HBO

The Chicago Bears didn’t want to seem cocky.

They didn’t want to jinx themselves.

They certainly didn’t want to provide opponents with bulletin board fodder during their attempt to bring a Super Bowl championship to their home city after the 1985 season.

As a large group of players from that team — billed as the Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew — said in the lyrics to one of the most unlikely hit songs and music videos of the 1980s: “We’re not here to start no trouble. We’re just here to do ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle.’”

All of those thoughts weighed on the minds of the 30 or so players who recorded “The Super Bowl Shuffle” four decades ago this month, several weeks before the NFL regular season even ended.

“If we don’t go to the Super Bowl, we’re gonna be the biggest idiots ever,” former Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary says in “The Shuffle,” an NFL Films production presented by HBO Documentary Films. “We gotta win this thing, man.’”

Singletary is one of several of people who share their thoughts and memories about their participation in what has become a beloved relic during the 40-minute documentary that premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. PST on HBO and streaming on HBO Max. Director Jeff Cameron told The Times that it’s no coincidence that “The Shuffle” is dropping during the 40th anniversary season of the Bears’ only Super Bowl title.

“Outside of some print media or some articles, no one had really chronicled the entire genesis, development and production of ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle,’ which is so intertwined with that team,“ Cameron said.

The song was the brainchild of Chicago businessman Dick Meyer, who had formed Red Label Records the previous year. With the Bears off to a strong start to the 1985 season, Meyer thought a hip-hop record featuring many of the already beloved personalities from that team might have some success in Chicago.

Many players agreed to participate after learning that part of the proceeds were going toward the Chicago Community Trust. “We’re not doin’ this because we’re greedy,” running back Walter Payton rapped during his verse, “the Bears are doin’ it to feed the needy.”

Other featured Bears players included Singletary, Gary Fencik, Willie Gault, Otis Wilson, Steve Fuller, Mike Richardson, Richard Dent, William “Refrigerator” Perry and Jim McMahon.

The vocal tracks were recorded on Nov. 21, 1985. The Bears were 11-0 at the time, coming off a 44-0 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. They continued to roll the following weekend with a 36-0 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.

But their run of perfection came to an end Dec. 2, 1985, with an ugly 38-24 loss to the Dolphins in Miami on “Monday Night Football.” It just so happened that the music video shoot for “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was scheduled for the next morning in Chicago.

Suddenly, Gault said in the documentary, “Guys don’t want to do the video.”

Two of the team’s biggest stars, Payton and McMahon, didn’t show up. They were added into the video after shooting their parts one day after practice.

“It was pretty audacious of us to talk about going to the Super Bowl, winning it, you know?” McMahon said in the documentary. “We still got games to play, and we just lost.”

Chicago Bears players Mike Singletary (left) and Gary Fencik take part in the filming of ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle’ music video Dec. 3, 1985, at the Park West in Chicago.

(Paul Natkin / HBO / Getty Images)

But the video shoot may have had unexpected benefits for the players who participated.

“If not for ‘The Shuffle,’ they probably don’t even get together” that day, Cameron told The Times. “They probably don’t see each other until Wednesday because they have Tuesdays off after Monday night, and they’re right back in the film room or the practice field. They don’t properly get to just forget about the loss for a second, get together as a group of guys who like playing with each other and just who love each other.”

In behind-the-scenes footage provided to Cameron’s team by Meyer’s widow, Julia Meyer, the players are seen laughing and joking around as they attempt to learn a few dance moves and lip-sync their parts, all with varying degrees of success.

“We bonded in a way that we could never have bonded in any other way,” Singletary said in the documentary. “That was the fun part of working together in a totally different realm. There were guys that were backups teaching guys that were starters. We mixed in a way that we had never had a chance to do before. And it became a rallying point that brought us together, got us refocused. ‘This is what we said we were gonna do, let’s go get it done.’”

The Bears didn’t lose another game on their way to defeating the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. And “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was a success in its own right, with popularity that extended well beyond Chicago.

The single spent nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 41, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Assn. of America (500,000 units moved). The music video, released commercially on VHS and Betamax, was certified platinum (one million units moved).

The song was even nominated for a Grammy in the category of “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocals,” eventually losing to Prince and the Revolution for the song “Kiss.”

“I think it was the perfect marriage of that cast of characters from the top down … and the fact that, outside of the Miami game, of course, they just kept winning,” Cameron said. “And it wasn’t close. I think that certainly helps propel this video, along with the rise of MTV. It was a perfect storm of a pop cultural phenomenon.”

