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'All Is Lost' Director to Write Legendary's Coach Vince Lombardi Biopic

by Ethan Anderton
December 2, 2013
Source: Deadline

Nearly 4 years ago, we learned that Robert De Niro was being lined up to play iconic football coach Vince Lombardi in the ESPN Films biopic titled Lombardi, to be written by Oscar winning Forrest Gump writer Eric Roth. However, there has been no updates on the state of that project since then. Now Legendary Pictures is looking to play football the same subject after spending time in the ballpark with their Jackie Robinson biopic 42. Deadline has word that Legendary has hired J.C. Chandor (writer and director of All Is Lost and Margin Call) to script a biopic on the Green Day Packers coach with an eye towards directing.

As we've explained before, Lombardi is a legendary coach most know for his work with the Packers from 1959-67, winning no less than five NFL championships during his nine years with the team. He went on to accomplish a 105–35–6 record as head coach (.750, discarding ties as was the NFL policy) and he never suffered a losing season. He then led the Packers to a still-unmatched three consecutive NFL championships in 1965, 1966, and 1967; winning the first two Super Bowls and solidifying his place as one of the greatest coaches in football history. We can see Ed Harris in this role but Dan Lauria ("The Wonder Years") would be the absolute perfect choice for the part.

This kind of film seems like more traditional fare from a director that started with the dialogue heavy, ensemble cast led, topical financial crisis drama Margin Call all the way to the other end of the spectrum with a film that features only one actor, sparse dialogue and a quiet but dangerous setting on the dangerous sea. One might think there would be a slight conflict of interest since Legendary executive Thomas Tull is part owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he's just a football fan in general, so this film is right up his alley. Chandor's next film is A Most Violent Year with Jessica Chastain, but the filmmaker is writing the Lombardi film right now, so if all goes well, it could end up coming immediately after that one. Cool?

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