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Al Pacino is Joe Paterno in Biopic Including Penn State Sex Scandal

by Ben Pearson
September 7, 2012

Too soon? It seems that when every major media figure passes away, a movie about him or her isn't too far off. It happened with Ray Charles, it's happening with Steve Jobs, and now it's happening with the late Joe Paterno, former head football coach of Penn State who was the winningest coach of all time before many of his wins were stripped away following assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sex scandal with young boys. Deadline has the report, which says that Al Pacino will star as Paterno in the project, which will be based on Joe Posnanski’s biography of the late coach that's become a New York Times best-selling book. Read on!

This is still a hot-button issue in America, so it will be very interesting to see how the yet-to-be-determined filmmakers will handle Paterno's role in Sandusky's sickening activities. In real life, Paterno used his influence to convince Penn State officials not to call the authorities when a graduate assistant reported Sandusky raping a boy in the shower to Paterno instead of the police. When this was discovered in a 2011 federal investigation, Paterno was fired and died shortly afterwards, after coaching the program for 45 years and becoming one of the most famous figures in college sports in the process.

The film will also concentrate on Paterno's life before the scandal, depicting how he built the Penn State football program from essentially nothing into a powerhouse team in the 1980s. The progress on this production is all in very early dealmaking stages, but with subject matter this controversial, it's likely that this will find financing and a filmmaking squad very quickly. Considering Paterno's recent death, is it tactful to harp on JoePa's involvement in the Sandusky scandal so soon? That may be left for audiences to decide.

Filed under Casting, Development, Movie News

From around the web:

THEBATMAN

woah! he looks like the perfect person to play paterno
- ion677
  
  Sean Penn would have been the perfect guy. I mean, his last name is Penn.
Ryan

I would just like to point out that 'Ray' was made during Ray Charles' lifetime, and he even contributed greatly to the making of film. He died shortly before its release, though.
Bcopes11

if it focuses solely on the scandals I can see the title now "Happy Valley"
beevis

tactful?.....ben, tact should be considered where the victims are concerned - NOT paterno.
- Xerxexx
  
  Hear hear! He let a creature go and continue doing vile acts.
  - beevis
    
    hey, buddy! how's it going?
    - Xerxexx
      
      Computer and I had major disagreement.
      - beevis
        
        yea.....those computers have to learn their place!
      - Xerxexx
        
        Indeed!
Rosalee Adams

that's what we NEED to see.........if the news wasn't filled with enough sleaze to last a life time about this moron who sold out young boys to the sport of football but knowing La la land it will be a poignant depiction of a man who was just misunderstood as he looked the other way all for the love of the pigskin It just proves once more that sometimes the ladies who strutt their stuff on America's streets are more honest .....................
Lebowski

They can call it "Enabling Pedophilia: A Coward's Story"
Craig

Who the heck wants to see this?
LosZombies

This is exactly the movie Ive been wanting to NOT see
zey

Pacino's done some dark roles, but I don't know if he wants to portray this guy...
inreallife?

"In real life, Paterno used his influence to convince Penn State officials not to call the authorities when a graduate assistant reported Sandusky raping a boy in the shower to Paterno instead of the police." Where are you getting your facts from? He contacted the authorities himself. The officials you say he "convinced" were the proper authorities for him to contact. Legally, he handled things correctly. Ethically, we don't know how far in he was yet, and he said himself he wished he had done more. There is still an investigation going on. Also, the Board of Trustees reported that he was fired because he did not listen to their requests to not say anything to the press at the time. Please don't take things you don't have facts about and spread them around. I'm glad this isn't a major news outlet, though as a journalist myself, I've been disappointed in some respected news outlets that have reported details as fact before they knew them to be true.
- Rosalee Adams
  
  He should have gone to the police NOT the hierarchy on campus.......... He was as thoughtless as the Catholic church in how it reinvented itself in pedophilia cases.
Bobo_Vision

I can picture it already.....Pacino as Paterno wanders into the locker room one day, then spots Sandusky boning a young boy in his bum, then Pacino blurts "Hoo-Ha!!!"
http://www.facebook.com/dustin4885 Dustin Fuston

"Awaits random Avatar comparison......"
- beevis
  
  don't forget the "it's similar to district 9" comment! LOL
  - http://www.facebook.com/dustin4885 Dustin Fuston
    
    Lmao hahaha haven't seen that one in awhile
    - beevis
      
      yea - i LMAO too when i saw your comment.......i'm sick to death of people making ridiculous comparisons to avatar and district9.
jont

reminds me of the famous Zach Morris line from saved by the bell. "Is there a point to this stupid story!?"
PSU_Proud

Most of you have no clue about this story. You're lemmings following the espn narrative right off the cliff... Way back when, journalists actually researched stories and provided facts.. Now, facts just get in the way of a good story that must be shouted out during the ever-shortening news cycle.. and most of you mindlessly fall for all of it...