Story Of Paralympic Swimming Champion Brad Snyder To Become Feature Film

Sep 2, 2012; London, United Kingdom; Bradley Snyder (USA) warms up prior to the second heat of the men's 100m backstroke - S11 during the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Aquatics Centre. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Courtesy: Andrew Fielding-US PRESSWIRE

The story of Brad Snyder’s journey from Navy hero to Paralympic swimming star is made for the movies, and starting next summer, that is exactly what will happen.

Screenwriter Robert Knott (Appaloosa) has agreed to write the script for the yet-to-be-named film that will chronicle Snyder’s life, according to Deadline.com, with production expected to begin next summer. Though several documentaries have featured some of the sport’s most popular individuals, this is believed to be the first scripted film about a non-fictional swimmer.

Snyder was part of the swim team at the Naval Academy in the mid-2000s, and after graduation served in the field as an explosive ordinance disposal officer. Essentially, that meant traveling in war-torn areas searching for Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) that were designed to blow up cars on the road. In 2011, Snyder lost his eyesight when an IED exploded near him during a deployment in Afghanistan.

After rehabilitation, Snyder turned tragedy into opportunity, competing in the 2012 Paralympics. He won the 100 and 400 freestyles, setting a Paralympic record in the 100 free with a 57.18. He’s on his way to more gold after taking three wins this past summer at the IPC world championships in the 50, 100 and 400 freestyles. Being sponsored by FINIS is helping him continue to train to reach that goal.

The road to getting the green light for Snyder’s biopic began a little more than a year ago, when the brother-in-law of one of the men in his unit in Afghanistan brought up the idea of making a movie of Snyder’s life. The Hollywood machine began working shortly after that, and now that a screenwriter is on board, the possibility of production is very high.

“It’s very strange and very foreign,” Snyder said. “But it’s cool to say ‘They’re making a movie about me.’”

Snyder said he will have some involvement in the shaping of the script, but doesn’t think he’ll be present for much of shooting next year. By then, he’ll be in the final stages of prepping the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Snyder said he hopes the film about his life has the same emotional impact as the film 50/50, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt played a man in his late 20s dealing with cancer. Snyder wants the film of his life to balance the line between drama and humor that 50/50 did, which he said will mirror the way he lived, especially in the aftermath of the IED explosion.

“It’s important to me that the story comes out as reflective of real life as possible,” Snyder said.

Snyder said Gordon-Levitt would be his top candidate to play him in the film.

“It’s strange to pick out who you want to play you (in a movie),” Snyder said. “It may end up in any of 100 directions.” He added that the ideal person is an actor “who can exist in a tragic environment, but also be funny.”

Snyder has been an inspirational figure on the road, giving talks to military groups and others who can learn from his motivational story. He hopes the film conveys the same message he’s enjoyed conveying in his talks.

“The reason behind doing this is to inspire the community to do something they didn’t think they were capable of doing before,” he said.

This past summer Snyder dominated the IPC World Swimming Championships, taking home 3 gold medals, all in meet record fashion. He is considered the best blind swimmer in the world and is FINIS-sponsored athlete

Brad Snyder On “The Morning Swim Show,” September 2012

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