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news
Video: Trailer unveiled for HBO's Tour de Pharmacy cycling mockumentary
US TV channel HBO has released a trailer for a mockumentary that will premiere on 8 July that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at professional cycling and, specifically, the sport's long history of doping.
Called Tour de Pharmacy, the film has been created by Andy Samberg and Murray Miller and is directed by Jake Szymanski.
There are some stellar – not to mention surprising – names in the cast including Orlando Bloom, Danny Glover, Dolph Lundgren, Kevin Bacon, Mike Tyson, JJ Abrams and “one anonymous informant.”
The trailer reveals that the latter is played by none other than Lance Armstrong, speaking for some reason in a bizarre accent.
"In 1982, during a dark and fictitious time in cycling history, the sport’s most venerable, time-honoured race was marred by the doping of virtually all of its competitors," says a press release.
"Riddled with nefarious characters, that year’s competition was a hornet’s nest of moral depravity. Through the perspective of five riders, Tour de Pharmacy gives an inside look into the grim realities of the darkest event in a sport notoriously tainted by controversy."
There's no news yet as to whether the film will be made available to viewers in the UK
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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26 comments
Hopefully it's going to be funnier than the trailer. Looking forward to a scene set in a Spanish lab with various footballers and tennis players dropping off blood bags... Oh hang on. Sorry... It's just cycling with the doping problem. Always has been. Always will be...
Would like to watch this and judge it on its own merits. It's certainly interesting and satirical on the face of it.
Some project this seems like, though, judging from the cast.
Nice bit of product placement for Specialized on Lance's helmet.................. not sure how happy they'd be????
Interesting... *rubs chin*... I have every faith that it'll be a funny/unfunny as 'The Art of the Deal' movie made as propaganda to send up Trump last year (by which I actually mean more strange and what the hell did I just watch than actually funny)...
This film will help to desensitise Lance to cyclists, a convienient sub plot to this no doubt plotless mockumentary.
It looks a bit too subtle for me, from the trailer. I'll leave the 'with hilarious consequences' to be enjoyed by others.
Lance who?
Yeah, crazy that, on a cycling site.
I could never watch a film/programme that starred a convicted rapist.
I couldn't agree more, so many comments regarding Lance and his dubious past and only one regarding Tyson's.
Wholeheartedly agree. Watch out, there'll be some blokes along soon calling us cultural marxist snowflake leftist SJWs.
As I see that he hasn't been accused of rape since, I think it is quite safe to say that he is a reformed charcter and the prison service has done its job. He has paid his price to society and therefore free of any further accusations, unless you know different. Not being able to move on is all a bit last century, imo. He has.
For what it's worth, I read an interview with Tyson just yesterday, and he described prison as "debilitating" rather than "rehabilitating".
Fair play to Lance.
There is some number of years of public opprobrium after which Lance should be considered to have served his time. He ruined some careers, cheated at cycling, but he didn't murder anyone.
Neatly summarised.
The really interesting thing in all of that is not what it says about Lance, but what it says about the outdated desperation of media (and a large part of audiences) to present people and problems in an unrealistic, simplified way.
Lance was a total hero - cancer survivor who AFTERWARDS launched a bazillion-dollar foundation and won 7 CONSECUTIVE Tours. What a guy.
Lance was an utter twat. A complete cheat, Bully King of the Omerta, wrecker of careers and reputations and serial bullshitter who cultivated his all-American hero image to rack up $100m and rattle Sheryl Crow. He displayed psychopathic tendencies even in his stage-managed confession. On Oprah. What a cunt.
Lance just wants to ride his bike - he's still a tidy triathlete and cyclist and an engaging, occasionally self-deprecating, entertaining bloke by all accounts, who does a reasonable podcast. And, knowing what we know now, in an era and sport when most were pushing the limits of cheating, where being a pig-headed control freak is still a key attribute, he was The Best.
My take on Lance now is a bit from columns A, B and C, and I suspect it's the same for many. I have no problem with that: people are complex. I can read pretty much any flavour of article on Lance and agree with at least some of it. Why the need to label him a Goodie or Baddie?
TL;DR - what PaulJ said.
Perhaps he will soon become a brand ambassador for Maserati.
No, watch the trailer. Armstrong's involvement from that seems to be taking the piss out of himself.
Looks like it's got loads of potential - like most (all?) things involving Andy Samberg. A lot of his stuff falls a bit flat though. I like Brooklyn99 but I think that's because it's 'nice' and a bit stupid rather than funny.
1982? Wasn't the era of rampant doping a little later?
In which case, Armstrong's involvement is probably taking potshots at LeMond. Or impersonating him.
Such a classy fella.
Could be made funnier. I mean a lot, lot funnier.
Are you typing that in order the draw additional attention to his appearance, or because you don't realise exactly what's going on with his voice. If it's the latter, may I suggest you go and watch the last bit of the trailer again, as his voice, or what's done to it, seems to be a big part of the joke surrounding his appearance.
As a fan of Hot Rod this looks like it could be great. I've always thought you could make a hilarious Spinal Tap of cycling, but thought it'd be funny to too few people to ever get made. I bet Nigel Tufnel could do a cracking Wiggins.
Hope the Lance whingers on here don't get too upset, at least the guy has a personality and a sense of humour about it.
Maybe he did it to get the lowest possible Bacon Number of 1 (Only one person has a Bacon Number of Zero.)
It won't be as good as American Flyers with Kevin Costner.
thats because American Flyers is the best film ever made.
Breaking Away is a far superior film from script, to acting, to the bike racing and bike culture contrasted with American culture.
" The trailer reveals that the latter is played by none other than Lance Armstrong, speaking for some reason in a bizarre accent." - surely that's the comedy disguised voice to maintain his anonymity (like they used to do on Watchdog or Crimewatch or whatever it was when they interviewed a victim or baddie and kept them in silhouette and disguised the voice)...
Truth is usually stranger than fiction though, so not sure how the fictitious characters will stack up against the reality!
Lance is a legend! Can't wait for this
Lance can FRO. Mockumentary or not.