Entries by Rob Mars

The movie doesn't have a script yet, but it seems everyone has someone in mind for the Wonder Woman role, usually for the wrong reasons. In Beyoncé's case, that would be, well, Beyoncé. As for Megan Fox, she fits the costume so amply, to the mind of one fanboy anyway, that a fake poster was created to convince fans that she had already been picked for the part.

A quote from Beyoncé captures the spirit nicely:

I would definitely have to keep it right for that costume. The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was amazing. I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It was pretty crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman and it'd be a dream come true to be that character. It sure would be handy to have that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need that. It would come in very handy.

Is this really the best way to go about picking our heroines?

Strongwoman competitions test the strength and endurance of competitors with several demanding events, perhaps none more arduous than the Farmer's Walk. Better, though, to show you how it works than try to describe it, and who better to do that than Aneta Florczyk, the World's Strongest Woman? Watch as Aneta sets a record by carrying 154 lb (70 kg) in each hand for nearly 1/10 of a mile (150 m):

Now that the long political season is over, and the flock—or the gang, depending on how you choose to view it—has its new leaders, we can instead focus on what happens when someone goes about doing good in the world without waiting for direction or worrying about what others are doing or not doing. What follows is a promotional spot for HALO (Helping Art Liberate Orphans), the foundation started by former taekwondo champion and Rigged star Rebecca Neuenswander:



I hope you didn't give all your money away to politicians and can join me in making a donation to HALO.

A piece by Anna Kessel posted at guardian.co.uk talks about the high incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and other injuries experienced by female athletes. Some are calling this an epidemic. That is most likely hyperbole, but the problem is real. The solution, however, may not be difficult or complicated. For instance, strength training, especially if started at an early age (i.e., under 15), would prevent many if not most of these injuries. The first two risk factors listed at the end of Kessel's piece make this clear:

Adolescence After puberty, risk increases by between two and eight times. While men's muscles gain power, women's become more flexible - this is dangerous without sufficient muscle to keep joints stable.

Ligament dominance Without strong muscle development, women compensate using ligaments to absorb force on the knee.

So do the results when strength training is put into practice along with other measures:

Strength and conditioning programmes have helped White [England and Arsenal defender Faye White], and the England team doctor, Pippa Bennett, believes increased preventative measures in the under-15s through to the senior side are bringing the casualties down. 'You've only got to look at the results of our agility tests to see the improvements,' Dr Bennett says. 'We did that test on the senior team five years ago and we were concerned by the movement patterns being at risk with quite a few of them, but with the strength and conditioning that's all changed. They are fitter for their sport, they learn about the alignment of knee joints and how to move safely.'

Parents and coaches, then, greatly benefit young athletic girls when they encourage them to start training with weights early on. And let us put to rest the silly idea that a girl is somehow remaking herself into a boy when she builds up her muscles; having a strong, healthy body is not the exclusive privilege of boys.

Strength training makes female athletes better athletes (no matter the sport). More important, it makes them less prone to serious injury.

Women's MMA entered a state of limbo last week when EliteXC folded. That organization—with the help of Gina Carano, the sport's biggest female star—produced the first viable women's division. But now women's MMA must find a new home. Ideally, that would be in the UFC, an organization that hasn't shown much interest in it. Michael Rome says on Bloody Elbow that it is time for the UFC to reconsider. I suspect the UFC is looking at this, perhaps other organizations, too. Time will tell.

Because I Played Sports (via SportingNews.com) informs us that Kacy Stuart has been cleared to play on her school's football team.

Before Title IX, before cable and satellite television, before the Internet, young boys and girls went to the circus and sat awestruck as they watched well-muscled women perform extraordinary feats of strength and stamina high in the air. The circus was one of the few places you could see athletic women in their element then, but by the time Vicki Unus (aka La Toria), the star of this clip, began her career in the early 1960s, there had already been a long tradition of great female aerialists:

The Women's Sports Foundation held its Annual Salute to Women in Sports Tuesday night in New York City. The event raised more than $1 million that will be used for "grants and educational and advocacy-related programming." Star female athletes of course attended in abundance, more than 70 of them. Gina Carano was there, and her experience shows us that we still have much work to do before female athletes will get the recognition they deserve, especially when it comes to combat and strength sports.

