heyabbottenterrtainment

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ROBERT ABBOTT

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Robert Abbott is a director, documentary filmmaker, and television producer, who spent 14 years at CNN and 11 years at ESPN, before founding Hey Abbott! Entertainment.

His work has won six Emmy Awards in five different categories, the Gold Award at the Houston International Film Festival, three National Headliner Awards for reporting, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Journalism and the United Nations highest honor for an exposé on "Corrective Rape" in Africa.

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films &

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IN PRODUCTION

PORT OF DESTINY

PEACE

SERIES

the PRESS

Port of Destiny: Peace

A film about inspiration, determination, and courage... Nobel Peace Prize winner, Juan Manuel Santos, pursuit of peace in ending Colombia's 54 year civil war.

Port of Destiny: Peace tells the story of Santos' path to peace: As Defense Minister he waged war on FARC, a terrorist guerrilla movement; as President, he brokered peace—but paid a steep political price. Featuring interviews with former United States President Bill Clinton and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, the film tells the story of how this former military hawk risked his career and his legacy, to bring peace to Colombia.

Film Director: Robert Abbott

TESTIMONIALS

Magnificent. Such an appealing, compelling and articulate subject—yet it's the storytelling that makes the documentary so rich. The film would get an A+ at 60 Minutes

LESLEY STAHL, CORRESPONDENT, 60 MINUTES, CBS NEWS

ELI BROAD 1933 - 2021

SERIES

Eli Broad, a successful businessman and philanthropist. Broad founded two fortune 500 companies, was one of the wealthiest men in the world and he and his wife, Edythe gave away the majority of their fortune.

“I’d rather be recognized for doing good than for just making money.”

Eli Broad 1933 - 2021 This fim is about a man ahead of his time and larger than the world he lived in. Eli Broad innovated in real estate/homebuilding, financial services/insurance, philanthropy, education, science, medicine, art, and culture. He dreamed big, challenged the status quo relentlessly and embraced risk fearlessly. He transformed his beloved city of Los Angeles. With an insatiable curiosity and constant impatience, Eli Broad built two Fortune 500 companies, two important private foundations, and advanced the world in a multiplicity of ways that remains unrivaled.

This documentary chronicles the story of an extraordinary man of purpose and persistence—a shining example of how one person can catalyze large-scale change and make a profound and enduring global impact.

Film Director: Robert Abbott

LAST DAYS OF KNIGHT

SERIES

The never been told, behind-the-scenes story of why high school All-Americans were leaving Indiana University's men’s basketball coach Bob Knight’s program. Abbott's reporting led to the firing of Knight after 29 years at Indiana.

The Last Days of Knight explores the investigation and all it produced – a chronicle of accusations, denials, and discoveries; riots and death threats; a smoking gun video; and the fall of a coaching legend. Ultimately, it’s a tale about success, power, abuse, institutions, journalism, and a search for truth.

Bob Knight was an extraordinary coach, a giant in the sport, and a hero in Indiana. ‘The Last Days of Knight’ describes in detail how and why Knight’s storied career at Indiana ended the way it did. It also finally tells the story of why Neil Reed went public with me, and how that decision changed his life.

Producer / Director / Narrator: Robert Abbott

LBJ SCHOOL

50TH ANNIVESARY

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"We have a School of Public Affairs ... which will try to produce thinkers and doers: people who dream of progress and will try to turn those dreams into achievements."

—Lyndon B. Johnson

The 50th Anniversary of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas is a project steeped in historical import and the promise of engaging new generations of leaders. For the films, we conducted 70 interviews with prominent historians, LBJ family and cohorts, alumni impact-makers, faculty, and students. The anniversary was anchored by three signature LBJ Forums featuring innovators and leaders in government, business, and nonprofits.

Director: Robert Abbott

CATHOLICS VS

CONVICTS

SERIES

Catholics vs. Convicts

On October 15, 1988, Notre Dame hosted the University of Miami in what was arguably one of the greatest games in college football history. The film explores this diverse clash of cultures.

