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Logline

A group of brainy football players from the worst college team in the country become bodyguards for rock legends Queen. Their whirlwind journey will give them an education in life and a chance at last to feel like champions.

Synopsis

Play The Game: A Jock ‘N’ Roll Story depicts the adventures of six football players from Northwestern University – at the time, the worst college team in the nation – who became bodyguards for rock legends Queen.

They were the sons of working-class immigrants and WW II vets, hometown football heroes who dreamed of gridiron glory. That dream never came true. But a different destiny in a strange new world awaited.

Being brainy upperclassmen endeared them to the members of Queen who were intellectually-minded college grads. These bodyguards could engage in conversations about politics, philosophy, and economics, which quickly earned the band’s respect and trust. Raised with traditional Midwest values, this also marked their first exposure to someone from the LGBTQ+ community. And not just anyone – the biggest icon around. It was awkward and amusing at first, but it led to an understanding and acceptance by way of Freddie Mercury’s kind and considerate approach.

As members of the band’s “family”, the men learned valuable lessons (sometimes the hard way) that changed the way they saw the world. Plus, they had a blast doing it – especially when they asked to appear on stage as Superman, Santa Claus, or Darth Vader. Play the Game: A Jock ‘N’ Roll Story reveals their coming-of-age thrill ride of emotional ups and downs like joy, temptation, tragedy, and finally, redemption.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Roland Mesa – Director/Producer
Roland Mesa began as a trailer editor, then became a creative marketing VP at 20th Century Fox, before turning his focus to directing commercials, television, and documentaries. His credits include “In the Director’s Chair”, an HBO “mockumentary” on Tim Burton’s childhood, “Revenge of the Nerds III”, “Tales from the Crypt”, and more recently, a commercial campaign for Tubi. Roland has produced and/or directed content for movie campaigns such as the “Alvin & the Chipmunks”, “Kingsman”, and “Ice Age” franchises and for brands like Walt Disney Parks, Universal Studios Theme Parks, Nickelodeon, and AARP. He earned Clio Awards for his investigative look at Ciudad Juarez for FX’s “The Bridge”, and a “debunking” of “Ice Age: Collision Course” with Neal deGrasse Tyson.

Walter Versen – Executive Producers
Walter Versen was heading toward a career in law before detouring into the world of big-time rock n’ roll; touring with Queen, Heart, and Supertramp while barely into his 20s. A long music and sports management career followed working with artists such as Genesis, REO Speedwagon, Ratt, Cheap Trick, dada, Right Said Fred, Ice Cube, and Tower of Power among many others. Walt is now an active entertainment business entrepreneur and Red Light Management associate managing Edwin McCain and working with Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles.

Christopher Hume – Editor
Christopher Hume has been an editor by trade since the beginning, starting with cutting movie trailers. Some of his narrative and documentary film campaigns include “Fahrenheit 9/11”, “Sicko”, “Shakespeare In Love”, “Rush Hour”, “Loving Vincent”, “Amelie”, “Parasite” and the 2023 Sundance Audience Award winner, “Beyond Utopia”. Chris has also directed and edited his own full-length documentaries, which have taken him from the streets of Havana to the volcanic slopes of Montserrat, from the subway tunnels of Los Angeles to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, and from the barrios of Caracas to across 10,000 miles of American Heartland in “Red State Road Trip”.

Alex Garcia – Director of Photography
Cinematographer Alex Garcia started telling documentary stories as a photojournalist, working on staff at the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Dubbed “one of the world’s leading photojournalists” by HarperCollins, Alex was a recipient of the World Press Photo Golden Eye and a team Pulitzer Prize for an examination of the gridlock at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Shortly after founding his company Three Story Media, he re-focused his work on motion, creating docs and video content for brands such as Samsung, Facebook, and Boost Mobile, leading to a Titanium Lion award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.