Before preparing for his latest documentary The Dynasty: New England PatriotsDirector and executive producer Matthew Hamachek didn’t know much about the NFL team other than their ability to win Super Bowls. However, he quickly found a focus as the interview process gained momentum.
“Whenever I’ve written or directed a documentary before, I always try to figure out what the central theme or central idea is that we’re going through on that journey, whether it’s over 90 minutes long or like it’s broken into 10 parts this one,” Hamachek said a panel discussion for the Apple TV+ docuseries at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event.
“I interviewed the head of football research, Ernie Adams, and he said in our very first interview, ‘Every team says they want to go to the Super Bowl every year, but not every team is willing to do what it takes.’ Get there,” Hamachek recalled. “The question of what it would take to get there became the driving principle for everything we did going forward.”
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Citing the incredible access his crew had with everyone interviewed, Hamachek said getting the best out of a team that isn’t known for saying much when it comes to the field comes down to “the process of listening.” left. When it came to what respondents revealed, Hamachek said it came from a mix of building trust and recognizing that many of these players were ready to retire after years of silence.
“Some people were willing to talk from the beginning, and for others you really had to figure out what it was about,” Hamachek said. “What I wanted to make clear was that I didn’t really want anything specific, but I wanted them to tell me what it was like to be there, because no one had really heard that story.”
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As for quarterback Tom Brady being calculated during interviews, Hamachek said it comes down to the future Hall of Famer being more vulnerable than ever during an interview. When they sat down together, some insightful answers emerged.
“He went to places he had never been before, even with his own documentary series,” Hamachek said. “He was later in the interview than everyone else. We had gathered so much information and our questions could be more specific and get to the heart of our questions, and he could see that we had done the research.”
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The same goes for coach Bill Belichick, “who told us after our first day, ‘I can see you’ve really done your research.’ “
Check back on Monday to watch the panel video.
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