First off, can you tell me how The Chief FC NFT process began and how it works?
Tom (Executive Producer & CEO, The Chief Partners): David and I had known one another over the past 10 years through other media properties. Over the past year or so I became aware of NFT’s and digital collectibles and became interested in them. I was interested in seeing how I could move the Chief into a digital NFT format – not just streaming video. I did some exploration on my own and as I was doing that research I reached out to David since he was in that space. He responded right away. Entre.One has been a leader and has been pioneering in the NFT ecosystem, having created the first shown video NFT in the industry – that’s how we got where we are today.
David (CEO & Founder, Entre.One) : NFTs are quickly becoming what the internet was in the 90’s. I lived through the beginning of the computer and video-audio ages – I helped launch QuickTime. I was lucky enough to live through CD-ROMs, the internet and social networking. As NFT activity unfolded, we decided what our entry point would be. We saw it could add greater value to fan engagement besides the streaming videos – it was something fans could acquire, have social utility and value built over time.
Tom and I had connected right after Entre.One did our first video NFT project. So we had the knowledge and tech to be able to bring that advanced approach to the table.
I knew Tom had made the play into a movie. So for us, it was a natural progression to move it to a digital world and produce a series of collectibles – like sports cards, tied to the movie – that could appreciate in value for the audience.
As a leader in the space, it wasn’t about just about putting video clips up. It was about taking the existing media property and using that as a vehicle – a jumping off point to a whole new level of story engagement where fans could acquire elements of the movie that would increase in value.
How does that work?
We wanted it to end up as a club where fans could be a greater part of the experience. We wanted the experience to surpass just social networking. We wanted to blend the story of The Chief and create a story around the NFTs. The NFT is a way for those who buy it to gain access to the club – the NFT is actually a key to access the club. We’re calling those digital graphics Towlers – something recognizable to the Pittsburgh fan. Each image represents an element of The Chief and the city – they capture the essence of The Chief and the stories behind him.
Stepping back to the starting point of all of this – how did you adapt the play Gene Collier and Rob Zellers wrote into the movie?
Tom: It was the ultimate challenge, adapting the play into a movie. I knew they were retiring the play around 2009. I was in a meeting and some of the folks there said I should tape the play. I wasn’t that familiar with the play then and was wondering why we would want to tape it. My first thought was that I should film it like a movie. I called Gene Collier but he told me at the time the rights belonged to someone else. I told him to let me know when that changed, and about three months later Gene reached out.
What did you do then?
We put together a team. The key challenge was finding a director. I did research on those that directed movies from one-person plays. In the 60’s Hal Holbrook did the one man play, live performance of Mark Twain that had millions of viewers on CBS. I wanted a director that was qualified to do that. Steve Parys was the guy we found that would be perfect to move it from a play to a movie.
Steve Sabol did a piece on the play too – that helped me to get a vision of what the movie would be. We wanted anyone who first saw the play and then the movie to say the movie was as great if not better than the play.
We talked with Gene and Rob – they were specific about maintaining creative control. We told them we didn’t want to change anything. When it was done we first showed it to Pittsburgh Public Theatre management, Art Rooney Jr., Gene and Rob in a private screening. It was satisfying hearing them tell us that they didn’t imagine it could look so good on film.
We only made one change to the play. In the play at the end Tom Atkins asks the audience if they want to see the Immaculate Reception, then a screen drops down and they play it. When the lights go back on Tom is standing there in his tuxedo. In the movie we had to figure out how to do that from the audience’s perspective. So in the movie we ended up having Tom put up the screen and turn on the projector himself.
Having been so invested in the story of the Chief – do you find anything has changed from your perspective in the way you see the team handling its business now?
Tom: I look at it now and even though some of the family has passed and the ownership percentages have changed, I don’t see any drastic changes. With Tomlin there too – it’s the same fundamentals and style of play. When the Chief was there he hired coaches that were his old drinking buddies. When he turned the team over to his son, Dan Rooney, and hired Chuck Noll, they brought a certain discipline to it that hasn’t changed with Art II.
Tom Atkins actually said he thought the movie should be something the team should show to all the new players. Troy Polamalu’s acceptance speech – he said the biggest compliment he ever got was when the older players said he could have played with them. So I think those roots are still there.
David: And all of that goes into the media background we’ve created. All the forms of The Chief – from the play to the movie to the digital media – what sticks out to me is that those core tenets of the team remained. The faith Art Rooney Sr. had – the belief he had that they would win – is omnipresent in today’s team and that’s what separates winning teams from losing teams. We wanted to take those story elements from those initial two forms of media and blend them into the digital assets. What makes people laugh and cry and what do they find inspirational. So even those who have no idea who the Steelers are can see those core elements of who Art Rooney Sr. was in the digital assets we created.
So, then what’s next? Can you see doing this for aspects of the Steelers beyond The Chief?
Tom: Absolutely. What excites me is capturing the stories of the Chief – even from all of those interviews you’ve done with players. Those stories have long-term value – not just a quick way to make money off of The Chief, but because those are stories we want to capture and tell. And David’s doing that the right way.