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027: The Dark Side of College Sports | Bob DeMars
Bob DeMars is an award-winning filmmaker with over 15 years of experience producing, writing, and directing. He was a producing partner at Pelagius Films from 2002 to 2009. In 2009, he produced his first documentary, "Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green", narrated by Don Cheadle. This documentary was the follow-up to the acclaimed "Talk to Me", from Universal's Focus Features, and it was distributed by PBS's "Independent Lens. It went on to win the program's Audience Award for the year.
A screenwriter by trade, he wrote the final polish draft for "Talk to Me". Following the film's success, DeMars broke from Pelagius to focus on screenwriting. One current project, "Ring of Deceit", written by DeMars, is based on a true story involving two men who embezzled $87 million from Wells Fargo in Los Angeles and used the money to finance the biggest fights in boxing in the early 80's; it currently has Antoine Fuqua attached to direct.
In 2012, DeMars began researching college athletes' rights. Instead of waiting for one of his screenplays to get made, he decided to make a movie about something he cared about. This became the impetus for "The Business of Amateurs", a documentary that makes the case that the NCAA places the profits of colleges ahead of the best interests of athletes and their families. As a former USC football player, DeMars pulls no punches in the film, tackling many beats, from the exploitation of the college athlete to the prevalence of brain trauma inherent to college football. He systematically points out the hypocrisy and injustices that, in some cases, are life or death issues."You don't make documentaries to make money; you make them to make a difference", says DeMars. "The Business of Amateurs" is was ranked as one of the top 20 documentaries on iTunes for 2016. The documentary as gone on to inspire legislation for college athletes in many states as swell as encourage many former players to pledge their brain to CTE research.
Connect with the Film School'd Podcast:
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By Eric Skwarczynski
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Bob DeMars is an award-winning filmmaker with over 15 years of experience producing, writing, and directing. He was a producing partner at Pelagius Films from 2002 to 2009. In 2009, he produced his first documentary, "Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green", narrated by Don Cheadle. This documentary was the follow-up to the acclaimed "Talk to Me", from Universal's Focus Features, and it was distributed by PBS's "Independent Lens. It went on to win the program's Audience Award for the year.
A screenwriter by trade, he wrote the final polish draft for "Talk to Me". Following the film's success, DeMars broke from Pelagius to focus on screenwriting. One current project, "Ring of Deceit", written by DeMars, is based on a true story involving two men who embezzled $87 million from Wells Fargo in Los Angeles and used the money to finance the biggest fights in boxing in the early 80's; it currently has Antoine Fuqua attached to direct.
In 2012, DeMars began researching college athletes' rights. Instead of waiting for one of his screenplays to get made, he decided to make a movie about something he cared about. This became the impetus for "The Business of Amateurs", a documentary that makes the case that the NCAA places the profits of colleges ahead of the best interests of athletes and their families. As a former USC football player, DeMars pulls no punches in the film, tackling many beats, from the exploitation of the college athlete to the prevalence of brain trauma inherent to college football. He systematically points out the hypocrisy and injustices that, in some cases, are life or death issues."You don't make documentaries to make money; you make them to make a difference", says DeMars. "The Business of Amateurs" is was ranked as one of the top 20 documentaries on iTunes for 2016. The documentary as gone on to inspire legislation for college athletes in many states as swell as encourage many former players to pledge their brain to CTE research.
Connect with the Film School'd Podcast:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmschoold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmschooldpod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FilmSchooldPod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdgrswiL4AGviAOcbzfYCAw
Continue the Conversation in the Official Film School'd Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/filmschoold