There has been no other actress more tailor-made for the role of a superheroine than Brooke Shields. At six feet, Brooke's stature alone affords her a commanding screen presence. That she also has a powerful physique makes her an even more formidable heroine. (No stranger to the gym, she is a fitness buff and has mighty arms to show for it.) Indeed, her Amazonian frame overwhelms the camera in a mere car commercial:



Thus it's a pity that we've not seen Brooke kicking ass on television or the big screen. This is no fault of hers, though—blame Hollywood for not making enough superheroine roles available. Consider Wonder Woman, for instance. Brooke seems like an obvious candidate for the role (if not now because of her age, then certainly in the past). But we are still waiting for a movie to materialize, despite years of talk.

Perhaps we will yet see Brooke, her muscles flexed, pummeling bad guys and saving the world. But so far all we have is her turn as Brenda Starr:

This Columbus Day (Monday, October 13) Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza, and the rest of the USA Softball Team will be at the Sports Museum of America in New York City. Former WNBA star Kym Hampton of the New York Liberty will be there as well. More details can be found here.

uBid.com is hosting a charity auction that gives you the opportunity to win a hitting session with Martina Navratilova. Proceeds benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund.

E! Online story

Television offers up a feast for sports fans this weekend: WNBA finals tonight and Sunday, and Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold Saturday night.

As Jessica Biel shows us here, much effort goes into becoming an action heroine: strenuous exercise, martial arts training, special dieting, and, yes, even drinking "protein powder things" (sorry, Angelina). Natural ability, which Biel has in spades, of course also helps. And contrary to what Dominic Purcell says in the clip, we have expected our heroes to look able-bodied since classical antiquity; the distinction is—now, finally, the same is true for our heroines:

Rocky, Fight Club, Million Dollar Baby—you can make comparisons to those three movies, but Rigged is unique, a new twist in a threadbare genre. Rigged is about a female fighter; nothing new there, except this woman fights men—heavyweight bruisers—and beats the living crap out of them. And with a setup like that, well, you can imagine how eager I was to see it. I was fortunate to do so last night.

Rigged revolves around two characters. Michael Dublin (Chad Ortis) is a sleazy fight promoter, more a swindler actually, since he often fixes the fights for a handsome profit. One night, when Michael is in a particularly tight spot, he meets Katherine Parker (Rebecca Neuenswander) and soon discovers that she can punch out men twice her size (great scene). Of course, dollar signs immediately go off in Michael's head; he's found his meal ticket. This sets off a series of adventures with plenty of ring action. I won't say more about plot here, for fear I'll give away spoilers, only that the movie did not disappoint.

Fight scenes are crucial to a movie like Rigged, and they are presented here in novel but effective ways. But it is Neuenswander, a former taekwondo champion, who makes the fight scenes work. Katherine's fights with big, heavily muscled men look convincing (mostly)—not an easy thing to do—thanks to Neuenswander's ability to move and punch like a trained fighter and the muscle she packed on (20 pounds) for the role.



Neuenswander earns praise not only in the action scenes but throughout the film; it's easy to see why she recently won Best Actress at the SoCal Film Festival for her performance in Rigged. She is a wonderful young actress (not to mention a humanitarian: she is the founder and executive director of HALO, a nonprofit that helps orphans worldwide). I sincerely hope we see more from her soon.

And there is more to like. The film, for instance, has a noirish feel to it that I found pleasing. Ortis also delivers, and the banter between Neuenswander's Katherine and his Michael is entertaining, though often crass, and fills the lulls between action scenes nicely. Don't expect the typical romance subplot here, either: she sleeps with women, ostensibly lesbian but never quite certain of the matter herself. The ending may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it. I walked out of the movie looking forward to seeing it again.

By now you've guessed, correctly, that I'm going to recommend you see Rigged. I am not doing that because I think it is the perfect, or nearly so, female action film, because it isn't. But it is much more, so much more, than we usually get—a little indie film that delivers what the big studios so rarely do. Rigged is a treat, and fans of the female action genre ought not to miss it.

Rigged is currently making the rounds at film festivals, with the hope that it will eventually go into wider distribution. Check the movie's website to see when it might be showing near you. I leave you with the official trailer:



Additional sources: lawrence.com