Will Smith is currently doing his last run of promotion before his new blockbuster film, Concussion, hits theaters on Christmas Day, and he held a press conference in New York City in which he admitted that he hasn’t watched football since he wrapped filming for the movie.
Concussion (December 25) is based on a GQ feature story, Game Brain, in which neurologist Dr. Bennet Omalu tries his hardest to make the NFL aware of a relatively new disease, and the result of concussions caused by in-game contact. Omalu was met with severe opposition from the NFL as he beagn to reveal his findings, which isn’t an outlandish idea to consider. An increased awareness about the danger of the game means more health sanctions for the NFL, and American football purists–some of whom are employed by the NFL–don’t want their game being meddled with.
Smith went on to say in the press conference that, “It’s the things that are happening off of the ball. The running back goes by, but behind him a guy falls and his head hits another guys knee. Seeing all of those things it makes it’s really double-sided. I’m seeing so many more things than I ever saw. It makes me respect the guys that much more. It definitely does change the game forever, when you have an understanding scientifically what happens when a brain collides with a skull.”
Concussion is directed by Peter Landesman and co-stars Alec Baldwin, and has already been nominated for several 2016 Golden Globes.
