American Wrestler: The Wizard

American Wrestler: The Wizard
Theatrical poster
Directed byAlex Ranarivelo
Screenplay byBrian Rudnick
Story byAli Afshar
Brian Rudnick
Based onChildhood of Ali Afshar
Produced byAli Afshar
Hadeel Reda
StarringWilliam Fichtner
Jon Voight
Ali Afshar
Gabriel Basso
Kevin G. Schmidt
Lia Marie Johnson
George Kosturos
CinematographyReuben Steinberg
Edited byBrett Hedlund
Music byJamie Christopherson
Production
company
ESX Productions
Distributed byESX Entertainment
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

American Wrestler: The Wizard is a 2016 American sports biographical film directed by Alex Ranarivelo. The film centers around the world of competitive high school wrestling and stars George Kosturos as Ali Jahani, a 17–year old who escapes Iran in the 1980s after the Iran hostage crisis and must adjust to life in a small California town only to face more hostility due to the hostage crisis.[1] William Fichtner, Jon Voight, Ali Afshar, Gabriel Basso, Kevin G. Schmidt and Lia Marie Johnson also star in supporting roles.

Cast

Production

Development

The idea for American Wrestler: The Wizard is heavily inspired by producer Ali Afshar who took up wrestling in his high school after fleeing from his home country of Iran due to the political outrage in the 1970s.[2] Speaking on his take of biographical films, Ali stated that he wanted to show that any tough situation can have a positive impact no matter what the outcome. He wanted to emphasise the demeanour of how one's loss can actually be turned into a win.[3]

Majority of the filming took place in Petaluma, California, with scenes being shot at Casa Grande High School (which was renamed to East Petaluma High School for the film), as well as Tomales high school for hallway scenes, cafeteria scenes, as well as the gymnasium being used for some wrestling scenes. Some scenes were also shot in Santa Rosa mainly in the Sonoma County area.

Music

Jamie Christopherson who previously worked on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and The Crow: Wicked Prayer composed the film's score. Christopherson used a blend of traditional orchestra and synths and worked with Iranian musicians.[4] He also co-composed the film's theme song titled "Rise" with Armenian-Iranian singer, Andy featuring American singer Shani Rigsbee.[5]

Release

The film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 23, 2016 and had a limited theatrical run starting May 3, 2017.

Accolades

Event Date of ceremony Category Recipients and nominees Result Ref(s)
Austin Film Festival 25 October 2016 Heart of Film Brian Rudnick Won [6]
Boston Film Festival 22 Sep 2016 Best Film Alex Ranarivelo, Ali Afshar and Hadeel Reda Won [7]
Best Ensemble Cast Jon Voight, William Fichtner, George Kosturos, Ali Afshar
Gabriel Basso, Lia Marie Johnson, Kevin G. Schmidt
Nicholas Guilak, Sasha Feldman and Salome Azizi 		Won
Best Screenplay Brian Rudnick Won
Breakout Performance George Kosturos Won
Napa Film Festival 12 November 2016 Favourite Actor Won [8]
Special Jury Award – Best Performance in a Lounge Feature Film Won
Favorite Narrative Feature American Wrestler: The Wizard Won
Newport Beach Film Festival 23 April 2016 Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Alex Ranarivelo Won [9]
Jury Award for Best Actor George Kosturos Won

Sequel

The sequel titled American Wrestler: The Fighter was announced by producers Forrest Lucas and Ali Afshar. Principal photography began in North Carolina in June 2017. George Kosturos returns to star with Tommy Flanagan, Bryan Craig, Sean Patrick Flanery and Parviz Sayyad joining as new cast members.[10]

References

  1. ^ McMahon, Vanessa (31 May 2017). "Interview with Actor George Kosturos for 'American Wrestler: The Wizard'". Film Festivals. Retrieved 7 Sep 2018.
  2. ^ "TCW meets up with Ali Afshar, Actor/Producer of the upcoming movie, American Wrestler – The Wizard". The California Wrestler. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  3. ^ Templeton, David (21 August 2018). "Made in Petaluma: Wrestling drama with deep local roots". Petaluma 360. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  4. ^ "Projects". jamiechristopherson. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  5. ^ F. Ebbinghaus, Peter (3 May 2017). "New Release: American Wrestler: The Wizard by Jamie Christopherson". Behind the Audio. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  6. ^ "2016 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS". Austin Film Festival. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  7. ^ Terry, Joshua (7 October 2016). "'American Wrestler' Tops Boston's Film Festival Awards". Variety. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  8. ^ "2016 Napa Valley Film Festival Festival Award Winners". Film Festivals. Napa Valley Film Festival. Retrieved 7 Sep 2018.
  9. ^ "2016 Awards". Newport Beach Film Fest. Retrieved 8 Sep 2018.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (21 June 2017). "'American Fighter' Film Launches With Tommy Flanagan, Bryan Craig, Sean Patrick Flanery". Variety. Retrieved 7 Sep 2018.