Latest news with #JimmyChin
The Age
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘A thin line between badass and dumbass': How a mountain athlete stays alive
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This weeks he speaks to Jimmy Chin. The Oscar-winning filmmaker, athlete, photographer and author, 51, made the first US ski descent from the summit of Mount Everest in 2006. His book is There and Back. His films include Free Solo and Nyad. RELIGION Your parents are Chinese immigrants. Were you raised with religious beliefs or spiritual systems? No, not outside some Chinese traditional superstitions and beliefs. My parents sent me to a Catholic school – what they considered to be the best private school in the small town [Mankato, Minnesota] where I grew up. In college, I did a deep dive into Eastern religion and philosophy – particularly Buddhism and Taoism. I have a loose association with Buddhism, but I'm not a practising Buddhist. Is there a word that feels right for you nowadays? Agnostic? Atheist? Spiritual? Spiritual. I have a lot of spiritual experiences in the wildest places on the planet. You exude confidence. Do you ever doubt yourself? I often feel doubt about something, and I'm scared to do it, then I find I'm on the right path. My life has been fraught with doubt: doubt about the career that I've pursued; doubt about climbing another hundred metres up this giant mountain; doubt that we're going to make it down alive. People think, 'Oh, he's totally self-assured,' but there's a lot of risk in my line of work and you learn to kind of overcome the doubt. That's courage, I think. When people commit to a big dream, that's courage. There's nothing more vulnerable than having a big dream and then pursuing it. BODIES You ski, swim, climb and trek. Were you always this physically capable? I grew up swimming competitively. Swimming is one of those things where you really learn about your physical capacity. Swimming three hours in the morning, and three hours in the evening – that's six hours a day where you're constantly pushing yourself. Even a day off can put you back several days. So you really get to know your body and its limits. I also studied martial arts from about five or six and had my black belt in taekwondo by the time I was 12. You understand the discipline it requires to perform at an elite level from a very young age. So I had a really good physical and mental baseline to pursue any sport. That's not to say that I was talented in anything, but I understood what it took to become good at something. What's the most intense thing that you've physically had to endure? There's been a lot. Everything from skiing in the Tetons [in Wyoming, America] and rock-climbing in Maro [in Spain] to climbing and skiing on Mount Everest and climbing a new route in Antarctica.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A thin line between badass and dumbass': How a mountain athlete stays alive
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we're told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they're given. This weeks he speaks to Jimmy Chin. The Oscar-winning filmmaker, athlete, photographer and author, 51, made the first US ski descent from the summit of Mount Everest in 2006. His book is There and Back. His films include Free Solo and Nyad. RELIGION Your parents are Chinese immigrants. Were you raised with religious beliefs or spiritual systems? No, not outside some Chinese traditional superstitions and beliefs. My parents sent me to a Catholic school – what they considered to be the best private school in the small town [Mankato, Minnesota] where I grew up. In college, I did a deep dive into Eastern religion and philosophy – particularly Buddhism and Taoism. I have a loose association with Buddhism, but I'm not a practising Buddhist. Is there a word that feels right for you nowadays? Agnostic? Atheist? Spiritual? Spiritual. I have a lot of spiritual experiences in the wildest places on the planet. You exude confidence. Do you ever doubt yourself? I often feel doubt about something, and I'm scared to do it, then I find I'm on the right path. My life has been fraught with doubt: doubt about the career that I've pursued; doubt about climbing another hundred metres up this giant mountain; doubt that we're going to make it down alive. People think, 'Oh, he's totally self-assured,' but there's a lot of risk in my line of work and you learn to kind of overcome the doubt. That's courage, I think. When people commit to a big dream, that's courage. There's nothing more vulnerable than having a big dream and then pursuing it. BODIES You ski, swim, climb and trek. Were you always this physically capable? I grew up swimming competitively. Swimming is one of those things where you really learn about your physical capacity. Swimming three hours in the morning, and three hours in the evening – that's six hours a day where you're constantly pushing yourself. Even a day off can put you back several days. So you really get to know your body and its limits. I also studied martial arts from about five or six and had my black belt in taekwondo by the time I was 12. You understand the discipline it requires to perform at an elite level from a very young age. So I had a really good physical and mental baseline to pursue any sport. That's not to say that I was talented in anything, but I understood what it took to become good at something. What's the most intense thing that you've physically had to endure? There's been a lot. Everything from skiing in the Tetons [in Wyoming, America] and rock-climbing in Maro [in Spain] to climbing and skiing on Mount Everest and climbing a new route in Antarctica.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
SPHERE STUDIOS ANNOUNCES TWO NEW EXPERIENCES IN PRODUCTION
THE WIZARD OF OZ AT SPHERE In Collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google, and Magnopus and FROM THE EDGE From Academy Award-Winning Directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin BURBANK, Calif., April 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR) announced today two new projects – The Wizard of Oz at Sphere and From The Edge – currently in production from Sphere Studios. Both productions are part of The Sphere ExperienceTM, Sphere's slate of original immersive content. The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is set to open on August 28, 2025, and From The Edge is set to debut in 2026. Jim Dolan, Executive Chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment, said: 'Our goal for The Sphere Experience is a diverse slate that leverages Sphere's power as an experiential medium. The Wizard of Oz at Sphere and From The Edge will push that vision forward in different ways.' THE WIZARD OF OZ AT SPHERE The original 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, will be presented as a fully immersive experience for Sphere. In collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery; Google; and Magnopus, Sphere will use cutting-edge technologies to enhance the original film. The Wizard of Oz at Sphere will maintain the integrity of the original while pushing the boundaries of Sphere's experiential medium. The creative team behind The Wizard of Oz at Sphere includes Academy Award and Emmy-nominated producer Jane Rosenthal (The Irishman); Academy Award-winning visual effects specialist Ben Grossmann (Hugo); Academy Award-winning editor Jennifer Lame (Oppenheimer); and Creative Director Zack Winokur (Little Island). FROM THE EDGE Directed by Academy Award winners E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) From The Edge will feature premier athletes – free diver Alenka Artnik, skier Markus Eder, rock climber Alex Honnold, BASE jumper Katie Hansen Lajeunesse, and surfer Kai Lenny – and take audiences inside the world of extreme sports. All five athletes are being captured on location by Big SkyTM, Sphere Entertainment's proprietary camera system developed to capture images at the scale and fidelity necessary for Sphere's display. Filming is underway in locations in Jordan, Dubai, Switzerland, the Bahamas, Austin, Las Vegas, and Maui. From The Edge is produced by Vasarhelyi and Chin and their Little Monster Films along with Evan Hayes and Callum Greene. Executive Producers are Anna Barnes (Little Monster Films) and Nick Martini (Stept Studios). To be the first to know more about The Wizard of Oz at Sphere and From The Edge, please visit and sign up for The Inner Circle. For press assets, please click here. About Sphere Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium that is redefining the future of live entertainment. A venue where the foremost artists, creators, and technologists create extraordinary experiences that take storytelling to a new level and transport audiences to places both real and imagined. The venue hosts original Sphere Experiences from leading Hollywood directors; concerts and residencies from the world's biggest artists; and premier marquee events. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023, and is a new Las Vegas landmark, powered by cutting-edge technologies that ignite the senses and enable audiences to share experiences at a never-before-seen scale. More information is available at
