Weinsteins pick Whitaker to lead the ‘Patriots’

Date:

Studio-helmer Tim Story (Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver
Surfer
) has been tapped to direct and Forest Whitaker will headline The Weinstein Company‘s contemporary sports drama (industry says that we need at least 5 projects of the such in a given year – yeesh). Written by Robert Eisele, Patriots  would see Whitaker would play Al Collins,
basketball coach for John Ehret High in Marrero, La., who led his Patriots to
the state championship a year after Katrina ravaged the school and displaced
many of its students. Collins’ team consisted of 10 players who attended five
different schools before the disaster.

Variety reports that the project will be produced by IAM Entertainment’s Raymond Brothers and Scott
Glassgold, along with Story. Brothers had optioned the coach’s life rights. He, Story and Eisele
developed the script together.

 

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society) and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

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