The makers of Sony’s "Concussion" film starring Will Smith did their best to avoid angering the NFL by altering the script, marketing of the film and storyline to appease the league.
From the New York Times:
In dozens of studio emails unearthed by hackers, Sony Pictures executives; the director, Peter Landesman; and representatives of Mr. Smith discussed how to avoid antagonizing the N.F.L. by altering the script and marketing the film more as a story, rather than a condemnation of football or the league.
“Will is not anti football (nor is the movie) and isn’t planning to be a spokesman for what football should be or shouldn’t be but rather is an actor taking on an exciting challenge,” Dwight Caines, the president of domestic marketing at Sony Pictures, wrote in an email to three top studio executives about how to position the movie. “We’ll develop messaging with the help of N.F.L. consultant to ensure that we are telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet’s nest.”
Other emails noted that some “unflattering moments for the NFL” were deleted or changed, while in another email, a top Sony lawyer is said to have taken “most of the bite” out of the film “for legal reasons with the league. Sony also tried to reach out to the NFL as well.
By Glenn Erby
