Academy Award-winning actor Al Pacino will take on the task of portraying a legendary college football coach on the silver screen.
According to Variety, Pacino will star as late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in an upcoming HBO film directed by Barry Levinson.
The official logline for the movie, per Variety, reads as follows: “After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure on behalf of the victims.”
Sandusky was a defensive coordinator at Penn State under Paterno from 1977 to 1999. In November 2011, Sandusky was arrested on 52 counts of child sexual abuse between 1994 and 2009, including allegations of incidents occurring on Penn State’s campus. He’s currently serving a 30-to-60 year prison sentence.
Paterno was questioned for negligence during the ordeal and was relieved of his head coaching duties just three days after Sandusky’s arrest. Paterno passed away in January 2012 after losing his battle with lung cancer.
Thumbnail photo via YouTube screenshot
