| Fake It So Real | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert Greene |
| Produced by | Douglas Tirola |
| Starring |
|
| Distributed by | Factory 25 |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Fake It So Real is a 2011 American present tense documentary film that follows a group of ragtag wrestlers in North Carolina as they prepare for a big show. Functioning both as an essay on performance and a commentary on the working-class South. [1]
Director Robert Greene is cousins with amateur wrestler Chris Solar. [2] This connection sparked the idea to make a film about the wrestling scene in working class North Carolina. The film follows the preparation for a DIY match, tracking wrestlers Gabriel Croft, J-Prep, Keith Matthews, Pitt, Zane Riley, Brandon Powers, David Hayes, Hojo Devlin, Mikado, and AG Smooth. [3]
Robert Greene describes the film as "Fake It So Real follows a group of independent pro wrestlers in North Carolina over one week leading up to a single show. [4] What emerges over this week is the sense of purpose that wrestling gives these guys and the camaraderie and real family that they create around their passion for performing and competing for a small but very vocal fanbase. The film is really about doing something that matters to you at all costs. [5] "
The New York Times called the film "agonizingly genuine" [6] while The New Yorker's Richard Brody said "Though the matches themselves, with their crude narrative frameworks and stereotypes, may be something of an anticlimax, the film unearths the tough and complex life experiences they distill."
The film played at both Maryland Film Festival and Visions du Reel, [7] eventually being released by Factory 25. In 2024 Vinegar Syndrome released a special edition Blu-ray of the film.
Professional wrestling is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama, under the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Although it entails elements of sports wrestling and martial arts, including genuine displays of athleticism and physicality before a live audience, professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship. The staged nature of matches is an open secret, with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions; this is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction, known in the industry as the aforementioned kayfabe.
Aurelian Smith Jr. better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American retired professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer, and he also serves as a special advisor for AEW's community outreach program, AEW Together. He is also signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation ; the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1983, World Championship Wrestling in 1992, and the Mexico-based Asistencia Asesoría y Administración between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1997. He appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling during the summer of 1997 and made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008.
AXS TV is an American cable television channel majority-owned by Canadian broadcaster Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It is devoted primarily to music-related programming and combat sports—related programming.
The Headbangers are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh and Thrasher. They are currently signed to WWE as ambassadors.
Dean Harry Anthony Hart was a Canadian–American amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, referee, wrestling as well as music promoter and member of the Hart family who wrestled in Canadian regional promotions during the 1970s and 1980s, most notably in the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling. He was the son of Stu and Helen Hart and the younger brother of Smith, Bruce, Keith and Wayne, as well as older brother of Ellie, Georgia, Bret, Alison, Ross, Diana and Owen Hart. Dean was widely regarded as the most handsome of the Hart brothers. He died at the age of 36 in 1990, from a heart attack induced by kidney failure.
Beyond the Mat is a 1999 American documentary film directed, written, produced and narrated by Barry W. Blaustein. The film focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, primarily Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts, as well as some aspiring wrestlers. It focuses on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during its rise in popularity, and many other independent wrestlers and organizations. The film was originally released in U.S. theaters in March 2000, and later on VHS and DVD.
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling is a women's professional wrestling promotion that began in 1986 and has continued in various forms after it left television. Colorful characters, strong women, and over-the-top comedy sketches were integral to the series' success. Most of the performers were actresses, models, dancers or stunt women hoping to enter show business.
Nicholas Alan Searcy is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's Justified. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries From the Earth to the Moon as Deke Slayton, and directed Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer, a film released on October 12, 2018.
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. The term kayfabe has evolved to also become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the direct or indirect presence of the general public.
The Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), also known in China as International Glory Fighting, was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007.
Docufiction is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is and which simultaneously introduces unreal elements or fictional situations in narrative in order to strengthen the representation of reality using some kind of artistic expression.
William Murray Happer is an American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Otto Schwanz. He competed primarily in the Carolinas since the mid-2000s, and has wrestled for many promotions including CWF Mid-Atlantic, Cueball Carmichael's Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance, OMEGA, and Southern Championship Wrestling.
Richard "Ric" Converse is an American professional wrestler. He is one of the top "heels" on the Southeastern independent circuit, especially in the Carolinas, and currently competes for CWF Mid-Atlantic where he is a record 6-time CWF Mid-Atlantic Champion. He has wrestled for a considerable number of other independent wrestling promotions, most notably, Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling, NWA Carolinas, and Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX. He was also a star in the short-lived AWA Superstars promotion holding both the promotion's world heavyweight title and tag team title during 2006 and 2007.
Greg Beck Whiteley is the creator, executive producer, and director of the Netflix documentary series Wrestlers (2023), Cheer (2020–2022) and Last Chance U (2016–2020). His films include New York Doll (2005), Resolved (2007), Mitt (2014), and Most Likely to Succeed (2015).
The 100 Words Film Festival is an American event held annually in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 2014, it celebrates concise, cinematic storytelling—each film must contain exactly 100 spoken words, requiring filmmakers to focus on the essence of the story. The word limit is a part of the festival's goal to democratize filmmaking by making it financially achievable for nearly everyone.
Robert Greene is an American documentary filmmaker, editor, and writer. His documentaries include Procession, Bisbee '17, Kate Plays Christine, Actress, and Fake it So Real. He was named one of the 10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2014 by The Independent, and is "filmmaker-in-chief" at the Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the University of Missouri, beginning in 2015.
Matthew Aryan Dean Herweg, better known by his ring name Matt Hart is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is a third generation wrestler member of the Hart family and the son of professional wrestler Smith Hart, oldest child of wrestler Stu Hart and promoter Helen Hart. Hart has wrestled extensively on the independent scene in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and the United States. He is the first member of his family to complete the Canadian Death Tour. Hart has regularly performed for the Hart Legacy Wrestling promotion with other members of his family. He was the subject of the 2016 documentary Hart Still Beating.
Hart Still Beating: Pro Wrestling Saved My Life - A Hart Family Documentary is a 2016 Canadian short documentary directed by Kurt Spenrath and Frederick Kroetsch for Telus about professional wrestlers Matt and Smith Hart, father and son from the Hart family. The film concerns Matt's childhood from that of the death of his mother as well as Smith's terminal cancer diagnosis which leads to them growing closer to each other through professional wrestling after being near estranged for many years.
The Resurrection of Jake the Snake is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Steve Yu chronicling the life of professional wrestler Jake Roberts. In particular, the film focuses on Roberts' life from 2012 to 2014, during which time he undergoes a rehabilitation program led by his friend and former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to break his alcoholism and improve his overall health. Numerous other wrestlers are interviewed about Roberts throughout the film, and Scott Hall joins the rehabilitation program several months after Roberts, having similarly struggled with alcoholism.