Faded Glory
I just ordered my personal copy of Faded Glory, a documentary produced by my friend and Atlanta-based filmmaker, Rick Cohen. If you are actively involved in the Atlanta startup scene, you may have run into Rick before. Besides being a great guy, and an awesome filmmaker, the story behind the story is one for the ages.
Faded Glory is a true story of a group of aging athletes, good friends for over 18 years, who never gave up the dream of playing baseball at a competitive level. Through the eyes of their manager Rick Cohen, Faded Glory follows the National Network team, 18 men over the age of thirty-five who have overcome life’s adversities, including injury, divorce, bankruptcy, infidelity, drug addiction, incarceration, and one life-threatening disease. It all takes place as National tries to win a National Amateur Baseball World Series title. Faded Glory is a captivating document of friendship, courage, humor, and the indomitability of the human spirit.
Through his hard work and passionate evangelism of his film project, Rick raised some angel capital for this film (partially through connections he made at one of our StartupLounge events). I haven’t sought permission to mention the name of the investor in question, but he is one of the most successful technology entrepreneurs in the past decade here – and a good guy to boot. Just goes to show you, no matter what industry sector your venture is in, you never know where a possible angel investor is lurking, and what motivates them to make an investment.
And interestingly enough, this investor shared this with me:
“I did invest some money in his movie as a result of meeting him at your StartupLounge event. Not so much because I think movies are a good investment, but because I admire his passion and the way he has bootstrapped it thus far.”
There ya go.
The film has gone on to win a lot of critical acclaim:
- Delray Beach Film Festival Audience Award
- LA United Film Festival Audience Award
- ALL SPORTS LA Film Festival Audience Award
- Atlanta Film Festival Runner-Up Audience Award
- Real to Reel International Film Festival Runner-up Audience Award
- Newport Beach Film Festival – Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment names the film – audience favorite.
And hey, you can’t get better endorsements than these:
ANGELO PIZZO -
Writer of both “Hoosiers” and “Rudy.”“A compelling documentary with authentic, well-earned emotions.”
ROGER TOWNE -
Writer of “The Natural.”“Roy Hobbs and the New York Knights live in Rick Cohen. I’ve not seen so much blood and guts, self-less honesty, despair, pathos, passion, honor, and above all, — so much bravery in filmmaking. Rick’s poignantly invested and dramatized love for his friends and the game of baseball shows clearly in this documentary.”
LEIGH STEINBERG -
Legendary Sports Agent who inspired the character of “Jerry McGuire.”“This is THE documentary that resonates and connects with the deepest hopes and fears of males throughout the country and is a landmark event–Rick is a truly gifted talent! Faded Glory offers an unique opportunity for women to experience the locker room environment and psyche of men in an alternative habitat. It should not to be missed!”
In fact, Angelo Pizzo and David Anspaugh (writer and director of Rudy!, respectively), are now on board to turn this amazing story into a feature film.
Hey Rick, can I get a cameo role for promoting this? 
Sooooo ….. support a local Atlanta entrepreneur and pre-order this awesome film on DVD. Get the original indie film before Hollywood turns it into a blockbuster that may or may not capture the true spirit of Rick’s original vision. You can visit the online store here.
Rick will be attending our upcoming StartupLounge event on March 6th, and we’ll be giving away some signed copies of the DVD there as well …
Cheers.
