ESPN pulled “Rachel, Breath,” an upcoming documentary from Frank Marshall, hours before it was supposed to broadcast on ESPN2 Sunday night. According to the storied filmmaker, the issue wasn’t about money but about rights to the film.
“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,’” Marshall wrote on X.
The documentary did not air as scheduled because the licensing agreement around the project was not finalized, an insider familiar with the matter told TheWrap. Though the two parties were working on a deal, additional terms were introduced late in the process that required further business and legal review. Those new terms were not resolved prior to Sunday evening. However, discussions between ESPN and the producers of the documentary remain ongoing.
“Rachel, Breathe” focuses on Rachel Foster, a longtime marathon racer who defied the odds by completing the 2023 Boston Marathon five months after waking up from a coma. Specifically, the film focuses on Foster preparing to run the 2025 Boston Marathon as a way to prove that, though her life has changed, she hasn’t. “Interweaving Rachel’s journey to run Boston past and present, the film explores themes of loss, love, grit, friendship, redemption and transcendence,” a press release for the project reads.
Marshall, best known for producing massive hits like “Congo,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Signs,” directs “Rachel, Breathe.” In his post, Marshall revealed that the team has worked on this movie for two years and that he’s “extremely disappointed” by what happened.
“We remain genuinely excited for the day this documentary reaches the world, it is simply not tonight,” Marshall wrote on Sunday evening. “And just like Rachel, we remain resilient and the moment I know where and when the premiere is, you will hear from me.”
The filmmaker and producer also thanking his producing partner Dick’s Sporting Goods for “fighting the fight.”
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