On the MMA History Podcast, Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz sat down with host Mike Davis and shared his thoughts on the 2014 film “Foxcatcher,” which dramatized his life, his brother Dave Schultz‘s murder, and their time at Foxcatcher Farm.
Schultz explained that he had little involvement in the movie because he had already signed away the rights to his story before production began.
“I had already sold my film rights to make the movie,” Schultz said. “And then I sold my literary rights to Penguin to write the book. So I couldn’t really participate.”
When Davis asked what he thought of the finished film, Schultz didn’t hesitate.
“Don’t see the movie,” he said. “The movie sucks.”
Instead, Schultz recommended a different project that he believes tells the story accurately.
“The documentary though, Wrestling Demons, that’s accurate,” he said. “You could watch that. It’s produced by Dana White in the UFC.”
Schultz was particularly critical of how much the filmmakers altered real events. He pointed to the documentary’s Emmy nomination as evidence that a more faithful version of the story resonated with audiences.
“I love the fact it’s nominated for an Emmy,” Schultz said, “because it shows you just how st*pid that director was, taking my story, changing it that way, changing it so much you can’t even…”
Later in the conversation, Davis brought up one of the film’s casting choices. The man Schultz defeated in his UFC debut, Gary Goodridge, is Black, but the movie portrayed the fighter with a white actor.
“Yeah,” Schultz replied. “It doesn’t make the movie any better by changing the guy’s race.”
The topic of ‘Foxcatcher’ had surfaced earlier in the interview as well. Schultz recalled being on the phone during a screening of the film at a Vancouver film festival.
For anyone looking for what Schultz considers the real version of events, he repeatedly pointed listeners toward his autobiography.
“You can always read my book,” Schultz said. “Which by the way is my autobiography. It is not a true cri me story. It’s my autobiography.”
He continued by joking about readers who might expect something different.
“So if you get on there and you read it and you don’t like it because it’s all about me, me, me, it’s my autobiography.”
