Who plays haley in stick it. Stick It: A Deep Dive into the Gymnastics Drama’s Cast, Training, and Challenges

Who plays Haley in Stick It. How did the cast prepare for their roles. What challenges did the actors face during filming. Why was the training process so difficult for the cast. How did the professional gymnasts contribute to the movie. What impact did wearing leotards have on the cast’s experience.

The Cast of “Stick It”: Blending Actors and Athletes

The 2006 gymnastics drama “Stick It” brought together a unique blend of actresses and professional gymnasts to create an authentic portrayal of the competitive gymnastics world. Missy Peregrym, a 23-year-old actress, took on the lead role of Haley Graham, a delinquent-turned-superstar athlete. Vanessa Lengies, 20 years old at the time, played the role of Joanne, Haley’s archenemy and a backstabbing diva.

The cast also included world-class gymnasts Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, and Mohini Bhardwaj, who lent their expertise and authenticity to the film. Jeff Bridges rounded out the main cast as Burt Vickerman, the coach of a low-rent gymnastics school that becomes Haley’s last chance at redemption.

Intensive Training: The Path to Gymnastics Proficiency

To prepare for their roles, the actresses underwent an intensive training regimen that lasted for months. The training schedule was grueling, consisting of five days a week, six hours a day, for four months. This rigorous preparation was necessary to help the actors achieve a level of skill that would make their gymnastics performances believable on screen.

The training program included:

• Cardio exercises
• Weight training
• Gymnastics-specific training
• Flexibility exercises
• Dance and hip-hop classes

Missy Peregrym initially underestimated the difficulty of learning gymnastics, stating, “I was very cocky when I first got into this, and I was just like, ‘Yeah I can do this. I played basketball, I played soccer, I did everything else. Of course I can learn gymnastics.’ I had no idea how difficult it actually was.”

The Physical and Emotional Toll of Gymnastics Training

The intense training process took a significant toll on the actresses, both physically and emotionally. Peregrym described the experience as “so painful,” noting that every part of the body needs to be strong for gymnastics, even down to the pinky finger. The constant soreness and discomfort were a daily reality for the cast.

Vanessa Lengies shared her emotional struggles during the first two weeks of training, revealing that she cried every day and that her mother considered pulling her out of the movie due to her distress. This emotional challenge highlights the mental fortitude required not only for the film but for gymnastics as a whole.

Overcoming the Initial Hurdles

Despite the initial difficulties, the actresses found that their bodies adapted to the demands of gymnastics training. Lengies noted that after about three weeks, things started to get easier as their muscles developed. This transformation not only helped with their performances but also boosted their confidence off-screen.

Collaboration Between Actresses and Professional Gymnasts

One of the unique aspects of “Stick It” was the collaboration between the actresses and the professional gymnasts on set. This partnership created a mutually beneficial learning environment where both groups could share their expertise.

The professional gymnasts helped the actresses refine their gymnastics skills and understand the nuances of the sport. In return, the actresses assisted the gymnasts with acting techniques and performance skills for the camera. This exchange of knowledge contributed to the authenticity of the film and helped bridge the gap between the two disciplines.

The Challenge of Wearing Leotards

An unexpected challenge for the cast was dealing with the gymnastics uniform: the leotard. Both Peregrym and Lengies spoke about the discomfort and self-consciousness that came with wearing these form-fitting garments daily during filming.

Peregrym expressed her preference for wearing black leotards, while Lengies highlighted the difficulty of being a teenager and having to wear a leotard every day while being conscious of her appearance. The experience gave the actresses a new appreciation for the mental strength required by gymnasts who wear these uniforms as part of their daily training and competition routines.

Adding Humor to the Leotard Experience

To lighten the mood on set, the cast and crew found ways to inject humor into the leotard situation. Lengies mentioned that the actresses would playfully moon people, taking advantage of the ease with which this could be done in a leotard. Additionally, some of the male production assistants would wear leotards over their clothes and dance around, providing comic relief for the cast.

The Realities of Competitive Gymnastics

Through their experience on “Stick It,” the cast gained a deep appreciation for the challenges faced by competitive gymnasts. The film aimed to showcase the true difficulty of the sport, much like director Jessica Bendinger’s previous work “Bring It On” did for cheerleading.

Peregrym’s portrayal of Haley Graham allowed audiences to see the physical and emotional toll of gymnastics, from the pain of “sticking” a landing to the relief of immersing aching muscles in ice baths. This realistic depiction helped to highlight the dedication and sacrifice required to succeed in the sport.

Long-Term Impact on the Cast

While the intensive training and filming experience left a lasting impression on the actresses, it didn’t necessarily translate into a long-term love for gymnastics. Peregrym candidly stated, “I’m not going to miss it. I’m not going to be taking gymnastic courses or training. After this movie, I think I’ll be done with leotards for life.”

However, the experience did provide the cast with a unique skill set and a newfound respect for gymnasts. Lengies noted that her newly developed muscles became a fun conversation starter at parties, showcasing the physical transformation she underwent for the role.

Behind the Scenes: Creating an Authentic Gymnastics Film

Writer and director Jessica Bendinger, herself a former model and gymnast, brought her personal experience to the project. Her goal was to create a film that accurately portrayed the gymnastics world, including its cutthroat nature and the fine line between making dreams come true and destroying lives.

To achieve this authenticity, Bendinger ensured that both the actresses and the gymnasts in the cast received appropriate training. The actresses underwent months of gymnastics training, while the gymnasts took acting lessons to prepare for their on-screen roles.

Capturing the Essence of Competitive Gymnastics

The film explores various themes common to both the acting and gymnastics worlds, including:

• The pursuit of dreams in a high-pressure environment
• Navigating friendships in a competitive atmosphere
• Dealing with constant judgment based on small details
• The physical and emotional toll of pursuing excellence

By addressing these themes, “Stick It” aimed to provide audiences with a genuine look into the world of competitive gymnastics while telling an engaging story of redemption and personal growth.

The Legacy of “Stick It” in Gymnastics Films

“Stick It” has left a lasting impact on the portrayal of gymnastics in film. By combining the talents of professional actresses and world-class gymnasts, the movie achieved a level of authenticity that resonated with audiences and gymnastics enthusiasts alike.

The film’s approach to showcasing the difficulty and dedication required in gymnastics has influenced subsequent sports dramas, encouraging filmmakers to strive for realism in their depictions of athletic pursuits. The candid discussions about the challenges faced by the cast during filming have also provided valuable insights into the process of creating sports-themed movies.

Inspiring a New Generation

While the actresses may not have continued with gymnastics after the film, “Stick It” has inspired many young viewers to consider taking up the sport. The movie’s portrayal of gymnastics as both challenging and rewarding has helped to raise awareness about the discipline and dedication required to excel in this field.

Furthermore, the film’s exploration of themes such as perseverance, teamwork, and personal growth resonates beyond the world of gymnastics, making it a valuable coming-of-age story for audiences of all backgrounds.

The Importance of Authenticity in Sports Films

“Stick It” demonstrates the value of striving for authenticity in sports-themed movies. By putting the cast through real gymnastics training and incorporating professional gymnasts into the production, the film achieved a level of credibility that enhances the viewing experience.

This approach has several benefits:

1. It allows for more realistic and impressive gymnastics sequences
2. It provides the actors with a deeper understanding of their characters’ experiences
3. It lends credibility to the film within the gymnastics community
4. It educates the audience about the true nature of the sport

The success of “Stick It” in balancing entertainment with authenticity has set a standard for future sports dramas, encouraging filmmakers to invest time and resources in properly preparing their casts for physically demanding roles.

The Intersection of Art and Athletics

“Stick It” serves as a prime example of the intersection between art and athletics. The film showcases how the disciplines of acting and gymnastics can complement each other, creating a final product that is greater than the sum of its parts.

This collaboration between actors and athletes highlights several key points:

• The transferable skills between different fields of expertise
• The value of cross-disciplinary learning and cooperation
• The shared experiences of high-pressure performance environments
• The potential for art to accurately represent and celebrate athletic achievement

By bringing together these two worlds, “Stick It” not only created an entertaining film but also fostered mutual respect and understanding between the realms of sports and entertainment.

Reflecting on the “Stick It” Experience

Looking back on the making of “Stick It,” it’s clear that the film was more than just another sports drama. It was a transformative experience for the cast and crew, pushing them to their physical and emotional limits while creating a product that resonates with audiences years after its release.

The challenges faced by the actresses in learning gymnastics mirror the real-life struggles of gymnasts, providing an added layer of authenticity to their performances. At the same time, the professional gymnasts who ventured into acting gained new perspectives on performance and storytelling.

This unique production process not only resulted in a more genuine portrayal of the gymnastics world but also created lasting memories and friendships among the cast. The shared experiences of training, performing, and even dealing with the discomfort of leotards fostered a sense of camaraderie that translated well to the screen.

Lessons Learned from “Stick It”

The making of “Stick It” offers valuable lessons for both filmmakers and athletes:

• The importance of thorough preparation and training for physically demanding roles
• The benefits of collaboration between experts in different fields
• The power of authentic representation in sports-themed entertainment
• The shared challenges and triumphs of high-performance environments, whether in sports or entertainment

These lessons continue to influence the way sports dramas are approached and produced, emphasizing the value of authenticity and dedication in storytelling.

The Enduring Appeal of “Stick It”

Years after its release, “Stick It” continues to captivate audiences with its blend of drama, humor, and impressive gymnastics sequences. The film’s enduring appeal can be attributed to several factors:

1. Relatable characters facing universal challenges
2. Authentic portrayal of the gymnastics world
3. Inspiring story of personal growth and redemption
4. Impressive physical performances by both actors and athletes
5. Balanced approach to showcasing both the glamour and grit of competitive gymnastics

As new generations discover “Stick It,” the film continues to inspire and entertain, solidifying its place in the pantheon of beloved sports dramas.

The Future of Sports Dramas: Building on the “Stick It” Legacy

The success and lasting impact of “Stick It” have paved the way for future sports dramas to push the boundaries of authenticity and performance. Filmmakers continue to explore new ways to bring the intensity and drama of competitive sports to the screen, often drawing inspiration from the approaches used in “Stick It.”

Some potential developments in the genre might include:

• Increased collaboration between actors and professional athletes in film productions
• More intensive training programs for actors taking on athletic roles
• Greater emphasis on the mental and emotional aspects of competitive sports
• Exploration of lesser-known or niche sports in mainstream films
• Use of advanced technology to capture and showcase athletic performances in new ways

As filmmakers continue to build on the foundation laid by “Stick It” and other pioneering sports dramas, audiences can look forward to even more engaging and authentic portrayals of the athletic world on the big screen.

‘Stick It’ Cast Tumbles Into Gymnastics — Neon Leotards And All

They’re trying to make a living at something that destroys lives as easily as it makes dreams come true. They’re looking for friendships in a cutthroat world where betrayal is commonplace. They’re putting themselves out there to be judged on tiny details beyond their control.

