Tonight’s airing of the documentary about Boston Marathoner Rachel Foster on ESPN didn’t happen.
The replay won’t happen tomorrow after the Marathon, either.
Famed producer Frank Marshall — who also directed the film — wrote on Twitter this evening:
“I’m sad to report that RACHEL, BREATHE, will not premiere on ESPN2 today. After several days of negotiations that should have been very simple and were not about money, but rights, the ESPN lawyers stopped talking to us an hour before broadcast and said, “sign it now or we are pulling the show”. I’m extremely disappointed for Rachel and John and entire team that spent 2 years making this film about hope, love and friendship. We remain genuinely excited for the day this documentary reaches the world, it is simply not tonight. And just like Rachel, we remain resilient and the moment I know where and when the premiere is, you will hear from me. And thanks to Dick’s Sporting Goods for fighting the fight.”
What a shame. Joanna Forscher’s documentary follows the challenges of Rachel Foster, who finished the 2023 Boston Marathon after waking up from a four month coma. The film follows her path to training and finishing the 2025 Marathon. It was supposed to be shown tonight, and then tomorrow following the Marathon.
Producers include Marshall — one of the great producers in Hollywood, as well as a top producing team.
ESPN is notably greedy and difficult to work with. They’re currently also in a dispute with MLB Network for Major League Baseball. For them to deny this broadcast is pretty small on their part.
