The Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream Mystery. Where Can This Award-Winning Anti-Racism Biography Be Watched (Legally)?

Hank Aaron had advocated for wide distribution of the film but since rights were owned by the company that employed him Turner Broadcasting he was unwilling to vocally advocate for further release Coproducer Denzel Washington39s Mundy Lane Entertainment was a minority rights owner and did not pursue further distribution The film was the first for Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin both of whom have had stellar TV and film careers Robbins founded and sold AwesomenessTV which today is owned by ViacomCBS And 25 of the film39s rights were retained by Television Production Partners And that39s where I enter the story but more on that later in this columnYou can listen to the full podcast here or where ever you download your podcasts Apple GooglePodcasts iHeartRadio Pandora Spotify Stitcher TuneIn and YouTubeThe IMDB review of Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream reinforces why the film39s original tape should be found digitally updated and rereleasedquotA truly remarkable movie Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream is a must watch for any fan of the game of baseball Has fantastically great footage of the greatest home run hitter of all time The way he launches the ball off his bat the 400 foot line drives the impeccable swingtruly one of a kind From the game he played in his youth quotfireballquot to his recordbreaking home run on April 8 1974 Hank Aaron the man reveals all in Hank Aaron Chasing the DreamquotIn the documentary Hank talks lovingly about his Mom and tells a story few know All those who followed the Hank Aaron story have embedded in their quotgreatest moments in sportsquot memory the vision of Hank rounding second base in his home run trot after hitting 715 to pass The Babe39s lifetime record with two teenage fans running behind him and clapping him on the shoulder The mental replay continues as Hank39s Mom charging the field along with hundreds of fans grasps her son sweeping her arms around him in a fullbody embrace All sports fan know the scene but Hank39s memory was very different As he shared for the first time in Chasing the Dream Hank thought the two young fans were coming to kill him and pushed them defensively away Hank39s mom also believing a sniper in the stands would be shooting at her son embraced him so that she would take the bullet Hank was simultaneously a hero to most but a hated symbol of Black accomplishment to a subset of Americans whose vitriol remains alltoo present in American life today In 1974 once it was clear that Hank would break Babe Ruth39s legendary home run record Hank also set a Guinness World Record for most hate letters received by a private citizen in a single year Aaron received nearly a million hate letters and death threats nearly 3000 per day most racially motivatedDiscovering the rights and original tape has remained an unfulfilled mission for me Over the past two decades I39ve sought answers from TBS and have never fully been told why the true story of one of baseball39s most iconic legends and certainly the best and most honored biography remains hidden away probably in an archive in Atlanta It39s an asset I doubt anyone at ATampampT realizes they own amp8211 until nowI had the honor of spending time with Hank during the production of Chasing the Dream My thenpartner in Television Production Partners TPP David Houle and I raised funds for the film from General Motors Anheuser Busch Clorox and Reebok Tollin and Robbins had introduced the project to Denzel Washington39s production firm then headed by Debra Martin Chase now CEO of Martin Chase Productions Together they brought the film to Turner Broadcasting Entertainment President Scott Sassa and President of TBS Documentaries Pat Mitchell Since Aaron had been hired by Turner in his postbaseball career Sassa and Mitchell believed outside funding was important and brought in TPP to executive produce and raise 100 of the required production budget which was in the low seven figuresHoule and I had formed TPP three years earlier in partnership with ten leading marketers to study develop and invest in alternative network TV advertising financial models that would better serve marketers39 longterm economic goals With a multimillion dollar investment fund from the marketers TPP was able to quickly align the funds through creative economic modeling developed in collaboration with then Turner Sports39 EVP Sales Randy Freer The TPP model remains relevant today and is being studied by leading global brand marketers All of us knew the film was and remains a documentary masterpiece Pat Mitchell had the wisdom to submit the film for several awards and to fourwall a preTV theatrical release fourwalling was a detour around Film Academy rules that prohibited TV films from Oscar considerationPat joined Hank at the 1996 Academy Awards As she remembers Hank was certain he would win After all he was carrying his lucky rabbit39s foot Pat encouraged Hank to keep his expectations low After all I thought at the time in most years Hank39s civil rights and human story would be an automatic win But the competition Ann Frank Remembered narrated by Kenneth Branagh was a sure bet to win and it did But Hank39s extraordinary life story well told went on to become one of the most awarded sports documentaries in historyWhere is the film today Who holds the rights As a 25 rights holder Houle and I pursued the full rights a few years ago through senior Turner executives who referred us to attorneys who failed to respond to repeated inquiries I39ve been told there were issues with music rights which seems like a small challenge to overcome I was told there were issues with Hank39s employment at Turner I can39t imagine that would have been an obstacle I39ve also considered that there were too many rights holders and therefore it39s in no one39s selfinterest to further invest or attempt to untangle Lt39s untangle them in Hank39s honorIf anyone has any insights into this mystery please advise me If no one objects I have a clean VHS tape and can make it available to HBO Max Those who have seen me on a Zoom or in my Leadership Conversations and Legends ampamp Leaders videos will have seen the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream poster over my shoulder signed by Hank I39m very proud to have been associated with the creation of this brilliant and relevant biography The least we can do for Hank is to assure his favorite biography continues to be seenClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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The Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream Mystery. Where Can This Award-Winning Anti-Racism Biography Be Watched (Legally)?

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