“Day by Day: The Dynasty” Poster.
The story of legendary Husker Football Coach Tom Osborne, as told in the 2023 documentary “Day by Day: The Rise,” will conclude with the anticipated sequel, set to make its theatrical debut in Nebraska this weekend.
The second in the two-part Husker documentary series, produced again by film distribution company Utopia, “Day By Day: The Dynasty,” delves into the latter half of Coach Osborne’s legacy, recalling Osborne’s first national championship following a 24-17 victory over the University of Miami in the Orange Bowl on January 1, 1995.
KLIN News had the opportunity to speak with premier Hollywood sports documentary filmmaker and Director of “Day By Day,” Justin LePera.
“It really needed to be two different movies,” said LePera, “In the Part 1, Tom Osborne is finding the group of recruits that will help him win the big one… In Part 2, you’re at the top. He’s about to begin the most dominant run in college football history… but everything comes off the rails. From the tragedy of death, to players getting arrested, to inner turmoil within the locker room. These coaches are trying to manage everything and keep the focus of this dynasty run. They achieved that dynasty, and won two national championships through all that adversity, when most programs would implode.”
As detailed in “Day By Day,” the Huskers and Osborne were suddenly under the spotlight following a ’95 national championship win, “Everything’s going to become, not just local, but a national story. You have the incident with Lawrence Phillips, and other players being arrested. Some guys were doing some bad things, but some guys seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or flat out falsely accused… Then you have a team leader in Brook Berringer who dies. He was the backbone of this team,” LePera elaborated, “A lot of programs would go into a ‘rebuilding year,’ but Coach Osborne didn’t do that. He knew had a championship team. Through this adversity, he kept the train moving, ultimately winning the ‘97 national championship.”
In LePera’s view, the numerous adversities weighing on the Huskers, weighed chiefly on Osborne, “It did affect him. People were questioning his character when he was simply trying to do the right thing,” but Osborne persevered according to LePera, “He relied on his leaders, and what he established with his guys. They were the ones that made the decision of, ‘We got to change things and get back on track.’ They were really doing it for Coach Osborne. That’s how he weathered it, through his players stepping up.”
As the films director, LePera outlined his approach to depicting these somber moments in the Husker mythology, “It was tough. With Brook Berringer, with Lawrence Phillips, we wanted to tell the story through Coach Osborne’s perspective and keep it about his journey and how these different issues and tragedies affected him and the program. We did dive into Brooke’s story quite a bit, as well as other players like Scott Frost and Tommy Frazier. You go on that journey with them, but it’s all a part of the journey with Coach Osborne.”
“Day by Day: The Dynasty” is available now for digital pre-order on AppleTV ahead of the December 15th digital release on both Apple TV and Prime Video. On December 8th “Day by Day: The Dynasty” will screen at the following theaters:
- Marcus Lincoln Grand – Lincoln, NE
- Marcus Twin Creek – Bellevue, NE
- Marcus Majestic – Omaha, NE
- Marcus Village Pointe – Omaha, NE
You can purchase tickets at marcustheatres.com. You can view the trailer below.