It’s no surprise that actresses and gymnasts deal with the same high-pressure challenges. On the set of “Stick It,” the two groups came together.

“They trained for months prior to starting the movie to get up to a certain level of skill to pull off some of the gymnastics,” writer/director Jessica Bendinger, a former model and gymnast who wrote 2000’s “Bring It On,” said of her young cast. “The same could be said for the young gymnasts who are acting in it. They had to take acting lessons and learn what that was all about. … A lot of the real gymnasts who were also acting in the show would help the actresses, and they both would help each other with their talents and skills.”

“It was really hard,” said 23-year-old actress Missy Peregrym, cast as delinquent-turned-superstar athlete Haley Graham. “I was very cocky when I first got into this, and I was just like, ‘Yeah I can do this. I played basketball, I played soccer, I did everything else. Of course I can learn gymnastics.’ … I had no idea how difficult it actually was.

“I mean, my pinky had to be strong to do things,” she laughed. “Every part of your body needs to be strong. It’s the most insane sport ever. It was so painful. We trained for four months, five days a week, six hours a day, and you just never get comfortable doing it. … Every day we woke up and we were just in so much pain.”

The pain is there for audiences to see in Peregrym’s face every time Haley “sticks” a move, takes a spill or immerses her aches into a tub of ice water. As with the “Bring It On” world of cheerleading, Bendinger was determined to show how difficult the sport really is.

“We would do cardio, weight training, gymnastics training, flexibility training and sometimes we would do dance class or hip-hop classes,” said Vanessa Lengies, the 20-year-old actress who plays backstabbing diva Joanne, Haley’s archenemy. “Missy and I did the first two weeks together crying every day. My mom wanted to pull me out of the movie. She was like, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you.’ I was crying on the phone with her almost every day. It was awful.”

As they told Haley’s story — whose last chance comes via a low-rent gymnastics school run by Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges) — the actresses found themselves swapping tips with co-stars and world-class gymnasts Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Mohini Bhardwaj. The actresses quickly discovered the gymnasts were just as nervous and just as eager to learn. At the end of the day, “Stick It” became a crash course for both groups.

“I couldn’t understand how the gymnasts do this every day,” Peregrym said of her mindset at the time. “I kept going in the gym and going, ‘Are you guys sore today?’ to all the gymnasts, and they were like ‘Yeah,’ and I’m like, ‘Then why are you here? Why do you keep doing this?’ “

“After going from almost no muscle to, three weeks into it, having muscle, everything started to get really easy,” Lengies said. “It was almost just like that jump-start was so hard, my body hated me so much for three weeks straight. And then after that, it was just really fun. And it’s a great party topic to be like, ‘Hey, look, I’m a tiny little girl, but look at how much muscle I have.’ “

“I’m not going to miss it,” Peregrym said. “I’m not going to be taking gymnastic courses or training. After this movie, I think I’ll be done with leotards for life.”

Which brings up another bonding point for the actresses and gymnasts: jokes about those uncomfortable, unflattering, one-piece workout garments.

“I was like, ‘Please, can Haley wear black? I don’t want to wear anything else,’ ” Peregrym said. “I’m like, ‘Yes, it’s for the character.’ … The rest of [the leotards are] crazy. People have, like, neon leos at the end of the movie. You never get comfortable in these, and you never are like, ‘Wow, I feel really great today! I can’t wait to put on my leo!’ “

“We liked to moon people a lot, because it’s really easy to do when you are wearing a leo,” Lengies said. “It’s really hard as a girl — and a teenager — to be put in a leo every day and think about how you look.”

And when the wardrobe was stressing the cast out, it was time to turn to a few of the behind-the-scenes boys. “A lot of our production assistants liked to come out in leotards,” Lengies laughed. “The guys would put leotards on over their clothes and start dancing around.”

For more gymnastic goofiness from the cast of “Stick It,” check out our visit to the set last November.

Check out everything we’ve got on “Stick It.”

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Missy Peregrym Marks ‘Stick It’ 15th Anniversary With Special Tribute

Missy Peregrym has had a successful career in film and TV. And on Wednesday, the 38-year-old actress took a look back at her first starring role in a movie. Peregrym went to Instagram to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the gymnastics film Stick It. She starred alongside Vanessa Lengies, Jon Gries and Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges.

“It’s the 15th anniversary of Stick It – a movie I’m still so proud of,” Peregrym wrote in the Instagram post. “That was one of the best experiences of my life and I’m filled with love thinking about all those that I worked with. Thank you [Jessica Bendinger] for always believing in me and fighting for me to play Haley.” Peregrym went on to thank the fans for their support.

“I have always appreciated the shared love over this film,” Peregrym wrote. “You should know that Jess has released a Stick It book that you can buy here! I can’t wait to go through it myself.” Stick It was released on April 28, 2006, and Peregrym stars as a former gymnast named Haley who’s forced back into the world she let go after getting in trouble with the law. In an interview with liveabout.com, Peregrym talked about the biggest challenge of playing a gymnast.

“It’s so hard to get up every day and be that sore. Because you are so sore, you feel like you’re getting worse and worse,” she said. “You want to go in there and be like, “Yeah, I can do all this and all that.” But, even in gymnastics, you train and one day you can do every trick and nail everything. By the way, my trick is a spin… But the next day you go in and can’t do anything. “Why can’t I turn?” That’s just the way it is.”

Peregrym also talked about working with Bridges. “We wanted to make sure that it was really genuine and real and, by the time you reach the end of the movie, that we both learned from that and encouraged each other to go push the boundaries in an appropriate way,” she said.” Peregrym went on to star in hit TV series Rookie Blue from 2010-2015. She currently stars in the CBS series FBI as Maggie Bell.

An Oral History of the Best Gymnastics Movie of All Time

When screenwriter/director Jessica Bendinger of Bring It On fame sat down to write Stick It, she had a simple yet provocative idea: what if you dropped a teenage rebel into the most tyrannical, restrained sport in the world? 

The character that Bendinger came up with was Haley Graham, a former world-class gymnast who bailed on Team USA in the middle of the world championships, leading to a defeat at the competition. After a judge (the criminal court kind, not the gymnastics type) later sentences the property destroying ex-gymnast to hardcore gymnastics training rather than military school, Haley is perfectly positioned to inflict maximum chaos, and ultimately achieve both redemption for herself and the sport.

The film received some good reviews—including one from the New York Times—though most of the critical reception was decidedly lukewarm. But in the years since its premiere in 2006 a long 15 years ago, the movie has become a cult favorite and one of its more memorable lines—“It’s not called gym-nice-tics”—has become something of an unofficial tagline for the sport.

“Stick It is the only good gymnastics movie. It’s the only one that attempts to portray gymnastics correctly,” Kino, co-host of Half In, Half Out, an LGBTQ gymnastics podcast, said during a recent episode. (Morgan Hurd, the 2017 world all-around champion who was a guest during the conversation, seemed to strongly concur.) 

Part of this “correct” portrayal that Kino is referring to is that the film features actual elite gymnastics in a movie about…elite gymnastics. The norm, both before and after Stick It, was to show a character doing low level skills, such as a back layout full, and then claim that the athlete was Olympic bound. 

Fifteen years on from its release, Stick It remains the best movie made about the sport, which could sound like faint praise, given the quality of most of the pop-culture products created about gymnastics, but it isn’t meant that way. Stick It respected the sport enough to get most of the details right and used that earned credibility to critique gymnastics, which more than deserved the criticism. VICE spoke to the creators and stars of the movie to figure out what exactly Stick It did right—and how it did it. 

Bendinger’s interest in gymnastics was not purely academic. She had spent her early years as a gymnast, training in the late 70s at Grossfeld’s, the famous—or depending who you ask, infamous—gym in Connecticut that produced the American women’s first world gymnastics champion, Marcia Frederick. (In 2018, Frederick came forward and said that Richard Carlson, one of the coach’s at Grossfeld’s, had sexually abused her.)

Jessica Bendinger, writer/director: I went there from fourth grade through sixth or seventh grade. And then I grew six inches in one summer. I lost my center of gravity. I was hitting my head. I just started chickening out and I knew it. I just didn’t have it anymore. They held me back to level three after I’d been third in the state on floor. It was a reality check. So I stopped. And then I was forever trauma bonded with gymnastics because I had so wanted it and loved it.

One of the people to read an early draft of Stick It was TV writer/showrunner Liz Tigelaar, who is an avid gymnastics fan and collector of gymnastics footage. (Some of the footage in the movie’s sizzle reel was pulled from Tigelaar’s vast tape collection.) Tigelaar introduced Bendinger to two former UCLA gymnasts—Heidi Moneymaker and Lena Degteva. 

Tigelaar: Heidi and Lena are two of my closest friends, who I met because I was a UCLA gymnastics fan. I used to go to all the meets and loved both of them as a fan. Before Heidi became a stunt woman, she had a personal training business, and even though I was broke and couldn’t afford a personal trainer, I decided to just call on a whim to meet with her. I called and thought she’d have an assistant who’d pick up and she just answered her phone. We met, I loved her, of course, and I signed up for two sessions a week. Then later, we were doing a Breast Cancer Walk together and Lena was there. We had both been hearing about each other forever, so we met and became close, too. We basically all spent our twenties running around LA, figuring out our lives and careers together. I just adore them both.

Bendinger: Lena and Heidi and Liz came over. And I just picked their brains about, you know, injuries. And they helped me really get in the weeds. 

Once Bendinger had a strong draft in hand, the process very quickly kicked into high gear with the project being picked up on a “progress to production” by Disney. Stick It marked her feature directorial debut. 

To cast the film, Bendinger and the casting team cast a wide net, looking at both gymnasts and actors to play the main gymnast roles. Ultimately, the most significant gymnast roles went to actors who had no background in the sport, unlike in 2000’s Center Stage, which featured rising stars of the American Ballet Theater for the main parts. In order to ensure that the actresses without gymnastics experience would be able to plausibly play gymnastics, they had to go through a physical audition in addition to an acting one. 

Bendinger: I was sick at home and I was watching TV and this young woman came on screen. And I sat up. I just sat up and I was like, Oh my God, that’s Haley. That’s the energy for Haley. I told Marcia [Ross], the casting director, please bring her in.

Missy Peregrym (Haley Graham): I hadn’t been working for a really long time at this point. I’d just done television and I was on a series Life As We Know It. I was repped by UTA at the time and I had received the script…but it was not from my agency. I was so confused, like how did we get the script? 

I loved it. I loved the character of Haley. I wanted to go out for it and [the studio] just said no because I was too green.

Bendinger: I didn’t hear anything. I said, ‘Where’s Missy? Have we seen her yet?’ and [Marcia Ross] goes, ‘She came in. She wasn’t very good.’ I was like, ‘I don’t care. Bring her in.’ 

Peregrym: She kept fighting for me behind the scenes and I was able to fly to LA.

