“THE ’85 BEARS” TO PREMIERE AT HALL OF FAME ON THURSDAY

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will premiere ESPN Films’ award-winning 30 for 30 series newest film, “The ’85 Bears” on Thursday, Feb. 4 and offer additional screenings on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, 2016. Guests to the museum on Thursday will be treated to the premiere during showings at 11 AM and 1 PM ET. In addition, special screenings will also take place at 11 AM and 1 PM ET on Friday and Saturday at the Hall. The premiere and showings are offered FREE with the price of a museum admission.
 
“The ’85 Bears,” profiles the team’s magical 1985 season on the 30th anniversary of their epic Super Bowl XX victory. The film, directed by Emmy Award winner Jason Hehir and produced by Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley, looks at the many personalities on the team, the birth of Buddy Ryan’s “46 Defense,” the lone loss of the season at the hands of the Miami Dolphins in a classic Monday night matchup, and the filming of the famed “Super Bowl Shuffle.”

The 1985 Bears roster included four future Hall of Fame players – Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary – and were coached by Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka.
 
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has become home to many great movie and television show premieres. The list of special screenings at the museum include episodes of NFL Films’ A Football Life, series which has been premiering at the Hall since 2014, other ESPN 30 for 30 films such as the recent “Four Falls of Buffalo,” that told the story of the Buffalo Bills unprecedented four straight Super Bowl appearances. Most recently, the Hall showed exclusive screenings of the movie “Greater,” the inspirational story of Brandon Burlsworth who is considered the greatest walk-on in college football history. “Greater” appears in theaters nationwide this summer.
 
“30 for 30 strives to be the gold standard of sports storytelling and continues to deliver thought-provoking documentaries that give viewers a unique point of view into a particular story,” said Connor Schell, senior vice president, ESPN Films and Original Content. “The projects coming in 2016 showcase some of our most ambitious work to date and we’re proud to work with this diverse group of incredible filmmakers who have again raised the bar when it comes to high quality storytelling.”
 
Producers from “The ’85 Bears” were assisted by archivists and researchers from the Hall of Fame’s Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center, home to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of pro football. The Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center houses more than 30 million pages of documents and five million photographic images. The Center’s staff handles thousands of information requests each year from media, historians, members of the academic community, and the general public.