Stone Makes Football League of His Own.

Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" represents a pretty big hit against pro football, which is why the NFL turned down the director's requests for cooperation.

"We were shown an early script and after reviewing it, we felt it was not in our best interests to license our trademarks and opted to decline participating in the film," said Chris Widmaier, a spokesman for the National Football League.

In the end, the NFL's rejection may have been a good thing. It forced Stone to create his own made-for-Hollywood football league and develop new visual techniques to photograph action rather than use existing NFL footage.

Clayton Townsend, who produced "Any Given Sunday," said he and Stone met with NPI. officials early in the process and showed them a working version of the screenplay. But it quickly became clear that the league wanted script approval.

"They said they would absolutely not approve the film and would also instruct owners, coaches and sponsors not to participate (in the film)," Townsend said. "The reason we were given was that the film reflected negatively on the NFL, its players and coaches."

Townsend said the league was willing to live with the depiction of a greedy young club owner (played by Cameron Diaz), but balked at the depiction of drug use and medical practices that allowed injured players to take the field. Ultimately, "we agreed to disagree," Townsend said.

It's not uncommon for the NFL to withhold endorsement for a movie, as it did with the 1979 film "North Dallas Forty," another critical look at pro football. And without an NFL endorsement, Stone couldn't use league logos, team names or nicknames, or footage from games.

So he created his own professional football league, dubbed the Association of Football Franchises of America. The film focused on the fictional Miami Sharks and their coach, played by Al Pacino. The new league also included such teams as the Minnesota Americans, Chicago Rhinos and New York Emperors.

To add authenticity, Stone cast Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown as one of the stars. Other big-name former players in the cast include New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and quarterback Y.A. Tittle, Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas, and Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus.

Because the NFL cannot actually tell a team owner what to do, there was some league participation. Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, had been set to appear in a cameo but backed out because of a scheduling conflict. Stone used Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys play, and Pro Player Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, as locations.

Because the fictional league was post millennium, art director Stella Vaccaro gave it what she called "the near-future look." While field designs included vivid graphics, costume designer Mary Zoplires played with uniform colors and even lengthened football pants from below the knee to the ankle.

In her research, she learned that NFL coaches are now wearing team apparel during games that's supplied by sponsors. Pacino's character wears suits to show his independence.

To capture the action, Stone used as many as eight cameras at one time. He also hired cameramen who had experience shooting games for NFL Films. Much of the action in "Any Given Sunday" is shot in the trenches, with a level of violence not seen in televised NFL games. Many of the actors wore small body cams that increased the impact of the action.

"You've got 22 players on the field, and the most dramatic action is inside the plays, inside the game," said Chuck Cohen, director of cinematography. "We used intricate dolly shots within the action. Whether they were low-angle or periscope shots, you've got to coordinate them so you can get all the camera crew moving together without letting them get in the way of the action. We tried to get the violence and the poetry simultaneously without getting hurt ourselves."

Townsend said the NFL might have been scared off because of the reputation Stone developed by doing such exposes as "JFK" and "Platoon." But Townsend insists Stone wasn't trying to do a number on the NFL.

"He loves the sport too much to tear it apart," the producer said.