Tigelaar, who had worked on American Dreams, suggested one of the show’s actresses, Vanessa Lengies for the role of Joanne Charis, Haley’s foil at the Vickerman Gymnastics Academy.

Vanessa Lengies (Joanne Charis): First, it was an acting audition where we just got the lines and you just went in and read with a reader for a casting director. They loved that and said, the next audition there will also be a physical component to the audition where we’re going to test, not your skills in gymnastics, but your physical abilities to see if you can even portray somebody who might look like they know how to do gymnastics. I think it was two weeks between my first audition and my second audition. I looked up the local gymnastics training facility near me in Marina Del Rey and I went there and asked them if for two weeks, I could come in every day, and somebody could just try to train me as much as they can to look like I know what I’m doing. 

The second audition, [they asked us], how many crunches can you do and how many pull ups can you do? Can you run? Let’s watch you run. They filmed the whole [thing]. I had bought this really uptight tracksuit, kind of like the ones that we wear at the end of [the movie]. I was so proud of this tracksuit because it just instantly made me feel pretentious. But I’m 5’1”/5’2” on a good day and this tracksuit was made for all sizes of women. You’re supposed to hem the tracksuit. I didn’t know that. When I did the audition part where we were supposed to run as fast as we could across the floor, I was halfway there and the tracksuit just caught my foot and I was eating that mat so hard. Everyone was there on that day because we’re in a gym. So it’s not like in an audition where you go in and the next girl is in the waiting room. All of the girls at that audition were watching. It was a screeching halt moment and then I just got up and I pretended as if I stuck the landing.

Peregrym: The scariest part was they made me do a dance routine and I’m not a dancer. I remember getting my sister to teach me. She came up with a whole routine for me to do, which I’m pretty sure I screwed up halfway through my audition. I had no idea what moves were coming out of me because I completely lost track of what I was doing. It was an out of body experience. 

The physical audition was somewhat less daunting for Nikki SooHoo, who was cast as Wei Wei Yong, because the actress studied dance at an arts school. 

Nikki SooHoo (Wei Wei Yong): I was like, I think I can swing this floor routine because I know how to dance and I had done gymnastics for dance so I could do an aerial. I could do a back handspring or a front handspring. I was like, ‘Oh, let me just work those things in and maybe it will be good enough.’ I remember them taking me to the bars and then asking me to do a pull up. That was like, no way. I could barely hang on those things. 

In the original script, my character was really good at bars. They ended up changing my character to be good at beam because I was really flexible.

The only person cast in a major role that had any kind of gymnastics background was Maddy Curley, a former elite gymnast who had recently graduated from the University of North Carolina where she competed on their gymnastics team.

Maddy Curley (Mina Hoyt): I had majored in drama but then I went onto Teach for America right after I graduated. One of my friends was working at this casting agency in D.C. and was like, ‘Are you still acting?’ I was like, ‘Yes.’ She’s like, ‘You should come audition for this gymnastics movie.’ So I got a substitute teacher and drove up to Washington, D.C. and auditioned, and then got called back and then called a third time. Then they called about flying me out to Los Angeles to audition. 

Then I didn’t hear anything for two and a half months. Then I started training at my old college. I had [been out of gymnastics] like seven months, maybe eight, but that feels like forever in the gymnastics world. I had gained 15 pounds so I had to lose 15 pounds. I would send pictures to show how I got my abs back and looked like a gymnast again, rather than like a retired gymnast.

Donagene Jones, gymnastics coach and choreographer: Maddy and I kept in touch. Not that I knew her prior, but she was so motivated to get the part. I was like, ‘You need to keep sending them videos. You need to keep sending them information that you’re getting fit and you absolutely want this part more than anything in the world.’

I saw Isabelle’s body and was like, I’m fucked. How am I supposed to look like that? She was the strongest person I’d ever seen.

Curley: I would teach a normal 8 to 3 and then I would drive to my old college about 40 minutes away, and I would train with the girls there with my old gymnastics coach, and then drive back home and grade all the papers. 

I got a call from Jessica and she’s like ‘You got it.’ And she kind of jokingly said, ‘Please don’t ever email me again.’ I had written her so many times.

When Bendinger called Peregrym to let her know that she had gotten the role of Haley, it wasn’t a moment of unalloyed joy the way that it was for Curley.

Peregrym: I was outside in the alley at the vet, having just the worst day. My puppy was hit by a van. I had to leave for a second to take the call and Jessica tells me that I got the movie and I was just beside myself, like what’s happening in my life right now? Just the fullest experience of the best news and the worst news at the same time.

Whereas virtual unknown actors were being auditioned for the roles of the gymnasts and Haley’s male friends—Frank was played by a pre-Twilight Kellan Lutz—the male actors who offered the role of Burt Vickerman, the aging, somewhat domineering gymnastics coach who takes Haley under his wing, were decidedly A-list. The script for Stick It was sent to John Travolta and Kevin Costner, both of whom passed. 

Bendinger: [Producer] Gail [Lyon] very wisely said to me, ‘Look, let them go through their list. Don’t freak out.’ 

I was freaking out so I did what all people in Hollywood do when they freak out—I called a psychic. I called a psychic that I love named Jo Madrid, who’s still around to this day. She had been very accurate about something weird that happened in my life. Don’t get me wrong; I make my own life choices, but every now and then I just want somebody to stick their finger in the wind of the unseen. So I told Jo, ‘I sold this movie. I need somebody to play lead.’ And she goes, hang on, ‘Bridges, the good looking one.’ And I go ‘Jeff Bridges?’ And she goes, ‘Yeah, the Bridges brother, the good looking one.’ 

So I wrote him this letter in script form about doing the script and [then] I heard Jeff will do a call with you. So we did a call. That was like an hour. And then it’s like, ‘Jeff needs to meet with you.’  I drove to Santa Barbara and met with Jeff. I think it was like a three hour meeting at the Biltmore in Santa Barbara. And Diana Ross, by the way, was having a meeting across the room, and so as I’m leaving. She’s like, ‘Jeff, Jeff!’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what is happening in my life right now? I’m with Jeff Bridges and Diana Ross.’ They offered him [the role]. It was his biggest offer [to date], $3.25 million. 

It was like getting a Lamborghini when you just barely have your driver’s permit. 

[VICE reached out to Bridges, who is currently undergoing treatment for lymphoma, via his representative, but didn’t receive a response.]

You can’t have a gymnastics movie without gymnasts. Bendinger turned to Paul Ziert to help him find the gymnastics talent for the film. Ziert used to be the head coach of the University of Oklahoma’s men’s gymnastics team where he trained Bart Conner to his Olympic triumph in 1984. He’s currently the publisher of International Gymnast Magazine.

Paul Ziert: I said [to Bendinger], ‘The gymnastics has to be authentic. And it has to be high level.’

Bendinger and Ziert were determined that the gymnastics showcased in the film would actually be world class, the kind that you might plausibly see in elite competition. This meant finding gymnasts who were either still competing or had only recently retired who could work as stunt doubles for the actresses and as the extras.

Ziert: I thought this would be easy, because there’s so many college gymnasts that are in still good shape. I was sure that they’d love to do this. Well, it turns out that because it was a Disney supported film, they required everybody on set to get paid so you couldn’t come on free. We had a huge list of college level, elite gymnasts who are willing to do the movie for nothing, just to be a part of it. But they were suddenly ruled out because it would have eliminated their [NCAA] eligibility. [The elite gymnasts likely had the same concerns re: eligibility because many, if not all, planned to compete for NCAA teams after their elite careers were over.]

I told [Bendinger], we have to go out around the world. I nudged my old friends to see who they could bring. I was a very good friend of Peggy Liddick [beam coach of 1996 Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller and then the head of Australia women’s gymnastics program]. She sent us four girls from Australia, which helped a lot.

Ziert also reached out to the head of the Spanish women’s team, Jesus Carballo. 

Ziert: He had two girls who were really, really good. We needed him to shoot stuff and he [would’ve had] to depart on a Sunday, which was supposed to be the finals of the Spanish national championships. He literally changed the start time and did it as an earlier competition. They finished up, ran to the airport, and flew to LA for the shoot. We got a lot of wonderful cooperation like that. 

It wasn’t just a matter of finding high-level gymnasts who could be compensated; they also needed to find gymnasts who could physically match the actresses, at least in appearance from the neck down. But casting Peregrym, who is 5’6”, made finding an elite-level gymnast who could double for her particularly challenging. One of the only plausible options was Isabelle Severino, an elite gymnast from France who won the bronze medal on the uneven bars at the 1996 world championships. At approximately 5’7”, Severino was unusually tall for a gymnast. At the time that Stick It was in production, Severino was in her mid 20s and in the second phase of her elite career; she had retired in 1998 and performed with Cirque du Soleil before resuming training to make the 2004 French Olympic team.

Ziert: I had known Isabelle Severino for years and years and I was able to talk her into doing it.

Isabelle Severino: They asked me because they wanted a tall woman. In gymnastics, there are not many tall women with a good level [of gymnastics]. I came to LA to audition and I met Missy Peregrym for the first time.

Peregrym: I saw Isabelle’s body and was like, I’m fucked. How am I supposed to look like that? She was the strongest person I’d ever seen. I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe her ability. I was so scared that if I didn’t look like her, the whole movie was going to be terrible that it was not going to be believable at all.

That’s where the intense training regimen came in. Ziert recommended gymnastics coaches Pat Warren and her daughter, Donagene Jones, to train the actresses, the stunt doubles, and the extras during pre-production and filming. (Warren and Jones also assisted in the casting process.)

The actresses primarily trained at All Olympia Gymnastics Center (AOGC) in Hawthorne, California. The gym, which was owned by Artur Akopyan and Galina Marinova, produced 2010 world silver medalist Mattie Larson and 2012 Olympic champion McKayla Maroney. That location has since closed—though there’s another in Calabasas—after former gymnasts like Larson, a Larry Nassar survivor, sued the gym and the coaches, alleging that coaches engaged in abusive coaching practices. 

Jones: We just started with Missy and Vanessa first and just gave them every insight into what a gymnast does, from putting on our grips to finding their mark on the vault runway to just how you would act in the gym.

Lengies: We did five days a week and probably six hours of training. The gymnasts who were in Level 10 gymnastics at [AOGC], 11 or 12 years old, they did six days a week of training. And on their seventh day, they still had to do cardio and stretching. 

This is the first and only time that I went through such intense training. I literally lived on Aleve.

Peregrym: I would see these seven year olds in the gym who could just kick my ass in any of these things. I’m watching them just in awe of their discipline, of their ability, of the bravery to do what they’re doing. After watching them, training alongside these kids, and then going to a competition and seeing them at such a young age deal with that intensity, I still don’t know how I feel about it.

