WSF

De Niro Set to Take On Lombardi Role

posted by Ken WSF President on March 10, 2010

Robert De Niro is attached to play legendary coach Vince Lombardi in the bigscreen pic “Lombardi” for ESPN Films, Andell Entertainment and the NFL, according to Variety.

Eric Roth (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) has signed on to pen the script, which will chronicle the coach’s career during the years he transformed the Green Bay Packers from the worst team in the NFL into five-time champs.

Chris Olsen is producing alongside Tribeca Prods.’ De Niro and Jane Rosenthal. ESPN/Andell, which acquired Lombardi’s life story rights via his estate and Vincent Lombardi Jr., also nabbed the rights to the tome “Instant Replay” written by former Packer Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap.

“We’ve had an extraordinary relationship with ESPN for five years through the Tribeca Film Festival, and now we’re able to extend that association into production,” said Rosenthal, co-founder of the Gotham fest.

Producers are aiming to release the film on the weekend between the AFC and NFC Conference Championships and the Super Bowl in 2012. There is no distributor yet.

CAA, which reps De Niro and Roth, also works with ESPN Films on its bigscreen projects.