--- description: The film, based on a 2009 GQ article, is one of several projects about traumatic brain injuries in the NFL that are in the works title: Will Smith Might Star in NFL Concussions Movie image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21ce9c8bbe14d22b/6986961906f2c17d2c32f4f8/177696628.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Will Smith May Star in NFL Concussions Movie  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2014 11:10 PM CUT  Actor Will Smith at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center on Aug. 25, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Actor Will Smith at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center on Aug. 25, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 3, 2014 11:10 PM CUT Heads-up, everyone: Will Smith is in talks to star in a currently untitled [film about NFL concussions](http://variety.com/2014/film/news/will-smith-to-star-in-movie-about-nfl-concussions-exclusive-1201210878/ "undefined"), based off of a _GQ_ article. Peter Landesman (_Parkland_) will direct and write the movie, which could find Smith playing Dr. Bennet Omalu, the neuropathologist who raised awareness of how dire a problem concussions are in professional football, _Variety_ reports. Jeanne Marie Laskas followed Omalu [in her 2009 article “Game Brain.”](http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/200909/nfl-players-brain-dementia-study-memory-concussions "undefined") The film isn’t the only project tackling the issue, though: An adaptation of the book _League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth_ is in the works, and Isiah Washington will star in the movie _Game Time Decision_. The NFL has been concerned about its portrayal in film and television [in the past](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/04/the-nfls-em-draft-day-em-hypocrisy/360547/ "undefined") and was reportedly uncooperative with a PBS documentary [about the concussions issue](http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/tca-producers-say-nfl-not-involved-with-frontlineespn-docu-league-of-denial-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ "undefined"). \[[_Variety_](http://variety.com/2014/film/news/will-smith-to-star-in-movie-about-nfl-concussions-exclusive-1201210878/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2820545/will-smith-concussions-nfl-game-brain-movie/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2820545/will-smith-concussions-nfl-game-brain-movie/"},"headline":"Will Smith May Star in NFL Concussions Movie","datePublished":"2014-06-03T23:10:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:15:09.450Z","description":"The film, based on a 2009 GQ article, is one of several projects about traumatic brain injuries in the NFL that are in the works","url":"https://time.com/2820545/will-smith-concussions-nfl-game-brain-movie/","keywords":["movies","Football","TIME 100","will smith"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21ce9c8bbe14d22b/6986961906f2c17d2c32f4f8/177696628.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21ce9c8bbe14d22b/6986961906f2c17d2c32f4f8/177696628.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2013 MTV Video Music Awards - Arrivals","caption":"2013 MTV Video Music Awards - Arrivals","creditText":"Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2820545/will-smith-concussions-nfl-game-brain-movie/","name":"Will Smith May Star in NFL Concussions Movie"}}]}] ```