Dan's Papers - August 1, 2008 - Amagansett Twins Release Olympic Documentary

Identical twins and filmmakers Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern are preparing for the release of their Olympic documentary, Let It Out: The Movie, which was made for Kleenex, an Olympic sponsor, and based on their advertising campaign of the same name. Among those included in the film are Mary Lou Retton, Mia Hamm, Michael Johnson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Mike Eruzione. "We interviewed over 75 people and it was tough figuring out a powerful weave to the story," said Lax. "But we've been lucky because it really works. It's emotion-filled. It's not only real and raw, but I think it's an entertaining 45 minutes."

Because of their experience in sports television - Stern worked as a producer for ABC's Wide World of Sports, while Lax worked for NBC and between the two of them, they've covered six Olympics and have 16 Emmy awards - the most difficult part was retelling stories they'd already encountered at other points in their careers. "It was interesting because in 20 years in the business, we've met famous athletes and celebrities and we told many of these same stories before," Stern said. "It was a challenge to make it fresh."

This time around they found themselves filming real and intimate moments they wouldn't have normally gotten the chance to see or hear on network television - for example, the interview of Eruzione, captain of the U.S. hockey team that won the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics. According to Stern, his father showed up, creating a "really warm and heartfelt" segment.

The film also features an intimate interview with the wife of Muhammed Ali, who was the final person to light the torch at the Atlanta Olympics. "She talked about how he was shaking, from Parkinson's Disease, trying to light it," Lax said. "It was overwhelming for him, but then he realized how much everyone adored and appreciated him."

Some developments happened along the way. When they interviewed Al Joyner, an Olympic gold medalist and coach, he talked so much about his sister, Joyner-Kersee, it was obvious to Lax and Stern that they needed to have that segment as well, although they hadn't planned to interview Joyner-Kersee.

Let It Out will premiere on August 11 exclusively for the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Beijing, China in August. On August 13, 25 theaters across the country (including one in New York's Union Square) will show the film for free for one night only. On August 14, the film can be viewed online at letitout.com. "It's an interesting distribution plan," Lax said.

This isn't the first project that the twins, who grew up in Port Washington and currently split their time between Amagansett and Englewood, N.J., have worked on together. In 2002, after leaving their network positions, they formed their own production company, Lookalike Productions. They immediately got to work on Emmanuel's Gift, a critically acclaimed documentary about a disabled cyclist from Ghana. Though they've spent much of their time focusing on Let It Out: The Movie, their short film about Jason Dunham, the first marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Iraq after he died trying to shield others from a grenade, will be featured in the L.A. Short Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films in August.

"Our background and passion is sports and filmmaking," Lax said. "But our passion is all about what the best stories are. They're happening every day - we're kind of picky about what we shoot."