Pat Warren, gymnastics coach: Those kids were so wonderful to work with but they were so blown away with the conditioning that we had to do. We did an hour conditioning a day. I said,  ‘Girls, you’re not going to look like gymnasts, you’re not going to get through this mess if we don’t condition.’

For arms, we did chin pullovers on bars, like when you pick yourself up [as in a chin up] and then you pull [your hips up and] over. Handstand presses. Well, they couldn’t do a press. So we had them put their hands down, stand on their feet, jump to a handstand and then try to come back down again to a [seated] straddle. That was a killer, trying to get them to do fricking leg lifts [hanging from a wooden bar against the wall]. We had to spot them. We said, ‘Just pull your legs at least to horizontal.’

Jones: [The] on the bar stuff was really hard, like where you’re hanging and you’re doing toe to the bar and legs lifts, yeah, body extenders, where you’re in a pike position you’re lifting, we had to spot them through so much. We’d make them hold handstands for at least like we got them up to a minute for sure.

Lengies: Dona and Pat had the monumental challenge of taking grown women and teaching a person who has never done gymnastics how to look like they might do gymnastics. They did not have an easy job.

I was most proud that by the end I could do like 100 leg lifts or something and in that first audition, I could barely do three. Missy and I loved that at the end of our training we could climb the rope with our legs pike with no legs support because at the beginning, you looked at rope and you’re like yeah you climb to the top with just your arms—you’re like no, no freakin’ way.

Peregrym: Climbing the rope is the worst thing. It’s awful…The first time I tried to do a giant [swing]…I just didn’t have what it took to get around and I just fell right on my hips and it killed. You can’t do anything about it cause you’re strapped in so it’s not like you can just get off and take a minute. I remember my hands constantly bleeding. 

This is the first and only time that I went through such intense training. I literally lived on Aleve. Every morning, I woke up, I was like, it’s fine, my body’s gonna get used to it, eventually, I’ll be okay. I wasn’t okay the whole time. 

Curley: Pat and Dona made them do everything. Did all the same conditioning as us. They were not holding back for them. I remember at one point, Vanessa might have fractured her back, I think….but she got a serious injury, which is so on par for the sport. We started telling her all about our injuries, and she’s like, ‘Why do you guys do this?’ 

Lengies: I got tennis elbow. I got tennis everything. I didn’t know you could get that in things other than your elbow. I fractured my sacral bone.

It was also so fun. We got super fit in a very short period of time…I remember my grandparents being so impressed that I carried their luggage into the car like it was a feather. I could just lift anything at that time in my life. I was so strong. 

SooHoo: I remember it being intense. I was eating so much. In the end, I don’t even think I got in shape, look wise, because I was eating so much. And I was young so I still had my baby fat. But I was stronger. I could do a lot more.

Severino: I saw [Peregrym] before for the casting. She worked a lot and her body just changed when I came back for the movie, we were matching up like 100 percent better.

Curley: Missy and Isabel Isabelle Severino, her stunt double, like from the back, it’d be like, Missy? Isabelle? You were afraid to yell out because it was so much the same from behind.

The four months of training, in addition to preparing their bodies for their respective roles, also helped both actresses slip into their characters.

Lengies: There was something I wanted to play that I think was, ‘Who are the gymnasts here whose parents dream this is, not theirs?’ I think in any walk of life, people are living out their parents’ dreams. And sometimes it’s a beautiful thing we call lineage and sometimes it goes against the fiber of the kids being. I definitely did see that in the gym and I wanted to play the truth of that, capture what it would feel like for somebody to make their own choices for the first time.

Peregrym: I think that by being in the gymnastics world for four months before filming, that was the best thing I could have done. To understand Haley to understand what she was walking away from and the work it took to get back into it. I can’t think of a better thing to do. 

The gymnastics education didn’t end for the actors once they finished their training before the film shoot. After all, in addition to Curley, there were several world class gymnasts on set as well as highly experienced coaches around. Curley taught Peregrym and SooHoo some uncomfortable truths about wearing gymnastics leotards. 

SooHoo: It was very different than [how] dancers wear leotards because I remember I’d always wear it like a dancer wears and Maddy would be like, ‘You need to hike it up.’

Peregrym: I kept pulling mine down and Maddy and the real gymnasts were like, ‘Why are you doing that?’ Like because it’s up to my boobs. It’s so uncomfortable. They’re like, ‘You want to show your hips.’ I was just constantly trying to cover my body with it. They were just laughing at me. 

Bridges didn’t need guidance on how to properly attire himself in spandex; rather, he was particularly invested in learning exactly how a coach would behave in the gym and at competition. Ziert helped him get a credential so he could be on the floor at Junior Olympic nationals that year. And on set, he turned to Warren and the gymnasts in the cast for guidance.

Jones: Any sort of thing that needed to be done, [Bridges] needed to know what Pat thought. ‘What’s gonna happen here?’ So Pat would do a lot with him, and then I would take care of the kids. The credit goes to a lot of the athletes too, because they were there and Jessica Miyagi [Peregrym’s second stunt double] or Isabelle would take Missy and be like, ‘No, this is how you’re going to stand. This is what you’re going to do.’

Curley: [Bridges] would pull me aside and be like, ‘Maddy, when you’re doing this’ [referring to] pretend spotting me on a double back off bars—‘what do the coaches do here?’

But no matter how method Bridges was in his approach to becoming a gymnastics coach, he still wasn’t a real coach who actually knew how to spot high-level skills. 

Curley: Jeff is pretending to spot me so this was very scary. I know he’s not a real coach. He’s not gonna do anything if I fall. And I’m forced to fall; that’s like the point of the scene. So I’m doing this gienger [a back flip with a half turn uneven bar release], and oh my gosh, it was the most perfect setup, ‘Oh, this is the best gienger I’ve ever done. I have to catch it.’ I got the bar and I finished and did my bail handstand and Jessica was like, ‘What are you doing? You have to understand that time is money.’ But the nice one, they did end up using that as part of one of the montage sequences where I did catch the bar so I didn’t have to feel as guilty. But like from then on, if I was supposed to fall, I fell and if I was supposed to land it, hopefully I did. 

Peregrym: My god, the things I saw them do and the fails I saw happen. I mean, I did a lot of the falls in the movie and by lunchtime, when I was falling off of the bars, I couldn’t move. Jessica had to get her acupuncturist to help release the muscles in my body so that we could continue filming that afternoon. The wear and tear is so unbelievable to me. You have to have such a strong mentality to be able to continue doing this and learning the skills because the fails hurt so bad. 

Though he couldn’t actually spot Curley, Bridges was generous with her and the rest of the young cast, which was memorable for someone like Curley, who was on her first set. 

Curley: I remember one day in particular, I just felt like I did a horrible scene. I was on the verge of tears and he was like, ‘Come on, come here.’  Only he would have this kind of pull; he asked to watch the dailies. He was like, ‘Show me what you don’t like, we’re going to watch it.’ And he got the people to pull up the dailies for me. So they pull it up and we watch this together. And you know, it wasn’t that bad. I’ll never forget that, him just helping. He would show me all of his notes along the side and how he became the character.

SooHoo: I had lost my team jacket, and they only had one, and that was what was needed for the shot in the next shot. And it was like, obviously a huge problem. Wardrobe, I remember, got really upset, which was very warranted. I lost it somehow at lunchtime. And I think she yelled at me and I started crying, which then made it worse because then they had to break everything and redo my makeup, wait till I was back on track again. I remember he had come to my trailer, and he brought his guitar and he just like, serenaded me to try and make me feel better.

Peregrym: I can’t remember what scene we were doing…[but] we get into a fight in that scene and he wanted to run lines, but he said, ‘Run the lines but don’t say the words on the page.’ I was so confused. He’s like, ‘Just paraphrase.’ I was so nervous but we did it and it was so brilliant because what he did was teach me how to drop into my own body with the work that I was going to do in a character so it connected me immediately to what the intention was in the scene. It was the most important thing I’ve ever been taught about acting in terms of connecting in a moment and connecting with another person and understanding where what it is I really wanted and how I really felt without being told.

When Haley first arrives at the Vickerman Gymnastics Academy, she refuses to train. Vickerman engages in an age-old—and inappropriate—training tactic to motivate Haley to work out: group punishment. After putting the girls through hours of conditioning, including having them run outside while he follows them on a lawnmower—a reference, Bendinger said, to a tactic allegedly employed by Bela Karolyi at his Texas ranch—Haley’s teammates later lock her out of the boarding house where they all live. That’s when Vickerman arrives to pick her up and drive her to a diner to try to persuade her to give a damn about gymnastics again. There Haley turns the tables on Vickerman, reciting the pep talk she had heard so many times before from so many others before.

Bendinger: Paper Moon was a very big influence. And Bad News Bears. Those were very formative movies in my childhood and my adolescent development. And I remember sitting with Darrin Okada, we really were trying to capture the dynamic of Paper Moon, which is visually like the adolescent is actually wiser than the adults. And Bad News Bears has that as well. I remember that being a big influence, the protagonist who’s too wise for her years. 

Peregrym: I can only relate to that stuff from my own life, being a pastor’s kid. I understood that deeply. You just obey. You just are told who to be how to be and that’s, that’s what you do. Which makes you feel invisible to a certain degree. Everybody has an idea for you. You don’t get to be your own person. 

And so for that scene, it’s very, it’s very much about once that happened with her family, and her family broke up because of [gymnastics]. She didn’t believe in herself. She believed in what others said about her.

In the film’s finale, Haley, after seeing Mina get lowballed by the judges, allegedly due to an exposed bra strap, decides to scratch by pulling out her bra straps, strolling down the runway, touching the equipment but not performing a vault, which resulted in an automatic zero score. Then Joanne, who for much of the movie is Haley’s nemesis, follows suit, strutting defiantly down the vault runway and sacrificing her own ambitions for the good of the group. With every other gymnast doing the same, Mina ends up winning the vault title by default. Then Joanne suggests that they do this on the next three events—all except the gymnast that the other gymnasts have designated the “winner” scratch. Scratching—when a gymnast salutes, touches the apparatus, but doesn’t perform—isn’t inherently dramatic. 

Bendinger: I started asking about scratches and what that could look like. And once I got the ball rolling and we were shooting it, nobody got it. People were worried. 

For the uneven bars, the gymnast “chosen” by the group to win was Nastia Liukin, who played herself in the movies. Just 15 at the time of filming, she was best known at the time as a promising junior and the daughter of 1988 Olympic gold medalist Valeri Liukin. Just two years after the film’s release, Nastia would win the women’s Olympic all-around gold in Beijing.

Ziert was the one who suggested Liukin for a role in the film; unlike most other elite gymnasts, she had already forfeited her NCAA eligibility the year before when she shot an Adidas ad with Nadia Comaneci. 

Ziert: I called [Valeri] and he said ‘There’s no way this was going to work.’

