The “Monday Night Football” opening sequence used to ask viewers if they are ready for some football. Starting September 9, it will assume they are ready enough to go on a historical journey through 44 years of the sport.
Directed by “Friday Night Lights” filmmaker Peter Berg, the new “Monday Night Football” opening segment will pack more than four decades of culture and football history into a 90-second intro to the weekly game. The opening is meant to be flexible, adding and subtracting historical moments at regular intervals to spark conversation and reflection. At this season’s first “MNF” game between Philadelphia and Washington, the opening montage will reference Pac-Man, Madonna, Ronald Reagan, the Titanic and even film franchises such as “The Matrix” and “Star Wars.”
Football-related footage will surface as well, including Calvin Johnson’s record-breaking catch for the Detroit Lions in 2012 and John Lennon’s famous statement to Howard Cosell in 1974, “It makes rock concerts look like tea parties.”
Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.
Brief Take: One source of chatter sparking from this intriguing-sounding curtain-raiser could be Berg’s rather extensive use of film footage from ESPN’s parent company Disney, including “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Toy Story” and “Iron Man.”
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