According to Deadline, WWE superstar John Cena (who made a hilarious splash in Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck) was recently cast in Andy Samberg’s sports film mockumentary, Tour de Pharmacy, where Samberg takes a look into the rampant doping in the world of professional cycling. Mike Tyson has also been added to the cast.
This project marks the second collaboration with HBO for Samberg and Murray and their Legends of Sport.
In other sports film news:
Are you a Seminoles fan? SHOWTIME Sports will chronicle Florida State University’s quest for the 2016 College Football National Championship with the all-access documentary series “A Season With Florida State Football.” The second installment of the series brings viewers behind the scenes and into the lives of the Seminoles with weekly 30-minute episodes throughout the 2016 season. The series premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 10 p.m. ET on SHOWTIME just one day after the Seminoles’ season opener against the Ole Miss Rebels (University of Mississippi) on Labor Day.
The Seminoles enter the 2016 season ranked as one of the top-three teams in the country in consensus pre-season rankings. According to the release, for the first time in its storied history, Florida State University is granting unparalleled access to its Division I football program, players and coaching staff. The series will feature never-before-seen access to the world-class program and its compelling student athletes. From preparations for each week’s matchup, to the intensity on game day and the rigors of balancing athletics with classwork during the season, viewers will bear witness to the dedication of the Garnet and Gold, led by Coach Fisher in their bid for gridiron glory. From the opening week matchup with the Ole Miss Rebels to showdowns with perennial rivals Clemson, Miami and Florida, A Season With Florida State Football will deliver the sights, sounds and drama from the entire season as the Seminoles aim for their second National Championship in the last four years.
Boxing fans: Reports reveal that Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson will be producing a biopic of boxer Emile Griffith. According to Wikipedia, Griffith as a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who became a world champion in the welterweight and middleweight classes. His best known contest was a 1962 title match with Benny Paret. At the weigh in, Paret infuriated Griffith, a bisexual man, by touching his buttocks and making homophobic remarks. Griffith won the bout by knockout; Paret never recovered consciousness and died in the hospital 10 days later.
In an interview, ‘when asked if the film would be similar in tone to Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning boxing film Raging Bull, Abrahamson replied: “Raging Bull is a good example of a sports movie because it’s not ultimately about the sport. Good work is always about going from surface to depth and a sports movie is good if the sport becomes part of the leverage or the ‘crowbar’ that opens up that character. And so [Jake] LaMotta’s decline in Raging Bull is about a whole lot of other things but is so vividly expressed through the sport.
Ballers will love the fact that SHOWTIME Sports will also be creating a documentary film featuring projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons. Titled “One & Done” it will premiere in October just prior to the start of Simmons’ rookie NBA season.
It examines the journey of Simmons from his Australian upbringing, to high school and college in America, to the top of the rookie class in the world’s foremost basketball league. Simmons endeavors to fulfill a lifelong dream, one shared by his family, including father David Simmons, a New York City native who played 13 professional seasons in the Australian National Basketball League.
The film will be produced by Maura Mandt (There’s No Place Like Home, Of Miracles And Men), Dave Chamberlin and Josh Swade.
“One & Done chronicles a unique and pivotal period in a young man’s life,” said Espinoza. “Over the last year, as Ben Simmons has transitioned from teenager to young adult, he has also transitioned from the relative anonymity of a supremely talented high school player to the national and international limelight of the exclusive fraternity of top NBA draft picks. Ben Simmons is navigating a path that, although dreamt of and aspired to for a lifetime, remains uncertain. One & Done is dramatic and captivating with exclusive access to subject matter that is as timely as it is provocative.”
Initiated in 2006, the one and done rule requires that elite high school players who are ostensibly ready for the NBA must be one year removed from graduation in order to be eligible for the Draft. Since inception, it has sparked passionate debate on both sides. This debate will be explored in the film.
