Pumping Iron is really just a 1977 documentary film about the run up into the 1975 Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest. The film focuses on his rivals along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbu. Robert Fiore and George Butler co-directed the documentary. It was based on the book of the exact identical name by Charles Gaines and George Butler (Simon and Schuster, 1974).