page_title: Robert Abbott (director)
section_title: Field of Screams (1994)
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Abbott (director) / Filmography / Field of Screams (1994)
caption_attribution_description: English: A note from Gavin de Becker to Abbott following the release of Field of Screams (1994). Can see that de Becker referred to Abbott's work as "The best work I've seen on this".
context_page_description: Robert Abbott is an American film director and TV producer, known most notably for his work in sports journalism and documentary films. Abbott has worked for CNN and ESPN, before starting his own company, Hey Abbott! Entertainment in January 2009. Abbott's projects are not limited to sports entertainment, as is seen in his most recent 2018 documentary titled Port of Destiny: Peace. The film focuses on former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and his extraordinary work in ending the five-decade civil war between far-left rebel group FARC and the government of Colombia. Prior to Port of Destiny: Peace, he produced, directed, and narrated ESPN's 30 for 30 entitled The Last Days of Knight, where Abbott tells the story of his investigation that led to the 2000 firing of longtime and legendary head coach of Indiana University Men's Basketball, Bob Knight.
  Other noteworthy projects include ESPN's 30 for 30: Catholics vs. Convicts, ESPN's SportsCentury documentary series, Field of Screams, CNN Special Reports: The Moses Project, ESPN Backstory with Don Van Natta, and the CNN Breaking News Coverage of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
context_section_description: The CNN Special, Field of Screams, (released in the fall of 1994), showcases the disturbing confrontations and experiences had by some professional athletes at the hands of obsessed fans. With Jim Huber reporting and Abbott producing, the special interviewed multiple athletes who shared their personal stories of being stalked and harassed. Katarina Witt and Mitch Williams were two of the athletes that were featured in the special.
  The film received critical praise, including from Gavin de Becker, the world's leading expert on stalking, who told Abbott “The CNN piece was great work on your part … Yours is the best work I’ve seen on this -- and I’ve seen them all.”. Also noteworthy, in an article for Premiere Magazine in July 1996, Robert De Niro spoke about the preparation for his role as a psycho fanatic in The Fan (1996 film). He had watched Abbott's CNN Special in order to dive deeper into the mind of the stalker he would be portraying. The film also received a CINE Golden Eagle award in 1995.
caption: De Becker's handwritten note to Abbott following the release of Field of Screams. He is quoted praising his work, saying "Yours is the best I've seen on this -- I've seen them all".