Jake set to play sporting legend Joe Namath after all

Jake Gyllenhaal is to play Joe Namath, aka Broadway Joe, after all. That's according to Variety, a source which doesn't often let us down and has been reliable with both Brothers and The Moon Project. Jake was first connected with the project back in July. As yet, there is no director.

Variety tells us: '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... Gyllenhaal, who is coming off "Rendition" and "Zodiac," is currently shooting the Jim Sheridan-directed "Brothers" with Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman and will follow that by teaming with Doug Liman on an untitled project at DreamWorks that revolves around a moon expedition.'

Speaking as someone who will undoubtedly see this film (think that's a cert) but who knows next to nothing about American football, I'm anxious to know that this as yet unnamed film will have appeal to audiences outside the US. I can definitely understand why sporty, athletic and fit Jake would want to portray a sporting legend, and the reasons why Joe Namath approved Jake to play him seem pretty obvious too, but European and international audiences don't routinely go and see films about American football or baseball. Although, to be fair, with the exception of Bend It Like Beckham, I don't think many of them would see a film about soccer either.


So the answer may lie in the character and personality of Joe Namath himself. Although he's largely unknown in this neck of the woods, reading about his life, excesses, adventures and moments of genius on and off the field, may indicate that there will be far more to this film than a serious of winning goals and kicks. As Variety says 'While other quarterbacks racked up bigger lifetime stats, Namath became the first football player to achieve rock-star status. The pic will tell the story of how the golden-armed kid from Beaver Falls, Pa., became Broadway Joe, the New York Jets quarterback who became a '60s cultural figure.' But if Joe has approved it, and this will be the 'authorised' version of his life, how sanitised will it be?


British site Filmstalker believes the film could work over here: 'Perhaps there have been loads of American Football films, it's just that they aren't big outside the U.S.? Well this one has the potential to be, as long as they think about that non-American Football audience when they're making it.'

Empire has this to say: 'OK, non-Yankee readers, we know you don't care about American 'football' but try to forget that for the length of this story. Got your shoulder pads ready? OK. Jake Gyllenhaal is lined up to play American football legend Joe Namath, the game's first modern superstar.'


'Namath was a '60s cultural icon who played for the New York Jets, where the owner paid him a record salary and turned him loose on New York to raise hell in the night clubs and spend his dough on fur coats and women. Namath became an advertising magnet, taking his league, the American Football League, from red-headed stepchild levels to NFL competitor status, leading to a merger between the two. He also helped turn 'football' into a major TV force, and made good on his personal guarantee to beat the Baltimore Colts (the favourites) in Super Bowl III - all on knees so bad that he was turned down for the Vietnam draft... But what do you think, readers? Will any film about American football ever make a dent in this country? Or are you, like us, far more intrigued by that moon project?' (Someone else keen to see The Moon Project!)


I rather liked this picture of what might be in store: 'Hopefully we can expect plenty of earned bragadacio, hairy chests, overcoming long odds, fur coats and bedfulls of quarter back on groupie sex sprinkled with liberal alcohol consumption...'

Of course, this project brings with it some risks (to counteract the distinct possibility of more scenes like That Rendition Scene), not least of which is that this:


may be replaced by this:


meaning we may want to see more of this:


The Gotham Awards

Unfortunately, I'm Not There didn't win any prizes at the independent Gotham Awards held last night in Brooklyn. Honours instead went to films by Sean Penn and Michael Moore. But good to see Maggie. Maggie's a busy lady at the moment, attending a succession of glamorous events in the city. There's another tonight according to the New York Post: 'November 28, 2007 -- CALVIN Klein is destroying his own ad in the name of art. To help promote the Dec. 1 opening of the New Museum on the Bowery, Klein allowed the institution's advertisers to drip oozing pink paint over his Houston Street billboard of Lara Stone and Jamie Burke wearing his jeans. The label, along with Julianne Moore and Maggie Gyllenhaal, will host an intimate soiree tonight at the museum, and the hot pink ooze will drip down the billboard until Monday.'


And finally...

Robert Graysmith and David Fincher are not the only people to have become obsessed with uncovering the identity of the Zodiac killer. It seems Britney Spears was gripped by the movie and has now set about solving the case herself. 'The recent film Zodiac about the case starring Jake Gyllenhaal, 26, captured Britney’s imagination. She has been spending hours on a website called zodiackiller.com and is convinced she can crack the case as many people believe the culprit is still alive.' Not sure I'm feeling too reassured by that.


Includes pictures from Variety and IHJ.