ABC

[Corso]

The reason this story was picked up by ESPN was because it was the most egregious, brazen abuse of institutional control over an athletic department in modern sports history-I have little doubt this story will demonstrate quite clearly how poorly our "leaders" handled the entire situation. There are no comparable institutional failures.

Let's see .... you know "the reason this story was picked up by ESPN" because of what?

Your employment at ESPN? Nope.
Your conversations with ESPN executives? Nope.
Your conversations with Thad? Nope (I'm assuming).
Your position on the film/production crew? Nope.

SMU broke rules then. Just about every school in the Southwest (if not the entire country) broke rules then, but SMU either broke them more often or more blatantly or issued a middle-finger salute to the NCAA, hence the harshest punishment of all. But many have tried to act for nearly three decades like it didn't happen. Kudos to Thad and his crew for telling a story that has needed to be told for years. I have no doubt that there will be parts that are uncomfortable for us, as PonyFans, to see, but the fact is that rules were broken. Repeatedly.

I expect this to be a sensational documentary. There will be some things about my alma mater that won't be pretty, but the fact is that the same crap was going on in Austin and College Station and Waco and Norman and Lubbock, etc. Based on everything I have heard and read, I bet Thad and his guys did a hell of a job.

[Mestengo]

I am a black sheep. I lke black sheep.

[Nacho]

the reason that espn picked it up was $$$
they didn't do for any altruistic reason
the are in business to make money
this story will make them money
that's why they did it
it's really irrelevant if thad did a great job
as long as espn makes money they will be happy.
bottom line is always money.

[Mestengo]

the reason that espn picked it up was $$$
they didn't do for any altruistic reason
the are in business to make money
this story will make them money
that's why they did it
it's really irrelevant if thad did a great job
as long as espn makes money they will be happy.
bottom line is always money.

[deleted] that's a good tune

[ThadFilms]

Okay, I'm going to respond:

I never thought that Stallion was taking a shot at me. His point is valid. In fact ESPN has told us that when they set out to do this series they figured this story would be one of them... but they couldn't find the right director for it. They even went as far as hiring a production company to do it/find the right director. They couldn't. With each of these they wanted directors who were passionate about the subject matter.

And lo and behold I was already doing it.

(As per the HBPD's choice of Ween song to respond... I too credit that to drunken lunacy/the Marina Pub being opening for business... I didn't totally stop HBPD from posting it, I told him that I honestly didn't take any offense to the post and I thought Staliion was at the very least partially right. But if he was going to post the auditory response, please do it in a separate thread so this one wouldn't get axed. Besides it's a funny song.)

...

It's a helluva' documentary if I do say so myself. There are times I can't believe my name is on it. Usually I hate my own films for a good 6 months to a year after they come out, this one just blows me away.

So they may have picked it up for the reasons Stallion sites, but they aren't premiering it after the Heisman and then playing it again the next week on ABC for those reasons. I have to feel it's the reason I just gave above.

I mean when I can enjoy, and not just enjoy, but REALLY enjoy a film I just finished up with... Well, I have to look to that and say that must mean it's pretty good. (I'm my own worst critic... maybe outside of my mother. I once got the review from her of a rough cut - that I really didn't want to show to anyone - of one of my early sci-fi short films. It was simply, "Thaddeus, I am just so disappointed in you." Now that's harsh. Of course once completed that film went on to win awards, play all over the world and play nationally on PBS... and she ended up really liking it, to which I responded, "I told you that you really don't want to see the rough cut." I had told her before screening the rough cut for her, "It's bad. Really bad... but don't worry, the movie will be good when all is said and done.")

...


Also, I asked Hitzges off camera if he wanted to talk about his story involving the sexual favors, whatnot... he said that he did not so I refrained from asking. Though off camera he said there was substance to it but he got duped by an inside source that wasn't an inside source who had a polygrapher on the take. But that was the culture of the time. You know, there were also stories of both Sean Stopperich and David Stanley getting 25K from disgruntled Texas or Texas A$M alums to rat us out. We came across stories about even Baylor offering young ladies to football players... none of any of this did we include in the film. The story we had already was far ore compelling and could be corroborated.

Some of the stories were just absolutely ludicrous. But that was part of the fun I had on this, truly, once in a lifetime adventure.

...

Oh, and last but not least: I wrote the description that ESPN uses on it's website. And the Excess refers to everything. The city. The SWC culture. The brazen attitude of our boosters. The media. The punishment.

If the punishment is "the most severe penalty we have on the books", the punishment surely fit "the crime"... the real questions should be should "the crime" be a crime? And should there have ever been such an excessive penalty on the books to begin with?

-TF

[Mestengo]

I like movies.

[ThadFilms]

Also, if you guys have never read this, I think you should:

http://30for30.espn.com/bill-simmons-essay.html

(I was told just yesterday that the Connor Schell fellow that was mentioned, who I have never met and is, of course, an executive on the series -- was particularly proud of the Escobars film and this one as these two films typify what he wanted from this series.)

[EastStang]

Thad, I am sure its going to be great and I am very much looking forward to seeing it.