HBO Releases More Details On Upcoming ‘Paterno’ Film
HBO gave a clearer picture at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on its upcoming biopic, Paterno, which will document the life and the fall during the Sandusky scandal of the former Penn State coach.
It still doesn’t have a release date, but now we know it will premiere in the spring of 2018.
Al Pacino is Joe Paterno in #PaternoHBO. Premieres Spring 2018 on #HBO. pic.twitter.com/AhyjMgmoTC
— HBO (@HBO) January 11, 2018
The film will play out in flashbacks as Paterno undergoes an MRI prior to his death from lung cancer, primarily focusing on the two-week period that includes when the all-time winningest coach in college football was fired following the sexual abuse claims against Jerry Sandusky, according to Philly.com.
Al Pacino will play the coach, while a number of other famous actors/actresses are part of the cast.
When the film was in its original stages back in 2013, those associated with it claimed the biopic would be “fair” to Paterno’s legacy. Director Barry Levinson stressed the complexity of the situation as a whole.
“I think the film has to deal with the complexity of it all, rather than say he did this or he didn’t do that. … The questioning of it is part of the fabric of the piece,” he said. “It truly is a tragedy.”
Levinson doesn’t believe that the biopic will change opinions on what happened, claiming it doesn’t take a stand to either side.
“I think at the end of the day there will be people who believe [Paterno knew about the abuse] and there will be people who don’t,” Levinson said, according to IndieWire.
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