"Teasing John Malkovich" opens with Academy Award nominated actor John Malkovich reading a script to a piece he's about to perform. He becomes so frustrated with the poorly written dialogue that he calls his agent to complain about the part. After a tense and occasionally humorous back and forth with his agent, Malkovich confronts the film's director on stage as they're setting up for the first shot. It's at this point that the Malkovich and the audience are clued in to what this film is supposed to be about, it's a "sports tease," a short film that airs right before a big sporting event to get the audience excited for the game. The irony being that if the audience at home sees the "tease" then they've already decided to tune in for the game. Once Malkovich realizes that, he delivers a riveting performance as only he can.

The AFC Championship game is one of the most watched sporting events in the United States every year, attracting roughly 50 million views, which is second only to the Super Bowl. Huge television events like that call for a special opening film, or "tease," that sets the viewers up for what they're about to watch. In this past AFC Championship game, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, possibly the most dominant team in the past 17 years with 5 Super Bowl victories was facing off against Blake Bortles of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had never even reached the Super Bowl once. This was a classic David versus Goliath matchup that called for a dramatic film to set the stage.

With so much of the dialogue ad-libbed and riffed upon on set, the real fun of editing John Malkovich’s performance for this piece were the endless possibilities. The dialogue itself comes in musical movements, with Malkovich ramping up to full scream and then pulling the rug out from under us with a laugh, only to amp up the energy again for a final crescendo, before leaving us quietly wanting more.