Volume 161, No. 17

BY JACK SILVERSTEINLaw Bulletin staff writer

On Jan. 27, 1986, the day afterthe Chicago Bears demolished theNew England Patriots in SuperBowl XX, an estimated 500,000people showed up for the victoryparade on LaSalle Street, followedby a rally at Daley Plaza. Here’s who wasn’t there: Walter Payton, Jim McMahon,

Jay Hilgenberg, Jimbo Covert,Richard Dent, Dan Hampton,Mike Singletary, Otis Wilson andDave Duerson.That’s because players selected

for the following week’s Pro Bowl— like those nine — wererequired to report to Hawaii theday after the Super Bowl.“When you win the Super Bowl,

the very next day … the players goto the Pro Bowl,” said Wilson, oneof the team’s three starting line-backers. “A lot of guys reallydidn’t share in that (celebratory)experience.”Because of that, Wilson said,

despite 29 years of accolades,headlines, books, commercials,reunions, interviews and generalmythologizing, “There reallyhasn’t been anything done on ahigh level to celebrate this team —I mean, citywide. It’s overdue.”A trio of Chicago lawyers feel

the same way.Richard W. Lenkov, Scott G.

Prestin and Joseph G. Klest arejoining Wilson to produce “’85:The Untold Story of the GreatestTeam in Pro Football History,” afilm they are billing as the firstfeature-length documentaryabout the iconic team.They plan to release it this fall

to coincide with the 30th anniver-sary of the 1985 season.“The window of opportunity is

closing,” Wilson said. “After 30,many people won’t care about

doing anything. That’s why Iwanted to do something with theguys, with the organization … sothat we can have a good time. Gettogether and be recognized andhave a piece that you can showyour grandkids.”Lead producer Lenkov, of Bryce,

Downey & Lenkov LLC — whopractices general liability litigation,workers’ compensation and enter-tainment law — and directorPrestin, a sole practitioner whorecently relocated to Los Angeles,didn’t personally know any Bearswhen they started.Instead, they got the ball rolling

simply by deciding that they couldprovide what the market lacked.“It did take some nerve,”

Lenkov said. “Being an attorneywho works with a lot of differentclients and litigates every day, I’mnot afraid of trying andsometimes failing.”After deciding to produce the

documentary, the group’s first bitof luck came when Lenkov — asports memorabilia collector —attended a collectible show at theRosemont Convention Centerwith his son early last year.By coincidence, the show

featured collectibles from the 1985Bears with several players inattendance.“I went there with my son and

literally went up to as manyplayers as I could and told them‘I’m producing a film about theteam,’” he said. “And off we went.”His research as well as conver-

sations with players led him to askWilson to join the project as apartner.“He was still really active in

promoting the team,” Lenkovsaid. “It seemed like he was still intouch with a lot of the players.When we were talking about whoto partner up with, to a man,everyone thought Otis.”

Wilson needed no convincing. He joined Lenkov and Prestin

as one of the film’s producersalong with Klest of Klest InjuryLaw Firm and film producer TomPellegrini, whose credits includethe 2011 documentary “JiroDreams of Sushi.”Prestin has 15 years of produc-

tion experience and is working ona documentary about the trial ofserial killer John Wayne Gacy,which he is co-producing withKlest. Prestin also has the fandom

credentials, having grown upcheering for the Bears inLibertyville, where he watchedthem beat New England, 46-10, inSuper Bowl XX. “I remember watching the

game with my friends, and thenwe went outside at halftime andplayed football in the snow,”Prestin said.Lenkov has a different story. He

grew up in Montreal rooting forthe Canadiens, Expos and, origi-nally, the Houston Oilers becauseof running back Earl Campbell. “Being a huge sports fan, but

not someone who grew up here, Idon’t have Chicago sports in my

DNA,” Lenkov said. “But theChicago Bears were the one teamI adopted.”That happened because the

team appeared regularly onCanadian TV. Lenkov and hisfather became fans together.“That was something we

shared,” Lenkov said. “That gamewas as huge in Canada as it wasanywhere.”So how did a Canadian, Earl

Campbell-rooting attorneyconvince the self-proclaimed“Mama’s Boy Otis” to lead thefirst feature-length documentaryof arguably the greatest NFLteam of all-time?“God’s honest truth?” Wilson

said. “Ain’t nobody been doingnothing.”There has, of course, been

plenty of attention shined on thatteam over the past three decades.In 2012, NFL Films produced a

66-minute season recap withinterviews from players and coachMike Ditka. In 2013, author RichCohen published “Monsters: The1985 Chicago Bears and the WildHeart of Football,” a biographicalaccount of the season. That sameyear, Grantland.com published an

