Hot Off the Press Release: Sky Movies Goes Sports Mad
March 31, 2020 
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Next month Sky will launch a sports movie pop-up channel with a mix of dramas, comedies and documentaries, ranging from Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby to I Am Duran and Fighting With My Family.
Here’s the media release:
Sky Movies is going into bat for sports lovers – new Sky Movies Sports Movies Pop-Up channel coming in April
Across the board, Kiwis are feeling at a bit of a loss with the lack of live sport. It’s taken the wind out of our sails and made us feel like throwing in the towel – but that’s not the Kiwi spirit.
While live sport is taking some time out, Sky Movies is stepping up to the plate – from the 22nd of April to the 27th of April, both Sky Movies and Sky Sport customers alike will be treated to the Sports Movies Pop-Up with a range of action-packed sporty-skewed films. They span a range of genres, from drama to comedy to documentary, and a range of sports, from combat sports and surfing to volleyball, golf, and gymnastics.
To start the ball rolling, Wednesday 22nd of April kicks off with The Miracle Season, a volleyball drama starring Helen Hunt and Erin Moriarty, followed by Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, the former heavyweight champion’s one-man comedic Broadway stage show.
Combat sports
There’s a lot to choose from when it comes films about the noble art of boxing. We’ve got Million Dollar Baby, which took a clean sweep at the Oscars, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood along with Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, this drama focuses on a hardened trainer who begrudgingly takes on a female boxer, forging a friendship that transcends the losses of his past.
When it comes to award-winners, it would be a hit below the belt to forget the 1981 Martin Scorsese classic Raging Bull which stars Robert de Niro as boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper led him to the top in the ring but destroyed his life outside of it. De Niro took home an Oscar and a Golden Globe for this role.
Are you after an action classic? We’ve got Kickboxer, where in order to avenge his brother, a man must learn the ancient art of Muay Thai with the help of an old master. It stars the OG action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme, so you know there’ll be some serious stunts. If we’ve got Van Damme, then we need Stallone too – look no further than Creed II.
Fancy something a little lighter? The 2019 comedy Fighting With My Family, starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Florence Pugh, and Lena Heady, is based on the true story of a WWE superstar – a girl born into a tight-knit wrestling family who is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Surfing
No need to channel surf, we’ve got plenty of ocean action on this pop-up too. Seminal surfing documentary The Endless Summer saw director Bruce Brown and two of his buddies pack up their surfboards and follow summer around the globe in 1966 – it’s well worth a watch for any surfing aficionado. Continue riding that documentary wave with Momentum Generation, about a group of teen surfers in 1980s Hawaii who craved an escape from their challenging home lives and formed a community that changed the face of competitive surfing forever.
Skateboarding
From one board to another, the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys follows a small group of surfers in Santa Monica who used their skills in empty swimming pools and the streets to create a new form of skateboarding in mid-70s America. If you’d rather the dramatised version, do a 180 and tryLords of Dogtown, the Heath Ledger and Emile Hirsch-starring story of the rise of skateboarding.
We’re jamming a tonne of sports films into this action-packed pop-up, check out the full list below or get in touch for more info.
Sports Movies Pop-Up (Sky channel 38) – 22 to 27 April 2020
Volleyball
DOCO The Miracle Season (2018) – Wednesday 22 April, 2pm
Combat sports
COMEDY Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth (2013) – Wednesday 22 April, 3.40pm
DRAMA The Brawler (2018) – Wednesday 22 April, 5.05pm
DRAMA Million Dollar Baby (2004) – Wednesday 22 April, 8.30pm
DRAMA Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight (2013) – Thursday 23 April, 5.24pm
DOCO Mr Calzaghe (2015) – Thursday 23 April, 7.04pm
ACTION Never Back Down (2008) – Thursday 23 April, 11pm
ACTION Creed II (2018) – Friday 24 April, 8.30pm
COMEDY Fighting With My Family (2019) – Friday 24 April, 10.35pm
DRAMA Tyson (1995) – Saturday 25 April, 12.20am
DOCO I Am Duran (2019) – Saturday 25 April, 6.40pm
DOCO Bare Knuckle (2018) – Saturday 25 April, 10.53pm
ACTION Bare Knuckle Brawler (2019) – Sunday 26 April, 12.18am
ACTION Kickboxer (1989) – Sunday 26 April, 6.55pm
DRAMA Raging Bull (1980) – Sunday 26 April, 8.30pm
DOCO Tyson (2007) – Sunday 26 April, 10.35pm
Motorsports
DOCO 1 (2013) – Wednesday 22 April, 6.40pm
DOCO Steve McQueen – Desert Racer (2015) – Friday 24 April, 2.54pm
Ice skating
DRAMA Skating To New York (2014) – Thursday 23 April, 2.03pm
Cycling
COMEDY Tour De Pharmacy (2017) – Thursday 23 April, 8.35pm
Surfing
DOCO The Endless Summer (1966) – Thursday 23 April, 3.33pm
DOCO Momentum Generation (2018) – Thursday 23 April, 9.15pm
DRAMA Chasing Mavericks (2012) – Saturday 25 April, 3.05pm
DOCO Riding Giants (2004) – Saturday 25 April, 5pm
DRAMA Big Wednesday (1978) – Sunday 26 April, 11.52am
Basketball
FAMILY Thunderstruck (2012) – Friday 24 April, 1.23pm
Skateboarding
DOCO Dogtown And Z-Boys (2001) – Friday 24 April, 3.44pm
DRAMA Lords Of Dogtown (2005) – Sunday 26 April, 3.20pm
Bodybuilding
DRAMA Bigger (2018) – Friday 24 April, 5.12pm
Soccer
DRAMA Gracie (2007) – Friday 24 April, 6.56pm
Gymnastics
COMEDY Stick It (2006) – Saturday 25 April, 1.25pm
American Football
ACTION Gridiron Gang (2006) – Saturday 25 April, 8.05pm
DRAMA Rudy (1993) – Sunday 26 April, 5.05pm
Tennis
COMEDY 7 Days In Hell (2015) – Saturday 25 April, 10.08pm
Golf
DOCO The Founders (2015) – Sunday 26 April, 1.50pm
Softball
COMEDY Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls (2019) – Monday 27 April, 12.05am.
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