Former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe revealed he had written the note to 11-year-old Dominic McLaughlin who is taking over the iconic role from the British actor

Daniel Radcliffe has admitted he sent a letter to the next Harry Potter, as filming for the new HBO series gets underway. He revealed that he even received a small note back from the actor, as the baton was passed from one star to the next.

Filming for the TV adaptation of the legendary book series has already started, with a host of famous faces taking on the roles of the iconic Harry Potter franchise. But with three fresh-faced stars about to walk into their biggest project yet, Daniel offered his counterpart some words of advice to get him through.

The show is not set to hit our screens until 2027, but production officially got underway back in July. Daniel reflected on how his own filming stint for the series went, and how history is repeating on set for the new cast.

As reported in People, Daniel, 36, told Good Morning America on Tuesday (November 18) that he had written a note to give to 11-year-old star Dominic McLaughlin, who is set to take over as the title character. He explained it was not a mandatory thing, but felt it was necessary as the first shoots began for the show.

“I wouldn’t say that anyone who is going to play Harry has to [reach out],” Radcliffe explained. “I know a few people who are working on the production so I wrote to Dominic and I sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back.”

Daniel was the face of Harry Potter for decades, growing up in front of audiences in the film adaptation of the book series by JK Rowling. When asked why he wanted to send the kids the letter, he admitted that he did “not want to be a spectre in the light” of their own portrayals of the characters.

He added: “I just wanted to write to him to say, ‘I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did — I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better time.’ And I do, I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them.”

Radcliffe revealed he was astounded when he saw the pictures of the up-and-coming actors who will play the trio of Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, admitting he thought they looked “so young”. However, he realised he faced similar concerns when he took on the role back in 2001, when he was aged just 12.

HBO has said that each book in the series will be adapted into its own separate season, and will gradually be released over the coming years. A slew of famous faces have also joined the cast to breathe life into iconic characters such as Dumbledore and Professor Snape.

On top of this, some actors who appeared in the original adaptation will reprise their roles for the HBO show. Warwick Davis has confirmed he will return to the franchise, once again taking on Filius Flitwick in a touching nod to the films.

In a statement announcing the commission of the series, HBO has said it is aiming to be as “authentic to the original books” as possible, whilst bringing new viewers into the world of Harry Potter. Radcliffe added that he would not be making a ceremonial cameo in the series.

Revealing all in an interview with E! in May 2024, Daniel said he was now “very excited to watch as an audience member”. When asked if he thought it was a good idea not to have the original trio back, he said: “I don’t know if it would work to have us do anything in it.”

Warner Bros. Discovery has modified Chief Executive David Zaslav’s contract for a second time this year to prepare for the company’s proposed breakup.

This month’s alterations were outlined in an SEC filing on Thursday — a week before initial bids are due in the Warner Bros. Discovery auction. Industry sources expect Paramount, Comcast and Netflix to make offers for the embattled entertainment company that owns HBO, CNN, Food Network and the storied Warner Bros. movie and television studios.

Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.

The sale kicked off in September when David Ellison-led Paramount made an unsolicited offer for Warner Bros. Discovery — a month after Ellison and RedBird Capital Partners had acquired Paramount from the Redstone family in an $8-billion deal. The company since has made at least three bids — but all were unanimously rejected by the Warner Bros. Discovery board, which viewed them as too low.

Paramount’s most recent solicitation for Warner Bros. Discovery was for $23.50 per share, which would value the company at about $58 billion.

The external jockeying for Warner Bros. Discovery set the stage for Zaslav and the Warner board to amend his employment agreement. The contract was revised Nov. 7 to clarify that various spin-off configurations would result in the same incentives for Zaslav.

Previously, his contract was amended to outline his compensation and incentives should the Warner Bros. studios and HBO Max spin off from the parent company, as envisioned when Warner announced its breakup plans in June. At the time, Zaslav planned to stay on to run the studios and streaming company, which would be called Warner Bros. in a nod to its historic roots and the pioneering days of the movie industry.

The plan was for the company’s two dozen cable networks, including CNN, TNT, Animal Planet and TLC, to remain behind and the company renamed Discovery Global.

The company is forging ahead with its breakup plans. However, it now plans to spin off the cable channels (Discovery Global) and keep the studios, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service as the surviving corporate entity (Warner Bros.).

