Aussie movie makers planning to ‘do a Bradbury’

A FEATURE film about Steven Bradbury has been given the go-ahead and will aim to flip the script on the Brisbane speed skater’s famous Winter Olympics win.

Producers John and Michael Schwarz, prolific screenwriter Stuart Beattie and director Kriv Stenders – the same team behind upcoming Australian film Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan – are on board for Last Man Standing, which this month secured development funding from Screen Australia.

It was after finishing the Vietnam War film in Queensland last year that John began looking for a more uplifting and humorous story.

He thought of Bradbury, who in 2002 became the first Australian to win a Winter Olympics gold medal when all of his opponents crashed in a last corner pile-up in the 1000m speed skating final (pictured).

“I was actually quite shocked by how much I didn’t know about the story. Everyone knows the expression ‘Doing a Bradbury’ which is a fluke, but he didn’t do a Bradbury,” John said.

“Steve went to four Olympics, he competed as an elite athlete for 14 years, he had these injuries where he almost died.

“It’s always great when you can find a story that goes against everyone’s perception. As filmmakers we are always looking for those stories and they are very rare to find.

“Hopefully it’ll totally flip everyone’s perception of what ‘doing a Bradbury’ is.”

Bradbury, 45, had been approached by nine different producers in the past hoping to commission a film based on his life, but all had fallen flat.