It's going to be a challenge for Sean Pamphilon to top his most recent performance as an NFL documentarian, but the filmmaker is pressing on with his opus, "The United States of Football."
Pamphilon turned heads when he released an audio recording of Gregg Williams addressing his defense before the New Orleans Saints' NFC Divisional playoff against the San Francisco 49ers in January. The filmmaker's decision to go public with the tape jeopardized his relationship with the film's subject, ex-Saints player Steve Gleason, who is suffering from ALS.
If that turned people off to Pamphilon, it didn't stop Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison from taking part in "The United States of Football," a widely cast film in which Pamphilon explores if and when he should "let his son play the game he's loved all his life."
In a clip of Harrison that won't make the film, Pamphilon talks about his desire to defend players who have been turned "into a cartoon character by the mainstream media."
"James Harrison has been made into the Darth Vader of the NFL and is publicly seen as a head-hunting villain," the film's website states. "Closer examination reveals the complex truth."
CUT TO: Pamphilon riding shotgun with Harrison at the wheel. As they cruise around town, the All-Pro linebacker tells Pamphilon he would have become an R&B singer if the football thing hadn't worked out. Harrison pauses before describing his talents as a mix of R. Kelly, Usher and Justin Bieber. He admits listening to Nickelback and The Biebs in his car. "That little dude is making so much dough," he says.
