Bud Greenspan?s Athens Olympics Debut

(ATR) Film maker Bud Greenspan's opus on the Athens Olympics makes its debut on U.S. TV tonight on Showtime. The film will air at 8pm (EST) on the cable network.

Titled "Bud Greenspan Presents Athens 2004: Stories of Olympic Glory", the 110-minute production features the exploits of seven athletes from around the globe who competed in the 2004 Games.

"We wanted to tell stories that have not been told about these Olympians," Greenspan tells Around the Rings. With that kind of focus, some of the big names from Athens don't appear in the film.

Instead, Greenspan pays tribute to athletes such as Mariel Zergunis, winner of the first gold medal in fencing for the U.S. in 100 years, Greek weightlifter Pyrros Dimas, a national hero and Otylia Jedrzejczak, the Polish swimmer who auctions her gold medal to help children with leukemia in her country.

Other athletes portrayed include U.S. softball star Lisa Fernandez, Morocco's Hichem El Guerrouj and Australian cycling sisters Anna and Kerrie Meares.

In a first among Greenspan's nine other Olympic films, his name is part of the title.

Executive producer Nancy Beffa says Showtime that suggested the Greenspan branding. The network has become the home of all of his films from the recent Games.

"Showtime has been loyal to us since Nagano," says Beffa about the support of the cable network.

Greenspan, 79, says he is looking forward to producing a film from the Turin Olympics, pending a contract from TOROC.

Beijing is another matter. Although he has visited regularly and is revered for his work in China, he says he would simply prefer to consult on the official film for the 2008 Games.

"It should be the work of a Chinese film maker," he says.

Greenspan's company Cappy Productions is negotiating with airline sponsor Air China to include some of his films for in-flight entertainment, while a Chinese version of his 1995 book 100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History is about to be published.