Brian's Song

A remake of the classic 1971 TV movie of the same name, Brian's Song, like its predecessor, was based upon I Am Third, the 1970 autobiography of NFL hall of famer Gale Sayers (here played by Mekhi Phifer). While playing for the Chicago Bears, the African American Sayers forms an unexpected friendship with his principal team rival Brian Piccolo (Sean Maher), a white man. It ultimately falls to Sayers to break the news to his teammates that the 25-year-old Piccolo has fallen victim to cancer. Expanding upon the original film, this version of Brian's Song devotes more time to the characters of Sayers' and Piccolo's respective spouses Elaine (Elise Neal) and Joy (Paula Cale), and also offers a more graphic depiction of Piccolo's terminal illness. Carried over from the first version is Michel Legrand's haunting theme music, even though the bulk of the score is an original, written by Richard Marvin. Ben Gazzara costars as Bears coach George Halas. Filmed in Chicago and Ontario, the "new" Brian's Song made its ABC network bow on December 2 2001.