Matthew Hamachek (‘The Dynasty: New England Patriots’) reveals how he convinced Adam Vinatieri to be a part of the series [Exclusive Video Interview]
For his docuseries “The Dynasty: New England Patriots,” Matthew Hamachek had to do a little extra convincing to get some people to participate. One of those was Adam Vinatieri, the kicker responsible for the field goals that helped the Patriots clinch their first three Super Bowl victories. To secure his involvement, Hamachek had to do two things with the first being the inclusion of so many of his former teammates and the second had tied into what Hamachek wanted the series to be. “He wanted the unvarnished telling of it and I explained to him that we’re going to do that, and I was going to ask him tough questions, and I was going to talk to him about what it was like to be an Indianapolis Colt and be on the team that accused the Patriots of their second major cheating scandal with ‘Deflategate,’” he tells Gold Derby during our recent webchat (watch the exclusive video interview above).
“The Dynasty: New England Patriots” is currently available to stream on Apple TV+. The 10-part series examines the dominance of the Patriots in the NFL between 2000 and 2020 that saw them make it to nine Super Bowls and win a record-tying six (tying the Pittsburgh Steelers). It covers when Robert Kraft first acquired the team in the mid-1990s to Bill Belichick being hired as head coach after a brief stint with the Cleveland Browns to the drafting of Tom Brady in 2000 and Belichick choosing to start him over franchise star Drew Bledsoe. The series also explores the more controversial aspects of the team including Spygate, Deflategate, the tragedy of Aaron Hernandez and Belichick’s coaching style in the later years of his career.
SEE Watch our lively chats with dozens of 2024 Emmy contenders
This marks Hamachek’s second directorial effort after his 2021 docuseries “Tiger,” about golfer Tiger Woods that he co-directed with Matthew Heineman. He’s also served as an editor of several documentaries including Oscar nominees “Cartel Land” (directed by Heineman) and “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.”
Hamachek is by no means a personal fan of the Patriots. His loyalty lies with the Green Bay Packers who, coincidentally, gave the Patriots their second-ever Super Bowl in SB XXXI in 1997. However, making this doc and revisiting the victory the team had in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, made him revere that task even more than he did at the time. “Even though they’re not my team, that Falcon Super Bowl. When Tom comes back from 28 to 3, the accomplishment on a sports level is one thing and that’s fascinating.” The other aspect comes from knowing now what was going on in Brady’s head at the time. “It felt like the team had found it through his replacement and were starting to think about moving on from him and how old he was at that time. All of that stuff, all those things that make these stories, sports stories, so much bigger than sports.”
PREDICT the 2024 Emmy nominees through July 17
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions