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CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
Prefontaine: Two movies are barely enough
■ OUR
OPINION:
The former
University
mnner’s
extraordinary
life is worthy
of more than
onefilm
treatment
Looking back on the life of Steve
Prefontaine, his effect on the city
of Eugene and the sport of run
ning is undisputable.
After Prefontaine’s tenure at the Uni
versity in 1969-73 (and other stars before
him), the city would forever be known as
"Track Town U.S.A."
Sold-out crowds of all ages would at
tend his races at Hayward Field, shouting
"Pre! Pre!” as he repeatedly ran down the
competition.
He energized long-distance running
with a charismatic personality and made
watching a footrace an adventure for a
crowd more used to last-minute basket
ball and football games.
Eugene will never forget him. Running
will always remember him. But does the
average American even know him? Proba
bly not.
Hollywood hopes it can change that.
With two movies on Prefontaine’s life
coming out within the year, film types are
betting the life that touched our hearts
will have the same effect on the whole
country.
The race to release a film on Pre
fontaine first was fought long and hard by
Walt Disney Pictures and Warner Broth
ers for two years. Both films had rights
and stories from different Prefontaine as
sociates and varying budgets. Both films
also sought to bring Pre’s story to the big
screen almost twenty years after his
death, inspired by the 1995 documentary
on the runner’s life, “Fire on the Track.”
Disney’s entry, “Prefontaine,” outdis
tanced the competition with its release on
Jan. 24 in Eugene and major cities. But its
portrayal of Prefontaine, endorsed by his
family, has been far from a victory. Many
people who knew Pre say the film glam
orizes his life and his “spirit.” That spirit,
they say, was actually Pre’s dominating,
cocky personality — which infuriated as
many people as races it won.
And the film’s representation of Pre’s
death has been called into question. The
two-car, non-alcohol related theory of the
car crash shown in the film is not what
Eugene police believe happened that fate
ful night. Prefontaine’s alcohol level was
actually beyond the legal limit, and some
people who saw him before the accident
say he downed more than a couple of
beers.
Nonetheless, the film accurately por
trays the effect Prefontaine had on the Eu
gene and running community. And most
of Pre’s family and friends who attended
a screening say the film was right on.
The second film, “Pre,” isn’t scheduled
for release until the fall and has a much
larger budget than its predecessor ($1 mil
lion was reportedly spent on the 1972
Olympic sequence alone). Looking back
on other multiple movies on the same
subject (e.g. “Tombstone” and “Wyatt
Earp”), Warner Brothers will no doubt
take a different slant on Pre’s life.
However, he biggest question may be
whether Prefontaine’s life is worth two
movies. Both film companies decided to
make a film around the same time — de
termined to bring their own image of Pre
to the screen. But history shows us, in
cluding in the Wyatt Earp movies, that
one movie is always enough — at least for
the general public. In 1993, “Wyatt Earp”
hardly enjoyed the same box office suc
cess as “Tombstone.”
But as evidenced by the controversy
surrounding the first movie’s treatment of
Pre, chronicling someone’s life is not as
easy as it sounds. Any biographer,
whether it be in print or on film, has en
dured the difficulties of showing a life
that was seen by many different people,
and therefore, many different points of
view. Pre’s life is no different.
Stories of personal experience with Pre
still echo in Eugene, more than twenty
years after he left his legacy. Depending
on who one talks to, Pre may be a hero or
a fool, a thoughtful friend or a selfish ego
maniac. One may hear a story of how Pre
fontaine signed autographs for a half hour
after a race without a hint of irritation.
The next minute, one may hear a tale of
how he openly bragged about going to the
Olympics or winning a tough race.
Steve Prefontaine was a complex, in
credible person with obvious faults and
strengths. Two movies on his life may
seem excessive, but for a person of his
stature and ultimate effect on his city and
the running community, they may be nec
essary. If two films, with two different ap
proaches, can shift the complicated, fasci
nating life of Prefontaine into the national
spotlight, they will be a success.
This editorial represents the opinion of
the Emerald editorial board.
((
Any biographer,
whether it be in
print or on film,
has endured the
difficulties of
showing a life that
was seen by many
different people,
and therefore,
many different
points of view. Pre’s
life is no different.
99
■ JANUARY
1995: Walt Disney
Pictures
announces it has
begun pre
production on a
motion picture
based on the life of
Steve Prefontaine.
■ MAY 1995:
Representatives
from Disney and
Warner Brothers
speak to University
representatives
about filming on
campus.
■ MARCH 1996:
Warner Brothers
secures the right
from the University
to film on campus
from June 1-Sept.
10.
■ JULY 1996:
Disney begins pri
mary photography
on its film, “Pre
fontaine," in the
Seattle area. Jared
Leto stars as Pre
fontaine and R. Lee
Ermey plays coach
Bill Bowerman.
■ AUGUST 1996:
Warner Brothers
begins filming in
Eugene for its
feature, “Pre,”
starring Billy
Crudup as
Prefontaine and
Donald Sutherland
as Bowerman.
■ JAN. 24,1997:
Disney's
“Prefontaine”
opens in Eugene
and other national
markets.
■ FALL 1997:
Warner Brothers'
“Pre" is tentatively
scheduled for
release.