Al Pacino will play disgraced football coaching legend Joe Paterno in a new movie, according to an online report.
The movie will be based on “Paterno,” a best-selling biography authored by sportswriter Joe Posnanski, who lived in State College, Pa., and spent time with “JoePa’s” family as the Penn State sexual abuse scandal unfolded.
It could be a feature film or a cable movie, reported Deadline.com, the site that broke the news.
Penn State has riveted the nation’s attention since retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested last November on child sex-abuse charges that plunged the university into turmoil.
The film would likely trace the arc of Paterno — a man who embodied honor and the pursuit of excellence only to see his legacy demolished by his failure to act against Sandusky’s crimes.
ICM Partners represents both Pacino and Posnanski, Deadline.com reported.
This would be the Oscar-winning actor’s second role as a head football coach. In 1999, he played the head coach of a fictional pro team in the Oliver Stone-directed “Any Given Sunday.”
Paterno was fired over his alleged failure to follow up on the sexual-abuse perpetrated by Sandusky.
That “constituted a failure of leadership,” the Penn State board of trustees said.
Paterno died of lung cancer in January, and Penn State used jackhammers to remove the statue the fabled coach that stood outside Beaver Stadium in July.
Sandusky was convicted in June of sexually assaulting 10 young boys over 15 years and is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Since then, the NCAA has punished the school with a four-year bowl ban and major scholarship cuts.
The NCAA even took away all of Penn State’s wins dating to 1998, which dropped Paterno from first to 12th on the list of the winningest NCAA football coaches.