Nastia Liukin: My dad told me that [Ziert] had called and they wanted me to be part of it. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, that is so cool. I’ve always wanted to be in a movie.’ And my dad was like, ‘That’s really flattering, but at the same time, your career hasn’t even started yet. This is your first year as a senior; you haven’t even gone to Worlds.’ Our goals that year were to make the world team and to hopefully go onto become a world champion, and then, in a few years, the Olympics.

The coach in him [was like], ‘What does this even mean in terms of training? Is this a three month thing, is it a weekend thing? Can we still train and get ready for whatever competition we had coming up?’ Going into my first year as a senior, and then Worlds a few months after that, it was pretty crucial not to miss too many days of training. 

Ziert: [Her father told me that] after he had her turn down the part, ‘she worked out every day, [but] she didn’t speak to me for two weeks.’

Liukin: I was just being a 15-year-old teenager. I knew he was right and I think that is why I was more upset. I wanted the best of both worlds. 

Liukin ended up accepting a small role and flew out to LA for the shoot. 

Liukin discovered that shooting a bar routine for a movie was just as exhausting as training one for the Olympics, perhaps even more so. 

Liukin: They kept saying, ‘Okay, let’s just do one more.’ In training, I really would only do, even leading up to the Olympics, three full bar routines and then like, separate parts, and then work separate skills and connections and whatever. At this point [in filming], I don’t exactly know how many full bar routines I had already done, but they kept asking me to do it again. And my dad would just be like, ‘Are you sure? Can you do another one?’ Then at one point, I remember him being like, ‘I think I’m gonna just tell someone there’s really not too many more full bar routines she can do. But we’re more than happy to keep doing the dismount or keep doing parts or separate skills.’ 

So he spoke up and they were like, ‘We are so sorry. She just made it look so easy. We had no idea that it was that difficult.’ After that, we did a few dismounts and a few different parts.

I don’t think I’ve ever done this many bar routines in a day in my entire life, like leading up to that moment and ever again, even like at the Olympics, or training for the Olympics.

After Liukin “won” the uneven bars, it was time for Wei Wei to do balance beam. While Liukin performed her usual bar routine—one that she would use to win the world title on the event later in 2005—Wei Wei ended up performing a routine that was a tad unorthodox. It featured hip hop and breaking, in addition to acrobatics. For this scene, Bendinger brought in HiHat, the choreographer who worked on the performances in Bring It On. And while SooHoo did some of the dancing, the breaking parts, like the headspin and freezes, were performed by B-girl Shorty. 

HiHat: [Bendinger] wanted me to come on board and put an interesting twist for a character called Wei Wei, for her to do the interesting routine on the beam was filled with hip hop and floor freezes. I included a head spin in there. Just very edgy, hip, and unusual for gymnastics. [We had] to find a girl that could do all the stuff that males could do. Shorty was that person who was dope at headspins, dope at freezes. 

SooHoo: That was a fun day. They made me a 12-inch-wide beam that I danced on, which was still four feet off the ground. But it was so much wider. My whole foot and fit on the beam. So I felt a lot safer to do a whole dance routine. I had to do some of it on the four inch beam because they would do some top shots. 

For the last event, floor, Haley—who has  been designated the “winner” by all of the other gymnasts, save one—performs to Fall Out Boy’s “Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of this Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued.”

Bendinger: I thought Marty [Kudelka, Justin Timberlake’s choreographer] did a great job with Missy’s, the fuck-you energy of the character, and letting the character driver the choreography. 

Peregrym: At that point, I just had to own it. I just had to be comfortable in my body and trust that it was going to be enough. It’s all technical, like all of the things that we had been training for four months—your toe point, your wrists—as much as we make fun of it in the movie, we were also training all of those things because that’s still the sport. 

Just last week, we had a guest star come in and she just came up to me and whispered, ‘Did you really do gymnastics?’

Bendinger: [Peregrym] was dancing to “Like That” by Memphis Bleek. The song we were listening to for the playback for her while she was moving was completely different [than what was played in the movie]. 

Peregrym: I remember feeling like, ‘Whoa, well, this is so weird, because it was a completely different song that I was dancing to versus what was there.’ 

The real finale, however, came when Tricia Skilken (who was played by former elite gymnast Tarah Paige), the only gymnast not on board with the whole scratching plan, actually ended up joining the rest of the gymnasts in solidarity and scratching. 

Bendinger: So when she finally decides to do the scratch at the end, it was very mild and Gail [Lyon] was like, you have to have her do it stronger. She was doing the bra strap thing but it was too subtle. Thank god Tarah had had enough of those mount and dismount salutes in her bones, that she was able to really do that. That was a big part of the ending that was new.

Adding a bit of authenticity to this final scene was the presence of two perennial Olympic gymnastics commentators: Elfi Schlegel, an Olympian from Canada, and Tim Daggett, a member of the gold medal winning 1984 U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team. (Since 2013, Nastia Liukin has commentated alongside Daggett.)

While the “real” gymnasts involved in the film acknowledged that a mass scratching event was not exactly realistic, the feeling undergirding the plot device—that you weren’t being treated fairly and there wasn’t anything you could do about it—was something that many of the gymnasts understood all too well. 

Daggett: I don’t think there’s ever been a gymnast at a high level or even a low level that didn’t have some negative experience with judging. Oftentimes, it’s because you think that you were underscored, or even screwed, which certainly, I felt many, many times. All of the people that I know, both on the men’s and the women’s side, they all have many stories so I found it very appropriate in that regard. 

One of the things that was notably absent from the film was a romantic subplot for Haley, something that Peregrym appreciated and something that Bendinger had to fight to maintain from the original script. 

Peregrym: I love that she wasn’t in a relationship. She wasn’t trying to win a boyfriend. That’s not what this was about. And there are so many movies, if it’s a girl who’s the lead, it’s all about the guy. [Stick It] is all about what she wants. 

Bendinger: This was really about her, her relationship to Burt and her teammates; there was no room for a love relationship. The studio tried to shoehorn that in and it didn’t work. 

The film was released at the end of April in 2006. Between the time when Bendinger first wrote the script and Stick It’s premiere, the International Gymnastics Federation had made a significant change to sport’s scoring—it had ended the iconic Perfect 10 score. The movie featured the now obsolete scoring system. 

Bendinger: I was like ‘What do you mean the 10 is ending? I just did a movie!’ …I was like, Oh, my God, I can’t believe this is happening the year I’m making this movie can be like there was a part of me as a true diehard that was like, this is a disaster. 

But the average moviegoer probably had no idea that the scoring system had undergone a radical change. It was between the Olympic Games, which meant that only diehard fans would know about the new scoring paradigm. What turned out to be a bigger issue was the relatively paltry marketing effort behind the film ahead of its premiere. 

Bendinger: We found out on opening day that there was only one newspaper ad…It was really hard to have people emailing me from New York saying there are no ads about where the movie was playing and you just got a rave in The New York Times. I remember having the highest per screen average was an exciting moment, but it was also a ‘what would we have done if we’d been more theaters’ kind of moment?

For the actors, despite the fact that they went onto work in many other projects after they finished filming—Peregrym stars in the CBS procedural FBI and Lengies went on to do Glee and is currently shooting the reboot of Turner & Hooch—Stick It sticks with them.

Peregrym: I think I get stopped the most for Stick It. It was a sleeper hit. It was one of those movies that everyone ended up seeing over time. 

Lengies: Stick It is the movie I get recognized for the most with other cast members. When I’m coming onto a project, most people are like, ‘I love Stick It.’ I’m working on Turner & Hooch right now and Josh Peck quotes me Stick It lines all the time. He knows the entire movie. He watched it a bunch of times. He absolutely loved it. And when I joined Glee, Kevin McHale was like, ‘Oh, you’re Joanne. I can’t even see you as Vanessa.’ He just kept bringing it up. He was obsessed with it.

Liukin: To this day, if I’m doing a Q&A, people would ask, ‘Oh my god, were you in Stick It? That’s so cool.’ I didn’t realize then that [this movie] would stick with me for the rest of my life. Nothing wrong with it at all, but looking back at it, I was totally going through my most awkward year of my life, braces and all.

Peregrym: Just last week, we had a guest star come in and she just came up to me and whispered, ‘Did you really do gymnastics?’ That’s it. No context. 

TIGELAAR:  It’s everything you want in a comedy—it’s funny, compelling, empowering, full of heart—but it also explores women’s collective power against systems that don’t make sense. Knowing what we know now about the sport, it’s a comedic glimpse into a really broken system.

It’s hard to watch Stick It 15 years after its theatrical release and not think about the events of the past five years in the sport. The revelation that former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar had sexually abused hundreds of gymnastics. The stories of coaches terrorizing their athletes during training and competition. The eating disorders and the injuries. 

Stick It lightly touches on some of these themes but they don’t ever become central to the plot or the characters. The main villains of the movie are the judges and the parents who are living out their dreams through their children. Though Burt is initially supposed to embody an unempathetic way of coaching, he’s not truly cruel in the way that some of the gymnasts have described their coaches over the last few years. 

But even if the film’s villains are not the sport’s true baddies, the ending, with the gymnasts coming together collectively to take on an unjust system feels especially relevant and cathartic in 2021. 

BENDINGER: What does the redemption path look like when there’s no model role models? I think we showed what a path could look like in that movie if you stood up for each other.

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Contrived ‘Stick It’ is laughably implausible

“Stick It” is a retread of “Bring It On,” from the writer of that 2000 Kirsten Dunst comedy, only with gymnastics in place of cheerleading.

It trots out a cornucopia of sports-movie cliches: the tough-love coach, the training montage, the stubborn athlete in need of a life-affirming realization which will (of course) take place during the big championship competition.

It panders shamelessly to its attention span-deprived target audience with quick edits and jump cuts, sequences that have been sped up and slowed down and tricky extreme sports maneuvers, all to the tune of catchy, blaring guitar riffs. (Though the choice of “Renegade” by Styx, while an amusing blast from the past, came out way before anyone in the theater was born and as such is, like, lame.)

And yet, “Stick It” is way more watchable than all that would suggest, thanks to the presence of Missy Peregrym.

The Canadian actress, who could be Hilary Swank’s twin, is a perfect mix of beauty and tomboyish strength. She’s quick, she’s natural, she has a radiant smile that makes her utterly engaging; she even makes the potentially cloying moments tolerable. Until now, Peregrym has done some bit parts on TV, so you’ve probably never heard of her, but that should change after “Stick It,” and that’s probably the film’s only redeeming quality.

(The similarity to Swank is especially noticeable as Peregrym’s Haley Graham trains for the big gymnastics meet with veteran Texas coach Burt Vickerman, played by Jeff Bridges with more intelligence and nuance than you’d expect from a movie like this. With her brunette ponytail and her muscular back and shoulders rippling from her jog bra, she brings back vivid memories of “Million Dollar Baby.”)

