CrossFit Games

The Buttery Bros Tease New Series, Open the Door for Potential 2018 Documentary

December 7, 2020 by
Image Credit: The Buttery Bros
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CrossFit Games fans still holding out a glimmer of hope to see some of the footage from the 2018 season got some exciting news last week. 

Filmmakers Heber Cannon and Marston Sawyers, also known as The Buttery Bros, joined the Talking Elite Fitness podcast where they discussed multiple projects, including the current 2020 documentary they are working on and the possibility of resurrecting the 2018 Games documentary, a highly anticipated film that was shelved during post-production when the CrossFit Games media team was infamously laid off prior to the 2019 season. 

  • We shot an amazing movie that year, it was a spectacle of an event and we had incredible behind the scenes stories,” states Cannon, “we would love for the opportunity to make that film. CrossFit owns it, and the potential is there with the new leadership for that film to be completed.”

One big thing: Despite being more than two years removed from the 2018 Games, there has been a steady flow of speculation and inquiries from fans over the possibility of the documentary being finished. Cannon’s comments are the most significant sign of life the movie has had since it was put on ice.

  • The 2018 Games were a high point for the sport, both in terms of participation and attention, and the competition includes some potential for tremendous storylines.
  • Laura Horvath and Lukas Hogberg were surprise podium sensations and Cannon revealed they had cameras following them the entire time.
  • Patrick Vellner rallied from tough breaks early on, including a scary fall from the cargo net and trip to the hospital to finish 2nd.
  • Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey put on a clinic en route to convincing wins in a season that contained arguably the most complete and entertaining test of fitness to date.

But wait, there’s more: The Buttery Bros also revealed that they were working on releasing a 2019 mini-series following the Sanctionals season in its early stages as they followed top athletes around the world to cover their attempts to qualify for the Games and navigate a new season structure.

  • The series was first teased in February of 2019 and will feature Fraser at the 2019 Dubai CrossFit Championship, Toomey and Vellner at Wodapalooza 2019, and Sara Sigmundsdottir at the 2019 Strength In Depth. 
  • Cannon:  “When we set out to make the 2019 documentary of the CrossFit Games, initially it was a series that was going to follow the season through Sanctionals up to the Games. Eventually our direction changed, but we had all this behind the scenes footage that was super interesting following top athletes through events and we wanted to get that out to the public.”

Why this matters: In the big picture of the sport, the storytelling associated with the Games and qualification steps along the way acts as living chapters in the sports ever-growing history books. Furthermore the events and developments of each film and episode are integral pieces to each athlete’s legacy, especially if the sport wants to improve on its path towards legitimate professionalization. 

The bottom line: The fate of the documentary is ultimately in CrossFit HQ’s hands considering that they own the full rights to all of the footage shot by Cannon, Sawyers and the rest of the media team and would need to license the footage to them in order for it to get finished. 

  • The details of the mini-series are still being determined, but The Buttery Bros revealed that a full trailer for the series will be released in the coming days on their Patreon page

So just to recap: A 2020 documentary, 2019 Sanctionals mini-series, and potentially a 2018 documentary sometime in the future. Count us in. 

Authors Note: The Buttery Bros have requested feedback regarding the interest in them finishing the 2018 documentary. Feel free to comment below or message them via their instagram to share your thoughts. 

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