Tonight at 7:30PM, the inspiring documentary Living is Winning screens at The Carter Center as a part of 2009’s Docufest. Mixtape Atlanta had the privilege of speaking with the film’s director and producer, Linda Burns, about her journey to bring the amazing true story of tri-athlete Andrew Johnson to the screen.
Mixtape Atlanta: How did you find such a great story?
Linda Burns: It really came from my co-producer Jeff Keating, who has been Andrew [Johnson]’s best friend since fifth grade. I had been working with Jeff on his Fight Night script. Andrew was doing a triathlon is Coeur d’Alene Idaho, and Jeff was watching with his friends and thought “This could be my next film!” He told me about it, I agreed and signed on, and we went from there.
MA: You’re known primarily as a producer; what made you decide to direct this time?
LB: No, I AM a producer. This is my one and only time as a director! (laughs) Well, I had filmed the races, and I knew what Jeff wanted creatively and I translated that so that the cameras got what we needed. And I knew I was going to be doing a lot of the interviewing; we got to the point where we said, “Well, I’ve directed everything so far.” And having done production for 15 years I knew I could shape the story quickly and efficiently. So I kind of became “Director By Default.” And you know, I think the process has made me a much better producer. I now will be able to support my directors so much better, having had this more rounded experience. Even though it almost killed me.
MA: This was your first documentary film. How different was it from doing a narrative film?
LB: That’s a really interesting question. Especially since documentaries today do follow a similar structure to narrative films. And they often do it better – I’d say 90% of the narrative films I screen are horrible, but 90% of the documentaries are fantastic. I’d say the biggest difference is struggling to get what you want. In this case, I had this guy with an incredible ego who didn’t like to talk about failure and struggle. And what’s a sports doc without failure and struggle? I didn’t want to make this kind of leukemia movie of the week. So I had to really work to get to the dark side of the story.
MA: What are people most struck by in the film?
LB: Well, people go in thinking it’s a bleak sports doc, but they’re surprised by the humor in it, and by how upbeat it is. There’s a real takeaway- to use Drew’s line- that “the only limitations we have are those we put on ourselves.” And you know, to see that this guy has gone through all of this, and still has such a positive attitude, it’s amazing. It’s like every time he gets kicked in the teeth, he gets up, slaps some new ones in, and jumps back in there. And that’s a story people need to see, especially in times like these.
After the screening mingle with the filmmakers at the film’s after-party at Artmore Hotel's Studio Bar and Lounge.
Comments