“Lang Ping is like Michael Jordan in our minds,†one athlete says in the doc, while others call him “champion,†“trailblazer,†“badass†and “movie starâ€. But when Ping coached the United States national team to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, public opinion about him took a turn.
“I was the first foreign woman to coach in a major sport for Team USA,†she says in the clip above. Another voice adds: “Some of us saw her as a traitor.”
Here is the official description of the film:
“In this compelling and personal documentary, director Joan Chen chronicles the inspiring life and career of Lang Ping, a fearless volleyball star who made one of modern China’s most remarkable journeys. After capturing the national team to a historic gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Ping moved overseas to build a career on his own terms. With never-before-seen footage, “The Iron Hammer” explores how Lang Ping’s success as coach of the US and Chinese team set a new example of women’s empowerment and global ambition for a country at the crossroads paths. “
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Five Rings Films is produced for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) global media platform by Frank Marshall and Mandalay Sports Media (MSM). Marshall’s production credits also include the “Jason Bourne”, “Jurassic World” and “Indiana Jones” franchises. He produces “The Iron Hammer” alongside MSM’s Mike Tollin, whose recent credits include “The Last Dance”.
13 superhero characters who deserve their own movies (photos)
You might think that at some point we’re going to run out of comic book superheroes. Luckily, you’d be wrong, because there’s so much more to the comic book world than Avengers and Justice League. And just in the last couple of weeks, projects based on Rob Leifeld’s “Prophet†and Scott Lodbell’s “Ball and Chain†have been announced. So here are 13 heroes who we think are long overdue for the live-action film’s treatment, from fan favorites to cult classics. Hollywood, use your COVID-19 free time and go now.
1. Richard Rider (New)
Rider is the most famous member of Nova Corps, the intergalactic cops seen in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy†– think of them as the Marvel version of the Green Lanterns. In the comics, he’s crossed paths with the Guardians, Captain Marvel, and Thor over the years – in other words, he’d be a perfect fit for the increasingly space-focused Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2. Death blow Deathstroke / Slade Wilson – originally known as Deathstroke the Terminator – is normally one of DC Comics ‘baddest, a mercenary, and an assassin who serves as Dick Grayson (Nightwing)’ s nemesis. But he finally managed to make the hero of the new series “DCeased: Unkillables”, in which the villains of DC lead the fight against a global zombie apocalypse. Plus, there’s already a great actor for the role: Joe Manganiello, who briefly played him in the “Justice League” post-credit scene. Yes, we do know the deal for a standalone movie fell apart after that movie’s lukewarm reception, but people have already overcome worse obstacles – just ask Ryan Reynolds and “Deadpoolâ€.
3. Ninjak From the same Valiant universe that recently gave us Bloodshot with Vin Diesel. Ninjak focuses on a Ninja spy for MI6 whose alter ego is British aristocrat Colin King. Pagination by Henry Golding.
4. Squirrel Girl (Doreen Allene Green)
It is Unbeatable Squirrel Girl to you, one of the greatest obscure characters in the Marvel Universe who, by the way, was co-created by the legendary Steve Ditko. At the age of ten, Doreen Green discovered that she could communicate with squirrels. She eventually developed other powers that included a lot of optimism and a bit of invincibility (plus the ability to command an army of, well, you might read). All you need to know is that she once threw the s — off of Thanos without breaking a sweat. Hurry up with this one, Marvel.
5. Kingdom Come Magog In the 4-issue miniseries by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, Magog (named after one of the marauding nations that serve Satan in the Book of Revelation) is the world’s first hero after Superman and his generation left work. Sadly, Supes, Wonder Woman, and the others are called into action when Magog’s lack of restraint has cataclysmic consequences. Anyway, read “Kingdom Come”, that’s good. Also, DC, hurry up and make this movie.
6. Static Created by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle, African-American teenager Virgil Ovid Hawkins becomes a new kind of hero after exposure to a radioactive chemical makes him capable of electromagnetic control and generation .
7. Dread Star From “Thanos†creator Jim Starlin to Marvel’s Ephemeral Footprint, Dreadstar is the story of Vanth Dreadstar, a mighty warrior and the only survivor of the Milky Way. Joined by his teammates Oedi, Syzygy Darklock, Willow and Skeevo, the team find themselves in the midst of an ancient war at the stalemate between two forces of evil: the Church of Instrumentality, led by the Almighty and lost Lord Papal, and The Monarchy.
8. Nemesis Mark Millar’s excellent limited series which asked “What if Batman Becomes the Joker” almost became a movie with Tony Scott and then Matthew Vaughn being attached to directing. The project still stands and is currently being implemented at Warner Bros.
9. Wild cats
Created by Jim Lee with writer Brandon Choi during the comic book boom of the early ’90s, Wildcats centered on the centuries-old war between aliens called Kherubim and Daemonites. The Kherubims, an almost immortal, human-like alien race endowed with exceptional powers and skills, have traveled to Earth and, by breeding with humans, populated the planet of “Half-Blood”. Demonites, in addition to having a frightening appearance, also possessed various superhuman abilities, including body possession and mind control over human beings.
10. Martian Manhunter
Currently a fan favorite on The CW’s “Supergirl,†J’onn J’onzz is a former Martian cop stranded on Earth – and in some stories, the only surviving member of his race. Created by Joseph Samachson and Joe Certa, he is a founding member of the Justice League and one of the most powerful characters in the DC Universe, in part thanks to his shape-shifting ability. He is also one of the most beautiful DC heroes of all time; don’t get between him and his “Choco” cookies.
11. (Choose any character from) “Astro City”
Another that’s really more of a whole bag of heroes, Kurt Busiek’s decades-long epic centers on the personal and professional lives of people who live in a city known to have the world’s greatest concentration of overpowered people. Acclaimed for its rich characters and for its sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious, sometimes thrilling tributes to everything from Golden Age comics, pulp science fiction and even “Gi-Joe”, Astro City presents a multitude of incredible characters including, for example, Samaritan, Winged Victory, The Confessor, Jack in the Box, The First Family – could lead an incredible movie.
12. Link Set 500 years in the future, this 80s-90s series focuses on Horatio Hellpop, a human who is given fantastic powers from an alien entity and is tasked with inflicting capital punishment on mass murderers who escaped control. Justice. It’s the starting point for a galactic epic that satirizes both sides of the Cold War, consumer society, celebrity cult and even pop culture. Truly one of the strangest comics ever – and long overdue for a movie.
13. Miracleman / Marvelman Created by Mick Anglo in 1954 to serve as the UK-based counterpart for Fawcett Comics Captain Marvel / Shazam, the character was revived and reinterpreted in 1982 by “Watchmen” creator Alan Moore and later in the decade by the creator of “Sandman” Neil Gaiman. Moore’s race in particular was widely acclaimed and influenced generations of comics – and movies.
With films based on “Prophet” and “Ball and Chain” in the works, here are some other potential comic book gold mines.
You might think that at some point we’re going to run out of comic book superheroes. Luckily, you’d be wrong, because there’s so much more to the comic book world than Avengers and Justice League. And just in the last couple of weeks, projects based on Rob Leifeld’s “Prophet†and Scott Lodbell’s “Ball and Chain†have been announced. So here are 13 heroes who we think are long overdue for the live-action film’s treatment, from fan favorites to cult classics. Hollywood, use your COVID-19 free time and go now.