“The amendment clarifies that if the separation is achieved by retaining Warner Bros. and spinning off Discovery Global (a ‘Reverse Spinoff’) rather than spinning off Warner Bros. … the Reverse Spinoff will be treated in the same manner … for all purposes of the Zaslav arrangements,” the filing said.

Previously, the company had envisioned that the split would be complete by Dec. 31, 2026. But a full-blown auction could upset those plans — and the transaction could close at a later date.

Zaslav’s contract was modified to extend his employment through December 2030. Previously, his contract was set to expire in December 2027.

“This extension is intended to secure Mr. Zaslav’s leadership of WBD for the same period that we had contracted to have him serve as the chief executive officer of Warner Bros. following a separation,” the filing said.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that nonbinding preliminary bids for the company are due Nov. 20.

Warner Bros. Discovery reported a $148 million loss in the third quarter, hitting a sour note as the company began fielding interest from would-be buyers as Hollywood braces for a transforming deal.

Earnings for the entertainment company that includes HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. film and TV studios fell short of analyst expectations. A year ago, the company reported profit of $135 million for the third quarter.

Revenue of $9.05 billion declined 6% from the year-ago period. The company swung to a loss of 6 cents a share, compared to last year’s earnings of 5 cents a share.

Still, Chief Executive David Zaslav spent much of Thursday’s call with analysts touting his company’s underlying strengths — while avoided giving details about the company’s sale.

“It’s fair to say that we have an active process underway,” Zaslav said.

Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday reiterated it is forging ahead with previously announced plans to split into two separate entities by next spring. However, the Warner board acknowledged last month that it was also entertaining offers for the entire company — or its parts — after David Ellison’s Paramount expressed its interest with formal bids.

Paramount has made three offers, including a $58 billion in cash and stock for all of Warner Bros. Discovery. That bid would pay Warner stockholders $23.50 a share.

The Ellison family appears determined to win one of Hollywood’s most storied entertainment companies to pair with Paramount, which the Ellisons and RedBird Capital Partners acquired in August.

But Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, including Zaslav, voted unanimously to reject Paramount’s offers and instead opened the auction to other bidders, which is expected to lead to the firm changing hands for the third time in a decade.

Board members are betting the company, which has shown flickers of a turnaround, is worth more than the offers on the table. Despite its rocky third-quarter results, Warner’s stock held its ground in early morning trading at around $22.60 a share.

“Overall we are very bullish,” Zaslav said of the company’s business prospects.

“When you look at our films like ‘Superman,’ ‘Weapons’ and ‘One Battle After Another,’ the global reach of HBO Max and the diversity of our network’s offerings, we’ve managed to bring the best, most treasured traditions of Warner Bros. forward into a new era of entertainment and [a] new media landscape,” he said.

But the company’s results underscored its business challenges.

The studio witnessed a major decline in advertising revenue in the third quarter, reporting $1.41 billion, down 16% from the previous year, which executives attributed to declines in the audience for its domestic linear channels, including CNN, TNT and TLC.

Distribution revenue also took a hit, as the company reported sales of $4.7 billion, a decrease of 4% compared to last year.

Studio revenue increased 24% to $3.3 billion, powered by the success of DC Studios’ “Superman,” horror flick “Weapons” and the latest installment of “The Conjuring.” But even those box office wins couldn’t totally offset shortfalls in other areas of its content business.

Last year, the company was able to sub-license its rights to broadcast the Olympics in Europe, which pushed content revenue to $2.72 billion. But this year, revenue was down 3% to $2.65 billion.

Burbank-based Warner Bros. has had a string of success in theaters, with nine films opening at the top spot globally at the box office. The studio recently surpassed $4 billion in worldwide box office revenue, making it the first studio to do so this year. Warner Bros. last achieved that milestone in 2019.

Zaslav would like to continue with Warner’s break-up plans, which were announced last June.

The move would allow him to stay on to manage a smaller Hollywood-focused entity made up of the Warner Bros. studios, HBO, streaming service HBO Max and the company’s vast library, which includes Harry Potter movies and award-winning television shows such as “The Pitt.”

The company’s large portfolio of cable channels, including HGTV, Food Network and Cartoon Network, would become Discovery Global and operate independently.

Beyond Paramount, Philadelphia-based Comcast, Netflix and Amazon have expressed interest in considering buying parts of the company.

The company said its third quarter loss of $148 million was the result of a $1.3 billion expense, including restructuring costs.