Director Landesman challenges the “most American of things”

Sep 1, 2015 11:46 GMT  ·  By

A first trailer for sports drama “Concussion” has premiered and must have already ruffled some feathers with the NFL. “Concussion” is based on a 2009 GQ article by Jeanne Marie Laskas, Game Brain, and details one doctor’s discovery of CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in a professional football player.

That doctor is Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist played by Will Smith. He takes his finding to the NFL bosses and is shut down, in the most unceremonious manner. All his future attempts to make his discovery public are met with the same attitude, and soon after he finds that his entire life is about to be turned upside down because he refuses to keep quiet.

“Concussion” is directed by Peter Landesman, who said in a recent interview that what most attracted him to the story was the David-vs.-Goliath feel to it. At the same time, he was attracted by the uniqueness of it.

“As an immigrant coming to America, who discovers a dangerous detail about the most American of things, America’s sacred cow, who then is forced to tell America about itself as a disaffected Nigerian, it was an extraordinary opportunity to explore what it is to be an American. And it was a gorgeous way to understand what it is to be a citizen of this nation,” he said.

Will Smith isn’t the only star bringing his A-game to the story: if you check out the trailer below, you will see Luke Wilson, Albert Brooks, Alec Baldwin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in supporting roles. “Concussion” drops in theaters on December 25, just in time for the Oscar season.