Gotham Chopra (‘Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story’) reveals how Jon Bon Jovi reminds him of the athletes he’s covered [Exclusive Video Interview]

Before he started making “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” Gotham Chopra had been making a lot of sports documentaries and it was one of those that actually helped launch the docuseries into existence. “Part of the DNA and conception of this film was Jon had seen something I had done in the sports world called ‘Man in the Arena’ with Tom Brady, which is really Tom looking back at the 20 years of his life on the football field. Jon sort of approached me and said, ‘I’d like to do something looking back,” he reveals to Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: TV Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above).

Chopra does see a parallel between Bon Jovi and the qualities that are seen in great and legendary athletes. “The DNA is a lot of the same things, a lot of the same qualities that make Tom Brady or Kobe Bryant or Serena Williams great are present in Jon. Talent for sure, but it’s like the work ethic, the uncompromising desire to be perfect is just so familiar.”

“Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” explores the nearly 40-year-long history the New Jersey based band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and led by Jon Bon Jovi. The series goes all the way back to Jon performing in Garden State bars while he was still a teenager and explores the evolution of the band’s sound, the lives of the band’s members and how the band is able to keep appealing to new generations of fans all over the world.

Chopra also acknowledges that getting to capture Jon Bon Jovi having to go through thyroplasty surgery in order to restore his vocal chords was a bit of a double-edged sword. “Well, I will say it sucked for him, but it was great for us. It sort of gave the film an urgency. It was a process and a relationship and I think Jon was so focused on his physical therapy, his rehab, figuring out where he was with this thing, but you know, Jon’s a really smart guy.” Chopra says that he also understood the process and what his crew was attempting to capture. “He opened the door and let us document this process that he was going through with some uncertainty around it and then obviously figuring out in the editorial process how much you need, but a lot of the most vulnerable stuff you see.”