The film from Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the script and directs for the first time, does have its share of clever lines. As in “Bring It On,” “Stick It” feels contemporary but very much has its own language, which the attitudinal girls use to call each other out and bring each other down. At times the writing is snappy to the point of being sitcommy, though, as in bad-girl Haley’s reaction to the disciplined disciples at Burt’s academy: “Is he keeping your brains in jars? Or should I be concerned about the water?”

The profuse use of voiceover also gets a little overbearing and obvious. As if we couldn’t figure out for ourselves that Haley was a rebel, from her elaborate mountain-bike stunts to her K-Feddish wardrobe of trucker hats, punk band T-shirts and cut-off camouflage pants, she informs us: “In the world of gymnastics, hating me was a sport, in and of itself.”

And as if Haley’s backstory weren’t contrived enough — she was a stud gymnast who choked at the world championships, and has been a pariah and a recluse ever since — her reason for showing up reluctantly at Burt’s training center is even worse. She gets into trouble for trespassing with her Bill-and-Ted type goofball pals at a construction site, and this is her punishment.

She and all her pixieish, stage-mothered teammates (including Vanessa Lengies, who gets some laughs as the diva who’s prone to malapropisms) will learn lessons about sticking up for themselves and sticking together, whether or not they stick their landings, hence the title.

But the twist that prompts these realizations is laughably implausible. We won’t give it away — we’ll just say that any aspiring Olympian who has devoted her entire life to training from the moment she could walk wouldn’t do it.

Tween and teen girls will love it, though. And regardless of age (or gender), it does make you want to put down the Junior Mints and head to the gym.

Stick It (Film) – TV Tropes

A 2006 teen sports dramedy written and directed by Jessica Bendinger (Bring It On), starring Jeff Bridges and Missy Peregrym.

Stick It is the story of 17-year-old Haley Graham (Peregrym), a former world-level gymnast who is thrust back into the world of gymnastics as a sentence from her run-in with the law for vandalism. She ends up at Vickerman Gymnastics Academy, where Coach Burt Vickerman (Bridges) persuades her to compete in an upcoming invitational, and to use the winnings to help pay off some of the property damage. Haley’s presence is badly received by her fellow competitors, and so instead of practicing with the group, she practices on her own out in the old gym. Haley likes to perform wild and extreme tricks, not “cookie-cutter routines”, but has a hard time controlling them, and sticking her landings. She ends up having to go to Vickerman for help.

At the invitational, Haley does fabulously, but is judged not by the difficulty of her tricks, or her technique, but on small, minor infractions. She even notes to the other VGA girls, “It doesn’t matter how well you do. It’s how well you follow their rules.”

Haley and her teammates eventually make it to the National Championship. When one of the girls, Mina (Maddy Curley), is denied her rightful ’10’ for the reason of having a bra-strap showing (an ancient and rarely-invoked rule, only brought up because of Mina’s coach), the other girls band together in an attempt to fight the judging system. As a whole, they choose who has the best routine for an event, and allow that girl to do her full routine, while all others forfeit their chances, effectively choosing the winners and breaking the system.

This film contains examples of the following tropes:

• A-Cup Angst: Discussed by the gymnasts when they see “civilian” girls with boyfriends, and one blames their lack of romance on their lack of breasts.
• Accentuate the Negative: What the girls feel the judges are doing.

  Haley: It doesn’t matter how hard we run, or how high we flip. Leave your hands on the vault table too long? Deduction. If you use one arm instead of two, big deduction. And if your feet clip the vault before they hit the floor… You’re done. So you say you want lyrics in your floor music? Huge deduction. Music finishes, but you don’t? Two tenths deduction. It doesn’t matter how well you do.

Stick It – MoviePooper

Submitted by Tornado Dragon

SHORT VERSION:
At the National Championships, Haley gets irritated over how the judges deduct points from the gymnasts for unimportant minor errors. In the vault event, after her stablemate Mina completes her routine and gets a deduction simply because her bra strap was showing, she decides that enough is enough and proceeds to deliberately show off her own bra strap and then scratches (forfeits her turn). The other gymnasts decide to follow suit, leaving Mina the gold medal winner of that event by default.

They then convince the other gymnasts there to take this approach in every event – selecting someone to win while everyone else scratches – so they will get to control the results for a change, and everyone goes along with it except for Tricia Skilken, who is keen on competing. Haley eventually explains to her what they are trying to do, and during the floor event, after Haley – who has been handpicked to win the event – completes her routine, Tricia shows that she has gotten the message by showing off her bra strap and scratching.

After the meet, Coach Vickerman shows Haley that numerous colleges have offered her athletics scholarships to compete for them in NCAA gymnastics.

LONG VERSION:
At the Invitational Gymnastics Classic, Haley (Missy Peregrym) finds out from her mother that Coach Vickerman (Jeff Bridges) has been receiving four times the standard fee from her father so he will put up with her. Now distraught because she believed that he had come to respect her, she walks out on the competition before it’s over, like how she did during the finals of the World Gymnastics Championships (or “Worlds” for short).

Vickerman stops her as she is leaving the arena and tries to get her to finish the meet, but she confronts him with the knowledge that she has, and Vickerman tells her that maybe she should go back to her old coach DeFrank (John Kapelos). Haley refuses, and reveals to him that the reason why she walked out on the finals at Worlds was because, just before the event, she found out that her mother was having an affair with DeFrank and she and her father were divorcing as a result. Vickerman offers his sympathy, but Haley pushes him away and leaves in tears. Some time later, Haley is called in to see Judge Westreich (Polly Holliday), and the judge tells her that Vickerman had appealed to the court to give her a clean slate, and she has been given one, and he also squared away her property damage debts with the extra money he was getting. She returns to his gym, thanks him, and takes him back as her coach.

She ends up qualifying for the National Championships, along with Joanne (Vanessa Lengies), Wei Wei (Nikki SooHoo), and Mina (Maddy Curley). At the event, Haley gets irritated over how the judges deduct points from the gymnasts for unimportant minor errors (which was one of the things that made her shun gymnastics), and the irritation worsens as time goes on. The final straw comes during the vault event, when Mina completes her routine and gets a deduction simply because her bra strap was showing. When Haley takes her turn, she deliberately shows off her bra strap and then scratches (forfeits her turn). This act of rebellion inspires her stablemates to scratch as well, leaving Mina as the gold medalist of that event by default.

Spurred on by a suggestion from Joanne, Haley and company decide to convince all of the other gymnasts to choose one person to win each event while everyone else scratches so that way they will get to control the results for a change. They all agree to play along, except for the judges’ favorite (and Haley’s former teammate at Worlds), Tricia Skilken (Tara Paige), who is keen on competing, and she defeats Wei Wei in the balance beam event that Wei Wei had been handpicked to win. Haley later explains to Tricia that what they are doing is strictly about protesting the judges’ manner of scoring.

When the floor event rolls around, everyone scratches until Haley and Tricia are the only ones left. Before Haley begins her routine, Vickerman tells her that he is proud to be her coach and urges her to go all out. Haley puts on a superb performance, and when Tricia prepares to take her turn, she reveals her bra strap and scratches, having finally understood the message. Haley wins the gold medal in that event, and Tricia awards Wei Wei her gold medal.

Recognized for her talents again, Haley finds out from Vickerman that numerous colleges are offering her athletics scholarships to compete for them in NCAA gymnastics.

‘Stick It’ Was No Perfect 10. The 2006 film Stick It centers on a… | by Holly Wickstrom | The Holly Reporter

Courtesy of Wikipedia

The 2006 film Stick It centers on a formerly retired gymnast, Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym), who returns to the sport due to a court order. She quit the sport one year earlier after she walked out on her final event at the World Championships, ultimately losing Team USA the gold medal. To say she wasn’t well liked in the sport would be an understatement. When she returns to gymnastics, she’s sent to what appeared to be a boarding school type gymnastics academy led by coach Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges). After initial contempt and reluctance to cooperate, she eventually gets back into the sport and even makes it to the National Championships along with three of her other teammates, Joanne (Vanessa Lengies), Mina (Maddy Curley) and Wei Wei (Nikki SooHoo). The meet ends up turning into some sort of rebellion against the judges after an unfair deduction was given. All the gymnasts in the meet decide that they will pick the winner for each event and that every other girl will scratch as a sort of “fuck you” message to the judges. By the end of the movie, Haley is once again appreciated for her talents and her misunderstood past is behind her.

Since this wasn’t that big of a movie, the casting choices seemed appropriate. Jeff Bridges is really the only well-known actor in this film. He’s starred in movies such as The Big Lebowski, Seabiscuit, True Grit and many more. He played the cliche hard ass, yet soft on the inside gymnastics coach to a T. Would you really expect a sports coach in a movie to be represented as anything other than that? Despite not being a household name, Missy Peregrym portrayed the rebellious tomboy relatively well. The snarky comments and “I don’t give a shit” attitude were believable enough.

Another element of the film that was well done was the use of the stunt doubles. Obviously, the actors aren’t going to be trying to do flips on the balance beam or dismounts off the uneven bars. The film’s usage of real life gymnasts in place of the actors was done nicely and was never a noticeable change. The filming was done well enough so as to not show the face of the characters while the stunt double was performing.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

The music used in this film seemed very fitting for both the time and the defiant feel of the movie. The genre of music primarily used was hip hop/rap and the occasional punk rock song. The film featured songs from several unknown artists, but songs from popular early 2000s artists Missy Elliott and blink-182 also appeared. Missy Elliott’s “We Run This” opens the movie to a very upbeat and catchy sound. Blink-182’s “Anthem Part Two” plays the moment Haley decides to disqualify herself from the event and is then followed by a montage of the rest of the competitors doing the same thing. Both songs were quite fitting for the moment in which they played, to open the film and to start the defiance at Nationals.

The film had its share of light hearted, laughable moments, but I did have a major problem with it. I’m pretty sure that every competitor in the National Championships of any sport would never just agree to disqualify him or herself from every event to “prove a point”. Gymnastics is some of these athletes’ entire lives. I have a hard time believing they would be willing to throw out an entire year of work, especially a gymnast, whose peak performance time doesn’t last much longer than their teens. Once you get past that little fact though, it’s an alright movie as long as your expectations aren’t too high.

American family | Netflix

1. Long Honeymoon

22 min.

Alex’s return from a humanitarian trip dispels the blissful mood in Dunphy’s home. After their honeymoon, Mitch acclimates to real life faster than Cam.

2. Do not push

22 min.

Dunphy takes Alex on an excursion to the institute, but Phil, Luke and Haley are separated from everyone. Jay and Gloria can’t choose an anniversary gift.

3. Cold

22 min.

Phil resorts to creative editing when he realizes that Mitch and Cam’s wedding video exposes him as the only culprit behind everyone’s creepy cold.

4.Marco Polo

22 min.

Dunphy moves into a hotel while their home is undergoing antifungal treatment. Cam thinks Mitch is bringing misfortune to the high school soccer team.

5. To be or not to be a neighbor

22 min.

