WEIDER MOVIE HEADS TO FRANCE FOR SCREENING

By Dan Solomon

The highly anticipated film inspired by the remarkable story of bodybuilding pioneer Joe Weider has wrapped up post-production and is on its way to the South of France for its maiden screening.  BIGGER, directed by George Gallo, will be screened privately for international film buyers on May 9th and 12th at the Marché Du Film (Film Market), held as part of the annual Cannes Film Festival.

The first ever mainstream, scripted film that Hollywood has embraced on the subject, BIGGER tells the improbable story of two immigrants, Joe and Ben Weider, who championed a fitness movement that gave way to an industry now measured in the billions.  BIGGER shines a spotlight on the fathers of a movement that fought against all conventional wisdom to re-write the future of the idealized physique. From the run-down pre-war Jewish settlement in Montreal to the discovery and crowning of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Weider transformed our fitness consciousness while creating a global empire.

Steve Lee Jones, the producer whose Bee Holder Productions banner gave life to the Dr. Kevorkian biopic YOU DON’T KNOW JACK (2011) starring Al Pacino, is ready to show the world a movie that has already enjoyed its share of Hollywood buzz.  Jones explains, “BIGGER is a powerful film that encompasses some hard-hitting issues that resonate in today’s society, such as racism, anti-Semitism, female empowerment and our obsession with physique transformation and the human form. The story of Joe and Ben Weider needed to be told.”  Next up for Bee Holder is KIMBO, about the backyard brawler who became an MMA sensation and a catalyst for the meteoric rise of YouTube.

BIGGER stars Tyler Hoechlin, Julianne Hough, Aneurin Barnard, Robert Forster, Victoria Justice, Kevin Durand, Tom Arnold, DJ Qualls, Steve Guttenberg and Calum Von Mogur as the young Schwarzenegger.  Following the screenings in Cannes, BIGGER will be screened in New York and Los Angeles before a release date is announced.

Editor’s Note:  For Cannes screening inquiries contact Jennifer Nguyen ([email protected]). 
Fitness industry media inquiries should be directed to Dan Solomon ([email protected]).  
For list of full cast & crew visit IMDB.



Entertainment Tonight Visits Set of BIGGER


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