Film Summaries
2012
The Announcement
On Thursday, November 7, 1991, Earvin “Magic” Johnson made people stop and watch at the Forum in Inglewood, California. But this time it wasn’t his basketball brilliance as a perennial NBA All-Star and three-time MVP that was captivating audiences worldwide. Instead, the 32-year-old ground-breaking point guard was holding a press conference to make the stunning announcement that he was HIV-positive and would be retiring from basketball immediately. But the shock of this declaration went deeper. Having the AIDS virus in 1991 was widely seen as a death sentence, and the commonly held belief was that we would be watching a beloved sports hero die excruciatingly and swiftly in front of our eyes. Yet Magic had a different narrative in mind. He defied the odds, not just surviving, but truly living and prospering. From his MVP performance in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, his participation on the original Olympic “Dream Team” later that year and an NBA comeback in 1996, to his astounding success as a businessman, philanthropist and ambassador in the fight against AIDS, Magic has lived up to the promise of his nickname. In “The Announcement,” Nelson George and NBA Entertainment get to the core of this incredible personal journey and explore how he continues to thrive two decades later. By: Nelson George
BIO
Nelson George is a filmmaker, author and historian who specializes in stories highlighting the African-American experience. His current novel, “The Plot Against Hip Hop”, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. His non-fiction books include the award winning music histories The Death of Rhythm & Blues and Hip Hop America, as well as the memoir City Kid. George directed and co-wrote the HBO Film, Life Support, for which Queen Latifah won an Golden Globe. Previous screenplays were for CB4, which starred Chris Rock, and Strictly Business, with Halle Berry in the lead. He has served as executive producer for VH1's Hip Hop Honors, BET's American Gangster, VH1 Soul's Soul Cities. He also produced the Sundance Film Festival jury prizewinner Good Hair, which was hosted by Chris Rock. Brooklyn Boheme, a film he hosts, wrote and co-directed, debuts on Showtime in February. He can be contacted at www.nelsondgeorge.net.
2011
Catching Hell | Renée | The Dotted Line | Charismatic
The Real Rocky | Unguarded | Roll Tide/War Eagle
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With five outs remaining in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, a foul ball descended from the cold Chicago sky, seemingly destined for the glove of Cubs left fielder Moises Alou. But a flurry of hands reached up and one hand, belonging to Cubs fan Steve Bartman, fatefully tipped the ball away from a frustrated Alou. Most long-suffering Cubs fans, including a chorus of hostile ones in Wrigley Field, quickly became convinced that Bartman had swatted away Chicago’s chance of advancing to the World Series for the first time 58 years. The mild-mannered Bartman released a sincere public apology, but his fate was already sealed by the Cubs fans’ need for a scapegoat to explain a near-century of losing. Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney relates the scapegoat compulsion to his own frustration as a Red Sox fan when Bill Buckner was similarly singled out for letting a fateful ground ball go through his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Gibney engages Buckner and his story as a means of exploring what has kept Bartman so silent despite highly lucrative offers to tell his side of the story.
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The film tells the story of Renée Richard’s battle to enter the 1977 U.S. Open as the first transgender tennis player. Simultaneously, it follows her today as she struggles to cope with a life of contradictions and personal conflict. Through interviews with tennis legends, family, friends and experts from the transgender field; a story of perseverance, breakthrough and hardship unfolds.
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The Dotted Line (Morgan Spurlock)
Agents … they are some of the most hated people in professional sports. Long thought to be nothing but greedy and ruthless hustlers, agents are the ultimate backroom operators. When there is some high-stakes contract negotiation between millionaire players and billionaire owners, you can bet in the center of it, is an agent. But what do we really know about them? With The Dotted Line, acclaimed director Morgan Spurlock pulls back the curtain on the ultra-secretive sports agent industry to expose what these guys really do in the trenches. We follow top agents in the NFL, the NBA, and MLB to explore the turbulent and emotional ups and downs of recruiting, marketing and negotiating record-breaking contracts for their top-tier clients. The film also explores recent NCAA agent scandals and the complex issues that can arise when college athletes turn pro. Are these guys really the sleazeballs people think they are? Or are they just skilled businessmen, simply acting in the best interests of their clients? The Dotted Line paints a well-rounded portrait of a fascinating and complex industry.
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In June of 1999 an unlikely colt named Charismatic, with down and out jockey Chris Antley aboard, headed down the stretch at the Belmont Stakes, just seconds away from becoming the first Triple Crown winner in nearly 21 years. Thoroughbred racing was desperate for this story of deliverance as track attendance was in steep decline. Into this void stepped Charismatic and Antley, both thought to be lost causes. Together, they became the biggest long shots in 59 years to win the Kentucky Derby, and then followed up with another underdog win at the Preakness, before tragedy struck.
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The Real Rocky (Jeff Feuerzeig)
Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State heavyweight boxing champion, he took abuse from Sonny Liston, got his nose broken by Muhammad Ali, and inspired Sylvester Stallone to write “Rocky” which won three Academy Awards. Wepner was left out of the “Rocky” glory, and his career took turn after strange turn as he worked to stay in the spotlight: he went on to fight Andre the Giant as “The Assassin” and boxed a 900 pound bear. Twice.
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Chris Herren, Fall River, Massachusetts’ high school basketball superstar, played for Boston College, for Jerry Tarkanian’s Fresno State team, bounced around the NBA (once playing for his beloved Celtics) and around the globe. Chris failed drug tests wherever he played. Ultimately, Chris - the youngest and most talented of three generations of local heroes - has found redemption and personal fulfillment through the game, but only after it led him down a path of alcohol and drug addiction that nearly killed him.
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Roll Tide/War Eagle (Martin Khodabakhshian)
With two Heisman trophies, two national championships and one crazed fan, the biggest rivalry in college sports, Auburn vs. Alabama, has reached new heights in the last two years. This is the story of the history between the two programs, the bad blood between its fans and how this intense rivalry came to a pinnacle, just when they ended up needing each other most.
ESPN Films’ new slate of documentaries will be available on iTunes and Amazon.com the day after each film’s broadcast premiere and will be available on DVD shortly thereafter at major retailers. A compilation of films from the series will be available in a collectible DVD Gift Set this holiday season.
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