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THURSDAY,APRIL 30,2009
'Tyson'explores rise and fall of boxer
42-year-old Mike Tyson says watching documentary of his career was difficult
Director James Toback and boxer Mike Tyson pose for a portrait in New York on April 20. The documentary "Tyson" has been reviewed as Toback's best film to date.
BY JAKE COYLE Associated Press
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Mike Tyson is looking over the reviews for the new documentary "Tyson."
Gathered together for an interview in a Manhattan hotel, director James Toback is eagerly sharing magazine clippings with the former heavyweight champion, pointing to fresh reviews from critics who have called it Toback's best film and a revelation of the polarizing pugilist.
Tyson, 42 and four years retired from the ring, is only so impressed. Now heavier around the waist, Tyson exudes a knocked-around serenity.
"Those things don't excite me anymore — press and lights and cameras," Tyson said. "I know if I start believing that stuff, I could be a monster and nobody would like me."
And many don't like Tyson. Though he was perhaps the last great heavyweight champion (44 of his 50 wins came by knockout and he was the youngest to take the titles), he is often remembered more for his violent outbursts inside and outside of the ring.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In 1992, he was convicted of rapine Desiree Washington and he
served three years in prison. In a fight with his chief rival, Evander Holyfield, in 1996, he was disqualified for biting off a piece of his ear.
The picture that emerged of Tyson was of an out-of-control monster.
"Tyson" hopes to illuminate a fuller, more humanistic view of Tyson, depicting him as a rags-to-riches tragedy and, above all, a misunderstood figure.
"Not only misunderstood, but grotesque misunderstood," Toback said, the 64-year-old film-maker of "Fingers" and the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of "Bugsy." "The vast majority of the people who have put Mike down don't have a tenth of the intelligence or the character that he has. Mike is a fundamentally very, very good human being. That doesn't mean he hasn't done bad things."
In the 88 minutes of "Tyson," Tyson is the only talking head — neither Washington nor Hollyfield nor anyone else gets a say here. The film, of which Tyson is also a producer, makes no claim of objectivity but it's nevertheless striking for its honesty.
"I've been to the edge and I've looked over the cliff of sanity and I wanted to take a swan dive."
Tyson, who Toback interviewed for a week in Los Angeles while Tyson was going through rehab, begins by discussing — in his uniquely philosophical way — "the chaos of the brain," wondering, "Who am I?"
He discusses humiliation as a child leading him to take up boxing; his mentoring by legendary trainer and surrogate father Cus D'Amato (Tyson cries discussing his 1985 death); his obsession with women; his brief marriage to Robin Givens ("we were just kids");
his embarrassing final defeats in 2004 and 2005; contracting gonorrhea from a "filthy lady"; and the feeling of physical triumph: "Once I'm in the ring, I'm a God."
Tyson said that watching the film — a kind of mashed-
up monologue — was difficult for him.
"When I look at the movie, I say,
If I was in the room with that guy,
I would be very nervous" Tyson said.
"I never knew — and this is crazy — I never knew why I had the public opinion the way I did. Then when I watch the movie, I get it," Tyson said. "For the first time, I get it. I'm watching it as a human being that's very rational now. I say, 'This guy's so unpredictable, you don't know if he's going to (take you) out to dinner or stab you with a fork. His mind will run riot.'"
At times, the screen splinters into several boxes of talking Tysons, clearly suggesting his many contradictions — an enormous, animalistic ego contrasted with an inferiority complex.
Though in the documentary he acknowledged abusing
women, Tyson still denies raping Washington. About the Holyfield fight, he said, "I'm a good person, but I went insane."
Later, Tyson said: "If I have any anger, it's directed at myself."
Some will immediately dismiss "Tyson" because of the boxer's reputation and, in particular, his rape conviction.
To those people, Tyson says: "I'm a human being. I was young at one time. Yes, I have abused a woman before ... I've made a mistake. And I'm going to continue to make mistakes — but not the same ones."
Tyson added that growing up, he watched his mother be abused, warping his sense of relationships. He also argued that women's rights had come so far in the past century
that society was still catching up.
Critics have been largely forgiving of "Tyson," applauding Toback's film which got a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Rolling Stone called it "a world-class exhibition of punchdrunk love." Slate, though, said it was "candid without being truthful."
