About the Screenplay
Tom, the screenplay author, was a member of the 1968 United States Olympic Team that competed in Mexico City. His event, the modern pentathlon, challenges the most versatile athletes. The curious combination of horseback riding over jumps, fencing, pistol shooting, swimming, and cross-country running was designed personally by the originator of the Olympic Games of today, Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
Years after his competitive days, Tom became interested in the history of the modern pentathlon and learned that it was added to the Olympic program in 1912 and has continued to this day. The first Olympic pentathlete for the United States was a young Army lieutenant named George Patton, Jr., who was at the beginning of a storied career.
Tom also learned about a young girl named Helen Preece who had trained for the 1912 modern Pentathlon but was prevented from entering because she was a woman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Preece
He began researching this story and discovered a wealth of additional information. He formed a writing team and, with them, developed an article about Preece that was published in the Spring 2021 issue of the Journal of Olympic History. Click here for a copy of the article.
To share the story further, Tom learned screenwriting and developed a screenplay about a fictitious young girl inspired by Preece’s story. The result is “Go for the Five,” which he hopes will capture the attention of a passionate and enthusiastic producer.
Until then, the table read can take you to the movies in your mind, with a little imagination.
Enjoy!