Copyright © 2015 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

Trio of lawyers producing documentary onBears team that won Super Bowl XX

CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015

®

Rewind to ’85

Chicago Bears linebacker Otis Wilson (left) and defensive endDan Hampton bring down New England Patriots quarterbackSteve Grogan for a 13-yard loss in Super Bowl XX at theSuperdome in New Orleans on Jan. 26, 1986. The Bears won 46-10. Three attorneys are producing a film that’s billed as thefirst feature-length documentary about the iconic team. It’sexpected to be released in the fall to coincide with the 30thanniversary of the season. Today is the 29th anniversary ofSuper Bowl XX. AP Photo/NFL Photos

oral history of “The Super BowlShuffle.”There have also been countless

stories about players from thatteam — including NFL Network’s“A Football Life” documentaryabout Payton — each of whichtouches on the season from asingle perspective.But has the team been

adequately celebrated?“In certain ways, I’d say yes,

because they are legendary,” saidChicago Sun-Times columnistRick Telander, who was inter-viewed for the film. “On the otherhand, for as extraordinary a bit ofChicago history it actually encom-passes, maybe you can’t celebrateit enough.”Along with Wilson, the film-

makers have interviewed DanHampton and Steve McMichaelwith “seven or eight” othermembers of the team in the works,Lenkov said, including Ditka,McMahon, Dent, Gary Fencik,Willie Gault and Keith Van Horne. The group is also talking to

opposing players and coachesfrom the 1985 season.Joe Theismann — former quar-

terback of the WashingtonRedskins, who the Bears beat 45-10 in 1985 — is committed, Lenkovsaid. The filmmakers are in talkswith Lawrence Taylor — whoseNew York Giants lost to the Bearsin the playoffs, 21-0 — and withDan Marino and coach Don Shulaof the Miami Dolphins, the onlyteam to beat the Bears that season.Along with Telander, other

interviews already done featureJesse Jackson, Michael Wilbonand Bill Kurtis.“When you make a film, it’s a

huge undertaking, far more

complex than anybody realizes,”Telander said. “Setting up theinterviews, the cameras, thesound, the lights, the writing andthen (getting) the rights might bethe hardest part of all. Who betterthan a lawyer?”In talks to narrate the film is

Chicagoan Jim Belushi.“He was on the sideline the

whole time,” Wilson said. “It’d beperfect to have him a part of it.”As the 1985 season rolled on

and the wins piled up, Wilsonknew he was part of somethingspecial. He recalls celebrating onRush Street with teammatesfollowing the win over the Giantsthat sent the Bears to the NFCchampionship game.“That was the greatest experi-

ence, seeing the fans goingberserk,” he said. “We just partiedwith them. And after we hadenough, police escorted us out ofthere, and we went to the nextspot.”Lenkov knew the team had

reach — it found him in Canada.Wilson knew when it found him inNew York after the Super Bowlduring an endorsement trip. Denttraveled there with him, and thetwo called the aforementionedTaylor — the Hall of Fame line-backer — to hang out on ParkAvenue.“A kid was walking with his

parents and said, ‘Ma, that’s oneof the guys that was in the SuperBowl Shuffle!’” Wilson said. “Didn’t even say ‘That was two

guys who won the Super Bowl.’‘That’s the guy who was in theSuper Bowl Shuffle!’ … Wecaptured everybody.”Wilson and the filmmakers are

hyping the documentary as the“definitive, untold story,” with afocus exclusively on events fromthe 1985 season. The film will not explore stories

about painkiller abuse or thephysical toll the game took onplayers such as Dent, McMahon,William Perry and the late

Duerson, who fatally shot himselfin the chest in 2011 and left a notein which he requested his brain bestudied due to concerns aboutconcussions he suffered.“Those are all really interesting

issues and ones that are relevantnow,” Lenkov said. “But honestly,our focus is not on that. It’s onthat year.”The filmmakers are planning a

theatrical screening in the fall andare exploring streaming optionswith Netflix, Amazon and HBO.Lenkov, Prestin and Klest are opento others getting involved; thoseinterested can e-mail Lenkov atrlenkov@85bearsdoc.com.“I’m just excited that the story’s

going to be told,” Wilson said. “It’sa fun story. Of course everybodyknows what happened and how itunfolded, but the behind-the-scenes things — the stories theguys can tell that wasn’t told —that should add to it.”To which he added: “We’re

gonna party again.”

Copyright © 2015 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

Joseph G. Klest Scott G. Prestin Richard W. Lenkov