As we head into the final stage of production on “The U,” our documentary chronicling the history of the University of Miami football program, we have to make some tough choices about who we interview.
So far we’ve interviewed Melvin Bratton, Howard Schnellenberger, Larry Coker, Jon Vilma, Willis McGahee, Jeremy Shockey, Bennie Blades, John Routh (The Ibis), Don Bailey Jr, Art Kehoe, Sam Jankovich (athletic director), Luther Campbell (2 Live Crew), Jessie Armstead, Drew Rosenhaus (uber agent), Robert Bailey, Jerry Rushin & James T (99 Jamz).
We want you to let us know who you think we ABSOLUTELY need to interview for the documentary. We’ll be using interview clips of many other players, coaches, fans and rivals from archival footage, but we want to get a sense of who you think is indispensable to a comprehensive history of The U. We’ll start off with a poll of 80s Hurricanes players (because of course Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Erickson are on our list) and next week we’ll poll the 90s.
Of these ten UM players from the 80s, which five do we HAVE to interview? (poll after the jump) (more…)
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via the Miami Herald:
…the Canes remain in ESPN’s thoughts, with work well under way on a UM football documentary. Some Canes fans have expressed concern that the film — set to air in September 2009 — will be unfair, but the director assures that will not be the case.
”I don’t think anyone will come away saying we did anyone wrong,” said producer Alfred Spellman, who, along with director Billy Corben, attended UM. “It will be very objective and very fair. We’re not taking a Michael Moore approach. We don’t come in with an agenda. We will explore why the program was under a microscope, but not in a judgmental way. None of our documentaries have narrators. The interview subjects will narrate it. We hope this will be the definitive history of the University of Miami football program.” (more…)
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ESPN has ordered a documentary on the University of Miami’s football program. But don’t expect a rah-rah booster flick. It’s being produced by Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben, whose last documentary was Cocaine Cowboys, a searing recollection of the 1980s when narcotrafficker corpses piled up so fast that Dade County had to rent refrigerated trailers to handle the morgue overflow. (Spellman and Corben have produced a sequel about narcoqueen Griselda Blanco — Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin’ With The Godmother – that’s scheduled for DVD release this month.)
The UM documentary will air as part of a series called 30 for 30 — 30 films covering sports events of the past 30 years, commemorating ESPN’s 30th anniversary in 2009. No air date has been set. But ESPN’s announcement of the acquisition noted pointedly: “No program’s style has been more of a lightning rod for simultaneous excellence and controversy than the University of Miami.”
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via Tom Jicha at the Sun Sentinel:
The University of Miami’s much celebrated and oft criticized football program is going to receive more high profile praise and scrutiny.
ESPN announced at the press tour that it has hired film-makers Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben, who collaborated on Cocaine Cowboys, to produce a documentary, The U, which will focus on the program’s triumphs, tragedies and tumult.
The special, which is in the early stages of production, will air in September 2009 under the network’s 30 for 30 umbrella.
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