Gabe Polsky wowed critics with his documentary “Red Army,” which took a look at USSR’s tumultuous political regime through the eyes of its Red Army hockey team. He now revisits the sport in his upcoming documentary “In Search of Greatness,” which takes a look at what constitutes “greatness,” this time through the eyes of three major athletes: hockey star Wayne Gretzky, legendary NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice, and soccer champion Pelé. I spoke to Gabe about sports, greatness and his next projects.
Alex Saveliev: “Red Army,” your previous documentary, dealt with hockey. Is it safe to assume you’re partial to the game? Are you a big sports fan in general?
Gabe Polsky: Well, I grew up playing division one hockey at Yale. I don’t really see “Red Army” as a film about hockey, it’s sort of using hockey to “get in there.” I am looking for something much deeper and, you know, tell an interesting story in an interesting way.
Alex Saveliev: I agree with you that “Red Army” wasn’t about hockey, it was more about how the sport was a reflection of the political regime – but one of the uniting themes of the two docs was hockey, so I figured you may enjoy the game.
Gabe Polsky: Yes, I mean I definitely don’t want to be pigeonholed, but that was definitely how I entered the story. I’m not, like, obsessed. I don’t watch a lot of hockey now, but it is tied to my childhood and my background, you know? But not so much anymore.
Alex Saveliev: So what led you to make this documentary?
Gabe Polsky directing In Search of Greatness (2018).
Gabe Polsky: Basically, it’s a really personal film, because growing up in college, I experienced this idea that no one really focuses on creativity [and self-expression] and encouraging it, especially in sports, which I think is really the essence of greatness, not just in sports, but in other fields as well. There are a lot of talented people that get filtered out of the system because they are trying to be creative and that’s not really accepted. [It takes] courage, you know? Those are the people that have the most success, as you see in the film, [which explores] greatness in a much deeper way. I feel like although, as a society, we are obsessed with it, we can’t even see what it is in a certain way. I had to say something really personal to me that no one is saying. Does that make sense?
Alex Saveliev: Yes, I hear what you’re saying. So how did you get Jerry Rice, Wayne Gretzky, and Pelé to do the interviews? Did you tell them what the documentary was going to be about?
Gabe Polsky: Well, I tried and I thought that it was communicated to them, but the reality was, when I interviewed them they didn’t really know what they were doing. It took me about a year to get them, it was very difficult, a lot of painful nagging, a lot of figuring things out, a lot of “no’s”… Eventually, through a series of some luck, some persistence – a whole bunch of things – I just was patient and very persistent and worked very hard to get them. I mean, if you look back and say, “okay, I’m going to get this guy, and this guy,” I would say, “good luck.” But you just do it, you know?
Alex Saveliev: It also must have been quite the task compiling all the archival footage of the sports and music legends.
Gabe Polsky: Yeah, it was definitely… (trails off) The key was trying to find stuff that was new and really interesting and not stuff that we’ve seen many times before. Something fresh so that you could look at it in a different way. [Something that] supports the ideas and takes them further.
Alex Saveliev: I thought Wayne Gretzky was very eloquent and stately. You wouldn’t think he’s a hockey star at all. What was your impression of him?
Wayne Gretzky – In Search of Greatness (2018).
Gabe Polsky: I agree with you. He’s always been a little bit more sophisticated, I’d say, than most players. Maybe he just put his “A-game” in there. I don’t know.
Alex Saveliev: Did you hit it off?
Gabe Polsky: We definitely did. He’d seen “Red Army” and really liked it. I think that once we got going, he kind of got excited about what I was asking him, the way I was looking at it… You know how when you’re an interviewer, you just kind of get what they’re after? He doesn’t really get asked these things, ever. He enjoys talking about that kind of stuff.
Alex Saveliev: “In Search Of Greatness” explores many facets of what makes an athlete, as well as a music star, “great.” How would you define greatness, be it on stage or on a football field?
Gabe Polsky: I think basically it’s all the same. When I go see a movie or experience something in the entertainment space, which sports are too, I’m really looking to see something that’s powerful, that moves you, that’s new, that’s something amazing you’ve never seen before. That is basically the same thing as creativity, right? You can’t just be creative for the sake of being creative – you’re doing it to tell a story, or to win. Those magical things are what I’m looking for. It’s something that’s just really powerful. You have to put all of your soul into it and do original expressions. That’s where you start off. So if you’re boring people, not engaging them, it just means you’re not being inspired, you’re not being creative, you know?
Pelé – In Search of Greatness (2018).
Alex Saveliev: Do you aspire for greatness as a filmmaker? Has filmmaking always been your dream?
Gabe Polsky: Yeah, of course, that’s what I’m doing! I want to make the greatest sports movie of all time! Not just for the end result necessarily, like, “oh, I want to be the greatest!” But I do want people to leave the theater saying, “that was one of the greatest sports films I have ever seen.” And not even “sports film” – just a film that [would] blow [one] away. That’s what I want. That’s how I played hockey too – I didn’t just want to play it in an average way. I wanted to blow people away.
Alex Saveliev: “Butcher’s Crossing,” a Western, and “Going After Cacciato,” a war film, are your two next projects. What can you tell us about them?
Gabe Polsky: I’m just trying to get them made! I’m really passionate about them. They’re both really important and say something super interesting and creative. I’ve written them, it just takes time to raise the money. I don’t have a long track record in feature films, so… I never directed on my own. Obviously, I did “The Motel Life” and I’m proud of that, but it’s not like I’m Scorsese or these other guys… I think I can do just as good, if not… You know, I say it humbly – but I do have the talent to do something powerful. But proving it and raising the money is difficult.
Alex Saveliev: Well, kudos to you for getting it done and putting your stuff out there in the world. The struggle is real – thank you for enduring it for us!
Gabe Polsky: And thank you! That’s the thing about “In Search Of Greatness” too – without people who believe in you… (trails off) Someone is going to have to take that risk! And you meet people along the way who are supportive and help you make a difference. So many say “no” and they don’t get it. They can’t see greatness when it’s in front of them.
“In Search of Greatness” hits theaters in limited release Friday, November 2nd
