NEW YORK (AP) - A day after its trailer debuted online, the Will Smith football head-trauma film "Concussion" is already sparking controversy.
Citing studio emails leaked in the hack of Sony Pictures, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the movie "Concussion" was altered to avoid antagonizing the NFL. The Times quoted one email that discusses a top Sony lawyer taking "most of the bite" out of the film "for legal reasons with the NFL."
In a statement to The Associated Press, "Concussion" director Peter Landesman disputed that report. He called his film "a David and Goliath story" in which Smith plays the forensic pathologist who discovered that chronic brain damage factored in the deaths of NFL players.
The NFL and Sony Pictures had no immediate comment.