Toback — a larger than life figure in his own right — and Tyson have been friends for more than two decades. They first bonded, they say in the 2005 documentary about Toback "The Outsider," in a conversation about "madness and orgies."
"I figured he'd be champion for 15 years," Toback said while swallowing a pile of assorted pills. (He
says he takes 150 in a day.) "Then he turns out to be as complicated and crazy as I am. You have your internal enemies."
They each consider themselves "extremists." Tyson made cameos in two of Toback's earlier films, including a scene in 1999's "Black and White" in which Tyson assaults Robert Downey Jr.'s character after he comes on to him.
Tyson said he and Toback were similar "in a bizarre way"
"We challenge the borders of sanity and insanity," Tyson said. "We challenge it. I don't know if I'm still this way, but this is where I know I've been. I've been to the edge and I've looked over the cliff of sanity and I wanted to take a swan dive."
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The TV in the living room? Not when he had his skateboard. Even sleeping in his bedroom was sometimes too mundane. The backyard with the family dog was much more exciting.
RACING
Aggressive and fearless, he's become one of the best young drivers on the circuit. The 24-year-old Venezuelan had a decent rookie season in 2008 — four top-five finishes despite having never driven on ovals before — and figures to only get better this year with more experience.
Viso's need for speed has turned him into a pretty good IndyCar driver, too.
BY JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press
"I just get bored when my adrenaline levels are low," he said. "I always need to find something. Adrenaline is my passion."
Venezuelan driver Viso says Indycar gives adrenaline rush
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Age hasn't mellowed Viso, either. Skydiving, freestyle motocross, BASE jumping — if it gets the adrenaline flowing, chances are he's tried it.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Playstation received as a gift sat in a box, never opened. E.J. Viso was more interested in doing jumps on his bike outside.
"He was very impressive," Brazilian driver Helio Castroneve said. "He's a very aggressive driver, but aggressive where he's going for
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best qualifying time, then was sent to the back for a technical violation. He quickly made up ground once the race started, moving up from 22nd to 14th, then suffered front wing damage from a wreck between two other cars. He made it back onto the track, but was done for good a few laps later, a failed gear box ending his day after just 37 laps.
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any better once the race started; steering problems sent him off after 75 laps. Viso had a great qualifying run at the Long Beach Grand Prix, starting fourth, only to get knocked from the race by contact after 16 laps.
it. It he's not hesitating or waiting for anything. If the car makes it, great. If it didn't make it, oops, I know the limit. He's a good guy, a good kid. He definitely has a bright future."
It's been a tough start to the 2009 season, though most of it hasn't been Viso's fault. Last year? Sure, he made some mistakes, most due to inexperience. This year, it's been a string of bad luck.
Viso struggled in qualifying at St. Petersburg, starting 16th for the season-opening race. It didn't get
"I just get bored when my adrenaline levels are low. I always need to find something."
E. J. VISO Driver
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Viso has had a knack for finding the front since a young age.
pointed. In each of the first three races we have started off with a good, fast car, and then something went wrong." Keith Wiggins, owner of Viso's No. 13 HVM Racing IndyCar, said after Sunday's race. "Even though we were starting from the back today, we still had a lot of confidence in E.J.'s ability to move up to the front, which is exactly what he was doing when the problem occurred."
His father, Ernesto Sr., raced cars in South America and got little Ernesto his first go-cart at age 7. Thanks to his aggressive style, he started winning right away, earning five national carting championships before moving to Europe.
Viso bounced around several series and bad a stint as a Formula One test driver, making a name for himself as the driver who survived a spectacular crash at a 2007 French Grand Prix after his car lifted into the air and broke into pieces while bounding down a retaining wall.
Looking for a new challenge, Viso decided to try the Champ Car series in the U.S. in 2008, showing up just before the series merged with IndyCar. The problem? IndyCar meant driving on ovals. Viso had never even seen an oval race, much less raced in one, but he had made a commitment and decided to give it a shot.
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"When I got that news it was a pretty big challenge because I didn't know anything about IndyCar, didn't know anything about ovals, didn't even like them." Viso said. "I never watched an oval race before in my life, but I had already told everyone in Europe that I was coming to the United States and had a good ride, so I said let's go for the challenge."
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