Texas filmmaker's Tony Romo documentary now on Amazon

This week I did something I haven't done in a while. I interviewed someone for a story.

The person I interviewed was Chris Hanna, the filmmaker who created  “Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story,” a documentary now streaming on Amazon Prime.

I have been a journalist for over 20 years and interviewed many, but the last five years I have been in a slumber. Don't know if this is what it took to wake me up, but we will see. The following is the story and a couple photos that Chris supplied for the story.

Texas filmmaker’s leap of faith turns into Tony Romo documentary followed by a cowboy film with scenes shot at the Drummond Ranch

By SHARON ROWEN | © www.kaynewscow.com

EL PASO, Texas – Dallas Cowboy fans who are mourning the death of their season and are to distraught to watch the remaining teams battle for a ticket to the Super Bowl can now watch a Tony Romo documentary on a handful of streaming networks.

For those who are not football fans but still have a fascination with cowboys, they can tune in to “Art of a Cowboy” on Amazon Prime with scenes shot at Drummond Ranch in Osage County.

The two creations are the work of award- winning-filmmaker Chris Hanna. Hanna is the creator of  “Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story,” a documentary on the former Dallas quarterback and current NFL analyst and the director of "Art of a Cowboy."

The story is told through Romo’s eyes, is now streaming worldwide via Amazon Prime video, Google Play, Hoopla, Vudo, YouTube and more.

Hanna said he is a big Dallas Cowboy fan and that Romo was his quarterback growing up.

“I developed a big interest in who he was and I saw myself in him as he is a Mexican American like myself. I was just very interested in knowing more and I can relate to the story of who he is.” He said the idea to create a documentary on Romo was born in 2016 while he was in college. After selling many possessions and a lot of work, Hanna started filming the story in 2017.

A source of inspiration for Hanna came from a story published in “Texas Monthly” by Michael J. Mooney.

“I asked Mooney if I could interview him for my thesis,” said Hanna. “He responded and we went to Dallas. The next thing you know I’m researching coaches and players who had shared the field with Romo. It was just a leap of faith. Sometimes it just feels right and I felt like I might have a shot at this.”

Hanna said one of his teachers at Santa Fe University of Art and Design in New Mexico told him that his chances of making the film were 50-50 

“I told the teacher I would take those odds,” he said.”

Then it happened, Romo agreed to meet with him.

“We were allotted 15 minutes and that turned into an hour,” said Hanna.  “Romo got excited and liked what we were doing and allowed us to meet his parents and grandparents and others in his life.”

The film premiered in 2019 in front of Romo, his family, and friends. “He helped us with the festival run which included Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico,” said Hanna.

The film tells Romo’s story of being a kid from Burlington, Wisc., who went on to become one of the most prolific quarterbacks to play for one of the most storied franchises in NFL history and  portrays Romo whose passion for the game continues to inspire his fans, community, family and friends.

Hanna said it was two years of hardships of cutting down the footage because of licensing conflicts, to securing investors to get the film out to everyone.

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“Since we filmed and completed production in 2020, we have been on a journey to license the film and bring this labor of love to the masses,” Hanna said. “Now with licensing from NFL Films and the support of our distributor Exploration Films, our dream to film, produce and distribute an independent documentary on our hero has been achieved.”

Hanna believes that Romo is thankful for the project.

“I think he will forever cherish this film and that he is thankful that we captured what we captured,” said Hanna.

Hanna said the film will be on Apple TV soon and that he hopes to get it on Netflix and or HBO one day.

“It is refreshing that Romo allowed someone to tell a story about him. I hope I have inspired other filmmakers to show athletes in future films as people and not just players.”

Since completing the Romo documentary, Hanna has went on to complete other films such as “Art of a Cowboy” which brought him to the Drummond Ranch in Osage County.

Hanna said the story features Steve Boaldin, a cowboy artist from Edmond, who uses his passion for painting to preserve the cowboy lifestyle through art and film. As a result, Hanna spent time on the Drummond Ranch working with Jack Drummond.

“It was a great experience,” said Hanna.

Hanna has more projects on the horizon and said that his ideas come from his own thoughts and interests and the suggestions of others. “It’s about helping people,” he said.

To watch a full interview with Hanna about making “Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story,” visit https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2023/10/21/23925769/dallas-cowboys-tony-romo-new-documentary-undrafted-free-agent-starting-qb

For more information on “Art of a Cowboy” visit https://artofacowboy.com