By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Thursday, June 11, 2015
Former Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez will be featured in a documentary "Play it Forward" Showtime has picked up about him and his brother.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the documentary followed Tony as he wound down his career in 2013 with the Falcons. The film also follows his relations with his brother Chris, who is pursuing a career as a firefighter. Chris taught Tony how to play football.
"Play It Forward" is set to air this October.
Gonzalez had an all-star career over 17 seasons, five with the Falcons. He was durable, missing just two games. And he was an effective tight end to the very end, considered one of the best of all time. He is now a CBS Sports analyst on "NFL Today."
Any nepotism involved here? The documentary was written and directed by Oscar nominee Andrea Nevins , the wife of Showtime president David Nevins. Nevins recently did a three-part documentary "State of Play" about three former football stars.
"The Gonzalez's story in 'Play it Forward' resonates with the love, joy, loss, struggle and sacrifice it takes to hold a family together and achieve success," said Michael Strahan, an executive producer and former NFL player, in a press release.
Allen Strk, who writes for the Falcoholic, saw the film at a screening earlier this year at the Tribeca film Festival and found it inspiring in his review.
Tony Gonzalez will always be one of the most respected players in NFL history. No documentary was going to increase or decrease that description. What this documentary did was increase the respect for Gonzalez as a human being.
If the film lacks the exceptional elements that make up many a sports doc—there seems to be little tabloid- or headline-worthy about Gonzalez's family life--it compensates for it with a remarkably human story.
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