NFLN's "Timeline" tells story of hostages and football

George's new production company with wife Amal?


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NFLN's "Timeline" tells story of hostages and football

The Associated Press

 


The NFL Network series "Timeline" is examining how pro football helped the American hostages in Iran nearly 36 years ago.
The episode, "America's Game and the Iran Hostage Crisis," was created by George Clooney's Bluesmoke Productions and directed by actor Tate Donovan, who was in the Academy Award-winning film "Argo." It depicts how some smuggled-in audio tapes of Washington Redskins games and a Super Bowl helped keep the hostages connected to America during their captivity.


On Jan. 20, 1980, as the Steelers and Rams took the field at the Rose Bowl for the Super Bowl, an enterprising reporter made a long-distance telephone call from a Tehran hotel to a radio station engineer in Los Angeles. Over the phone, they made a crude audio-cassette recording of the game, which he planned to smuggle into the Tehran embassy for the hostages to hear.

Three weeks after Pittsburgh's 31-19 win, that cassette player was taken to the embassy by newsman Alex Paen, who was a go-between among the hostages, the Iraqis, and the outside world. That recording, along with copies of The Sporting News — which were not censored and were allowed into the embassy — and the Redskins' tapes became a way for the captives to be connected to America.


The film ultimately builds to the next Super Bowl in New Orleans, which celebrated the hostages' release, symbolized by the giant yellow ribbon on the Superdome.

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I think more likely they got the name of George's production company wrong, surely?

They probably got the name wrong and why would this have anything to do with Amal , the article says Georges production company.

I saw another article (that I can't find now - dammit), that did have Smokehouse, NOT BlueSmoke.  I think you're right Katie.

I was watching an NFL game tonight and a commercial for this Timeline episode aired at least twice.  It's showing tonight on the NFL network at midnight.  Supposedly its narrated by George too.  I'm hoping the show will play again during the week.  Too late for me to watch all of it tonight but may check out the beginning.

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Thanks it's me 

Thanks PAN for the link.  Good article.  Unfortunately the  Timeline story aired at midnight Sunday.  Terrible time slot.  So look forward to catching it in January ... hopefully at a more reasonable time.

I don't remember this story ever being told after the hostage crisis ended.  Of course that was a very long time ago.  Timely that Donovan is telling this story now that the U.S., Iran and other world powers signed the nuclear deal over the summer.