{"id":158732,"date":"2015-10-29T13:46:07","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T20:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=158732"},"modified":"2017-06-14T16:49:58","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T23:49:58","slug":"story-of-paralympic-swimming-champion-brad-snyder-to-become-feature-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/story-of-paralympic-swimming-champion-brad-snyder-to-become-feature-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Story Of Paralympic Swimming Champion Brad Snyder To Become Feature Film"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of Brad Snyder\u2019s<\/strong> journey from Navy hero to Paralympic swimming star is made for the movies, and starting next summer, that is exactly what will happen.<\/p>\n

Screenwriter Robert Knott<\/strong> (Appaloosa<\/i>) has agreed to write the script for the yet-to-be-named film that will chronicle Snyder\u2019s life, according to Deadline.com, with production expected to begin next summer. Though several documentaries have featured some of the sport\u2019s most popular individuals, this is believed to be the first scripted film about a non-fictional swimmer.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The road to getting the green light for Snyder\u2019s 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\u2019s life. The Hollywood machine began working shortly after that, and now that a screenwriter is on board, the possibility of production is very high.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very strange and very foreign,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cBut it\u2019s cool to say \u2018They\u2019re making a movie about me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Snyder said he will have some involvement in the shaping of the script, but doesn\u2019t think he\u2019ll be present for much of shooting next year. By then, he\u2019ll be in the final stages of prepping the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n

Snyder said he hopes the film about his life has the same emotional impact as the film 50\/50<\/i>, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt<\/strong> 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<\/i> did, which he said will mirror the way he lived, especially in the aftermath of the IED explosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to me that the story comes out as reflective of real life as possible,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n

Snyder said Gordon-Levitt would be his top candidate to play him in the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s strange to pick out who you want to play you (in a movie),\u201d Snyder said. \u201cIt may end up in any of 100 directions.\u201d He added that the ideal person is an actor \u201cwho can exist in a tragic environment, but also be funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s enjoyed conveying in his talks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason behind doing this is to inspire the community to do something they didn\u2019t think they were capable of doing before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This past summer Snyder dominated the IPC World Swimming Championships<\/a>, taking home 3 gold medals, all in meet record fashion.\u00a0 He is considered the best blind swimmer in the world\u00a0and is\u00a0FINIS<\/a>-sponsored athlete<\/p>\n

Brad Snyder On \u201cThe Morning Swim Show,\u201d September 2012<\/h2>\n