EXCLUSIVE: Isaiah Washington wants to follow his Blue Caprice turn as Beltway Sniper John Allen Muhammad by starring in Game Time Decision, an indie film by writer/director Matthew A. Cherry (The Last Fall) that tackles the provocative topic of concussion-related injuries in professional football players. Washington will be an executive producer on the film. They plan to start production next spring.
Washington will play a retired professional football player suffering from a degenerative brain disease who attempts to reconnect with his estranged son to warn him about returning to play a game too soon after sustaining a concussion. Cherry is a former NFL wide receiver, and he and Washington want to highlight Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a condition which unfortunately is growing more prominent with the failing health and suicides of former gridiron greats.
Just last week I revealed that Ridley Scott and Giannina Facio are interviewing A-list writers to build a film around the issue that Scott hopes to direct after he completes the Biblical Moses epic Exodus.
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“I was shocked to learn my former Bengals teammate Chris Henry, who died at the young age of 26 from a truck accident, suffered from CTE,” Cherry said. “My goal is to truthfully present what life is like for a person that suffers from this disease and to further the conversation on how CTE impacts players and their family members.”
Washington sparked to the project and wanted to spread awareness of CTE after seeing what happened to former all-pro players Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, who committed suicide, and most recently, Tony Dorsett.
“I have found myself intrigued, educated, deeply moved and empowered by Matthew A. Cherry’s brilliant script,” Washington said. “I can actually see what could have become of me had I been given my childhood dream of becoming a professional football player.”