Phil and Claire’s joy at the neighbors’ departure is short-lived.Mitch and Cam are plotting to move Lily out of the strict teacher’s class.

6. Halloween 3: Cruotland

22 min.

It’s Halloween, which coincides with Claire’s birthday, and Phil is turning the house into Cruelland. Jay’s costume includes a wig that boosts his self-esteem.

7. Eyes full of love

22 min.

Much to Jay’s chagrin, Gloria hires a handsome Spanish teacher for Manny. Mitch wants a journalist to write about his story, but she is intrigued by Cam.

8. Three turkeys

22 min.

Phil and Luke are making Thanksgiving dinner, but Claire is secretly taking it easy. Jay and Gloria’s trip is canceled, but they decide not to tell anyone about it.

9. Strangers in the night

22 min.

Dunphy thinks new boyfriend Alex is imaginary. Jay and Gloria take each other out to parties. Mitch and Cam lead the guest away from their new couch.

10.Haley’s 21st birthday

21 min.

The family throws a birthday party for Hayley, but Phil and Jay’s brief stop to pick up a present (new car) results in a terrible mess.

11. The day when we almost died

22 min.

After nearly killing Dunphy and Manny, they rethink their lives, forcing the rest of the family to put up with big changes.

12. Heavy artillery

22 min.

Dunphy declare war on the thorn in the eye of the neighbor’s boat.Jay tries to potty train Joe. Cam secretly enrolls Lily in clown school.

13. Hasty decisions

22 min.

Mitch freelance legal work for a furniture factory and finds working with Claire truly enlightening. Joe may be allergic to Stella.

14. Valentine’s Day 4: Vicious Sister

22 min.

Gloria’s visit to her sister thwarts Jay’s romantic plans. Phil and Claire’s alter egos return, but Claire feels that Phil is more inclined towards Juliana than her.

15. Fight or run

22 min.

Mitch and Cam are having a party for Sal. Jay teaches Manny to protect himself from bullying. Claire flies first class and Phil flies economy class.

16. Loss of communication

22 min.

Stuck at the airport, Claire contacts Phil on FaceTime and tries to find Haley, with whom she had a big fight. She soon starts spying on the Internet.

17. Cabinet? You’ll like it!

22 minutes

Jay and Claire have creative differences while filming a commercial for their wardrobe company.Gloria is being spied on with a drone.

18. Spring break

22 min.

Gloria and Jay compete with each other to get rid of their flaws. Hayley takes Alex to a music festival. Luke begins to outrun Phil in literally everything.

19. Grill Rush

22 min.

Phil is eager to give Jay a great birthday present: a high-tech grill. Gloria teaches Manny and Luke how to drink.

20.Outright

22 min.

Jay agrees to replace Cam’s bowling team, unaware that this is a gay league. Phil and Claire are having a surprisingly good time with the neighbors.

21. Integrity

22 min.

Mitch and Cam were eager to adopt another child … until they tried to sit with Joe. Claire tries to bribe the principal so that Luke receives a student award.

22. Games of the Patriots

22 min.

Alex learns that there are two top students in their class, so the family organizes a sports match to determine the winner.Gloria is preparing for the citizenship test.

23. Bitter tears

22 min.

Claire is tormented by a job offer, and the rest of the family convinces Alex to celebrate her graduation. Gloria tries to thwart Manny’s romance.

24. American Skyper

22 min.

Relatives gather with Jay and Gloria on the occasion of Alex’s prom, and only Phil calls them on Skype. Mitch hides his dismissal from Cam.

Hailey Baldwin’s Favorite Makeup Base Will Become Yours Too

The model, the most coveted ambassador of Hollywood’s glowing skin, has revealed her favorite make-up base.And luckily for us, it is sold in Spain and has more advantages than disadvantages (especially if you have dry or combination skin).

It’s no secret that we would pay for the glow that Hailey Baldwin has. And that’s what if you have dry or combination skin You would probably like to know how the light appears to come from the inside in the model. Although they already exist primers or luminous primers Due to their ability to create this effect, it is not part of Hailey’s routine.

Hailey Baldwin’s favorite makeup base

In fact, as the model once admitted, her secret lies in moisturizing cream from the pharmacy (less than 5 euros) and in makeup base This has nothing to do with those that you have been accustomed to for years. There are a few good news:

1. We know that form the basis of drives Hayley Baldwin crazy.
2. It just went on sale in Spain in the exclusive makeup network .
3. We tell you where you can buy this before anyone else.
4. We know how and with what to apply it, depending on what kind of finish you are looking for.

Although a couple of years ago bases in format are pillow (part of the Korean fever that we are hooked on even today), we are actually used to liquid formats and at most mousse and dust. However, makeup bases in stick (in cream) have become increasingly important in recent months and are threatening to replace liquid ones.Find out what type of skin you have, and if it turns out to be dry or combination skin, learn all about it. Hailey Baldwin’s favorite makeup base .

This is about moisturizing base with protection factor from bareMinerals (€ 33.95, available at lookfantastic.es). Before hitting the Buy button, keep going down to find out EVERYTHING Haley (and we) love about her .

Makeup bases in stick (creamy)

Of the many makeup trends that exist this year, our favorite everyday look is of course the good Natural makeup .Not only is this bareMinerals foundation 100% natural, it has so many other good things that you won’t change for anything when you try it.

1. Makeup Brush or Sponge: Oddly enough, this creamy formula works with both brush and sponge, and just as well. The difference lies in the finish and the desired finish. If we need more coverage, it is best to use a brush. If we prefer a lighter shade of “second skin”, a damp sponge is best.
2. Makeup base for dry skin: While we also recommend it if you have combination skin, this make-up base is very moisturizing this dry skin will cry for it. Does not form folds, does not mark mimic wrinkles, does not dry out but it lasts all day. Its c opening is an adjustable middle , which is ideal for you to decide how much coverage you want.
3. Protection SPF15 Who doesn’t need sun protection?
4. Easy to carry: its format in stick it is easy to take with you wherever you go, so it will always be with you when you need an urgent touch-up.

Watch this Instagram post

Pure beauty on the go?? @bareminerals Complexion Rescue Hydrating Foundation Stick! #StickWithClean #CleanBeauty ?

Posted by Hailey Road Bieber (@haileybieber) at

“The Donald Trump administration can play an important role in resolving the crisis in Ukraine”

On the eve of the diplomat’s day, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, VITALY CHURKIN, told Interfax correspondent KSENIA BAIGAROVA, especially for Kommersant, what he talked about with his new American counterpart, why it is too late to create security zones in Syria and what will happen if The US will cut its contribution to the UN.

– You recently met with the new US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, and before that you said that you want to talk to her “about life, about everything.” Did you manage to talk like that and what are your impressions?

– If not “about everything”, then about a lot. And about life too. On the features of diplomatic life and work. And of course, about the problems with which we have to deal, primarily in the UN Security Council. Impressions, I will not hide, are positive. I think Nikki Haley will be interesting to work with.

– What are your expectations from the new US administration in relation to the UN Security Council?

– I think the Donald Trump administration can play an important role in resolving the crisis in Ukraine. Now, when the Security Council is chaired by Ukraine, this topic has returned to the Council.

An open formal meeting of the Security Council was held on 2 February.It was striking that the atmosphere of the discussion was very different from that which had happened before. Ukraine, in fact, was supported by only two delegations – Britain and the United States (the latter – in “standard” formulations). The rest, with different accents, spoke in favor of a political settlement and the implementation of the Minsk agreements. That is, precisely for what we are striving for.

The priority problems facing the UN Security Council, with confidence, can also be attributed to the Syrian settlement and the fight against terrorism, and there is a serious basis for interaction with the United States.

– Has it become easier with the arrival of the new administration to interact with Washington on Syria? And what role would you play today for the United States in the Syrian settlement?

– It is too early to give an estimate. As you know, titanic efforts to resolve the issue in Syria were undertaken by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and then Secretary of State John Kerry. They worked out joint ideas and approaches to the Syrian settlement. But then Secretary of State Kerry publicly admitted that what was being developed was subsequently blocked by other “branches” of the administration, numerous “spoke in the wheel.”

Hopefully, the new administration now has a more consistent approach. We hope that the understandable call of US President Donald Trump to jointly fight ISIS (Islamic State, a terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation – Kommersant ) will be relayed to specific approaches to the entire track of the Syrian settlement, which will contribute to achieving a positive result.

– Speaking of “specific approaches”, do you mean the establishment of some new negotiation formats between Russia and the United States on Syria?

– Probably, it is possible to revive the format that Lavrov and Kerry once agreed on.But the formats are not the main thing. They can be completely different. It is important how we work in these formats.

The US can actively engage in steps already being taken. You know that we have invited the Americans to a meeting in Astana under the chairmanship of Russia, Turkey and Iran. The United States at that meeting was eventually represented by the United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan, which is understandable given the transitional period in the country after the elections.

Now we need to take the next step. Soon, on February 20, the Geneva meeting on Syria will be held under the auspices of the UN. Without a positive and more or less active role for the United States, it will be even more difficult to make serious progress in the settlement.

And if all factors add up, there will be hope that this six-year nightmare will be able to end.

– Recently, US President Donald Trump put forward the idea of ​​introducing safe zones for refugees in Syria. How do you feel about this initiative, have you discussed it with your American colleagues at the UN?

– Here at the UN, the Americans did not tell us anything about the security zones.I can express my personal opinion on this matter. It lies in the fact that the events in Syria have already overtaken the idea of ​​creating security zones. Now, thank God, the regime of cessation of hostilities is in effect, negotiations are being struck between the Syrian government and the opposition, including the armed one, now it is time to talk about the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes. After all, they are returning, say, to eastern Aleppo.

If we start now to organize some security zones, even if this happens correctly from an international legal point of view, in particular with consultations with the Syrian government, in my opinion, this will divert attention, forces and resources from the most important task of returning people in their homes and providing them with a normal life.

It is the return of refugees to their places of permanent residence that can give a second wind to the process of political settlement in Syria.

– The new US administration recently announced its intention to cut its payments to the UN by 40%. How can this affect its activities, given the fact that the United States is the main payer to the organization’s budget?

– First, I would like to hope that Washington fully realizes that the UN is not a gift from the United States to the world, but an international structure that plays an extremely important role in solving global and regional political and socio-economic problems, in Otherwise, the members of the world community would have to solve them in different ways, which would be both less effective and more costly.

Secondly, it will be necessary to figure out what exactly the US intends to cut. There are compulsory and voluntary payments in the UN system. The former are charged in accordance with a certain collectively agreed scale. If the United States followed the path of non-payment of mandatory contributions, it would primarily hurt Washington’s image. Not to mention the existing rule that if a country’s debt exceeds its two-year contribution, it will be deprived of its vote at the UN General Assembly.I don’t think it will come to this.

– Do you think that the UN Security Council should somehow respond to Israel’s refusal to comply with the resolution banning the construction of settlements in the Palestinian territories, especially taking into account the position of the new US administration on this issue?

