Tyson

A gritty and intimate portrait of one of boxing’s most polarizing figures, James Toback’s Tyson recounts Iron Mike’s rise to superstardom and subsequent fall from grace through the eyes of the man himself. Candid interviews with Tyson reveal an often-misunderstood persona that encompasses a broad spectrum of decidedly human instincts. He is at once gentle and animalistic, humane and violent, predator and prey.After a stint in a juvenile reform school, where his boxing skills took root, the 14-year-old Tyson was introduced to legendary trainer Constantine ""Cus"" D'Amato, who took the young fighter under his wing and served as one of the only positive figures in his life. D’Amato died before he was able to see his final protégé become the sport’s youngest heavyweight champion at 20 years old, an event that started a chain reaction in Tyson’s young life. His meteoric success in the ring collapsed under a sea of controversy—his ill-fated marriage to Robin Givens, who publicly maligned him as a violent beast; an arrest and conviction for the rape of Desiree Washington, a charge which he still denies; a highly publicized falling out with promoter Don King; and his infamous 1997 rematch with Evander Holyfield.Toback manages to crack Mike Tyson’s brooding exterior to expose both the best and worst of the most explosive and controversial enigma in the history of the sport.
CAST

James Toback - James Toback is an American screenwriter and film director whose cinematic explorations of sports, crime, sex, and the complex vagaries of human relationships have produced a host of provocative and celebrated films. After graduating from Harvard University, Toback wrote an autobiographical memoir of football star James Brown, Jim: The Author's Self-Centered Memoir of the Great Jim Brown. His film work includes screenplays, feature films, and documentaries. His screenplay for Bugsy was nominated for an Academy Award. His feature films include Fingers, Exposed, The Pick-up Artist, The Big Bang, and Black and White.

Screenings:

Fri. Jan 16 8:30 a.m. - TYSON16RM Racquet Club, Park City
Fri. Jan 16 9:00 p.m. - TYSON16WN Tower Theatre, SLC
Sat. Jan 17 5:30 p.m. - TYSON17LE Library Center Theatre, Park City
Mon. Jan 19 2:30 p.m. - TYSON193A Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Sat. Jan 24 6:15 p.m. - TYSON244E Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City