“Siren: The Voices of Shelley Beattie,” a documentary feature from HBO Original Documentary Films, featuring the Deaf bodybuilder and American Gladiators star, debuts Tuesday, September 22, from 9:00 to 10:43 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will stream on HBO Max.
Directed by Irene Taylor, whose previous works include Trees and Other Entanglements and I Am: Celine Dion, the film follows Marlee Matlin, the Academy Award-winning actress, as she explores the life of Deaf woman Shelley Beattie, whose story she discovered through an online search.
She discovers similarities between their lives: adventure, success, discrimination, abuse, and addiction in a hearing world. In highlighting these similarities, the documentary features their stories of strength, beauty, and perseverance.
Shelley Beattie built her own security by being encased in a hard shell, achieving international recognition in bodybuilding in the 1990s and playing the role of “Siren” on American Gladiators. But the film says behind the hard shell was a complex, sensitive person.
The film examines the early challenges Shelley had in dealing with being deaf among a family that didn’t understand her, the barriers she had to break in order to succeed in sports and media, and the cause of her activism: spreading awareness of mental health issues, until her untimely death at 39 years old. By showcasing her story, Matlin and Taylor expose how the hearing world has been cruel to Deaf people.
Matlin sought out Taylor, whose previous works consistently explore hearing loss and family issues, and they decided to dig up Beattie’s story together. The film combines archival footage, home videos, interviews, and personal artwork to reveal Beattie’s vibrant personality and voice.
An American Sign Language version will also stream on HBO Max alongside the film premiere. The ASL version is performed by AV Vilavong, with credits including The Way We Move and I Am: Celine Dion ASL. Justin Jackerson directs the ASL version, whose work includes Wuthering Heights with ASL and House of the Dragon with ASL.
Participants featured in the film include Matlin; Beattie’s mother and siblings; her friends and contemporaries; Beattie’s life partner and trainer, John Romano; her trainers; former American Gladiators athletes; former Ms. Olympias; Ed Connors, founder of Gold’s Gym; Bill Koch, winner of the 1992 America’s Cup; and Beattie’s girlfriend, Julie Moisa.
Siren: The Voices of Shelley Beattie is presented by HBO Documentary Films, a Vermilion Films production. Irene Taylor directed and produced the film. Producers include Marlee Matlin, Lauren Mueller and Stacy Lorts. HBO Executive Producers include Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Tina Nguyen.
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