Joe Paterno to Be Portrayed by Al Pacino in Film 'Happy Valley'

Joe Paterno to Be Portrayed by Al Pacino in Film ‘Happy Valley’

by Associated Press on Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 5:08PM

LOS ANGELES — Al Pacino will play Joe Paterno in a movie about the late Penn State football coach.

Producer Edward R. Pressman confirms Brian De Palma will direct “Happy Valley,” the tentative title of the film, based on Joe Posnanski‘s best-seller “Paterno.”

“‘Happy Valley’ reunites the ‘Scarface’ and ‘Carlito’s Way’ team of De Palma and Pacino for the third time and I can’t think of a better duo to tell this story of a complex, intensely righteous man who was brought down by his own tragic flaw,” Pressman said in a statement. No start or release dates were given for the film.

While Pressman said the plot remains “under wraps,” Posnanski’s book followed Paterno’s final years, as the winningest coach in college football history saw his career end in disgrace in 2011 with the sex abuse scandal involving assistant Jerry Sandusky.

Al Pacino photo via Wikimedia Commons/Al Pacino