Here is the trailer for "Happy Valley," the upcoming documentary that examines the circumstances behind the crimes of former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of sexual abuse of young boys.
The film was written and directed by Amir Bar-Lev. His earlier work included the 2010 documentary "The Tillman Story."
"Happy Valley" is scheduled for release on Nov. 19. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan gave the documentary a favorable review at the Sundance Festival.
If you missed Tuesday night's most excellent PBS documentary "League of Denial", you can now view it online at this link.
The nearly two-hour long film examines what the NFL knew about concussions and when it knew it. It's a must-watch documentary, especially if you have kids who are playing football.
You can also listen to a podcast with Chris Nowinski, one of the key figures in the film, that we did in 2009.
Who is the Iowa Nice Guy? His name is Scott Siepker and he's back for a second season on ESPN's "College Football Daily." Nebraskans might disagree, but Siepker is the best thing to air on the four-letter network in a long time.
Siepker is a busy man these days. He's an actor, filmmaker and appears on an outdoors show that airs on — you guessed it — Iowa Public Television. Siepker is also an adjunct professor at Drake University. You can follow him on Twitter at this link.
"Undefeated." The film won the top award Sunday night at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. The documentary chronicled the 2009 season of Manassas High, a struggling inner-city program in North Memphis.
The team is coached by Bill Courtney, a Memphis businessman who owns a local lumber company. Through tough love and leadership, Courtney helps shape the lives of his players, many of whom live in poverty and come from broken homes.
T.J. Martin, one of the film's co-directors, dropped an F-bomb on stage while accepting the award. Video of that moment is after the jump.
Pat Tillman, shot three times in the head, died on a rocky hillside in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. The Army initially claimed the 1997 Pacific 10 defensive player of the year from Arizona State was killed in a firefight with hostile forces. His mother didn't buy it.
Dannie Tillman pressed for the truth, and the Army eventually acknowledged that there were no hostile forces that night. Pat was killed by friendly fire.
On Friday, the extraordinary documentary "The Tillman Story" will be released. It explores many of the unanswered questions surrounding not only Tillman's death, but the coverup that followed.
"Absolutely unbelievable," sophomore quarterback Brock Osweiler said. "In fact, as soon I came back to the stadium I went and saw coach [Noel] Mazzone and I told him I really feel like it's something every incoming freshman football player needs to see. . . . Most people know what Pat Tillman did, but not exactly the person he was.
"We run out every Saturday in the Tillman Tunnel. We touch the 'PT42' [sign] coming out, and I feel like some guys don't know why we do that. The movie definitely explained a lot of things."
Tillman's parents, Dannie and Patrick, are now divorced, but they appeared Monday night on CNN's "Larry King Live." Video of their appearance is after the jump.
Work is complete on the upcoming documentary "The Tillman Story", which chronicles the government's coverup of the death of Pat Tillman.
The former Arizona State star died on a rocky hillside in Afghanistan in 2004, and members of the Bush Administration and military officials tried to turn his death into propaganda, claiming that Tillman was killed in a firefight with hostile forces.
Dannie Tillman, Pat's mother, pressed for the truth, and the Army eventually acknowledged Tillman was killed by friendly fire.
