If you watch the NFL opening night game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans tomorrow night on NBC, you’re going to see a Frito-Lay’s commercial that celebrates the return of football by using "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (better known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") in a fun way. In the spot – which was helmed by Peter Berg - Marshawn Lynch narrates an alt version of the poem featuring Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Tony Romo, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Katie Sowers (who made history as the first woman to coach in a Super Bowl as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers). You can watch the commercial further down the page.

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Image via Universal

A few days ago, I was able to speak with Peter Berg about making the commercial. I’ve always wondered how these kinds of ads get put together and how much time an athlete spends on set, especially in the era of Covid. During the interview, Berg talked about how the ad happened, what it was like filming with the Covid protocols, how he only had Tom Brady for an hour, the collaboration between the director and the agency that developed the ad, how Marshawn Lynch was a lot more comfortable filming this ad and why, and more. In addition, he talked about who he thinks will win the Super Bowl this year, the status of the Spenser Confidential sequel, his Rihanna documentary, what we need to do to get a sequel to The Rundown, the status of his Pain Killer adaptation about the opioid crisis, the status of The Rise and Fall of Victoria Secret which he’s developing as a limited series, his Chris Cornell documentary, and more.

Check out what he had to say below. Further down the page is exactly what we talked about, followed by the commercial.

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Peter Berg:

  • The collaboration between the director and the agency that developed the ad.
  • How he encouraged improvising on the set.
  • How Marshawn Lynch was a lot more comfortable filming this commercial than the last time they worked together due to his involvement on Westworld.
  • How Katie Sowers got involved in the commercial.
  • What was it like filming with the Covid protocols?
  • How long did he have with Tom Brady?
  • Has he hooked himself up with VIP seats after filming this commercial?
  • Who does he think will win the Super Bowl this year?
  • Did he try for an athlete that they couldn’t get?
  • What’s the status of the Spenser Confidential sequel?
  • The status of his Pain Killer adaptation which is about the opioid crisis.
  • The status of The Rise and Fall of Victoria Secret which he’s developing as a limited series.
  • How Amazon will be releasing his Rihanna documentary next year which he’s been working on for over four years.
  • The status of his Chris Cornell documentary.
  • What do we need to do to get a Rundown sequel?