A standing ovation for Tyson

Standing ovation for 'Tyson!'

Sunday, May 18 2008

By Lisa Scott

The documentary on Mike Tyson, entitled ‘Tyson,’ premiered at the famed Cannes Film Festival last Friday and received prolonged standing ovations from critics and audiences alike. News out of Cannes report that after the films red-carpet screening, Tyson and director James Toback approached the dais to address the audience, only to receive more cheers from the packed house. Tyson, who was visibly moved by all the adulation, stated “I’ve never experienced anything like this in my whole career. It’s kind of intimidating. I had no idea this thing was going to ever make it to such a grand scale. I feel totally overwhelmed.” The former champ also added: “I lived a wild and strange life. I've used drugs and had physical altercations with dangerous people. It's just a miracle I’m here. Jim (Toback), he just elicited all this stuff out of me, I don't know how he did it.”

A choked-up Toback, who has known Tyson for over 23 years and gave him small roles in two of his movies, said he believed he had succeeded in presenting Tyson as a “complex, iconic and noble human being.” The film, which blends in old video footage and TV interviews, is told entirely from Tyson’s point of view in graphic detail and has been described by many as “shocking” and “moving.” Festival chief Thierry Fremaux, introduced the picture as “a very special film that conveys the memory of a man and the memory of a sport.” ‘Tyson’ is scheduled for major release this Fall.

I'm raw! I'm rugged and raw! I repeat, if I die, my seed'll be ill like me! - Ghostface Killah