– I’m not sure what to answer now. Most members of the international community have serious differences with the Israeli government over settlements. Interestingly, the Trump administration has also said that the construction of new settlements is not helping a peaceful settlement.

We are dealing with a complex problem. It is now important to strike up negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Everyone knows about Russia’s invitation to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to Moscow and start talking without preconditions. There are also other vectors of motion. I would not single out one aspect now, for example, the issue of settlements.

– How do you work with the new UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres?

– After ten years as High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres is by no means a newcomer to the UN. He knows the organization inside and out. He sees perfectly both trees and the forest. Knows what he wants to achieve, while realistically understanding the limits of what is possible. By betting on Antonio Guterres, the UN members made the right choice.

90,000 From TV Presenter to Chief U.S. Diplomat: How Nauert Made a Super-Career

US President Donald Trump once again surprised America by making an unexpected personnel appointment – State Department press secretary and former TV presenter Heather Nauert will become the UN Ambassador.

Nauert will almost certainly be approved by the US Senate – after the midterm elections, the Republicans have increased their representation in the upper house of the American parliament and they have no reason to stick with Trump’s choice.

As a reminder, Nauert is replacing Nikki Haley as US Permanent Representative to the UN, who is leaving this post after having worked for 2 years. Note that Hayley was also not a professional diplomat. But at least she had an idea of ​​what power was – before her appointment, she was the governor of South Carolina.

The reasons for Nikki Haley’s resignation are not fully understood. According to one version, she is starting to prepare for the 2020 presidential campaign. At the same time, the impulsive Trump did not express any displeasure with Haley herself.

In the case of Nauert, it’s still dizzying. Before becoming an official representative of the US State Department, Nauert worked as a television journalist. Her professional career has developed on ABC and Fox News. It was her work for Fox, which is the mouthpiece of the Republican Party, that seems to have been the main reason for her appointment in the civil service.Nauert remained in the State Department even after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired from him. Moreover, after the appointment of a new Secretary of State – Mike Pompeo – she was vaguely promised a new higher appointment. But hardly anyone could have imagined that this appointment would be so high.

It is important that Heather Nauert is credited with friendly relations with the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. In the current realities of American politics, her acquaintances are very important, if not the main ones.

Her boss, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has already commented on the appointment, saying he was “very happy.” And he stressed that Nauert plays an important role in advancing US foreign policy. Although the appointment has yet to take place, a State Department spokesman has already congratulated Twitter from the US Permanent Mission to the UN. Nauert herself announced that she was looking forward to joining the UN.

As for its relations with Russia, they cannot be called simple. Nauert, naturally, spoke very harshly about all bilateral problems.“You are from Russia, that says it all,” Nauert’s phrase in response to a question from Russian journalists who asked to comment on the modernization of the American nuclear arsenal has probably already entered the history of diplomacy.

Nauert was noted for numerous Russophobic remarks and comments. So she will continue the policy of her predecessor at the UN.

90,000 Series-XXI. Whoever pays is saved – IA “Versia-Saratov”

Continuing the rubric led by Roman Arbitman, author of Serial Pets, Russia’s first guide to Anglo-American drama shows.It tells about different television series: those that everyone is talking about, and those that, for some reason, remained in the shadows. The main thing that unites them: they are all interesting and they are all worthy of the viewer’s attention.

Lifeline . USA, 2017.

Genre : fantastic detective story.

Who invented : Benjamin Freiburger, Grant Wheeler.

Who participates : Zach Guildford (TV series “Friday Night Lights”, “No Coordinates”), Sydney Park (TV series “Handsome”, “The Walking Dead”), Usman Ellie (TV series “68 Whiskey”, “Librarians”), Linden Ashby (Mortal Kombat, The Final Turning Point), Amanda Crew (The Double Life of Charlie Sun Cloud, Repeaters Reality), Lilan Bowden (Adam Spoils It All, Life Is In Detail), Sankrish Bala (TV series Silicon Valley, Shameless), Russell Charles Pitts (TV series Magnum Private Detective, Gymnasts), Vincent Venresca (Finding Lola, The Invisible Man series), Christian Clemenson (TV series Boston Lawyers, Manhattan).

Duration : 1 season.

My rating is : 7 out of 10.

When another client comes to the Life Line insurance agency, he is shown a commercial with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The actor praises the agency’s services with might and main. The customer is impressed. He signs a contract, and a chip is implanted into his hand. From now on, his life will be under supervision: if there is any threat, an agent will appear and save him. Clients don’t know one thing.Information from the future helps agents to appear on time. As soon as it becomes known in the “Line of Life” that in 33 days the client will be dead, the head of the company Nathan (Usman Ellie) sends the employee into the future, and he, having appeared a couple of minutes before the tragedy, prevents it.

The main character of the series, Conner Hooks (Zach Guildford) is one of the most experienced agents of the “Life Line”. He can handle any emergency situation, but one day, when he needs to save his own wife Haley (Amanda Crew), the hero is a couple of seconds late.The woman dies, and along the way, the parking attendant also dies, the father of little Nora (her, a little older, is played by Sidney Park). All this happens in the first episode. From now on, the conscientious Conner will have two personal missions that are not related to the interests of his employers. The first is to make sure that Nora’s life is not in danger. The second is to find Hayley’s killer. And if for the implementation of the first of his missions, the hero will use the technical capabilities of the “Line of Life”, then as an avenger Conner will act in the old fashioned way, with a pistol bald, like a character in the most ordinary thriller …

When H.G. Wells invented a time machine at the end of the twentieth century, the writer hardly suspected that he was opening a new direction in science fiction (and later in cinema).Wells’ novel traveler traveled to other times with the sole purpose of obtaining information. Wells’ followers soon realized that a person with the knowledge of what was not going to happen could prevent something bad from happening. True, in this case, the fabric of time will be damaged, many causal links will be torn, and because of the butterfly crushed in the Mesozoic, the political system in the United States will change (this is Ray Bradbury). To somehow get around the dangerous influence of the future on the past (John Wyndham called this paradox “chronoclasm”), science fiction writers have invented many different tricks.For example, a person who changes the course of events simply creates a new “branch” of reality, but in the old, “parallel”, events go on as usual. In “Life Line” Nathan allows his employees to move only forward in time: they say, what has already happened, happened, and this cannot be corrected. But the head of the insurance agency knows that time travel backward is also possible. They just aren’t cheap …

The series by Benjamin Freiburger and Grant Wheeler will be interesting, first of all, to those who are fascinated by the very idea of ​​time travel.The ability to “replay” the same event, to “rewrite” history is complete – what could be more tempting? In the series, we will more than once see two options for the development of events: one (not corrected) is pessimistic, the second (after the appearance of the agent) is optimistic. The young woman was supposed to be crushed by the elevator car, but they manage to pull her out. The man could have been hit by a bus, but the agent pushed the muddler away in time. The girl could have fallen off the roof, but … And so on.

If you look closely at the capsule with which the characters make their movements, the picture will be familiar.Most likely, the production designers watched our film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession” and not without benefit studied the video sequence of the film “Solaris” – I mean the scene in the “mirror room” that was not included in the final version (artist – Mikhail Romadin). The deformation of the mirror planes and, together with the multiplying reflections of the traveler, disappearing into evil infinity, is a visual image successfully found by the authors.

And one more important argument “for”: the series is laconic. The season consists of only eight episodes, and the length of each is no more than twenty-five minutes.Even if you do not like Life Line, you will lose three hours at the screen – not so much.

The main problem of Freiburger and Wheeler’s debut series is serious script miscalculations. The elastic detective line, quite effective, suddenly fades away already in the middle of the season. Not everything goes smoothly with the fantastic line. At first it seems to the viewer that he has groped the main ethical contradiction in the work of the agency: the employees of the Life Line are saving the client, but the agency is not interested in the fate of other people whom they could have saved along the way.Why, they say, save for free? It seems that this is where the conflict between Conner and his cynical boss Nathan should develop. But …

But for some reason the authors get into the jungle and force the heroes to indulge in arguments about whether it is good to snatch people from the clutches of death, guided by “commercial” reasons. And in general, do people have the right to “play God” and is it not better to simply not interfere: they say, since a person is written to die, then there is nothing to save him. Anyone can object to this that from the moment when a person felt himself to be a rational being, he changes reality and “competes” with God: doctors do not allow people to die, firefighters pull them out of the fire, security guards prevent assassination attempts, etc.

Thus, the authors oppose the cynical pragmatism of the founder of “The Line of Life” to the disinterested and romantic fatalism of Nathan’s opponents. What is better – to save a person for money or leave him to his own devices without taking an advance payment? The head of “The Line of Life” with his “commercial humanism” in the series looks like a fair bastard, but those who put a spoke in his wheels – not better, but, perhaps, even worse. At least, the scriptwriters did not come up with reasonable arguments in defense of refusing to help people.Maybe they were hoping to sort things out in the second season? We will not know this: the project was closed after the first one. I think that fans of time travel in the cinema and on TV were upset by this decision. But I’m not sure they were inconsolable.

Mischievous pets (15 photos)

2. Matt Odell is named overall winner with his photo of English Springer Spaniel Dexter frolicking on his hind legs while bathing by his little owner Lucy, 3 years old.The dog bathing was photographed by Lucy’s father, Matt, who grabbed his camera when he saw two best friends playing together. “It was a really hot day and they had a lot of fun, Dexter is very fond of water,” said Matt, from Devon. “We bought Dexter a couple of years ago and he is very mischievous, but he gets along well with the whole family. It was a great moment. ”

3. Haley Marlowe’s photo illustrates a bourbon puppy thief with her flower, asking forgiveness for destroying her garden.

4. This photo of a red-headed red-tailed parrot, Chile, tap-dancing in the kitchen sink was sent to Alexandria de Taranto, who says that Chile loves to run up and down under the tap trying to catch drops, and if you start washing dishes – he will try to jump in the bowl!

5. Alison Tew photographed his eight-year-old hound, Willow, trying to dry out after swimming in the sea.

6. Billy, 5 year old Cocker Spaniel, on Westward Ho! in Devon, sent by Sarah Davis.

7. Owner Alex Evans says: “My Labradoodle puppy Brinley loves to climb into a small hole he made in one of our bushes in the garden … He puts his things there, which he collects – sticks, plants, bottles of water, pots and more, and we can’t get there to pick up. But we still love him very madly, despite his pranks.

8. Adam Higgins took this photo of his Jack Russell Lily cooling off on a hot summer day with an ice-cream stick.

9. Katie Grisold photographed her dog Harvey trying to enter the house through the cat door.

10. Donna Whitworth’s four-month-old Oreo cat yawns in the sink.

11. Rosie Ray shared this photo of Susie’s hamster, who is released every night, and she always goes to the wastebasket, where she cheerfully tears all the contents, everything she wants for her nest, into shreds , and gets out back.