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Lindsey ThiryESPN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Inside the bowels of SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay strutted down the tunnel as a camera paced to capture every move, and a meticulous eye, examined each step.
“Nicely done,” Academy Award-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister said as he climbed out of a director’s chair. “And cut.”
On the eve of training camp, Pfister — whose filmography includes “The Dark Knight,” “Moneyball” and “Inception” — directed McVay, defensive lineman Aaron Donald, quarterback Matthew Stafford and several other players through a no-expense-spared shoot to produce a 90-second hype film that would be played on the Infinity Screen before players run onto the field.
“It is very Hollywood,” said McVay, as he stood on a field overtaken by a wardrobe truck, trailers, camera dollies, video monitors, crew members and extras. “Everything is first class and now we’ve got to make our football look like that.”
In the shadow of Hollywood, the 35-year-old McVay hoped to soon direct his own blockbuster, one that would span 18 weeks and then beyond, culminating in a Feb. 13 date at SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl LVI.
“It’s a motivation,” McVay said that late-July evening about the chance to play in the final game of the season. “Without a doubt.”
When the No. 4 seed Rams (12-5) open the playoffs by hosting the No. 5 seed Arizona Cardinals (11-6) in a wild-card game on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), it will mark their fourth playoff appearance in six seasons as a Los Angeles franchise after a 21-year stay in St. Louis.
But it will be the first time that L.A. will experience the postseason from inside owner Stan Kroenke’s $5 billion stadium, which broke ground in 2016 and was opened to the public this past August after the 2020 season was played without fans because of the COVID-19…
Source : espn
