Scarsdale's Brian Brown Directs "The Last Gold"

A film directed by Scarsdale resident and Emmy winner Brian T. Brown will be shown at the Jacob Burns on Tuesday August 2 at 7:30 pm. The Last Gold is the "greatest untold story in Olympic swimming history," detailing the efforts of the 1976 women's Olympic Team to overcome disappointing results, a critical media, and their systematically-doped opponent—the East German team. Narrated by Julianna Margulies, the film is a great tale of determination in the face of adversity.

The film documents a resurrected story that, 40 years ago, went hidden in plain sight, and which is as resonant as ever, covering the history, the mechanics, the side effects, and the human cost and moral corruption of doping. Many of the central players – American and German --are people of enormous character, steadfast and shining; people who kept hope alive against what seemed like mountainous, ceaseless futility, being applied by forces overwhelming, sinister, and global.

Greenacres resident Brian T. Brown has more than 25 years of experience as an award-winning television writer, director, show runner and executive producer. His work has appeared on CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, PBS, TBS, ESPN, HBO, History, and Discovery Channel. As a Senior Producer, and with his work on the Olympics and Super Bowls, he has been attached to many of the most-watched shows in American TV history. Acknowledged with 15 Emmys, he has been attached to projects with Tom Brokaw, Bob Costas, Billy Crystal, Mary Carillo, James Earl Jones, Ryan Seacrest and Brian Williams. Brown was head writer for Discovery's Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda – as the noted tightrope walker became the first to cross the Grand Canyon on a tightrope. Broadcast in more than 200 countries, topping out with a U.S. audience of 13 million, the event is the highest-rated live show in Discovery's history. Brown also wrote and co-produced the Olympic documentaries Mercury of the Mountains (on the life of legendary Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti, voiced by Ray Liotta), The Great Race (recounting the classic 1994 Lillehammer cross-country relay duel between Italy and Norway, voiced by Sam Waterston); and The Wonders of Rome (on five extraordinary Olympians from the 1960 Rome Games, including Muhammad Ali; it was narrated by Bob Costas).

We asked Brown a few questions about his experience and the film, and here is what he shared:

How did you get the idea to make the documentary?

I was approached by USA Swimming to direct the film. As an organization, they have long been seeking to amplify the truth of what happened to American swimmers -- and all Olympic swimmers -- when they had to compete against doped athletes from East Germany. Forty years ago, at the 1976 Montreal Games, the East German sports machine announced itself to the world as a suddenly new sports dynamo. One of the most notable performances was by its women's swim team, which dominated the competition. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world came to understand the depth and scope of East German doping. There were not only detailed records, but there were also court cases in which East German doctors, coaches, and officials were convicted of, essentially, child abuse. The documentary is a kind of second draft of history.

 How did your work experience lead you to make the movie?

I have worked as a writer, director and producer on 12 Olympic broadcasts, mostly with NBC. I was knowledgeable about the period and the East German doping, but even so, as we researched the story, I learned that the manner, extent, and inhumanity of the doping was even more horrific than I imagined. It was always our intent in making the documentary to explain how the East German athletes were victims, too. Doping began as soon as age 11, or 12 and it was done without notice, consent, or any kind of explanation. These athletes were guinea pigs in a science experiment using human subjects.

 Do you see parallels between the movie and the Olympics in Rio this summer?

Yes, very much so. Over the past few months, Vladimir Putin's Russia -- astonishingly -- has gone back in time and reconstituted East German state-sponsored doping. Thus far, at least 100 Russian athletes have been banned from Rio because they have been clearly implicated as dopers.

Why did you move to Scarsdale and how long have you lived here?

When we had our second child, our Manhattan apartment got very small very quickly, and Scarsdale -- with its superb Metro North train service -- is the best of both worlds: space and easy commuting to the city. We've been here for 17 years -- my wife Maryellen works for the Today Show as a director and assistant director; my daughter Marisa is now at Barnard; my son Luke just graduated from Iona Prep and is headed to Marist. But both Marisa and Luke continue to have especially fond memories of their schooling at cozy Greenacres elementary!

What do you like about living here?

I had the chance to serve on the Scarsdale Library Board of Directors, and before that was a member of the Friends of the Library. I was so impressed by the diligence and care I saw from all those who volunteered with me. There is an extraordinary community spirit of involvement here that is very special.

The screening is a part of the Jacob Burns Local Elements program, an ongoing series which provides a public showcase for new work, fosters emerging talent, and helps build a strong community among area filmmakers.

Learn more and buy tickets here: