For the past 47 years, Jeffrey MacDonald’s account of what happened the night his entire family was murdered has stayed the same.
So has the case against him, built largely on blood-type testing — he, his wife and two children all had different blood types — that seems archaic by today’s standards.
But since his 1979 conviction, MacDonald has painstakingly gathered a body of evidence — some of which was suppressed by prosecutors — via Freedom of Information Act requests that he believes prove him right.
“I am innocent,” he says in an exclusive jailhouse interview in this week’s issue of People magazine.
So has the case against him, built largely on blood-type testing — he, his wife and two children all had different blood types — that seems archaic by today’s standards.
But since his 1979 conviction, MacDonald has painstakingly gathered a body of evidence — some of which was suppressed by prosecutors — via Freedom of Information Act requests that he believes prove him right.
“I am innocent,” he says in an exclusive jailhouse interview in this week’s issue of People magazine.
- 1/18/2017
- by Nicole Weisensee Egan
- PEOPLE.com
Much like the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial that recently came back into the news, Brittany Murphy's "accidental death" in December 2009 at age 32 is a Hollywood story that continues to confound. In this age of snaps, tweets and instas, celeb news comes in and out of our feeds faster than a swipe right. So it speaks volumes when a Hollywood tragedy sticks in our Add-addled minds more than six years after the fact. And in that sense, Murphy's death is among the stickiest, chiefly because many believe that far more questions than answers linger. One outspoken skeptic is respected forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, who, after reviewing the Murphy case, tells E! News, "I had questions...
- 3/24/2016
- E! Online
© 2015 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Concussion is the film that the NFL won’t want you to see. Not because it has new information about the link between football and a serious form of dementia called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Cte) but because it serves as a reminder, particularly to young players and their parents, of the risk in playing the nation’s most popular sport. The film dramatizes the NFL’s hostile response to the news and its rough handling of the doctor who discovered the problem. The NFL does not look good in this film, and that is bound to trouble some fans.
Will Smith plays that doctor, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist originally from Nigeria who discovered Cte. A brilliant man with a string of degrees, Dr. Omalu was working for the Allegheny County Coroner’s office in Pittsburgh when he did an autopsy on...
Concussion is the film that the NFL won’t want you to see. Not because it has new information about the link between football and a serious form of dementia called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Cte) but because it serves as a reminder, particularly to young players and their parents, of the risk in playing the nation’s most popular sport. The film dramatizes the NFL’s hostile response to the news and its rough handling of the doctor who discovered the problem. The NFL does not look good in this film, and that is bound to trouble some fans.
Will Smith plays that doctor, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist originally from Nigeria who discovered Cte. A brilliant man with a string of degrees, Dr. Omalu was working for the Allegheny County Coroner’s office in Pittsburgh when he did an autopsy on...
- 12/23/2015
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
As a man who respects the sanctity of NFL Sundays, I entered Concussion with mixed emotions. Could Peter Landesman’s medical drama leave Roger Goodell’s regime nursing a black eye, or would the film be regarded as Hollywood propaganda? The research, stories, and statistics are all real, but the film’s power relies solely on execution – something Landesman muddies. Dr. Bennet Omalu’s pursuit of the American dream is uplifting, almost achieving a Disney-like magic, yet Landesman’s portrayal of the NFL’s evil empire only respects the good doctor’s point of view. It’s an important topic, but there’s a fair trial that’s missing here – even if such respect isn’t deserved.
Will Smith plays the famed Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian immigrant who seeks America’s greener pastures for a life of fulfillment. Instead, he finds himself at war with the NFL after uncovering...
Will Smith plays the famed Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian immigrant who seeks America’s greener pastures for a life of fulfillment. Instead, he finds himself at war with the NFL after uncovering...
- 12/16/2015
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Though it will rightfully garner some attention for Will Smith's impressive lead performance, Concussion is a largely flat procedural about the discovery of Cte, the disease caused by the sort of repeated head trauma regularly experienced by NFL players. It's clear writer/director Peter Landesman is passionate about the subject, but this poorly paced and meandering drama seems as if he set out to make a conspiracy thriller and forgot all about the "thriller" aspect. Not as revelatory as Michael Mann's The Insider, which pitted a different small-time David against a multi-billion dollar Goliath, Concussion covers a necessary and vital topic but never quite coalesces into the kind of Important Movie to which it aspires.
In 2002, Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a doctor with a staggering number of medical degrees and an odd pre-autopsy habit of talking to cadavers as if they're still alive, performs an autopsy on former...
In 2002, Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a doctor with a staggering number of medical degrees and an odd pre-autopsy habit of talking to cadavers as if they're still alive, performs an autopsy on former...
- 11/19/2015
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
While much of the talk about “Concussion” has been about Will Smith’s stand-out performance as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist who first discovered the football-related brain injury Cte, equal attention should be paid to Albert Brooks’ turn as Omalu’s friend and mentor, Dr. Cyril Wecht. The beloved funnyman, who shaved his head for the role, could reap his second Oscar bid almost three decades after contending for "Broadcast News." -Break- Subscribe to Gold Derby Breaking News Alerts & Experts’ Latest Oscar Predictions Yes, Brooks does land some big laughs in “Concussion.” But he also has a chance to score with some great dramatic moments opposite Smith. And he has several juicy scenes to chew on that display his signature quick wit, such as when the FBI raids his office in an attempt to dissuade Omalu from proceeding further with his claims against the NFL. ...
- 11/16/2015
- Gold Derby
The discovery of a football-related brain trauma and the NFL's attempts to obfuscate the severity of the problem will be the focus of a new drama titled Concussion, which released its first trailer on Monday 10 days before the 2015 season kicks off. In the film, Smith plays Nigerian-born Dr. Bennet Omalu, a professor in the Uc Davis Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine who discovered the link between chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Cte) and football players. Concussion, written and directed by investigative journalist-turned-filmmaker Peter Landesman, hits theaters December 25th.
Omalu first...
Omalu first...
- 8/31/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Will Smith takes on the powerful National Football League in the gripping trailer for Concussion.
The Sir Ridley Scott-produced sports drama is based on the true story of Dr Bennet Omalu's research into suicides among retired professional football players.
Smith portrays the famed neuropathologist, who risked his career in forcing the NFL to acknowledge the damage caused by concussions.
Director Peter Landesman's (Parkland) film is based on the 2009 GQ investigative report Game Brain by Jeanne Marie Laskas.
Smith's supporting cast includes Luke Wilson as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Albert Brooks as forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht and Alec Baldwin as neurosurgeon Julian E Bailes.
Concussion opens in Us cinemas on Christmas Day (December 25), and comes to the UK on January 29.
The Sir Ridley Scott-produced sports drama is based on the true story of Dr Bennet Omalu's research into suicides among retired professional football players.
Smith portrays the famed neuropathologist, who risked his career in forcing the NFL to acknowledge the damage caused by concussions.
Director Peter Landesman's (Parkland) film is based on the 2009 GQ investigative report Game Brain by Jeanne Marie Laskas.
Smith's supporting cast includes Luke Wilson as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Albert Brooks as forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht and Alec Baldwin as neurosurgeon Julian E Bailes.
Concussion opens in Us cinemas on Christmas Day (December 25), and comes to the UK on January 29.
- 8/31/2015
- Digital Spy
Will Smith's NFL drama Concussion has set a holiday release date.
Sony Pictures will release Concussion in Us cinemas on Christmas Day (December 25).
Smith stars in the Peter Landesman-directed sports drama as a neuropathologist who discovers degenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Cte) in the brains of two ex-nfl players who committed suicide.
Concussion examines the ways the NFL allegedly mishandled treatment of ex-players who developed neurological diseases.
Albert Brooks also appears in the movie as noted forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht.
Concussion is based on Jeanne Marie Laskas's groundbreaking GQ article Game Brain.
Luke Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse and Paul Reiser have supporting roles in the upcoming film.
Sony Pictures will release Concussion in Us cinemas on Christmas Day (December 25).
Smith stars in the Peter Landesman-directed sports drama as a neuropathologist who discovers degenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Cte) in the brains of two ex-nfl players who committed suicide.
Concussion examines the ways the NFL allegedly mishandled treatment of ex-players who developed neurological diseases.
Albert Brooks also appears in the movie as noted forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht.
Concussion is based on Jeanne Marie Laskas's groundbreaking GQ article Game Brain.
Luke Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse and Paul Reiser have supporting roles in the upcoming film.
- 1/28/2015
- Digital Spy
With the NFL making headlines this week in all the wrong ways, Roger Goodell is probably none too happy to hear that an untitled, Ridley Scott-produced drama about football concussions is moving forward. Recently, Drive actor Albert Brooks joined the film, which is already set to star Will Smith and Alec Baldwin. Additionally, Belle actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who has never been hotter thanks to an acclaimed turn in Beyond the Lights, is in talks for a major role in the project, though specifics on her part have not been revealed.
Brooks, who will next appear in the buzzy J.C. Chandor period drama A Most Violent Year, is set to portray Cyril Wecht. As per Deadline, Wecht is the “chief forensic pathologist who mentors forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith) and encourages him to press his discovery of Cte, the concussion syndrome that has been fatal in contributing to the...
Brooks, who will next appear in the buzzy J.C. Chandor period drama A Most Violent Year, is set to portray Cyril Wecht. As per Deadline, Wecht is the “chief forensic pathologist who mentors forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith) and encourages him to press his discovery of Cte, the concussion syndrome that has been fatal in contributing to the...
- 9/15/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
The developing, currently untitled football concussion drama starring Will Smith and Alec Baldwin is slowly rounding up a cast as the film from producer Ridley Scott and Parkland director and writer Peter Landesman taking dual roles again. The film is based on the GQ article "Game Brain" from October of 2009, and will follow Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith), the forensic neuropathologist who single-handedly made the first discovery of Cte (or chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in a professional football player and made the affliction known to the public. And now Deadline reports Albert Brooks has joined the cast. More below! Brooks, who has recently starred in Drive and This is 40, will play Cyril Wecht, the chief forensic pathologist who mentors Smith's character and encourages him to press his discovery of Cte. In addition, Shadow and Act reports Gugu Mbatha-Raw, fresh off strong review in the Tiff selected film Beyond the Lights, has...
- 9/10/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
• After taking a break from the franchise, Orlando Bloom has revealed that he has been in discussions to return as blacksmith-turned-pirate Will Turner in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Johnny Depp has already signed on to reprise his Oscar-nominated performance as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fifth film of the Disney series, which seems to be what has sealed the deal for Bloom. Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg are taking the commands of the ship from a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). The film is scheduled for a July 2017 release date.
- 9/10/2014
- by Jake Perlman
- EW - Inside Movies
With Will Smith aboard to anchor the film and Alec Baldwin also part of the cast, director Peter Landesman has been busy scouting for other actors to appear in his new, untitled drama about the controversial work on head injuries in America’s National Football League. He has now recruited Albert Brooks and has Gugu Mbatha-Raw in talks.The film, which also boasts Ridley Scott as a producer, is adapted from Jeanne Marie Laskas’ GQ article Game Brain. The piece followed Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist who made the crucial first discovery of concussive head trauma in an NFL player and strove to bring awareness of the problem to the general public.Smith is on as Omalu, while Brooks will be Cyril Wecht, the chief forensic pathologist who mentors him and encourages him to spread the word about the head injuries and their effects on players. Omalu’s actions...
- 9/9/2014
- EmpireOnline
The Finest Hours
Kyle Gallner ("Veronica Mars") and Holliday Grainger ("The Borgias") have joined the cast of Craig Gillespie's true-disaster feature "The Finest Hours" for Disney Pictures. The story chronicles the massive rescue mission that’s launched when two oil tankers collided off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952.
Gallner plays the rescue-boat's engineman, a man who feels he has a lot to prove. Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Josh Stewart and Graham McTavish also star in the film which begins production this month in Massachusetts. [Source: Deadline]
Untitled Game Brain Project
Albert Brooks and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are in talks to join Peter Landesman's upcoming feature about football concussions at Sony Pictures. Will Smith and Alec Baldwin lead the cast for the Ridley Scott-produced film based on the GQ article "Game Brain".
Brooks will play Cyril Wecht, the chief forensic pathologist who mentors forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith) and...
Kyle Gallner ("Veronica Mars") and Holliday Grainger ("The Borgias") have joined the cast of Craig Gillespie's true-disaster feature "The Finest Hours" for Disney Pictures. The story chronicles the massive rescue mission that’s launched when two oil tankers collided off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952.
Gallner plays the rescue-boat's engineman, a man who feels he has a lot to prove. Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Josh Stewart and Graham McTavish also star in the film which begins production this month in Massachusetts. [Source: Deadline]
Untitled Game Brain Project
Albert Brooks and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are in talks to join Peter Landesman's upcoming feature about football concussions at Sony Pictures. Will Smith and Alec Baldwin lead the cast for the Ridley Scott-produced film based on the GQ article "Game Brain".
Brooks will play Cyril Wecht, the chief forensic pathologist who mentors forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith) and...
- 9/9/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Update: The studio is now in talks to add Gugu Mbatha-Raw to the concussion cast, as she is getting strong notices in Toronto for Beyond The Lights.
Sony Pictures is setting Albert Brooks to join the untitled project on football concussions that so far stars Will Smith and Alec Baldwin. Parkland’s Peter Landesman is writing and directing, based on the GQ article Game Brain that Ridley Scott and Giannina Facio set up to produce at the studio, along with Shuman Company’s David Wolthoff and Larry Shuman.
Brooks will play Cyril Wecht, the chief forensic pathologist who mentors forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith) and encourages him to press his discovery of Cte, the concussion syndrome that has been fatal in contributing to the suicides of former NFL superstars Dave Duerson and Junior Seau. The NFL fought this tooth and nail, but ultimately reached a $765 million settlement in the...
Sony Pictures is setting Albert Brooks to join the untitled project on football concussions that so far stars Will Smith and Alec Baldwin. Parkland’s Peter Landesman is writing and directing, based on the GQ article Game Brain that Ridley Scott and Giannina Facio set up to produce at the studio, along with Shuman Company’s David Wolthoff and Larry Shuman.
Brooks will play Cyril Wecht, the chief forensic pathologist who mentors forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith) and encourages him to press his discovery of Cte, the concussion syndrome that has been fatal in contributing to the suicides of former NFL superstars Dave Duerson and Junior Seau. The NFL fought this tooth and nail, but ultimately reached a $765 million settlement in the...
- 9/9/2014
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline
‘Soaked in Bleach’ Trailer: The Kurt Cobain Death Conspiracy Docudrama Starring That Guy From ‘Lost’
We’ve already had one great documentary spinning theories about Kurt Cobain‘s death (Nick Broomfield’s Kurt & Courtney) and one great dramatization of the last days of the Nirvana frontman (Gus Van Sant’s Last Days), but now there’s a (possibly great?) movie coming out that combines both approaches. Today is the 20th anniversary of when Cobain’s body was found dead, so of course the first trailer for this new docudrama has just arrived online. Titled Soaked in Bleach, it combines interviews with people associated with the case, including private detective Tom Grant, with reenactments featuring actors such as Lost‘s Daniel Roebuck as private detective Tom Grant. Others in the drama side’s cast play Cobain (Tyler Brian), Courtney Love (Sarah Scott), Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson (Kale Clauson), Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan (Tor Brown), Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Haynes (David Daskal), Earth front man Dylan Carlson (August Emerson) and a character...
- 4/9/2014
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Ever since President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963, many people have wondered: What actually transpired on that Friday in Dallas? Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? What about the Cubans and the Mafia? Did our government have something to do with it? 28 years later, filmmaker Oliver Stone created the award-winning movie JFK to illustrate his very personal point of view.
What Are Oliver Stone's 10 Best Movies?
JFK chronicles an investigation by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) and the subsequent conspiracy case he...
What Are Oliver Stone's 10 Best Movies?
JFK chronicles an investigation by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) and the subsequent conspiracy case he...
- 11/4/2013
- Rollingstone.com
In honor of the release of a film about the 1995 controversy surrounding an infamous bit of footage known as Alien Autopsy called (what else?) Alien Autopsy, we had the opportunity to speak with the real men behind the mania -- Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield. Time to separate fact from fiction.
Alien Autopsy is available now from Warner Premiere. Order your copy below.
About the Film:
The autopsy allegedly occurred in 1947 after the Army issued a press release that a crashed "flying disc" had been recovered. Soon after the army reported debris from a classified radar tracking balloon was recovered, and the speculation began.
The case was eventually forgotten but resurfaced in the late 1970s when physicist Stanton T. Friedman interviewed Major Jesse Marcel, who was involved with the original recovery and said he thought the military covered up the incident.
Then in 1995 Santilli, a London-based video producer, promoted a...
Alien Autopsy is available now from Warner Premiere. Order your copy below.
About the Film:
The autopsy allegedly occurred in 1947 after the Army issued a press release that a crashed "flying disc" had been recovered. Soon after the army reported debris from a classified radar tracking balloon was recovered, and the speculation began.
The case was eventually forgotten but resurfaced in the late 1970s when physicist Stanton T. Friedman interviewed Major Jesse Marcel, who was involved with the original recovery and said he thought the military covered up the incident.
Then in 1995 Santilli, a London-based video producer, promoted a...
- 9/30/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Around the mid-Nineties two amateur filmmakers pulled off one of the biggest hoaxes of all time by creating footage of an actual alien undergoing an autopsy back in the Fifties, thereby setting every single news outlet on fire. Years later a film has been made that details every unbelievable instance that happened, and we're giving it away for free!
That's right, kids! We're giving away five (5) copies of Alien Autopsy, and winning yourself one couldn't be more simple.
All you have to do to win is send us an E-mail Here including your Full Name And Mailing Address, and we’ll take care of the rest. Pretty nifty, no?
About the Film
The autopsy allegedly occurred in 1947 after the Army issued a press release that a crashed "flying disc" had been recovered. Soon after, the army reported debris from a classified radar tracking balloon was recovered and the speculation began.
That's right, kids! We're giving away five (5) copies of Alien Autopsy, and winning yourself one couldn't be more simple.
All you have to do to win is send us an E-mail Here including your Full Name And Mailing Address, and we’ll take care of the rest. Pretty nifty, no?
About the Film
The autopsy allegedly occurred in 1947 after the Army issued a press release that a crashed "flying disc" had been recovered. Soon after, the army reported debris from a classified radar tracking balloon was recovered and the speculation began.
- 9/20/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
TV news star Tim Russert's abrupt collapse at the NBC News studio in Washington, D.C., Friday came as a shock – even to his doctor. In a statement detailing autopsy results, Dr. Michael Newman said his famous patient had passed a stress test on April 29 and had even worked out on a treadmill the morning of his death."Russert, age 58, was known to have asymptomatic coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis), which resulted in hardening of his coronary arteries," Newman said. "The autopsy revealed an enlarged heart and significant atherosclerosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery with (a) fresh clot...
- 6/14/2008
- by Nicole Weisensee Egan
- PEOPLE.com
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