Catholics vs. Convicts. The name originated from a t-shirt slogan created by Notre Dame students Joe Frederick and Michael Caponigro. The slogan played on Notre Dame's Catholic background and the public perception of Miami's players as college football's "bad boys," a reputation that was reinforced by the arrests of a number of Miami players. Both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Miami Hurricanes came into the game undefeated. Cleveland Gary's controversial "phantom fumble" is examined closely in the film. The filmmakers re-examined a second close call by the referees which had gone largely unnoticed at the time. Both coaches and several players from the game had never seen the replay, leading many of the subjects to reconsider the outcome of the game.

Executive Producer: Robert Abbott

TOP 5 REASONS

YOU CAN'T BLAME

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Top 5 Reasons

You Can't Blame examines controversial figures and events in the history of sports that featured figures involved in the games, that later were labeled as scapegoats.

In each of the 59 episodes, the show defends the accused by presenting evidence from experts and witnesses to separate fact from fiction, and then explains why the accused were not solely responsible for the outcome.

This sports series debuted in 2005 and aired on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic and ran from 2005 to 2007.

Some of the episodes:

Steve Barkman, for the Cubs 2003 Playoff Collapse
Scott Norwood, for the Buffalo Bills losing Super Bowl XXV
Edmonton Oilers, for trading Wayne Gretzky
Bill Bukner, for the Red Sox Loosing the 1986 World Series

Creator: Robert Abbott

BACKSTORY ESPN

SERIES

"When you hear a story that's so good, you know you will never forget it. I'll give you one guarantee, the Backstory is even more compelling."

_ Don Van Natta Jr.

The Decision uncovers new details surrounding the controversies and criticisms behind Lebron James' announcement that he "was taking his talents to South Beach" when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.

Banned for Life. With the Baseball Hall of Fame voting reveal coming up, and in the wake of the 100th anniversary of the Black Sox scandal in the 1919 that led to Jackson’s lifetime ban, and 30 years after Rose was banned for betting on baseball, Backstory revisits the banishments.

Serena vs The Umpire. The story behind one of the biggest sports controversies of 2018 takes a look into Serena Williams' clash with umpire Carlos Ramos during the 2018 US Open women's final.

Executive Producer: Robert Abbott

E: 60 ESPN

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E:60 ESPN’s first multi-subject, prime-time newsmagazine – showcases, investigative reporting, in-depth profiles of leading sports personalities and features on emerging star athletes.

Wanted: Fugitive. Miladin Kovacevic beat Bryan Steinhauer within an inch of his life in a Binghamton bar and then fled to Serbia. E:60's Jeremy Schaap tracked Kovacevic down to ask him about the assault.

Ray of Hope. How the tragic death of Jason Ray, who was the mascot for the University of North Carolina basketball team saved countless lives because Ray was an organ donor.

The Catfish Hunter explores the culture in a small Missouri town and the art of catching catfish with your bare hands.

Co Creator: Robert Abbott

SPORTSCENTURY

ESPN

SERIES

ESPN biography television program that tells the stories of the people and events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th-21st centuries. Series won multiple sports Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award.

Ray Lewis episode examines what really happened after Super Bowl XXXIV, that left two men dead in the streets of Atlanta and Ray Lewis role in the altercation. The NFL superstar's' life has been scarred by the deaths of many close to him.

Venus and Serena Williams A look back at the early days of the Williams Sisters and the role their father Richard Williams played in their development into tennis stars.

Jayson Williams The former NBA star was only 33, wealthy and starting a television broadcasting career, but his life changed on Feb. 14, 2002 when a shotgun he was holding discharged. Williams was indicted in May 2002 for aggravated manslaughter in the death of his limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi.

Coordinating Producer: Robert Abbott

PRODUCTION

SERIES

THE SILENCE OF EVIL

This documentary series explores The Hague Convention on Child Abduction and how this International law is unjustly separating children from their mothers around the world.

One of the Hague moms we were following took her battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. During the fight to keep her son away from her abusive husband, she repeatedly received death threats from him and was later found dead in her Brooklyn apartment. The police are no longer investigating her death but we are, and the circumstances surrounding it are very suspicious.

"growing up in Poland, we have this vivid memory of the Holocaust where they took the mothers and children from their homes. The mothers were put on one train and the children were placed on another. I 've had those nightmares .... of being put on the train heading to Auschwitz without knowing where my children are." (Polish Hague mom)