{"id":38791,"date":"2017-02-13T12:33:47","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T18:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=38791"},"modified":"2017-02-13T12:33:47","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T18:33:47","slug":"andre-giant-documentary-film-debut-hbo-part-bill-simmons-media-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/02\/13\/andre-giant-documentary-film-debut-hbo-part-bill-simmons-media-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Andre the Giant documentary film to debut on HBO as part of Bill Simmons Media Group"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1473896527\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>WWE issued the following press release this afternoon to PWTorch&#8230;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>&#8220;ANDRE THE GIANT\u201d TO DEBUT ON HBO<\/h3>\n<p>NEW YORK AND STAMFORD, CONN.,\u00a0February 13, 2017\u00a0\u2013 HBO Sports, WWE\u00ae\u00a0(NYSE: WWE) and the Bill Simmons Media Group will produce ANDRE THE GIANT, a documentary film examining the life and career of one of the most beloved legends in WWE history, it was announced today by Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer, and Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports.\u00a0 The ambitious and wide-ranging documentary film will explore Andre\u2019s upbringing in France, his celebrated career in WWE and his forays in the entertainment world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor more than 20 years, Andre the Giant\u2019s larger than life personality and unique charisma captured the imagination of fans around the world,\u201d said WWE Chairman &amp; CEO Vince McMahon.\u00a0 \u201cI will always value our friendship, and I am proud to tell the story of the \u2018Eighth Wonder of the World\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bill Simmons, who joined HBO in the summer of 2015 and founded The Ringer, will serve as an executive producer of the film. \u201cGoing back to 2007 and 2008 when I was creating and developing \u201830 for 30\u2019 for ESPN, Andre\u2019s story rode the top of every single sports documentary wish list I ever made,\u201d said Simmons.\u00a0 \u201cWe always hear about unicorns these days \u2013 Andre was the ultimate unicorn. \u00a0He\u2019s a true legend.\u00a0 Everyone who ever crossed paths with him has an Andre story \u2013 and usually four or five.\u00a0 I\u2019m delighted to join forces with Jason Hehir and WWE so we can capture Andre\u2019s amazing story once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Emmy\u00ae-Award winning director and producer Jason Hehir will serve as the film\u2019s director.\u00a0 HBO Sports and WWE are partnering for the first time ever on this full-length signature presentation, which will combine never-before-seen footage and revealing interviews for a comprehensive and intimate portrait of one of WWE\u2019s most beloved, yet largely unknown figures. Interviews will include WWE Superstars, sports and entertainment executives, athletes, media, family, friends and associates.<\/p>\n<p>Andr\u00e9 Ren\u00e9 Roussimoff was born in 1946 in Grenoble, France. Early in his teenage years, he exhibited signs of gigantism, rapidly growing to more than seven feet, though he was not diagnosed with acromegaly until his twenties. He began his training in Paris at 17 and eventually became known in wrestling circuits around the world, including Europe, Australia and Africa. In 1970, Roussimoff made his Japanese debut, which put him on the radar of Vince McMahon Sr., founder of what is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>In 1973, Andre joined the organization where McMahon Sr. famously billed him as Andre the Giant. Andre\u2019s unique voice and athletic prowess, coupled with his more than 500-pound, seven-foot, four-inch frame, made him an unforgettable attraction.<\/p>\n<p>During his ascension to the top of the ranks, Andre engaged in memorable matches with Killer Khan, Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy and compiled an undefeated streak that lasted for the better part of a decade. In 1987, Andre hit the pinnacle of his career during his rivalry with Hulk Hogan, one of the biggest stars in WWE and pop culture history. As a new villain, Andre squared off with Hogan at\u00a0WrestleMania\u00ae\u00a0III\u00a0at the Silverdome in Michigan, and in one of the most memorable moments in history, Hogan body-slammed Andre to retain the championship in front of 93,173 fans.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3050116657\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>While wrestling\u2019s fan base continued to grow, Roussimoff\u2019s health began to decline. Despite his health issues, the \u201cEighth Wonder of the World\u201d remained at the forefront during the company\u2019s golden era. Following\u00a0WrestleMania III, Andre took on other WWE Legends such as Jake \u201cThe Snake\u201d Roberts\u2122, \u201cMacho Man\u201d Randy Savage\u2122\u00a0and The Ultimate Warrior\u00ae\u00a0and participated in numerous marquee events until 1991.\u00a0 Andre became the first-ever inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1993.<\/p>\n<p>Roussimoff\u2019s larger-than-life personality also allowed him to pursue a career in acting. He appeared in television sitcoms and films during the \u201870s and \u201880s, often playing himself or some variation of a human giant, and is remembered for his role as Fezzik in Rob Reiner\u2019s classic \u201cThe Princess Bride.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outside the ring, Andre Roussimoff was a gentle giant. The subject of stares and ridicule for his size throughout his life, he was a self-declared introvert. On Jan. 27, 1993, Andre Roussimoff succumbed to his gigantism and died of congestive heart failure. And while WWE has had a memorable cast of larger-than-life stars during the two decades since his passing, Andre the Giant is still remembered as one of the greatest.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-392112076\"><div id=\"pwtor-988179948\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE issued the following press release this afternoon to PWTorch&#8230; &#8220;ANDRE THE GIANT\u201d TO DEBUT ON HBO NEW YORK AND STAMFORD, CONN.,\u00a0February 13, 2017\u00a0\u2013 HBO Sports, WWE\u00ae\u00a0(NYSE: WWE) and the Bill Simmons Media Group will <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/02\/13\/andre-giant-documentary-film-debut-hbo-part-bill-simmons-media-group\/\" title=\"Andre the Giant documentary film to debut on HBO as part of Bill Simmons Media Group\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[806,807,3720],"class_list":["post-38791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-news_wwe","tag-andre-the-giant","tag-bill-simmons","tag-documentary"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Andre_3x2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38792,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38791\/revisions\/38792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}