Gyllenhaal To Star In Namath Biopic

Mr. Gyllenhaal is collecting an eclectic mix of roles indeed! It appears he will be playing Joe Namath in an upcoming film about the legendary Football player’s life. We get the scoop today from the professionals at Variety:

Universal Pictures will turn the life of Joe Namath into a feature film, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing the Hall of Fame quarterback. David Hollander will write the script once the writers strike is over. Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar will produce. Jimmy Walsh, who runs Namanco Prods., exec produces.

Walsh said he and Namath OK’d the movie after a long pursuit by Lazar, a strong take by Hollander and the belief that the athletic Gyllenhaal was the right actor to play him.

I have never been a huge fan of televised sports. I have tried (on a handful of occasions) to follow a team, with a number of sports, but the interest was just not there. I enjoy playing sports on occasion, and I will go to a game if I can get cheap tickets, but I am certainly not a sports fan. I would rather play my ukulele than watch people play a game on television.

With that in mind, I respect and admire the dedication, skill and focus an athlete must achieve, in order to stand beside, and against, the best in the world. The dedication of an athlete to their assigned task, and the victory that results when a team plays as one serves as a teaching tool for any avenue of life where winning matters. The magic of team sports is in the people that band together to achieve victory; sports are a common and popular means to display the awesome power of unity.

Superbowl 3 placed Joe Namath’s Jets against the highly favored Colts. The Colts were viewed as superior to the Green Bay Packers that won the previous pair of Superbowls. In spite of these odds and with a microphone in his face Joe proclaimed “We’ll win the game. I guarantee you.” This cocksure mother fucker then went on to win the whole shebang. This is the stuff of legend.

Jake Gyllenhaal is working with Joe’s blessing and that is big news for me. If the two can spend some time together I believe Jake will be able to portray Namath in glorious fashion. I look forward to this project and hope to be overwhelmed with inspiring machismo.