Despite reports, Sony says 'Concussion' wasn't softened to placate NFL
Entertainment
Despite reports, Sony says ‘Concussion’ wasn’t softened to placate NFL
Emails leaked by last year’s hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment revealed executives, lawyers and filmmakers making edits to “Concussion” after wrestling with whether the Will Smith film would antagonize the NFL. The New York Times on Tuesday reported that Sony blunted parts of the film to avoid upsetting the NFL. Smith plays the forensic pathologist who uncovered the fatal effects of repeated head trauma suffered by many NFL players. In a statement Wednesday, Sony Pictures called the Times story “misleading” and noted it was written without the benefit of seeing the film.
As will become immediately clear to anyone actually seeing the movie, nothing with regard to this important story has been 'softened’ to placate anyone.
Sony statement
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King said he’d seen the film. On Twitter, he called it “a huge black eye for the NFL.” The film’s trailer, which debuted Monday, dramatizes the NFL as a foreboding opposition to pathologist Bennet Omalu’s heroic whistle-blower. In it, he’s warned: “You’re going to war with a corporation that owns a day of the week.” The NFL has declined to comment on the film, which will hit theaters in the heart of its upcoming season. It is not believed to have any business relationship with Sony.
