Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story

*Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story*
Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story
Written by	Greg Louganis (book); Eric Marcus (book); Alan Hines (written by)
Directed by	Steven Hilliard Stern
Starring	Mario Lopez; Michael Murphy
Music by	Richard Bellis
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Mark Bacino (producer); Allen S. Epstein (executive producer); Jim Green (executive producer); Alan Hines (co-producer); Andrew McLean (supervising producer)
Cinematography	Michael Slovis
Editor	Peter Svab
Running time	95 minutes
Original release
Release	March 19, 1997

Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story is a 1997 television film about diver Greg Louganis based on the 1996 best-selling book Breaking the Surface co-written by Greg Louganis and Eric Marcus that stayed on top of the New York Times Best Seller list for 5 weeks.^[1]^[2] This was Steven Hilliard Stern's final directed film before dying in 2018.^{[citation needed]}

Plot[edit]

In Seoul, 1988, Greg Louganis (played by Mario Lopez) hits the diving board while plunging towards the water cutting his head open. Splashing into the water Greg begins to have flashbacks: as a young kid being ridiculed by neighborhood bullies; his adoptive father (played by Michael Murphy) is not accepting and overbearing; winning the silver medal; the 1982 world championship; two gold medals in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles; the struggles of an abusive relationship with Tom Barrett; his father's terminal cancer; Tom's losing battle with AIDS and Greg's own HIV positive status. After doctors in Seoul stitch Greg's head wound, he returns to competition and picks up two more gold medals. After his father's death and Tom's lost AIDS' battle, Greg decides to come out and go public with every aspect of his life as a gay athlete.

Cast[edit]

Mario Lopez as Greg Louganis
Michael Murphy as Pete Louganis
Rosemary Dunsmore as Frances Louganis
Jeffrey Meek as Tom Barrett
Megan Leitch as Megan Neyer
Jonathan Scarfe as Keith
Fulvio Cecere as John Anders
Patrick David as Young Greg Louganis
Rafael Rojas III as Greg (age 9)
Bruce Weitz as Ron O'Brien
Gregor Trpin as Scott Cranham
Greg Louganis as himself

Awards[edit]

Mario López was nominated for an ALMA Award for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series in a Crossover Role".

References[edit]

^ "TBT: The Time Mario Lopez Was on the Cover of The Advocate in 1997". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
^ O'Neill, Tracy (2015-08-04). "Greg Louganis: Far From Falling". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-01-11.

External links[edit]

Official website*Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story at IMDb

[1] "TBT: The Time Mario Lopez Was on the Cover of The Advocate in 1997". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.

[2] O'Neill, Tracy (2015-08-04). "Greg Louganis: Far From Falling". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-01-11.

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