If you’re not a fan of musical opens for primetime football games, then this post is not for you. CBS and NFL Network have announced a new open for Thursday Night Football. Now, anything would be an improvement from CeeLo Green’s awful fracturing of The Ramones in 2012.
And it should be better than whatever song that Priyanka Chopra sang last year.
Then again, we must be careful for what we wish for. CBS and NFL Network have announced that Rihanna will sing Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” this season with actor Don Cheadle narrating.
Well, maybe it isn’t better. Oh well. This joins “I’ve Been Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” for NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Here’s the announcement by CBS and NFL Network for the new open.
CBS SPORTS AND NFL NETWORK “RUN THIS TOWN” FOR THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL OPEN WITH MUSIC FEATURING RIHANNA AND NARRATION BY DON CHEADLE
CBS Sports and NFL Network will open each game of Thursday Night Football in 2014 with Jay-Z’s Grammy Award-winning song, “Run This Town” featuring megastar Rihanna. The Thursday Night Football open will be accompanied by the narration of Academy Award-nominated actor Don Cheadle.Cheadle’s narration sets the scene to kick off the NFL week on Thursday nights, highlighting the division rivalry games. And, asking the question, who will “Run This Town”?The 16-game Thursday Night Football schedule kicks off on September 11 with the Steelers vs. Ravens from Baltimore and ends with a Week 16 Saturday doubleheader on December 20.
Thursday Night Football will feature a customized open each week highlighting the teams and storylines. Featuring Cheadle’s narration with music sung by Rihanna, the open matches the size and drama of each Thursday night game. This open, which was filmed in an airplane hangar, was produced and directed by 28-time Emmy Award-winning producer Pete Radovich, who serves as CBS Sports’ creative director.
“This open combines one of music’s biggest stars with one of the most dynamic actors in Hollywood,” said Radovich. “The energy that both talents provide gives the opening to every Thursday night the big-game, primetime feel it deserves. It is a dream scenario for any director.”
Academy Award® and Emmy Award® nominee Don Cheadle currently stars as ‘Marty Kaan’ on the critically acclaimed Showtime series House of Lies for which he won a Golden Globe Award. Most recently Cheadle starred in and directed the independent film Miles Ahead based on the life of legendary jazz artist, Miles Davis, along with Ewan McGregor. He also reprised his role of Colonel James Rhodes in Avengers: Age of Ultron. His credits included Hamburger Hill, Colors, Devil in A Blue Dress, Rosewood, Boogie Nights, Bulworth, Out Of Sight, Mission To Mars, The Family Man, Traffic, Things Behind The Sun, Swordfish, Ocean’s Eleven, Manic, Ocean’s Twelve, Hotel Rwanda, Crash, Reign Over Me, Ocean’s Thirteen, Talk To Me, Traitor, Iron Man 2, The Guard, Flight and Iron Man 3.
That will do it.
