As Sony starts marketing their new Will Smith movie, Concussion, the studio is facing backlash from fans and critics after reports suggest the movie goes soft on the National Football League.
Project Casting first reported in March on the email exchanges, that were released due to the Sony hack, describe the studio as afraid of the NFL’s reaction to the movie.
Concussion director goes on the defensive
But according to a new report by The Hollywood Reporter, the movie’s director, Peter Landesman, says the “year-plus creative process that’s a constant negotiation,” he added “I can tell you my concern for the NFL and the studio’s concern for the NFL was less than zero.”
He argues that the studio and filmmakers are so offended by the accusations that they released a statement yesterday.
“Today’s New York Times article and headline, written by individuals who have not seen the film, contains many misleading inferences,” a Sony Pictures spokesperson said. “As will become immediately clear to anyone actually seeing the movie, nothing with regard to this important story has been ‘softened’ to placate anyone.”
Even though Concussion will not debut for another three months, the film is generating a lot of news coverage. It is clear from the trailer that Concussion makes the NFL look pretty bad as an organization and paints the idea that NFL did not care about their players’ safety.
The deleted scene Concussion producers and (allegedly) the NFL does not want you to see
It is important to point out that Concussion deleted (which you can read here) a major scene featuring Roger Goodell in the movie. The scene featured NFL officials and commissioner Roger Goodell in an explosive conversation. “I had a scene in the movie that took place in a room that I wasn’t in, [depicting] a conversation that took place between people that I didn’t talk to,” Landesman says. “I knew that scene took place and that conversation took place, but I didn’t hear it myself. I knew about it because I talked to someone who was in that room. I wanted to be responsible and careful, and I didn’t want to be defamatory. So, we took that out. And by the way, the movie doesn’t need it because the movie is so strong.”
Ironically, the NFL finds itself on the defensive, arguing against the idea that it applied any kind of pressure and therefore modified Concussion. According to THR’s sources, it was not the NFL that reached out to producers but the movie’s director Landesman who reached out to NFL communications chief Paul Hicks for a meeting in September 2014. Hicks asked to see a script before any conversation would take place, which is a fairly standard request for any company being portrayed in film. Landesman grew upset, and the meeting never happened.
Concussion will premiere for sports journalists first
Sony has made an early decision to first screen the film for sports journalists rather than Hollywood, though it will be launching an aggressive awards-season campaign.
“We’re so confident in this film and the story we’re telling that we thought it would be fascinating to [break the trailer with] the very institution at the beating heart of professional sports — in particular the NFL,” Landesman added. “It was a very specific strategic choice.”
Concussion Movie: The NFL’s Response
But, what about the NFL? How is the NFL handling all of the press? Well the NFl has only released a brief statement on the film’s trailer: “We are encouraged by the ongoing focus on the critical issue of player health and safety,” said Jeff Miller, NFL senior vp health and safety policy. “We have no higher priority. We all know more about this issue than we did 10 or 20 years ago. As we continue to learn more, we apply those learnings to make our game and players safer.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Miller added, “We have had no involvement in the film.”
But, will Sony pay for a Concussion commercial during this NFL season? Maybe.
The NFL is unaware of any ad buys by Sony during its games and would not try to stop it, says the insider. Sony didn’t answer questions regarding its upcoming ad buys. Though Landesman says he was extremely involved in the marketing campaign, he isn’t privy to specific information about when and where the trailer will roll out on TV, though he stresses that there will be “nothing apologetic about our campaign.”
“Everyone who has seen this film says the same thing: ‘Not only did they not pull any punches, but the opposite is true,'” Landesman says. “The moment anyone sees this film knows that [us going easy on the NFL is] nonsense. That story goes away.”
