It will be interesting to see how this turns out considering the success of a movie based on James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales’ “ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun” would seem to depend largely on the screenwriter more than the director, but to hear Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines) has nabbed the gig means there will at least be some emerging talent behind that lens.
The Wrap has the story, saying the Fifty Shades of Grey and The Social Network team of producers, Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti, are spearheading the project as Focus takes over the rights from 20th Century Fox, with co-producers Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell. Currently they are looking for a writer to tackle the story, which follows the rise of the cable sports network with a focus on ESPN personalities and producers such as Bill Simmons, Chris Berman and Keith Olbermann.
Without a screenwriter it may be some time before we see this movie, if we even see it at all, as I doubt Cianfrance is going to sit on his hands until someone gets it just right.
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