Filmmaker Brett Morgen
interviews Jake Zamansky
for Truth in Motion.
It’s no secret that Audi cars have a big connection with ski racing. Audi
is of course, a key sponsor of the FIS World Cup and also the way in which
several of the world’s top racers travel between venues.
Anyone who caught Lindsey Vonn on “The Tonight Show” a few of weeks
ago, for example, knows that part of her interview was spent discussing how
she drives her 600 horsepower Audi RS6 on the German Autobahn at 150
miles per hour.
But now Audi is going even further to promote ski racing in the United
States with an upcoming film, Truth in Motion: The U.S. Ski Team’s Road to
Vancouver, which will air strategically on Jan. 30 (during the NFL playoffs)
at prime time ( 8 p.m. EST) on NBC. The film chronicles the life of American ski racers, including everything from what it’s like to get out of bed long
before dawn to begin training on the
freezing cold hill all winter to racers
putting their life and health on the
line every time they reach speeds of 90
mph on a racecourse. There are also
inside tidbits on the lives of racers like
Sarah Schleper, an athlete a mother of
a toddler.
“I want to show our sport and show
who we are as individuals,” said Ted
Ligety, who was on hand at Copper
Mountain in November when the film
was announced. “It’s something we
don’t really have the opportunity to
do, especially outside of the ski world. I mean, this is going out to the masses,
to people who aren’t exposed to our sport. I wouldn’t say our lifestyle is super
glamorous ... we’re changing hotels every three days and living out of duffel
bags.”
Maybe it’s not glamorous, but there’s a lot of heart in it, and it’s interesting.
The story of what it takes to be a ski racer is what Truth in Motion’s award-
winning director Brett Morgen is aiming for.
“There’s nothing glamorous about getting up at 5: 30 and getting your blood
taken,” said Morgen, who has been nominated for an Academy Award and
regularly directs commercials for Budweiser, Walmart and other mega-com-
panies. “To have to get up on the glacier and ski for six hours then come
back, have lunch and then go do dryland ... it’s really gritty. But it’s real. It’s
authentic.”
This is a lifestyle that is totally for-
eign to most Americans. But not for
long. Following its debut on NBC Jan.
30, Truth in Motion will air on USA
and on the Universal Sports Network.
“A lot of marketers just put their logo
on a jacket and call it a day,” pointed
out Audi’s Jeff Kuhlman. “For us, we
like to get very active and see behind
the scenes of the skiers ... what they do
on a daily basis. We want to tell this
story.”
— Shauna Farnell
